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Viruses are the cause of a number of diseases. The flu, chicken pox and most common colds are just a few examples of diseases caused by viral infections.

Imagine a flat spiral, similar to a snail’s shell, coming closer and closer to a point. Now imagine more spiral lines, all centred on the same point. This shape looks like the clouds over a cyclone, or a whirling galaxy.

Written by Sarah Kellett When the rover Curiosity landed on Mars on 6 August (AEST), Australia was listening. Between hitting the atmosphere and landing safely, there were ‘seven minutes of terror’. Then, mission scientists heard the good news.

About 70% of the world’s surface is covered by ocean. You don’t even need to live near the coast to be affected by the sea. The sea is an important source of food, its currents influence climate systems and a significant amount of the oxygen we breathe comes from phytoplankton in the ocean.

Scientists at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) have confirmed the discovery of a particle with properties that match those of the Higgs boson. The announcement has created a lot of excitement – why all the fuss?

The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry recently announced new names for two recently discovered elements: flerovium and livermorium.

The starlight that we see at night is only a fraction of what is out there. Stars and galaxies don’t just emit visible light but a range of electromagnetic radiation, including UV radiation, X-rays and radio waves. Most of this radiation is invisible to humans.

The World Health Organisation recently announced that India has gone for more than one year with no new cases of polio. Polio is a highly contagious viral disease often spread through contaminated drinking water.

Sunday 8 January 2012 marked the 100th Anniversary of Douglas Mawson’s expedition arriving in Antarctica. This was the first of many research expeditions Australia would undertake to the frozen continent.