What's new

By Rachel Rayner Dr Keith Bannister knew from an early age he wanted to do something technical with his life. The bedroom floor of his childhood home was usually littered with wires, screws, nuts and bolts.

String is floppy, so it’s usually a terrible thing to build a tower from. But this tower uses tension and string to hold itself strong!

Astronauts have nerves of steel. They ride controlled explosions, strapped to giant tanks of rocket fuel. And every now and then, things go wrong. Last Thursday, two space explorers didn’t quite make it to space – but they lived to tell the tale!

How do you make string stand on its end? To find out, read on…

Put your thinking caps on, it’s time to test your skills in chemistry, time, space, tech and biology!

Not all scientists are smashing particles, discovering new chemicals or exploring exotic environments. Some scientists strive to keep things working in your home. It takes a lot of science to test everyday objects, such as toilets, to make sure they work the way they should.

In the latest issue of Double Helix magazine, we feature solar powered cars racing from Darwin to Adelaide. They zoomed to the finish line last week. The winner is Dutch team Nuon with their car Nuna 8!

A big congratulations to Dhruv Verma from Victoria and Jackson Huang from Queensland, the two winners of this year’s BHP Billiton Science and Engineering Awards. Dhruv was recognised for his PROTEGO project, and Jackson for his investigation into heartburn medication alternatives.

Meet the next generation of scientists and engineers – 2015 BHP Billiton science and engineering awards. How much did you love your Bunsen burner time at school? Or were you more of an adoring-algebra type? To us, nothing is more valuable and important than nurturing a love of science and technology in the next generation.

Look around the room you’re in now. Imagine trying to accurately map out the details in the room. Now consider trying to map out the entire building. It sounds time consuming, but Zebedee technology can map whole buildings in minutes.