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There are plenty of reasons to hate mosquitoes. They are annoying, hard to catch, and their bites can itch for days. But they’re not just irritating – in many places they spread diseases such as malaria, Zika and dengue.

Double Helix magazine is looking for your science questions! Our Microscope column answers the thorniest science queries you can throw at us. Email us at Helix.Editor@csiro.au or via our contact details below and you could have your question published. Here’s a sample question to get you thinking. Aisha Goshti asks: Why does the Sun makes […]

Australians love dogs. About 40 per cent of Australian households have a dog. And if you love your dog, you should give it a hug, right? Probably not, new research shows.

You might think you know your height, but this activity might change your mind. How tall are you, really?

On 2 March this year, two long-term International Space Station residents returned to Earth. Scott Kelly and Mikhail Kornienko both spent 342 days in space. Their year-long mission included space walks and Earth photography. But the most important experiment was on themselves. How does a person react to a year in space?

Hidden within our cells, DNA is the hard drive of the human body. Each copy of DNA contains instructions for all the proteins needed to make a person. But this creative compendium is always under attack. This year’s Nobel Prize in Chemistry went to three people who found out what’s repairing our genetic treasure.

Written by Julia Cleghorn Turns out we can thank Rihanna and Taylor Swift for more than just catchy songs. Recent research has revealed that for kids, pain from surgery can be reduced by simply listening to their favourite music!

Written by Beth Askham Bacteria living in soil could save our lives – if only we knew they existed. A new way of looking at soil bacteria is helping researchers discover new antibiotics.

Written by Sarah Kellett The largest outbreak of Ebola ever recorded is happening in West Africa. Since February this year, more than 1000 people have been killed by the Ebola virus. Last week, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern.

Written by Beth Askham Emotions can run high in the twitterverse. Tweets about feelings can now be mapped to find the mood of a city, nation or area. An online tool called We Feel, developed by CSIRO researchers, scans up to 32 000 tweets per minute. It recognises a range of words to judge how […]