Science & technology

23 October 2023

FDA funds Australian research for better, affordable asthma inhalers

Australian researchers have been awarded $AU1 million ($US687,000) from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to develop improved testing methods for dry powder inhalers.

20 October 2023

Australian scientists detect most distant fast radio burst ever discovered

In a tiny fraction of a second the radio burst released the equivalent of our Sun's total emission over 30 years. A new generation of radio telescopes will allow us to unravel the mystery of fast radio bursts

19 October 2023

Reef-devouring predator survives coral bleaching and feasts on the survivors

Research conducted by marine biologists from the University of Sydney has found juvenile crown-of-thorns starfish can withstand tremendous heatwaves well above levels that kill coral. These starfish then develop into carnivorous predators that devour reefs just as they begin to regrow.

18 October 2023

Superlensing without a superlens: microscopes boosted beyond limits

Physicists at the University of Sydney have shown a new pathway to achieve superlensing with minimal losses, breaking through the diffraction limit by a factor of nearly four times. Their trick? Remove the superlens altogether.

18 October 2023

'Animal disease detective' training launched at World Health Summit

With the risk of zoonotic diseases, such as coronaviruses and avian flu, on the rise, training a new generation of animal disease detectives at the frontline is vital to help prevent disease.

11 October 2023

Professor Hesham El Gamal appointed Dean of Engineering

Information theory expert Professor Hesham El Gamal has been appointed Dean of the Faculty of Engineering, commencing in July 2024.

10 October 2023

The Voice could advise on how to address natural disasters

Disaster events like bushfires are predicted to increase in both frequency and severity as the climate changes. The Voice to Parliament has the potential to be an effective way to adapt to this riskier future, write Professor Claire Hooker and Associate Professor Michelle Dickson.

09 October 2023

Your car is watching you. The implications are profound and immediate

The rapid rise of smart vehicles has brought to the fore the often-overlooked issue of privacy breaches by car manufacturers, writes Professor Uri Gal from the University of Sydney Business School in The Canberra Times.

06 October 2023

Brainless organisms can learn - so what does it mean to think?

Jellyfish, coral, fungi, bacteria and famously slime moulds get by perfectly well without a brain. Director of the Sensory and Evolutionary Ecology Lab, Dr Tom White, explores how learning works in different species and what this says about evolution.

03 October 2023

Royal Society of NSW appoints three Sydney academics as Fellows

Three University of Sydney researchers across psychology, bioethics and physics have been appointed as Fellows of the Royal Society of NSW.