The Latest Breaking News from Australian Research Council

As the climate heats up rapidly, many species will struggle to avoid extinction. If they had time, they could evolve to the new environmental conditions. But they don’t. That’s where hybridisation could help. When related species interbreed, the flow of new genetic diversity could help them adapt to warmer environments.

Almost 2,000 native species are officially listed as “threatened” in Australia – but how many have you actually heard of?

By the end of 2023, eligible people in all Australian states will be able to apply for voluntary assisted dying as the final three states’ laws will become operational this year.

A vast amount of rocks and other material are hurtling around our Solar System as asteroids and comets. If one of these came towards us, could we successfully prevent the collision between an asteroid and Earth?

University of Queensland researchers have pioneered a technique to remove per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) chemicals from water.

When we think of evolution, we tend to picture slow changes occurring over very long periods of time, typically millions of years. However, evolution can actually happen much faster, over only a few generations: think COVID-19 strains, for example. And this fast evolution isn’t just restricted to viruses and microbes.

Last Saturday night, a young woman out on the town in Brisbane saw a dog-shaped robot trotting towards her and did what many of us might have felt an urge to do: she gave it a solid kick in the head.

Australia is welcoming back international students in much greater numbers this year. Some predict new enrolments in 2023 could even be higher than the pre-COVID record in 2019. Student visa applications in the second half of 2022 were up 40% on the same period in 2019.

Climate change is forcing people around the world to abandon their homes. In the Pacific Islands, rising sea levels are leaving communities facing tough decisions about relocation. Some are choosing to stay in high-risk areas.

What makes cities work? It is not the historic monuments or grand architecture but something far more prosaic.

With energy prices and temperatures both rising, keeping cool in summer is an increasingly costly challenge for many Australians. Energy bills are predicted to increase by 50% over the next two years, adding to the cost-of-living crisis. For some, this creates stark choices between paying energy bills or putting food…