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Australia stuck in the STEM slow lane
Nicky Phillips Australia's economy will suffer and job opportunities will be lost if the country doesn't lift its mediocre performance in science and innovation to compete with other developed nations.
Latest science news
Scientists discover malaria's Achilles heel
![Scientists from ANU have discovered a fatal weakness of the malaria parasite.](/web/20141203030232im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/1/0/i/f/8/c/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.11yk0o.png/1417505966625.jpg)
Natasha Boddy 11:30 PM Scientists have discovered an Achilles heel for malaria.
The father of DNA is selling his Nobel prize because everyone thinks he’s racist
![Controversial ... James Watson, co-discoverer of the DNA helix and father of the Human Genome Project, has not backed down from racist comments he made in 2007.](/web/20141203030232im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/1/1/y/1/g/e/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.11y14p.png/1417503437152.jpg)
Rachel Feltman 5:57 PM James Watson has a reserve of $2.5 million and will become the first living recipient of the prestigious award to sell a Nobel prize.
Monash's bionic eye closer to human trials
![Bionic eye.](/web/20141203030232im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/2/5/1/p/1/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.11yeyf.png/1417503238906.jpg)
Bridie Smith 5:53 PM The quest to build a bionic eye in Australia has received a $3 million boost, allowing the ambitious project to reach human trials next year.
James Watson, the father of DNA, is selling his Nobel prize because everyone thinks he's racist
![Controversial ... James Watson, co-discoverer of the DNA helix and father of the Human Genome Project, has not backed down from racist comments he made in 2007.](/web/20141203030232im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/1/1/y/1/g/e/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.11y1f4.png/1417460463685.jpg)
Rachel Feltman 5:35 PM James Watson, known to many as one of the "fathers of DNA" for his scientific discoveries, is putting his Nobel prize on the auction block this Thursday with a reserve price of $US2.5 million ($2.94 million). Why part with the prestigious award now, over 50 years after winning it? After all, no living recipient of the award has ever sold it before.
Nobel prize contender cut from CSIRO
![San Thang](/web/20141203030232im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/1/1/y/1/f/j/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.11xvaf.png/1417460903930.jpg)
Nicky Phillips and Bridie Smith A world-leading CSIRO chemist who was tipped to win a Nobel prize has been made redundant.
Astronomy can be life changing: Dr Lisa Harvey-Smith
![Dr Lisa Harvey-Smith](/web/20141203030232im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/1/1/v/e/w/u/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.11vet1.png/1417413887527.jpg)
Clare Colley Wi-Fi, advanced medical imaging and algorithms to detect skin cancer all have one thing in common - they were all offshoots of astronomy, CSIRO astronomer Dr Lisa Harvey-Smith says.
Science
NICTA CEO resigns amid Abbott government funding cuts
![Hugh Durrant-Whyte has resigned.](/web/20141203030232im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/1/0/m/u/h/3/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.11w6vc.png/1417152958512.jpg)
Bridie Smith and Ben Grubb The head of Australia's largest technology research operation NICTA resigned on Friday due to "differences of opinion" with the board over the lab's future, following funding cuts by the Abbott government.
DNA of a dead 11-year-old girl becomes a work of art
![death mask](/web/20141203030232im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/1/1/v/c/s/m/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.11uwt6.png/1417088625295.jpg)
Bridie Smith Artist Svenja Kratz is standing in a gallery, hands on hips, looking at her newest installation. She wears a lab coat and latex gloves as ''The Contamination of Alice'' is assembled at RMIT’s gallery on Swanston Street. A pair of protective goggles sit folded on the neck of her black top.
Hang on to your eyeballs
![Sneeze.](/web/20141203030232im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/1/1/v/2/j/4/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.11v2d7.png/1417053254427.jpg)
Rod Taylor Sneezes can blast out air at 160 km/h - but can they blast out your eyeballs?
Geminid meteor shower to light up skies
![The Geminid meteor shower can produce as many as 30 to 40 meteors an hour during peak activity](/web/20141203030232im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/1/1/v/1/6/a/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.11v19x.png/1417048838358.jpg)
Perry Vlahos The Geminid meteor shower can produce as many as 30 to 40 meteors an hour during peak activity over Australia. This year’s peak is overnight on December 13-14.
Forum to boost women's participation in science
![Caption](/web/20141203030232im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/1/1/i/4/h/2/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.11u2bi.png/1417047791098.jpg)
Clare Colley Playing into the competitive nature of academics and researchers could be a game changer in addressing the low numbers and high loss rate of women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
Art in a whisky glass, neatly explained
![Scotch mist: It's all about surfectants and polymers.](/web/20141203030232im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/1/1/t/r/o/l/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.11trjc.png/1416901196903.jpg)
KENNETH CHANG Some think they can find poetry in a whisky glass, some the meaning of life. But one man in the US has found art and in turn has found another man who has found the science of the art. Cheers.
The 5:2 diet helps beat cancer and Alzheimer's, study finds
![The common eating pattern in modern societies, of three meals per day plus snacks, is actually “abnormal”.](/web/20141203030232im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/1/1/t/s/3/m/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.11ts30.png/1416947839456.jpg)
Tom Brooks-Pollock Fasting regimes such as the ‘5:2’ diet could help the body guard against diseases including cancer, diabetes and Alzheimer’s, according to a new study.
Australian therapy may boost survival of critical injuries
Nicky Phillips A new medical treatment developed by an Australian researcher could increase the chances of patients surviving critical injuries sustained on the battlefield or in rural and remote locations.
Canberra scientists scoop up Academy of Science awards
![ANU Associate Professor Kylie Catchpole has won the inaugural John Booker Medal in Engineering Science.](/web/20141203030232im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/1/1/s/w/m/c/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.11svyq.png/1416822924231.jpg)
Emma Kelly An engineering science researcher pioneering cheaper and more efficient solar energy is among nine Canberra scientists to score an Australian Academy of Sciences award.
Serial: murder, mystery and the science of memory
![Murder victim Hae Min Lee.](/web/20141203030232im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/1/1/s/x/f/4/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.11sxc9.png/1416917483301.jpg)
Amanda Barnier Can you recall what you were doing last Wednesday between 2.15pm and 2.36pm? Where were you? What did you see? Who did you talk to? How well do you remember those 21 minutes?
Report: Australia at risk from biosecurity threats
![Known threat: The varroa mite could severely hit European honey bee populations.](/web/20141203030232im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/h/v/9/e/c/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.11svme.png/1416869035265.jpg)
Bridie Smith A CSIRO report says Australia's biosecurity is at risk from "the efficiency era", which could hit the country's ability to protect itself from highly contagious human diseases and agricultural pests.