Mars may not be a potato-growing utopia after all
New research suggests that survival of any life on Mars — much less potatoes and potato-growing humans — might be more difficult than we thought. I blame Matt Damon.
Latest science news
US vice president Mike Pence defies NASA's 'DO NOT TOUCH' sign
It was the sort of photo that screamed 'caption competition', and the internet was happy to oblige.
Byron Bay to get world's first solar-powered train
A coal baron is delivering the world's first solar train to Australia.
Common weed killer makes toad tadpoles 'beef up' their poison
A common weed killer is making toad tadpoles "beef up" their weaponry, a study has found.
We need to talk about sex, robot experts say
Artificial intelligence is making its way into the global sex market, bringing with it a revolution in robotic "sex tech".
500-year-old Aztec tower of skulls unearthed
A rack of human skulls that towered over one corner of an Aztec temple terrified the Spanish conquistadors.
Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson questions whether Q&A; shows Australia at its rational best
"Are you sure Australia is completely rational?" asks Neil deGrasse Tyson, one of the world's best-known astrophysicists.Â
Sydney Observatory wants Australia's first urban dark sky park
Sydney Observatory wants a park dedicated to the night sky.
Rare bones bring stampede of dinosaur experts to tiny Qld town
"It's turned out to be one of the best sauropod skeletons I've ever seen in the whole country."
Decoding the mystery of the Sun's violent plasma eruptions
Spiky bursts of plasma called spicules swirl around the surface of the sun. Millions erupt every moment, spurting solar material some 6,000 miles high at speeds of about 60 miles per second.
Ever wonder why eggs are shaped like eggs?
Why bird eggs have so many different shapes has interested scientists, mathematicians and even famous philosophers for centuries - but a new report claims to have made a breakthrough.
Flat battery woes for an Australian space project
Australia has made its first successful foray into space in 15 years with the launch of the INSPIRE-2.
Stephen Hawking calls for a return to the moon as Earth's clock runs out
Humans are overdue for a return trip to the moon, Stephen Hawking has just opined.
The 400-year-old maths problem your greengrocer worked out ages ago
How to stack oranges: it's something that every greengrocer knows but it has eluded some of the greatest minds in mathematics.
Physicists fear ominous silence from Large Hadron Collider
The world's biggest and most expensive time machine is running again, but a cloud is hanging over the physics community.
When will my child outsmart a chimp?
Australian scientists discover it takes a few years for children to out-think our hairier cousins.
Acupuncture as useful as painkillers in emergency departments: Study
Getting jabbed with tiny needles can be as effective as taking painkillers when it comes to treating back pain or a sprained ankle.
Killing a plate of glowing red bacteria could be next step in finding new cure for tuberculosis
A plate of glowing red bacteria holds the key to taking the first step in finding a new cure for the biggest infectious killer in the world.
Melbourne in for a hairy ride when Bug Lab's creepy crawlies take over
The Bug Lab exhibition, which opens in Melbourne on June 23, shows off the skills that insects and spiders use every day, from mind control to swarm intelligence and precision flight. Even the "bugnostic" will be swayed.
Deep sea trawl finds never seen fish, shortarse feelerfish
Scientists have plucked some unknown species from depths of the abyss off Australia's east coast.