APRIL 2001

FEATURES

Spacewalker
Last month NASA astronaut Andy Thomas embarked on his first spacewalk, the first by an Australian citizen. He talks to Jennifer Laing about the challenges of the mission.

3-D Sound
Virginia Best and André van Schaik describe the potential for 3-D headphones in virtual reality, cockpit displays and as a navigational aid for the blind.

Sushi, Fish & Parasites
Farming yellowtail in Japan is big business and cultivation of the closely related kingfish in South Australia is rapidly emerging as a local industry. But parasites can affect productivity, and solving parasite problems is important in this rapidly growing industry, write Ian Whittington, Ingo Ernst, Serge Corneillie and Clive Talbot.

Bleeding Babies
Christopher Marquis, Stephen Mahler, Helen Pearson and Shane Baracho describe efforts to diagnose and treat a disease that turns a mother against her unborn child.

Why Can’t I Tickle Myself?
John Bradshaw says that a good look in the mirror can explain the answer.

Farming the Future
Clive Hamilton and Richard Denniss discuss the implications of Europe’s foot-and-mouth outbreak for Australian agriculture.

dot.con
When Guy Nolch investigated Internet fraud for Australasian Science he didn’t realise he would thwart an illegal bid to raise $4.2 million from online investors.

Online University Caught in Web of Deceit
An investigation by Peter Lewis Young finds that not all university courses offered online have the educational qualifications they claim.

BIOSPHERE

Planet Bombed by Galloping Consumption
Peter Pockley witnessed the launch of a missile against environmental complacency.

Never Smile at a Crocodile
When Guy Nolch went swimming with crocodiles he found that they are not very efficient killers.

INSIGHT

The Games of the First Genomiad
Peter Pockley saw the captains of two intensely competitive teams acknowledge equal first place for gold in sequencing the human genome.

Biotech Follows the IT Model
Simon Grose says that the biotech industry is experiencing growing pains as market forces rule over scientific integrity.

BOOKS

Dangerous Australian Animals: Sydney Funnel-Web Spider
Struan Sutherland and Guy Nolch profile a deadly spider in an extract from their book, Dangerous Australian Animals.  

UPDATE

Shudders over USA Funding to be Felt in Australia

Andy Walks “On Top Of The World”

A Meeting of Indigenous and Western Science

Star Formation “Spreads Like a Bushfire”

The Oldest Stars

Yanks Fund Aussies in Search for Colliding Asteroids

Clinical Trials Advocated

Forensics Put the Bite on Crime

Race to Bid for Research Facilities

Lava Flows Caused Mass Extinction

New Zealand’s Rocky Relationship with Queensland

Water with Free Sex Change
 

BRIEFS

New Australian Research Council

Hormone Replacement for Adelaide

Intellectual Property Training on the Web

Needle Drips Instead of Pricks

Punching Holes in Disease

Solar-powered Market

Mind Switch in London Science Museum

Myxomatosis Vaccine

Australians Win Trip to Mars

Forecasters Map Safe Flight Route