APRIL 2004

The Secret Life of Mars
SIMON GROSE finds consensus and skepticism about evidence of life from a rock on Mars and a meteorite on Earth.

ET’s Postcode
Strict conditions must be met in order for complex life to emerge and prosper, but YESHE FENNER has discovered where to find the right conditions in the Milky Way.

Fang Fallacy
BRYAN GRIEG FRY traces the evolution of snake venom and finds that, despite the absence of fangs, many species sold as pets are not as harmless as they appear.

Gene's Crucial Role in Autoimmune Disease
ADRIAN LISTON identifies the gene that teaches the immune system to recognise organ-specific proteins, but can also cause diseases like diabetes.

Time's Almost Up for the Great Barrier Reef
OVE HOEGH-GULDBERG and HANS HOEGH-GULDBERG give the tourist icon 50 years to live.

Productive Wastewater Is Not a Contradiction
DANIEL WILLETT explains how natural biological processes can be harnessed to produce simple and inexpensive wastewater treatment technologies that could turn waste nutrients into profit.

Diary of an Antarctic Astronomer
In recent years Australasian Science has followed the lives of Australian astronomers spending the summer setting up tests to determine the best site for an Antarctic telescope. Here JOHN STOREY recounts some of his most recent adventures.

Mystery Meson Stretches the Laws of Particle Physics
CRAIG EVERTON explains how the discovery of a new subatomic particle is challenging our understanding of basic matter.

CSIRO in Bed with Tobacco Lobbyist (190kb PDF)
PETER POCKLEY questions why CSIRO has appointed a new Communications Director with a long record defending the tobacco industry.

Newspapers Give an Overly Optimistic Picture of Cancer Control
SIMON CHAPMAN and ETHEL OOI find that half of the cancer “breakthroughs” reported in a prominent Australian newspaper have not lived up to the hype.

Public Trust in Science and its Reporting
PETER BRIGGS addresses some of the questions of media coverage raised by Simon Chapman and Ethel Ooi’s study.

Write of Reply

Government Supports Chief Scientist and Renewable Energy Research
PETER MCGAURAN defends claims that the Chief Scientist has a conflict of interest.

conScience

Figures Fool When Fools Figure
NICK FISHER warns against believing Disraeli’s infamous quip about statistics, and urges a professional approach to its practice.

BROWSE

Call for Bioprospecting Controls

Star with Black Hole Envy

Ponds of Light

Amateur Confirms Theory of Supernovae

New Glass Keeps Out Bushfire Heat

A Watching Brief on Victoria’s Volcanoes

Rubber Vine Rubbed Out

Stealthy Approach to Breast Cancer

Bubble Danger to Shipping

Public Survey Confirms Biotechnology Backlash

Bee My Pollinator

Coral Crisis Looms on Great Barrier Reef

Stairway to Fish Heaven