August 2005

FEATURES

Lying Down to Think on your Feet
Darren Lipnicki reports that you’re more likely to have a “Eureka” moment if you lie down.

Biological Enhancement:
The Moral Imperative
Julian Savulescu says that we have an ethical responsibility to pursue controversial new technologies such as cloning and stem cell research.

I Read It on the Internet
Stephen Luntz finds that unreliable information on the internet is leading people in positions of trust astray.

Sharks as Lifesavers
Stewart Nuttall describes how a unique type of antibody from sharks may lead to future human therapeutics.

Digging for DNA Diamonds
Bread wheat has three genomes that have defied efforts to cross-breed it with its wild relatives, but Jason Able’s search for the genes that control DNA recombination and chromosome pairing may overcome this obstacle.

New Life for Urban Streams
Chris Walsh looks at new engineering approaches to stormwater drainage and how they may be the saviour of our ailing urban streams.

Wind Energy: A Waking Giant
Dominique La Fontaine addresses the potential for one of Australia’s most plentiful clean energy resources.

Ecological Footprints Pose Hard Questions
Lord Robert May draws a deeply troubling picture of the imprint of humanity on Earth.

The Mystery of the Blue Frog Explained
Andrew Parker looks inside the skin of a green Australian tree frog to see why First Fleet scientist John White described it as blue.

CSIRO “Moving Forward”
But Where To? (355 kb PDF)
After a 12-month stand-off following their publicised ban on Australasian Science, CSIRO’s top two bosses agreed to an interview with Peter Pockley, who had found himself at the centre of debate in Senate Estimates in February.

conSCIENCE

Car Glut Threatens the
Sustainability of Cities
We are starting to save water, use better building materials and manage waste more efficiently, but transport needs heroic national goals and funding according to Peter Newman.