Australasian Science Magazine - the only monthly magazine dedicated to Australian and New Zealand science

March 2007

FEATURES

Ice Age Cold Case
Matt Cupper says that humans have been wrongfully blamed for the deaths of the giant marsupials at a key Australian fossil site. Instead he argues that it is likely the animals died of starvation during an Ice Age drought.

Megafauna Theory Faces Extinction
John Long describes new evidence indicating that humans, not climate change, were responsible for the extinction of Australia’s ancient megafauna.

Krill Kill
Antarctic krill are at the bottom of the food chain, so their survival is of crucial importance to other species. Susan Bengston Nash is exploring a possible link between declining biomass of the species and chemical pollutants.

Diamonds Forever
Craig O’Neill says that new knowledge about how diamonds form could lead prospectors to the next generation of “monster-sized” mines.

How Cancer Cells Take Control
Research into the causes of cancer has entered another level. Susan Clark and Branwen Morgan explain how cancer is about more than what’s in our genes.

DNA Replication Unzipped
Patrick Schaeffer describes how research revealing the last step involved in copying DNA in cells before they divide will deliver new tools for the biotech and nanotech industries.

Taming a Wild Radish
Ed Newbigin describes efforts to develop a contraceptive to stem the proliferation of one of Australia’s most important weeds.

The Little Rocket that Could
Australia’s notable contributions to space science are being held back by a lack of government leadership, according to Senator Natasha Stott Despoja.

Australia’s Water Crisis
Robert White says that water management in Australia has been a national scandal for which no government, state or federal, can be absolved from blame.

Federation Fellows Face Shake-Up
Five years since the scheme was launched to lure Australia’s brightest expatirate scientists back to our shores, moves are afoot to reduce the number of Federation Fellowships awarded each year. Simon Grose reports.

conSCIENCE

Ant Invasions Expose Exodus of Expert Entomologists
Invasive ants present a significant threat to Australia’s native ecosystems. Kirsti Abbott believes that Australia lacks a cohesive national strategy for research and management that links the environmental impacts of ants with agricultural, social and economic issues.