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

AUGUST 2007

FEATURES

Frontier Technologies for Brain Repair
Engineers, geneticists and neuroscientists are working together to understand the human brain and forge a future where brain repair is beyond science fiction. Christine Barry, Simon Koblar and David O’Carroll report.

Locusts, Cannibalism & Human Obesity
Steve Simpson explains how his basic research on the behaviour of locusts has surprising ramifications for understanding a worrying human epidemic.

The Future of Cars
Telematic devices in cars may soon enable parents to find out exactly where their children have taken the car, while drivers will be able to check the location of free parking spots or be warned of a traffic accident ahead and change routes. Stephen Luntz reports.

The Snake of Many Colours
David Wilson treks through the tropics to determine why juvenile green pythons change colour when they mature.

The Wollemi Pine’s Unusual Plumbing
Geoff Burrows and colleagues speculate that the Wollemi pine’s unusual branch plumbing may have been associate with its decline when the Australian continent dried out.

Turbulent Times for Fusion Energy
By reducing the turbulence of plasma, Michael Shats hopes to remove a major barrier to the development of efficient fusion reactors.

Sydney Harbour’s Seaweeds: A Deadly Diet for Sea Creatures
Some marine herbivores may be at risk of heavy metal pollution through a surprising pathway – the accumulation of pollutants in marine seaweeds. David Roberts, Alistair Poore and Emma Johnston report.

Success for Cervical Cancer Vaccine
Simon Grose reports that trials of a vaccine against human papillomavirus may also effectively guard against genital warts in men.

conSCIENCE

Putting People First for Science Success
Annabelle Duncan says that Australia needs high quality leaders who are trusted to nurture creative scientists and free them of pressures to deliver quick commercial “outcomes”.