It’s the time of the month once more, when we look back and and remind ourselves of July’s wonderful variety of science and technology stories, covering space, technology, health, environment, education, and more. I hope you’ll enjoy these stories.

Until next month’s Australian Science review, stay curious and scientifically passionate.

Australia’s evolving drug landscape by Charles Ebikeme

Last month, the Australian Parliament was debating a bill on patent law and public health called the Intellectual Property Laws Amendment Bill 2013. It is said that the legislation gives Australian governments greater powers to exploit patents without authorisation from the patent owner via stronger provisions for Crown use and compulsory licensing. Perhaps something more along the lines of what Thailand enacted in 2007. Thailand played the global system to their advantage, exploiting a clause in the 1995 World Trade Organisation agreement on intellectual property that gives governments a large amount of freedom to bypass patents on drugs if they face any kind of health crisis. Read more>>

Are Australians Really Getting Dumber? by Magdeline Lum

The Australian Academy of Science has found that when it comes to science Australians are getting dumber in its latest report on science literacy. Compared to three years ago, less people in Australia know that the Earth’s orbit of the sun takes one year. Among 18-24 year olds 62% surveyed knew the correct answer, a fall from 74% three years ago. Other results would also send scientists into a tail spin of despair, with 27% of respondents saying that the earliest humans lived at the same time as dinosaurs, though an improvement from 30% of respondents in 2010 who thought this.

What does this all say? If you take the face value of the press release and the ensuing media coverage, Australians are getting dumber.  I’m a scientist who dedicates a significant proportion of time to science outreach activities and announcements like this get sent my way. They get sent my way not because I moonlight as a science journalist but because people genuinely want to know what I think and feel about such a survey. Read more>>

  Could Australian Terrain Help Train Future Mars Explorers? by Elizabeth Howell

How do you rehearse for a Martian space trip? Simulations can only bring astronauts so far when they’re figuring out a mission. A typical person training for the International Space Station can expect a combination of classroom work, spacewalk rehearsals in the water, and robotic arm training using articles that are very close to the real deal. Exploring another world is a complex problem yet again. Astronauts in the Apollo mission received hundreds of hours in geology training, for example, and flew to areas ranging from Meteor Crater in Arizona to the site of a huge crater in Sudbury, Ont. Read more>>

Pluto’s new moons named: Spock still homeless by Kevin Orrman-Rossiter

The dwarf planet, Pluto, can still generate plenty of public interest – if the naming of its two recently discovered moons is anything to go by. After their discovery, the leader of the research team, Mark Showalter, called for a public vote to suggest names for the two objects. The on-line contest, aptly named ‘Pluto Rocks!‘, concluded with Vulcan as the outright favorite, after aWilliam Shatner led push by Star Trek fans. The names Cerberus and Styx ranking second and third respectively.  The International Astronomical Union (IAU) has announced that the names Kerberos and Styx have officially been recognised for these fourth and fifth moons of Pluto. A decision that is probably correct, even if it proves not to be the most popular. Read more>>

Talking Carbon, Talking Solutions – Australians Want Action by Kelly Burnes

The issues of climate change and carbon pricing have been caught in a purgatorial pinball game over the past 12 months. No wonder there is confusion, doubt and general misunderstanding on climate change among the populace considering the political battle lines drawn between parties in state houses, parliament buildings and capitols worldwide. But a recent study put forth by The Climate Institute, titled Climate of the Nation 2013: Australian attitudes on climate change, seeks to elevate the dialogue. The authors of the report actually talked to people to get their views on climate change. They asked questions, they listened and they documented the responses. Perhaps politicians could add that tactic to their constituent playbook. Read more>>

 Pacific plant could be good news for anxiety sufferers by Markus Hammonds

A clinical study on kava, a Pacific plant, has found that it has properties which could be extremely useful in treating the symptoms of anxiety. The plant has been used recreationally in Pacific societies, in places like Polynesia and Hawaii, for a long time but this is apparently the first proper clinical study of the plant.

Now, I must admit, I’m writing this story because I have some anecdotal experience with kava (piper methysticum) myself. Simply, I’ve been an insomniac on and off for most of my adult life. It can be an inconvenience, but I mostly have it under control. Read more>>

‘Rockin’ it and learning and the same time’ by Danielle Spencer

“Theory in science gets tricky.

This month, we’d like to welcome our new writer Elizabeth Howell, who’s brought us some fascinating contributions about space and astronomy. She joins us for another month filled with a plethora of interesting things! A wonderful variety of science and technology stories, covering astronomy, education, technology, health, environmental, and more.

Stay curious and scientifically passionate and innovative!

For those interested in science blogging and contributing to Australian Science – contact us and check out the Editor’s note.

From fables to Facebook: Why do we tell stories? by Lauren Fuge

Throughout human history, stories have existed across all cultures in all forms, from ballads, poems, songs to oral history, plays, novels. Some narratives have evolved along with the human species—we are consistently drawn back to ancient parables, fables and fairytales, constantly reworking them into modern contexts.

Narrative is a gift unique to the human species, but how as it survived for so long? Is it a by-product of evolution or essential to survival? What drove us to painstakingly inscribe portraits on rocky walls in ochre and charcoal, to compose and listen to lengthy ballads of heroes’ tales, to nosily read people’s Facebook statuses about their day, to devour novels and films like we’re hungry for fictional worlds? Read more>>

 

Could The Next Australian In Space Be A Paying Tourist? by Elizabeth Howell

A flurry of press articles went out this week after NASA announced its eight new astronaut candidates. The agency touted these people, who range from doctors to fighter pilots, as a generation of astronauts that will at last be trained for missions beyond Earth’s orbit. The agency is eyeing the moon, and Mars, as eventual destinations for astronauts in the coming decades. The long-term plan for NASA keeps shifting every few years, but right now it is embracing a sort of “flexible destination

It is time to recount April’s highlights, the most read and interesting articles from the month in the fields of science, education, internet technologies, space, and among others.

If you are interested in science blogging and contributing to Australian Science – contact us and check out the Editor’s note.

Until next month’s review,  stay curious, scientifically and artistically passionate. I hope you’ll enjoy these stories.

A Supernova Post-Mortem in Radio Waves by Markus Hammonds

Supernova which are close enough to see with the naked eye are rare beasts. This was, and still is, the only one close enough and visible enough to see properly with modern telescopes, giving us some of the best information we’ve ever had about how an exploding supernova interacts with the dusty interstellar clouds which surround it.

The latest observations of this literally awesome event come courtesy of a team of astronomers working in Australia and Hong Kong, led by Giovanna Zanardo at the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR). Using CSIRO’s Australia Telescope Compact Array in New South Wales, the researchers have published the highest resolution images of the stellar explosion’s aftermath ever taken. More>>

The CO2 Bargaining Business by Kelly Burnes

Does anyone think this 2-degree goal is achievable? You know, that we can keep global temperatures from increasing 2°C? It’s time to admit that it cannot be. It’s time to set new goals. Goals not based on single-digit bargaining at the next climate convention. Some of the world’s nations agreed to limiting global warming to 2°C (3.6°F) over pre-industrial temperature levels four years ago; a voluntary goal. Our approach to tackling climate change has been to put, what seems to be, arbitrary limits on CO₂ emissions while not seeking to take accountability for the issues causing those emissions. This goes for both the developed world and the emerging market economies. More>>

New light on dark matter: space station magnet attracts praise by Kevin Orrman-Rossiter

The visible matter in the universe, such as you, me, the stars and planets, adds up to less than 5% of the universe. The other 95% is dark, either dark matter or dark energy. Dark matter can be observed indirectly through its interaction with visible matter but has yet to be directly detected.

Cosmic rays are charged high-energy particles that permeate space. The AMS is designed to study them before they have a chance to interact with Earth’s atmosphere. An excess of antimatter within the cosmic rays has been observed in two recent experiments – and these were labelled as “tantalising hints

Another month behind us with plenty of interesting and intriguing articles written by Australian Science authors, bloggers, and researchers, and it is time to recapitulate the most read stories and share them with you. I hope you’ll enjoy these articles.

Note: If you are interested in science blogging and contributing to Australian Science – contact us and check out the Editor’s note.

Combating the rise of the superbugs: The health and scientific challenges of antibiotic resistance by David Borradale

It’s hard to imagine the world prior to antibiotics, a world where even a deep laceration could frequently spell significant illness or even death due to infection. Thankfully, since the discovery of penicillin in 1929 by Alexander Fleming, we now have a range of potent antibiotics to treat many of the various types of bacterial infection.

There is a problem though, bacteria are great survivors and have been competing against other bacteria and microorganisms for billions of years. As  Professor Matt Cooper from the University of Queensland  puts it “Billions of years ago, bacterial species were engaged in an arms race against each other and the chemicals they developed to kill one another have been modified into today’s antibiotics