"Pathogen hunters": citizen scientists track plant diseases to save species

Apr 10, 2017 13:42 pm UTC| Science

Plant diseases threaten food security and sustainability. They affect ecosystems and change natural environments. They cost money, too. An enormous amount is spent globally each year to control these diseases; the damage...

Space Science Series

Exoplanet discovery by an amateur astronomer shows the power of citizen science

Apr 08, 2017 06:09 am UTC| Insights & Views Science

You dont need to be a professional astronomer to find new worlds orbiting distant stars. Darwin mechanic and amateur astronomer Andrew Grey this week helped to discover a new exoplanet system with at least four orbiting...

Renowned Physicist Stephen Hawking Becomes A Hologram, Warns Against Wilful Ignorance

Apr 01, 2017 05:19 am UTC| Science Technology

Professor Stephen Hawking has got to be the single most famous physicist in the world and he recently appeared as a hologram in Hong Kong. Aside from answering a few questions about various topics in his field, the famed...

The seven deadly sins of statistical misinterpretation, and how to avoid them

Mar 30, 2017 05:19 am UTC| Insights & Views Science

Statistics is a useful tool for understanding the patterns in the world around us. But our intuition often lets us down when it comes to interpreting those patterns. In this series we look at some of the common mistakes we...

Momentum isn't magic – vindicating the hot hand with the mathematics of streaks

Mar 28, 2017 11:33 am UTC| Science

Its NCAA basketball tournament season, known for its magical moments and the March Madness it can produce. Many fans remember Stephen Currys superhuman 2008 performance where he led underdog Davidson College to victory...

Space Science Series

Something big exploded in a galaxy far, far away: what was it?

Mar 27, 2017 16:24 pm UTC| Insights & Views Science

At 10:49pm Western Australian time on February 2 this year, cosmic gamma rays hit the NASA satellite, Swift, orbiting the Earth. Within seconds of the detection, an alert was automatically sent to the University of WAs...

Green chemistry is key to reducing waste and improving sustainablity

Mar 27, 2017 16:17 pm UTC| Insights & Views Science

The development and evolution of the chemical industry is directly responsible for many of the technological advancements that have emerged since the late 19th century. However, it was not until the 1980s that the...