
What science can tell us about the 'world's largest sapphire'
Jan 07, 2016 01:27 am UTC| Science
The Star of Adam, recently found in a mine in Sri Lanka, is believed to be the biggest sapphire ever discovered. It weighs in at over 1,404 carats, thats around 280g or just under ten ounces. But what do we know about the...
The trouble with taking biometric technology into schools
Jan 06, 2016 15:08 pm UTC| Science
More usually criticised for their conservative approach to technology, schools are becoming proving grounds for some of the latest biometrics and portable biomedical engineering devices. Or so it would appear, with St...

Designer nights out: good urban planning reduces drunken violence
Jan 06, 2016 03:31 am UTC| Science
Tragically, another young life has been lost in an alleged one-punch assault, this time in Brisbanes Fortitude Valley. These assaults are frightening occurrences in themselves, but also they pose much deeper questions...

Plastics of the future may be made from sulfur, not oil, putting waste to good use
Jan 05, 2016 15:02 pm UTC| Insights & Views Science
What has chemistry ever done for me, you might ask? Just as Dustin Hoffman was told by one of his would-be mentors in The Graduate, one answer is plastics one of the greatest chemical innovations of the 20th...
The race to find even more new elements to add to the periodic table
Jan 05, 2016 07:25 am UTC| Science
In an event likely never to be repeated, four new superheavy elements were last week simultaneously added to the periodic table. To add four in one go is quite an achievement but the race to find more is ongoing. Back...
Space in 2015 was out of this world
Dec 24, 2015 23:55 pm UTC| Science
This was a golden year for planetary exploration thanks to all of the NASA and European Space Agency missions that were planned and implemented decades ago. Not since Apollo and the epic space race of the Cold War has...
What can science tell us about the Star of Bethlehem?
Dec 23, 2015 21:55 pm UTC| Science
During winter it can sometimes feel that the whole day passes in the blink of an eye and that evening darkness comes far too quickly. While more daylight would be a lovely thing, the early darkness has one big advantage:...