Science

Phillip Island’s little penguins once faced a crisis that threatened to erase much of their presence from the island. By the 1980s, nine of its 10 penguin colonies had disappeared, while the final colony on the Summerland Peninsula was also under pressure from introduced predators, habitat loss and human activity. According to Phillip Island Nature…

The restoration covers a disaster-affected area in Aek Haminjon Village, Arse District, South Tapanuli Regency. Image Credit: KONSERVASI Indonesia Indonesia is restoring 159 hectares of land damaged by floods and landslides in the Batang Toru ecosystem of North Sumatra, an area that provides habitat for the critically endangered Tapanuli orangutan. The restoration is centred on…

At 13, Kelvin Doe was searching through piles of discarded materials in Freetown for things most people would have left behind. Acid, soda, scrap metal and broken components became part of a series of homemade experiments that gradually moved from a battery to a generator and then a transmitter. The teenager had no conventional electronics…

Turuépano National Park. Image Credit: Wikipedia Guyana’s mangrove restoration programme planted more than 500,000 seedlings along 8 km of coastline, and a study published in Restoration Ecology has found that restored forests aged between 5 and 11 years were already supporting fish communities similar to those in natural mangroves. Researchers compared restored and naturally regenerated…

The eDNA autosampler to monitor for invasive aquatic species. Image Credit: CPR/USGS The Colorado River is getting a new line of defence against invasive species, with a $29,595 environmental DNA autosampler being used to search for traces of unwanted fish and other aquatic threats. Instead of waiting to catch an invasive animal, the machine collects…

A rare olive ridley sea turtle has laid eggs on a Southern California beach for the first time in recorded history. (Photo: NOAA) An olive ridley sea turtle has laid eggs on a beach in Southern California for the first time in recorded history, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The rare…

Scientists have grown microscopic algae aboard the International Space Station to investigate how spaceflight affects their genetic stability. Space Algae-1 grew ultraviolet light-mutagenised Chlamydomonas reinhardtii in the ISS VEGGIE plant growth chamber for approximately 40 mitotic generations over one month. Whole-genome sequencing of pooled cell samples collected every 10 generations found that the spaceflight cultures…

At 17, California student Cavon Hajimiri has developed a wearable device designed to warn pedestrians about vehicles approaching from behind. Called Hindsight, the invention uses radar technology to detect potential hazards and alert users through sounds and vibrations. Hajimiri, a student at Polytechnic School in Pasadena, began working on the project after experiencing several close…

Hugh Jackman. Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons Hugh Jackman has backed a major Australian wildlife conservation campaign after making a surprise video appearance at the inaugural Koala Gala organised by the Southern Highlands Wildlife Sanctuary(SHWS). The event marked the public launch of a fundraising drive focused on protecting wildlife habitat, expanding research and creating new conservation…

Sanat Pandit, the Ann Arbor sixth-grader whose $300 firefighting drone extinguished 18 of 20 outdoor test fires (Image Credit: Society For Science) A sixth-grader from Ann Arbor, Michigan, has developed a low-cost firefighting drone designed to help tackle one of the most dangerous challenges faced by firefighters: reaching and suppressing fires without putting people directly…