Latest Posts – Page 81 – CSIROscope

Why are insects dying in such numbers?

A research review of 73 existing surveys, released by the University of Sydney's Institute of Agriculture, discovered that 40 per cent of insect species will likely be in catastrophic decline within a century. So what's going on?

Marine diatom Thalassiosira

Australia’s microbiome on the map

Australia’s microbiome is a hidden world of bacteria, fungi and archaea. We’ve mapped what’s where. Now we want to find out what it does.

Students standing around spring with fish and yabbies.

How traditional ecological knowledge explains science to school students

Areyonga School may only have 35 students, but they're at the forefront of engaging students by combining traditional Indigenous knowledge with Western science.

Two cattle in a pen.

Feeding seaweed to cows: Our livestock methane research lights up

We’re feeding seaweed to cows to help reduce methane emissions in livestock, and to secure the sustainability and profitability of the livestock sector.

Detecting the ‘drop dead’ drug—fentanyl

Fentanyl is 50–100 times more powerful than morphine, and it's fuelling a spike in overdose deaths in Australia. We've created a new way to detect this drug.

Gold does grow on trees

Our geochemical sampling technique is helping mineral exploration companies hone in on new targets for their next big discoveries.

Can synthetic biology usher in the next generation of anti-doping measures?

In an age where banned substances are becoming increasingly harder to detect, we are in sore need of new detection methods. Enter synthetic biology.

Indigenous Gurung man from Nepal on a wire collecting honey from a cliff

People power for the pollinators

Conservation science has often neglected cultural knowledge systems, values and approaches. A recent global study has found that people, such as Indigenous communities, are essential to conserving the pollinators that maintain and protect biodiversity, agriculture and habitat.

Anu Choudhary

Science is in the genes, for our award-winning geneticist

Can you inherit a love of science? How do you make a weed less 'weedy'? What do these questions have to do with each other? There's only one way to find out.

Past Antarctic air informs our future

Air bubbles trapped deep under Antarctic ice are helping us understand the impact that increasing emissions might have on a naturally occurring ‘air purifier’.

The pest is history! Put your knowledge to the test

Do you know your rabbits from your 'river rabbits'? What does lantana look like? Take our biocontrol quiz and put your pesty knowledge to the test!

Smut on wandering trad

Smut to the rescue

Our scientists are releasing a smut fungus. It's a new biocontrol for a weed called wandering trad, which is smothering our forests and clogging waterways.