‘It’s in your genes’:What can we learn from our DNA?
Explainer
Genetics

‘It’s in your genes’:What can we learn from our DNA?

Did we really inherit that singing voice? What about our maths brain? Some of the answers are in our DNA – but how much can scientists actually tell?

  • byJackson Graham

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The weight of evidence against shift work is getting hefty
Exclusive
Sleep

The weight of evidence against shift work is getting hefty

New research out of Monash University has added to the evidence suggesting shift work can harm your health. So,can we be doing things better? Should we stop non-essential shift work altogether?

  • byAisha Dow
‘Fighting the invisible’:Brisbane lab on hunt for plastic in human brains

‘Fighting the invisible’:Brisbane lab on hunt for plastic in human brains

A metal chamber in a metal room in a sealed Brisbane lab contains one of the rarest things on earth – a plastic-free space. And it’s being used to detect toxic trespassers.

  • byTracey Ferrier
Tongues covered in teeth. Eggs like corkscrews. The secret lives of beach creatures revealed
Explainer
Science

Tongues covered in teeth. Eggs like corkscrews. The secret lives of beach creatures revealed

A beach is a borderland where marine life survives the best way it can. We take a walk on the sandy wild side.

  • byLiam Mannix
Bees stung by genetics as lifespan halves,says study

Bees stung by genetics as lifespan halves,says study

Since the mid-2000s,beekeepers have reported huge numbers of honey bees disappearing from hives. Pesticides were named as one cause,but there may be more.

  • bySarah Knapton
Scientists reveal why African elephants’ faces are so expressive

Scientists reveal why African elephants’ faces are so expressive

The species has the highest number of facial neurons of any land-dwelling mammal,allowing them to flick their ears and perform intricate manoeuvres with their trunks.

  • bySarah Knapton
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We now know toads get the flu. Can study protect other animals from ‘croaking’?

We now know toads get the flu. Can study protect other animals from ‘croaking’?

UNSW researchers went looking for what makes reptiles and amphibians sick. What they found shocked them.

  • byStuart Layt
Right or left tentacled? Octopuses use a favoured limb to hunt

Right or left tentacled? Octopuses use a favoured limb to hunt

Researchers have found two-spot octopuses always use the second tentacle from the middle of their body to launch an attack.

‘Happy tears’:Study finds dogs can cry when reunited with owners

‘Happy tears’:Study finds dogs can cry when reunited with owners

Man’s best friend produces oxytocin,the cuddle hormone,which causes feelings of love and affection after separation from humans.

  • byJoe Pinkstone
Medical breakthrough converts organ to universal blood type for transplants

Medical breakthrough converts organ to universal blood type for transplants

The blood type of a human kidney has been changed for the first time,helping to drastically reduce the amount of time many people wait for a transplant.

  • byJoe Pinkston
So you hate cats? It turns out they like that

So you hate cats? It turns out they like that

Study reveals that felines are more likely to be attracted to people who are less interested in them.

  • byJoe Pinkstone