2018
Hybridisation and the new frontier against spread of global pests
Global trade means global pests – not just in the way they spread but in the way they breed. Hybridisation of two moth species has now been confirmed, creating a fast-generating, pesticide-resistant mega pest which threatens broad-acre crops across the Americas. What’s next?
Raising hope out of ashes of the Tathra bushfire
Out of the ashes of the Tathra bushfire, and stories of heartbreaking loss and survival, a picture is emerging of how research is helping to save properties and improve bushfire outcomes.
Sharks and rays of PNG
A new field guide to the sharks and rays of Papua New Guinea is supporting sustainable use of its shark and ray resources.
Celebrating our flowering giants
Climbing up an 80 m tower is all in a day's work for some scientists. Read how they've been watching over Australia's defining flora - eucalypts - as part of our land ecosystem observatory.
Soils study key to tracing PFAS leaching
They’re one of the strongest bonds in chemistry and are not only unique in the way they can be used to fight fire, but unique in the way they leach through soils into the environment. A new paper suggests understanding first how PFAS chemicals behave in soils requires a large-scale soils study and, perhaps, a global research effort if we’re to work towards a solution.
How do you measure the environmental footprint of grazing cattle?
Meat consumption has been on the increase with improved standards of living and growing populations around the world. But how do you quantify the environmental cost of feeding the stock feeding that increase?
‘Intelligent control’ the key to grid-friendly solar
The economics of distributed energy has put Australia at the forefront of redesigning the electricity sector before most of the rest of the world. Just ask the residents of Yarrabilba.
Building a one-stop-shop for all our energy data needs
Australians go through more than 6,000 petajoules of energy every year to keep everything from their phones to their factories running. It’s a nice number for pub trivia, but if you’re a policy maker, researcher, or investor in our nation’s future energy demands, you’ll need something better than a back-of-the-envelope calculation. CSIRO’s Energy Use Data Model could soon come in handy.
‘Baseload’ power and what it means for the future of renewables
In the new world order of mixed-source energy, trusty baseload power is often misunderstood. It's not just a question of what baseload can do for renewables, but what renewables can do for baseload power.