Issue 298 – Eyes on the environment

Sweet opportunity for Australian exotic mushroom growers

Queensland’s sugar cane industry already produces around 95% of Australia’s sugar – but thanks to a new collaboration facilitated by CSIRO, it’s also fertile ground for home-grown exotic Asian mushrooms.

3. Sebstainable Directors Tawab Frahmand and Vladimir Finn

Solving the polystyrene problem with science

Our scientists are working on a ground-breaking portable device to upcycle polystyrene into high-value raw materials with zero waste.

Tops of cooling towers of atomic power plant. Image by Shutterstock.

Radioactive waste isn’t going away. We’ve found a new way to trap it in minerals for long-term storage

Our new and safer way to capture and store radioactive waste can be applied world-wide

The Totten Glacier with blue sky and ocean.

Unravelling ENSO mysteries on ice

A new study reveals that projected changes in the tropical Pacific can influence the Southern Ocean: specifically, an increasingly stronger El Niño may accelerate the melting of Antarctica's ice shelves and ice sheets.

Underwater view of a reef looking up toward sunlight.

Revolutionising environmental monitoring using eDNA

Environmental DNA (eDNA) is a game-changer for monitoring biodiversity. New Australian/New Zealand guidelines for working with eDNA will support end-users taking up this exciting technology.

A group of scientists walking alongside a canal.

The scientist helping Australia and India tackle common water quality challenges

CSIRO environmental toxicologist Dr Anu Kumar is leading a project tracking pollutants in the Ganges.