Posts – Page 58 – ECOS

160 people who attended the The Cutting Edge Symposium on Synthetic Biology are pictured on the steps of the Australian War Memorial. The event was held in Canberra on 4–5 April 2016.

Symposium highlights Australia as a vibrant hub for synthetic biology

Biofactories, biosensors and beyond: new technologies are being inspired by nature. Synthetic biology is one of the most rapidly growing areas of modern science and there has been a groundswell of interest in Australia.

Dr Frank Reith (University of Adelaide) and Dr Barbara Etschmann (Monash University) collecting platinum nuggets in Brazil. Image: Prof Joël Brugger

Panning for platinum – the prospects are good

The search for the world’s rarest precious metal could get easier, thanks to bacteria.

Systematically addressing disaster resilience in Australia could save billions

The cost of replacing essential infrastructure damaged by disasters will reach an estimated $17 billion in the next 35 years. It is essential we systematically build disaster resilience in Australia.

Species everywhere are on the move

Plants and animals all over the world are redistributing and changing their behaviour in response to warming temperatures. Observing these changes tells us a lot about our changing climate.

Beating the eucalypt blues – new ways to model air quality

Australia is obliged to report on pollution levels. How we model these levels can be improved.

Queensland Coastline as seen from space shows the Great Barrier Reef and muddy water flowing from hte Burdekin River into the ocean.

Saving the Great Barrier Reef

The Great Barrier Reef is at risk from factors in and out of the water. Dr Christian Roth discusses what needs to change, and how, to save our reef.

Under water on the Great Barrier Reef showing coral and fish.

Sifting for solutions: how sediment analysis is improving reef health

Cattle, cane, cropping, coral. That’s the balance the Queensland ecosystem has to strike to help reduce sediment and improve Great Barrier Reef health.

Tourists look at a reef from on board a boat

Australians link identity to the Great Barrier Reef

The Great Barrier Reef is one of the world’s iconic ecosystems, but how important is it to Australians? Very, new surveys reveal.

Dust storm in a rural Australian setting.

Energy Futures in a Town Like Alice

Today’s energy systems will not be sufficient in 2050, and remote Australian communities are likely to bear the brunt. Scenarios workshops held in Alice Springs are helping design energy solutions for the future.

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