Biology
Engineering plants for a sustainable future
University of Melbourne and AIST (Japan) researchers have discovered a way to modify plant cell walls to potentially produce greener materials like bioplastics.
The discovery shedding light on birth defects
University of Melbourne researchers have learned more about birth defects after uncovering the details of programmed cell death, or apoptosis, in embryos.
The chemical that tells plants when it’s time to sleep
Ethylene, the hormone responsible for fruit ripening, also helps regulate plants' circadian rhythms, University of Melbourne research has found.
Plants have feelings too
Plants' skin helps them adapt to their environment, meaning they can respond to challenges like high winds and rocky soil, says a University of Melbourne expert
Outbreak! Managing human pandemics
Virologist Eddie Holmes on how better biosecurity and surveillance give us a chance of containing still-inevitable viral and bacterial pandemics.
A stone, skip and a hop away from saving a bay
Scientists are using healthy reefs in Port Phillip Bay, Victoria, to help repair damaged ones via a mechanism known as population connectivity.
Planting the seeds of sovereignty
Two plants that were brought to Australia more than 100 years ago bred together. But instead of creating a new hybrid, one plant has taken over.
Seven Super Mums of the animal kingdom
From orang-utans to koalas, from octopuses to spiders, these mothers of the animal kingdom take mothering to the extreme.
Some newborns hit the ground running – and why others don’t
Giraffes start running with the herd the same day they are born but humans can take a year or more just to start walking. The answer is economic.
Go with the gut: Our symbiotic relationship with our intestinal bacteria
Chemist Spencer Williams talks to the Up Close podcast on rapidly emerging understandings of human microbiota, the microorganisms residing on and in our bodies.