Nov
17
2017
The first woman to lead Australia’s foreign affairs department, Frances Adamson has been in charge of Australia’s occasionally difficult relations with the world since August last year. The 56-year-old South Australian has spent her career swimming in deep international waters and keeping her head above party politics – even though she has worked closely with …read more
Feb
23
2017
A swarm of shoe-box sized satellites is scheduled to begin the first stage of a historic journey into space on March 19, when the Atlas V rocket blasts off from Cape Canaveral with the tiny satellites on board, along with NASA equipment and supplies destined for the International Space Station.
Dec
3
2016
A mosquito bit Emma Shaw on her shoulder in the middle of March this year. From that moment her life plunged into months of misery and pain. Her kids had to miss school for weeks on end because she couldn’t drive them into town. Once supremely fit and a regular 100-lap swimmer, suddenly Emma couldn’t …read more
Oct
21
2016
The Zika virus is far more prevalent in Southeast Asia than many nations are willing to admit, according to a leading Australian scientist. Scott O’Neill, dean of science at Monash University in Melbourne, said Asian nations might be in denial regarding concerns that Zika could threaten their tourism revenue.
Oct
12
2016
A multi-pronged campaign to control feral cat numbers is underway in Australia, with the commercial rollout of a new poison bait in coming months, the development of more sophisticated trapping devices, and the increasing use of dogs to both guard vulnerable native animal populations and to hunt down the felines.
Sep
5
2014
The current outbreak of dengue fever in central Tokyo underscores recent World Health Organisation warnings that climate change is increasingly extending the range of potentially fatal tropical diseases like malaria and dengue. Dr Rabindra Abeyasinghe, a World Health Organisation entomologist based in the Philippines, told the Nikkei Asian Review that global warming is continuing to …read more
May
10
2014
Hungry mosquitos float out into the steamy air as soon as Sularto snaps open the container lid. Blowing the insects gently on their way, as gently as he might blow on a spoonful of hot soup, the stocky Indonesian waits for a minute before hitching his denim bag more securely onto his shoulder and setting …read more
Apr
25
2014
An often fatal respiratory virus has made the leap from the Middle East to south-east Asia, spurring governments across the region to swing into action to contain the disease. The Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, or MERS, has similar characteristics to the SARS virus that emerged in China a decade ago, killing 750 people and bringing …read more