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island

Islands are engines of linguistic diversity, study shows

Islands drive language change and generate language diversity in similar ways to how they drive species diversity, according to new research from ANU that analysed languages from over 13,000 inhabited islands.

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Two parrots.
Friday, 11 Dec 2020
  • News

New research has shown just how picky the iconic superb parrot is about the types of tree hollows they nest in, with the discovery potentially key to protecting the threatened species.

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Side of building at dusk.
Wednesday, 09 Dec 2020
  • Analysis and opinion

Scientists hope samples of asteroid Ryugu may reveal traces of the chemical ingredients that formed life on Earth.

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Green python in a tree
Thursday, 03 Dec 2020
  • News

Pythons first arrived in Australia from Asia around 23 million years ago and then adapted to their new home by becoming incredibly diverse, according to new research.

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Wednesday, 02 Dec 2020
  • News

There could be fewer than 300 swift parrots left in the wild, according to new research.

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Aerial view of landscaping with amphitheatre.
Tuesday, 01 Dec 2020
  • Analysis and opinion

Unlike our hellish neighbour Venus, Earth was far enough from the Sun for liquid water to form and create a more hospitable environment for life.

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Steve Madden in physics laboratory showing laser research.
Monday, 30 Nov 2020
  • News

Professor Steve Madden has taken out one of Australia's top scientific honours.

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Woman holding a diagram
Tuesday, 24 Nov 2020
  • Research story

"I'm going to listen to the gynaecologists, I'm going to listen to the hysterectomy patients."

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Aerial view of Kambri showing creek, buildings and trees.
Tuesday, 24 Nov 2020
  • Analysis and opinion

Ancient fatty molecules, once believed to be traces of some of the first animals to live on Earth, may have been produced by algae instead.

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Xingshuo Huang holds a diamond anvil  used to make diamonds in the lab
Thursday, 19 Nov 2020
  • News

An international team of scientists has defied nature to make diamonds in minutes in a laboratory at room temperature - a process that normally requires billions of years, huge amounts of pressure and super-hot temperatures.

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