NASA has confirmed that Voyager 2 has joined its twin to become only the second spacecraft to enter interstellar space – where the Sun’s flow of material and magnetic field no longer affect its surroundings. Voyager 2 carries a golden record with images, music and information about planet Earth and its inhabitants. It’s a message in a bottle thrown into a vast cosmic ocean. And we're playing a vital role in its mission: because of their location in the Southern Hemisphere and large antennas, the Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex and our Parkes radio telescope are the only facilities in the world that can contact the spacecraft. Where to next in this interstellar journey?
Globally, the Grey Nurse Shark is listed as vulnerable. Two populations exist in Australia, in the east and in the west. Our scientists are playing a key role to derive a population estimate for the eastern population to assist ongoing management and recovery of the species, and determine if protective measures are working. Thankfully, our innovative genetic testing method has shown a slight increase in their numbers since 2010.
Antibiotics are becoming a victim of their own success and misuse: bacteria are mutating and becoming resistant to them, causing untold strain on our medical systems. In fact, the World Health Organisation says antibiotic resistance is one of the biggest threats to global health, food security, and development today. The world needs new, stronger antibiotics. We’re helping an Australian company make a powerful candidate commercially viable.
Less than one in five senior researchers in Australian universities and research institutes are women. Only one in four IT graduates, and fewer than one in 10 engineering graduates are women. And the really bad news? Women make up only 27 per cent of the science, technology engineering and maths (STEM) workforce. It doesn't take a genius to realise that's a problem. Australia must step up its game with getting more women into the STEM workforce.
As an aquatic research scientist you will work on the development and implementation of aquaculture breeding programs. The team you will be working with is looking at the development and operation of prawn/shrimp breeding programs and conducting associated biological experimentation. This role has a strong applied focus and is based in Queensland.
CSIRO’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Traineeship Program is all about increasing Indigenous employment nationally within CSIRO. So, CSIRO Agriculture and Food is looking for a trainee to do a workplace-based traineeship supporting and actively contributing to the activities of the Farm Team at Armidale, NSW. Learn while you earn and achieve a National Certificate qualification.
The secret to better prawn health - and tastier, more sustainable prawns for consumers - could be in their digestive system, and feeding them gold could help to provide the answer. Using the easy-to-detect nature of gold, we scanned their mess at various times and were able to see the progression of how the prawns digested their food. Their ability to remove indigestible particles down to such a small size is quite extraordinary.
Broccoli lattes. Fast Radio Bursts. Cyanide-free gold. Drinking water directly from Sydney Harbour. No, this isn't a list of ways to make yourself sick. These are just some of the breakthrough science and innovation stories CSIRO has been responsible for this year. It's been a massive 12 months for us, so we've distilled some of our biggest hits into a single blog. But what does a platypus have to do with it?
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