By Georgia Barrington-Smith Have you ever wondered what the main risks of space travel are? Hollywood films like The Martian and Apollo 13 often portray the dramatic risks of space travel, such as mechanical failures, life support issues, and unpredictable space weather. However, as astronauts journey far from home, venturing into the cold, unforgiving vacuum […]
Building the safety blueprint for future Moon missions Read More »
By Georgia Barrington-Smith In the quest to unravel one of life’s greatest mysteries—how it all began—scientists are looking beyond our planet, to the vastness of space, in search of the molecular seeds that might have sown life on Earth. One key stop on that journey is Titan—Saturn’s largest moon. For nearly two decades, NASA’s Cassini
How Saturn’s largest moon, Titan, could help us understand life’s origins. Read More »
By Georgia Barrington-Smith Amidst the ongoing global energy crisis, industries such as power, manufacturing, and transportation are significant contributors to energy consumption. These sectors produce substantial amounts of unwanted heat as a byproduct, typically released into the environment through exhaust systems, heated surfaces, or cooling mechanisms. This thermal energy, often considered waste, represents a largely
Thermo-electro-magnetic synergy: Unlocking next-gen thermoelectricity Read More »
By Georgia Barrington-Smith In today’s digital era, the rapid proliferation of online services and cloud computing has driven an unprecedented global demand for data centres. These facilities support the storage and distribution of vast data volumes, ranging from AI models to high-demand streaming content. Unfortunately, as our reliance on digital infrastructure and artificial intelligence accelerates,
By Georgia Barrington-Smith Anthropomorphic climate change is weakening the resilience of globally significant forests by altering their temperature and aridity. Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area (TWWHA) is particularly at risk, with longer, more intense bushfire seasons threatening this sensitive ecosystem. Amid ongoing climatic stress and ecological decline, important questions are emerging around the ability of
What Tasmania’s Pencil Pine teaches us about bushfire management. Read More »
By Georgia Barrington-Smith & Dr Rebecca Duncan Anthropogenic-driven climate change has extended the duration of Australia’s annual fire seasons, wreaking havoc on agricultural crops, wildlife, and homes. The 2019-2020 bushfires, which scorched over seventeen million hectares and claimed the lives of over one billion animals, provide a stark example of this growing crisis. Satellite observations
By Georgia Barrington-Smith & Dr Rebecca Duncan For decades, conventional X-rays have been invaluable in clinical settings, enabling doctors and radiographers to gain critical insights into patients’ health. While traditional X-rays are still widely used, they are limited in the depth of information they can provide. New, advanced multimodal techniques, like phase-shift and dark-field imaging,
By Georgia Barrington-Smith & Dr Rebecca Duncan Medical radiation procedures, such as diagnostic imaging and radiation therapy, are critical in modern healthcare, providing life-saving detection and treatment tools for people suffering from diseases like cancer. Recent technological advancements have led to a new generation of radiotherapy treatments that promise to further enhance patient outcomes. Developing
Flexible, organic X-ray sensors: Enabling the next generation of radiation therapy Read More »
By Georgia Barrington-Smith & Dr Rebecca Duncan The agricultural industry is constantly under threat from fungal pathogens that infect important plant crops like tomatoes, bananas, and cotton. In response, plants have developed new defence mechanisms, fuelling an ongoing arms race against these invaders as they, in turn, develop new ways to circumvent these defences. How
The battle between plant immunity and fungal infections: A microscopic arms race. Read More »
By Georgia Barrington-Smith & Dr Rebecca Duncan Ensuring our ongoing food availability in the face of a rising global population is a critical challenge. Infectious plant diseases pose a significant threat to our agricultural food production, costing the global economy around $220 billion USD each year. One particularly destructive disease is ‘blast disease’, which targets
