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Scientists from The Australian National University (ANU) and James Cook University (JCU) have identified an "exquisite" natural mechanism that helps plants limit their water loss with little effect on carbon dioxide (CO2) intake - an essential process for photosynthesis, plant growth and crop yield.

A specific group of bacteria-killing proteins inside the immune system could hold the key to developing smarter and more effective drugs capable of eliminating certain infectious diseases including meningitis, pneumonia and sepsis, according to scientists from The Australian National University (ANU).

Researchers from The Australian National University (ANU) have developed a new way to synthesise bicyclic peptides, with major implications for future research into drug treatments for a range of diseases including cancer, viruses and bacterial infections. Bicyclic peptides are pretzel-shaped chains made of amino acid building blocks.

New research into the impact of poor water quality in remote and regional areas of Australia highlights the gaps in drinking water guidelines. Australians in more than 400 remote or regional communities lack access to good-quality drinking water, while about eight per cent of Australia's population is not included in reporting on access to clean water, according to researchers at The Australian National University (ANU).

A new study shows Australian magpie-larks may use a ventriloquial illusion to make their vocal duets more threatening. Co-author Professor Rob Magrath from The Australian University (ANU) said that during their duets, magpie-lark pairs coordinate loud calls and wing movements to use both audio and visual cues to communicate.

Electric vehicles can handle the distances required to travel to essential services in remote and regional Australia, a new study from The Australian National University (ANU) has shown.

We now have new clues about a mysterious stage in the life of binary stars, thanks to research from The Australian National University (ANU) and Yunnan Observatory in China.

A leading infectious diseases expert from The Australian National University (ANU) suggests a forgotten but formidable protective agent that's been documented in medical journals for close to two centuries could be key to defending against airborne bacteria and viruses, including COVID-19. Professor Peter Collignon AM said the fresh air we breathe outdoors has certain germicidal properties that can "dilute" and limit the spread of harmful bacteria and viruses outside.

Scott Morrison and Barnaby Joyce were the most unpopular leaders of any party since 1987, new analysis of the 2022 federal election from The Australian National University (ANU) shows. The findings come from the joint ANUpoll/Comparative Study of Electoral Systems survey of more than 3,500 voters, which examined Australians' political attitudes before and after the 21 May vote.

Physicists at The Australian National University (ANU) have developed tiny translucent slides capable of producing two very different images depending on the direction in which light travels through them. As light passes through the slide, an image of Australia can be seen, but when you flip the slide and look again, an image of the Sydney Opera House is visible.

DNA analysis of ancient human remains has shed new light on an "explosion" of intermixing cultures and genetics in an island region north of Australia known as Wallacea - an imprint that is still detectable in East Indonesians today. The study , conducted by researchers from The Australian National University (ANU) and the Max Planck Institutes in Germany, is the first to use this kind of ancient DNA analysis to clarify, from an ancient genetic perspective, the significant maritime migration of Austronesian-speaking peoples out of Taiwan, southern China and the Philippines into Wallacea.

The raw material for evolution is much more abundant in wild animals than we previously believed, according to new research from The Australian National University (ANU). Darwinian evolution is the process by which natural selection results in genetic changes in traits that favour the survival and reproduction of individuals.

For the first time since its discovery 130 years ago, one of the most mysterious fossil vertebrates has finally been classified, increasing our possible understanding of the first animals to crawl on Earth. "This strange animal has baffled scientists since its discovery in 1890 as a puzzle that's been impossible to solve," Dr Daisy (Yuzhi) Hu, researcher and PhD graduate from The Australian National University (ANU), said.

Researchers from The Australian National University (ANU) have discovered why malaria parasites are vulnerable to some drug ther apies but resistant to others , offering scientists another piece of the puzzle in the global fight against the disease. The ANU team has characterised two malaria proteins , known as PfMDR1 and PfCRT , t'hat work together to transport drugs away from areas where the y exert their killing effect and concentrate them in "safe zones" that ultimately rend er the treatment s'ineffective.

An analysis of the fire footprint of the 2019-2020 Black Summer bushfires has found logging elevated the risk of high-severity fires. A team of Australian researchers, including Professor David Lindenmayer and Dr Chris Taylor from The Australian National University (ANU), completed the study. The Black Summer bushfires burned through more than 24 million hectares and destroyed thousands of homes.

First Nations Australians suffered worse impacts from the Black Summer bushfires due to in appropriate planning and unsuitable interventions by authorities during the crisis, researchers at The Australian National University (ANU) argue. The researchers have published a report examining the first-hand experiences of Indigenous Australians during the 2019-2020 bushfires, and say the findings are also reflected in the current northern New South Wales floods.

A new study from researchers at The Australian National University (ANU) rolls back the curtain on half a century of evidence detailing the impact of climate change on more than 60 different bird species. It found that half of all changes to key physical and behavioural bird characteristics since the 1960s can be linked to climate change.

Students' NAPLAN results are linked to far more than their time spent on homework, new research from The Australian National University (ANU) and Gradient Institute has found. The researchers found subjective well-being has a significant impact on academic performance. In a study of 3,400 students, the researchers found that self-reported levels of depression had a large, negative effect on their NAPLAN results months later.

Giant mountain ranges at least as high as the Himalayas and stretching up to 8,000 kilometres across entire supercontinents played a crucial role in the evolution of early life on Earth, according to a new study by researchers at The Australian National University (ANU). The researchers tracked the formation of these supermountains throughout Earth's history using traces of zircon with low lutetium content - a combination of mineral and rare earth element only found in the roots of high mountains where they form under intense pressure.