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The bizarre nature of reality as laid out by quantum theory has survived another test, with scientists performing a famous experiment and proving that reality does not exist until it is measured. Physicists at The Australian National University (ANU) have conducted John Wheeler's delayed-choice thought experiment, which involves a moving object that is given the choice to act like a particle or a wave.

Researchers at The Australian National University (ANU) are studying how ageing affects driving with the aim of promoting road safety, and they are looking for more older drivers to help with the project. Professor Kaarin Anstey, director of the Centre for Research on Ageing said there is a lot of variation in the way ageing affects driving functions and it is possible for one person in their 60 to be less safe on the road than another who is in their 70s.

Scientists have discovered the nomadic swift parrot has an uncanny ability to find the best food supplies across the whole of Tasmania each year. The finding is part of ongoing research into the Tasmanian swift parrot by Dr Dejan Stojanovic from The Australian National University (ANU). The latest study aimed to better understand nomadic animals and why they move around.

If insiders are aware they are being followed by the media to a larger extent, they are less likely to make discretionary decisions at the costs of shareholders. New ANU research has found the media can have a strong effect in reducing corporate insider share trading by repeating existing information about trades.

New ANU research has shown that, even by the time they leave primary school, children are unable to tell the difference between genuine and fake sadness from facial expressions. For happy facial expressions they could distinguish genuine from fake emotions to some extent. Lead researcher Dr Amy Dawel of the ANU School of Psychology said this may affect children's ability to build relationships, or leave them open to manipulation.

Researchers at ANU have helped discover a strange exoplanet orbiting a small cool star 500 light years that away is challenging ideas about how planets form. "We have found a small star, with a giant planet the size of Jupiter, orbiting very closely," said George Zhou from the Research School of Astrophysics and Astronomy.

A new analysis of the chemical make-up of meteorites has helped scientists work out when the Earth formed its layers. The research by an international team of scientists confirmed the Earth's first crust had formed around 4.5 billion years ago. The team measured the amount of the rare elements hafnium and lutetium in the mineral zircon in a meteorite that originated early in the solar system.

One person reported that smells have certain shapes. For example the smell of fresh air is rectangular, coffee is a bubbly cloud shape and people could smell round or square. Researchers at The Australian National University (ANU) have shed new light on synesthesia - the effect of hearing colours, seeing sounds and other cross-sensory phenomena.

New research has found humans are likely to underestimate the amount of detail in symmetrical compared to random patterns. The findings could have implications for those who work with images which naturally form patterns, such as radiologists or medical specialists who examine symmetrical structures such as lungs.

The iconic Tasmanian swift parrot is facing population collapse and could become extinct within 16 years, new research has found. The researchers have called on the Federal Government to list the birds as critically endangered. "Swift parrots are in far worse trouble than anybody previously thought," said leader of the study, Professor Robert Heinsohn, from The Australian National University (ANU).

A new study has found some scientists are unknowingly tweaking experiments and analysis methods to increase their chances of getting results that are easily published. The study conducted by ANU scientists is the most comprehensive investigation into a type of publication bias called p-hacking. P-hacking happens when researchers either consciously or unconsciously analyse their data multiple times or in multiple ways until they get a desired result.

The multiple image phenomena is known as the Einstein Cross. Astronomers thought it really took the biscuit. Image: Melissa Graham, Berkeley Astronomers have glimpsed a far off and ancient star exploding, not once, but four times. The exploding star, or supernova, was directly behind a cluster of huge galaxies, whose mass is so great that they warp space-time.

A new study has found women who smoke when pregnant are putting their daughters at a greater risk of developing ovarian and breast cancer later in life. The Australian National University (ANU) study, published in Human Reproduction , found mothers who reported smoking most days while pregnant had daughters who had an earlier age of first menstruation, or menarche.

A team of scientists from The Australian National University (ANU) and University of Bristol have discovered how copper ore forms around volcanoes. The findings contradict previous theories of how copper forms, and could lead to changes in exploration for copper, which has limited reserves but is crucial for electricity transmission.

New research has found languages with many speakers gain new words faster than languages with fewer speakers. The research, led by the ARC Centre of Excellence for the Dynamics of Language based at The Australian National University (ANU), shows for the first time how languages change among different populations.

Scientists plumbing the depths of the ocean have made a surprise finding that could change the way we understand supernovae, exploding stars way beyond our solar system. They have analysed extraterrestrial dust thought to be from supernovae, that has settled on ocean floors to determine the amount of heavy elements created by the massive explosions.

Large numbers of kangaroos are threatening an endangered species and are eating some lizards out of house and home, new research has found. Australian National University (ANU) researcher Brett Howland has found large kangaroo numbers destroy the grassland habitats of reptiles. "When there are too many kangaroos, they over-graze grasslands until they are like a lawn, which leaves lizards with no shelter," said Mr Howland, from the Fenner School of Environment and Society.

An international team of scientists has discovered the earliest known engravings from human ancestors on a 400,000 year-old fossilised shell from Java. The discovery is the earliest known example of ancient humans deliberately creating pattern. "It rewrites human history," said Dr Stephen Munro from the School of Archaeology and Anthropology.

A new national research centre based at ANU will investigate how language works and how it makes us who we are. Based at the University, the ARC Centre of Excellence for the Dynamics of Language draws together the nation's top linguists, philosophers, psychologists and roboticists to puzzle out the complex mechanisms of human communication.

Chemists have developed a revolutionary new way to manufacture natural chemicals and used it to assemble a scarce anti-inflammatory drug with potential to treat cancer and malaria. The breakthrough could lead to new and cheaper ways to produce rare drugs in large quantities. "We took small molecules and clipped them together like Lego," said lead researcher Professor Michael Sherburn, from the Research School of Chemistry.