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The prospect of creating clean, renewable hydrogen fuel is closer than ever after a breakthrough in our understanding of photosynthesis. Professors Rob Stranger and Ron Pace from the Research School of Chemistry in the ANU College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences used computer modelling to reveal the molecular structure of the photosynthesis reaction site in plants.

A team of scientists from The Australian National University has discovered a new species of lizard hidden among the sand dunes of Western Australia's coastline. However, mankind's encounter with this new species may be short-lived. Urban sprawl and habitat destruction are already pushing the tiny creature towards extinction.

A team of researchers at The Australian National University is one step closer to better understanding how organisms function after discovering how epigenetic information is transmitted from one generation of cells to the next. Lead researcher, David Tremethick from The John Curtin School of Medical Research, said developing a better understanding of these epigenetic processes has significant potential implications for human health, in particular the treatment and prevention of diseases such as cancer.

Research into snake venom could lead to the development of new drugs to treat conditions like cancer, diabetes and high blood pressure says an academic from The Australian National University. Gavin Huttley from The John Curtin School of Medical Research is part of the international team who discovered that the toxins that make snake and lizard venom deadly can evolve back into completely harmless molecules, raising the possibility that they could be developed into drugs.

Debate over how and where oceanic island chains, like Hawaii, form, is at an end according to an academic from The Australian National University. Oliver Nebel from the Research School of Earth Sciences, in the ANU College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, has been involved in a world-wide collaboration which sheds new light on the processes behind the formation of island chains.

The mystery of erratic changes in the history of Earth's past and current plate motions has been cracked by academics from The Australian National University. Giampiero Iaffaldano, from the Research School of Earth Sciences in the ANU College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, led a team that found true changes in plate motions occur on timescales no shorter than a few million years.

People whose blood sugar is in the high end of the normal range may be at greater risk of brain shrinkage that occurs with ageing and diseases such as dementia, according to an academic from The Australian National University. Nicolas Cherbuin, from the Centre on Ageing, Health, and Wellbeing in the ANU College of Medicine, Biology and Environment, studied 249 people aged 60 to 64 who had blood sugar in the normal range.

Research into Antarctic climate history has revealed the unusual nature of the recent rapid warming in the Antarctic Peninsula, according to an academic from The Australian National University. Nerilie Abram, from the Research School of Earth Sciences in the ANU College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, was part of an international research team that drilled into the ice on James Ross Island and extracted the first comprehensive temperature record for the Antarctic Peninsula.

Scientists have taken a quantum leap forward towards future computing after discovering that 'background interference' in quantum-level measurements, may be the very thing they need to unlock the potential of quantum computing. In a paper published in today's Nature Physics , researchers from The Australian National University, The National University of Singapore (NUS) and The University of Queensland, suggest that this interference - quantum discord - may be what will make a future quantum computer tick.

Children who are solely breast fed in the first six months of life are at an increased risk of developing a nut allergy, research from The Australian National University has found. A joint research project between the ANU Medical School, part of the ANU College of Medicine, Biology and Environment, and the ACT Health Directorate, investigated a link between breast feeding and nut allergies using the ACT Kindergarten Health Check Questionnaire given to the parents of children starting primary school in the Territory.

The mysteries of the evolution of the universe since the Big Bang are one step closer to being solved, thanks to research from The Australian National University. Astrophysics PhD candidate Mr David Nicholls from the Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics, part of the ANU College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, used the ANU 2.3 metre telescope at the Siding Spring Observatory to study distant dwarf galaxies.

When it comes to dealing with mental health issues such as depression and anxiety, elite athletes are 'just like us', and 'just like us' they need help, research from The Australian National University reveals. Amelia Gulliver, a PhD candidate at the Centre for Mental Health Research, in the ANU College of Medicine, Biology and Environment, recruited young elite athletes in a collaborative project with the Australian Institute of Sport to study the effectiveness of three online interventions aimed at increasing knowledge about mental disorders and reducing stigma.

Online depression therapy programs can have a positive impact on more than just depressive symptoms, a new study from The Australian National University reveals. Lou Farrer, from the ANU Centre for Mental Health Research, part of the ANU College of Medicine, Biology and Environment, trialled the effectiveness of online programs MoodGYM and BluePages with users of Lifeline's telephone crisis line.

The possible discovery of the earliest toilet in Southern Vietnam could give up clues about how Southeast Asia evolved from a traditional hunter gatherer society to a farming community, new research from The Australian National University reveals. Marc Oxenham led a team of Australian and Vietnamese specialists on a seven-week archaeological excavation of a 3,300 to 3,700 year old Neolithic village site in Southern Vietnam earlier this year.

The devastation of Black Saturday gave researchers an unparalleled opportunity to come up with bushfire answers. By Martyn Pearce. The numbers that belong to Black Saturday are extraordinary, and horribly sobering. 173 people killed, more than 400 injured - many seriously. More than 2,000 homes lost, 400 individual fires, 78 towns affected, more than 7,000 people displaced.

Determining the habitability of rocky, Earth-like planets in the universe will be crucial for us as a species, according to scientists from The Australian National University. But the good news is that these planets are probably more abundant than stars, researchers from the ANU Planetary Science Institute have discovered.

Defects found in rocks below the Earth's surface have a major impact on the transmission of seismic waves, such as those caused by earthquakes, researchers at The Australian National University have discovered. Professor Ian Jackson, from the Research School of Earth Sciences, part of the ANU College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, said the team's research allows us to better understand the way seismic waves travel through the mantle deep below the Earth's surface.

New research from The Australian National University has answered a decades old cosmic conundrum on how 'chondrules' - tiny particles found within meteorites - could have formed in extreme heat, especially when the meteorite structure surrounding them remained cold. Chondrules are spherical particles of molten material found in meteorities but their origins have long been a mystery.

Scientists have used a Lego pirate floating in a fish tank to demonstrate for the first time that so-called 'super rogue waves' can come from nowhere in apparently calm seas and engulf ships. The research team, led by Professor Nail Akhmediev of the Research School of Physics and Engineering at ANU, working with colleagues from Hamburg University of Technology and the University of Turin have been conducting experiments in nonlinear dynamics, to try and explain so-called rogue or killer waves.

Ian Chubb, has launched a major report that shines a light on the flaws in the nation's interdisciplinary research efforts. Report author Gabriele Bammer, Director of the ANU National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health, said the real challenges of interdisciplinary research are not recognised and measures to address the problems are ineffectual.