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New research published today online journal suggests that monogamy and close genetic relationships work together to enhance the cooperative social structure of insects such as bees, wasps and ants. Known as haplodiploid animals because males develop from unfertilised eggs and have half the number of chromosomes that females have, the insect colonies are characterised as having a single queen and multiple drones.

Adjusting the intake of high protein foods like meat, eggs and milk products could determine whether you become a rugby player or marathon runner and may help you lose weight, according to new research published this month in the Journal of Biological Chemistry . Dr Stefan Broer, head of the molecular nutrition group in the ANU College of Medicine, Biology and Environment at The Australian National University, said the study by a group of ANU and Sydney researchers could potentially lead to the development of new weight-loss drugs.

Prospects for recovery of lost vision have brightened with the release of new scientific findings showing that the use of gentle near infra-red light can reverse damage caused by exposure to bright light, up to a month after treatment. Dr Krisztina Valter and doctoral researcher Rizalyn Albarracin of The Vision Centre and The Australian National University have successfully demonstrated recovery of vision cells in the retina following near infra-red treatment applied after damage was sustained.

Scientists have demonstrated for the first time that atoms can be guided in a laser beam and possess the same properties as light guided in an optical communications fibre. The researchers? work has implications for future quantum devices that require smoothly-guided matter waves, such as atom interferometers which need to sensitively measure the earth's gravitational field for geo-exploration.

New research from The Australian National University has shed light on the secrets of the deep Earth and will lead to better understanding of important geological processes. The research, carried out by Dr Daniela Rubatto and co-workers from the ANU Research School of Earth Sciences and colleagues at the University of Bern and University of Torino, has accurately recorded for the first time what was once considered purely theoretical - yo-yo subduction.

Chemists from The Australian National University have discovered a new way that ageing-related diseases can progress, opening up new preventative and treatment possibilities for conditions such as heart disease and Alzheimer's disease. Led by Professor Chris Easton and Dr Dannon Stigers from the ARC Centre of Excellence for Free Radical Chemistry and Biotechnology at ANU, the researchers have used the test tube to simulate the living body, and revealed a new process through which ageing related diseases may develop.

The United Nations Security Council agreement to allow the immediate use of military force against Libya shows that it takes the 'responsibility to protect' seriously, according to an international law expert from The Australian National University. The UN Security Council this morning adopted Resolution 1972 with a vote of 10-0 in which five members abstained.

Scientists from The Australian National University have developed an atom laser that behaves exactly like a light laser, opening up new possibilities in things like holograms. The research team, led by Dr Andrew Truscott of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Quantum-Atom Optics at ANU, have shown for the first time that a beam of helium atoms can be made to have properties similar to a laser light beam.

Australian bushfires appeared 50 million years earlier than previously thought and probably contributed to transforming the landscape from rainforest into the country's dry eucalypt forests of today, according to the authors of a new study from The Australian National University. The study, led by Professor Mike Crisp of the Research School of Biology at ANU, sheds new light on the history of the landscape of Australia and is a 'smoking gun' that eucalypts and bushfires are inextricably linked in Australian history.

Babies crying with hunger may attract annoyed looks from bystanders, but in the bird world noisily crying nestlings are likely to pay the ultimate price, according to the authors of a new study from The Australian National University. The study, conducted by PhD researcher Tonya Haff and Professor Robert Magrath of the Research School of Biology at ANU, shows that in the bird world nestlings who noisily beg for food will attract predators.

A trigger for the most common form of vision loss and blindness in Australia has been discovered thanks to research conducted with help from Australian eye donors. Researchers from the United States, United Kingdom and Australia, including The Australian National University's Vision Centre, found that patients suffering from the most common form of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) lack a critical enzyme - DICER-1.

New research on turbulence from The Australian National University will enhance wind energy technologies and improve predictions on cyclone behaviour. The findings, published today by Dr Hua Xia, David Byrne and Professor Michael Shats from ANU, with colleague Professor Gregory Falkovich from the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel, have the potential to address one of the most important questions in meteorology: how to better predict the behaviour of tropical cyclones.

Humans are not the only mammal to have good colour vision, according to scientists - in fact, another mammal may be seeing things beyond our own capacity. The research, led by Dr Wiebke Ebeling of the ANU Research School of Biology - now based at the Centre for Marine Science at the University of Tasmania - has revealed that Australian marsupials have more diversity in their colour vision than scientists expected and are far from being 'colour-blind' as expected in other mammals.

Australians are more interested in science than sport and feel that politicians are failing to listen to the advice of the nation's scientists, according to the latest ANUpoll, released today. The latest ANUpoll looked at public attitudes about science. It found that far from being a nation of sports obsessives, Australians would prefer to hear about health issues, medical discoveries and the environment in their news bulletins.

DNA mutation rates are the deciding factor in the battle of the birds, which sees songbird species disproportionately outnumbering other bird orders, according to research from The Australian National University. Researchers have long wondered why some groups of organisms boast more species than others.

The neurological decline that leads to Alzheimers disease may begin in middle-age and can be predicted with a simple-to-administer test, according to new research from The Australian National University. The study, led by Professor David Bunce of the Centre for Mental Health Research at ANU and Brunel University, London, has revealed that some apparently healthy adults living in the community aged between 44 and 48 years have minute white-matter lesions in areas of their brains similar to those found in people with Alzheimers disease later in life.

The nature-nurture debate is a 'giant step' closer to being resolved after scientists studying bees documented how environmental inputs can modify our genetic hardware. The research team was led by Professor Ryszard Maleszka of The Australian National University's College of Medicine, Biology and Environment, working with colleagues from the German Cancer Institute in Heidelberg, Germany.

If you want to have good mental health, it's not enough to just have a job, you should also have a job that satisfies you, according to new research from The Australian National University. The research, led by Dr Liana Leach of the Centre for Mental Health Research at ANU, found that employment isn't always linked to better mental health.

Education is the key to reducing depression in older Australians according to a study from The Australian National University. The research, by Professor Helen Christensen and Dr Janine Walker from the ANU Centre for Mental Health Research (CMHR) contributes to the Beyond Ageing Project. The large randomised controlled trial examines the effectiveness of psychological and lifestyle approaches in preventing depression in older adults at risk.

A failure to use large international sample groups when searching for the genetic basis of common diseases is contributing to a lack of knowledge about the true frequency of illnesses across populations, according to a researcher from The Australian National University. Professor Julio Licinio, the Director of The John Curtin School of Medical Research at ANU, is one of a team of researchers analysing data from the Human Haplotype Mapping (HapMap) project.