science wire

The most at-risk Australians should be vaccinated against COVID-19 now, but the rest of the country can wait, according to an infectious diseases specialist and an ethics expert at The Australian National University (ANU).

Nearly 700 million astronomical objects have been carefully catalogued and made public as part of a major international collaboration involving researchers from The Australian National University (ANU). The latest data release from the Dark Energy Survey means the project has now mapped roughly an eighth of the night sky, stretching back to almost the beginning of time in some cases. This makes it one of the world's largest astronomical catalogues.

The 2019/20 Black Summer bushfires are a "wake up call" demonstrating the extreme effects of climate change in Australia, according to a group of experts who've published a new study examining the factors that caused the disaster. The study concludes that improving the methods used to adapt to the now inevitable increase in fire risk here in Australia, while also pursuing urgent global climate change mitigation efforts is the best strategy for limiting further increases in fire risk.

The vast majority of Australians are satisfied with how educational institutions adapted learning and teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic, new analysis from The Australian National University (ANU) shows.

Gambling rates in Australia dropped off significantly during the height of COVID-19 restrictions, before increasing again over the past six months, according to new research from The Australian National University (ANU). Lead researcher Professor Nicholas Biddle says the COVID-19 pandemic has affected almost all aspects of life in Australia - and gambling is no exception.

Australian adults have lost the equivalent of $338 billion in life satisfaction due to COVID-19, according to new analysis from The Australian National University (ANU). The analysis, from the ANU Centre for Social Research and Methods, examined the financial value of declining wellbeing among adults between March and November.

Pythons first arrived in Australia from Asia around 23 million years ago and then adapted to their new home by becoming incredibly diverse, according to new research from The Australian National University (ANU).

Almost three-in-five Australians (58.5 per cent) say they will definitely get a COVID vaccine once it is available, new analysis from The Australian National University (ANU) shows.

An Aboriginal woman carrying her daughter was instrumental to an 1836 colonial expedition exploring the Darling and Murray rivers.

COVID-19 is continuing to lead to worsening mental health outcomes for young Australians, with the highest levels of psychological distress for 18- to 24-year-olds observed this year, new analysis from The Australian National University (ANU) shows. The analysis from a survey of more than 3,000 Australians found psychological distress among 18- to 24-year olds jumped from 14.6 in August to 15.7 in October.

Almost seven-in-10 pregnant women and new mothers (65 per cent) in the ACT and southeast New South Wales say they were severely exposed to bushfire smoke in our recent summer.

Archaeologists have launched a project to find Australia's lost stories carved into iconic centuries-old trees in the Kimberley in Western Australia.

Astronomers have spotted a rare phenomenon - a star being ripped apart by a supermassive black hole in a process called "spaghettification".