Fresh Science

Stromatolites have been discovered beyond the well-researched south-east corner of Hamelin Pool, in Shark Bay Western Australia, according to a researcher from Bush Heritage. Erica Suosaari donned a wetsuit and spent three years being dragged behind a boat to investigate the entire pool for the first time. She found stromatolites around almost the entire 135km…

Swinburne University researchers have discovered that well-fed bacteria won’t damage ships hulls. By giving bacteria tasty food, in the form of different chemicals, Muhammad Awais Javed is distracting bacteria from eating metal and other surfaces. Bacteria are well known for the risk they pose to human health. But they also pose a risk to inanimate materials,…

A new test will help protect Australia’s apple and pear  industry from a devastating bacterial disease affecting other countries, says a Victorian scientist. Rachel Mann, of La Trobe University, has identified unique signatures in the DNA of fire blight-causing bacteria that can be targeted with a test, ensuring the accurate detection of the biosecurity hazard…

The discovery of a gene’s essential role in generating rare intestinal immune cells may hold hope for those with celiac disease or irritable bowel syndrome, say Melbourne scientists. Lucille Rankin and a team at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute discovered that the gene, T-bet, is important for the production of innate lymphoid cells, (ILCs)…