Scientists in the news this week: July 10, 2020

Agriculture, food and wine

Dr Katja Hogendoorn is an author of an article that gives a preview of ‘Flora, Fauna, Fire’, a project launching Monday 13 July that tracks native plants and animals' recovery after last summer’s bushfires. 

The article focused predominantly on the green carpenter bee (Xylocopa aerata) which has faced a significant increase in the risk of extinction following the bushfires on Kangaroo Island. This article was shared on The Conversation and Evening Report.

The world-first machine ‘FieldExplorer’ continues to make headlines, this week on The Australian Farmer website.

Dr Susie Robinson and Dr Darren Plett featured throughout, discussing The FieldExplorer, which can rapidly gather data on the phenotype of plants by taking measurements non-destructively using an array of sensors. This can speed up what can be measured and will be more accurate, allowing researchers to better understand what is going on in a more efficient way, for example, with crop disease.

Associate Professor Gurjeet Gill's research  continues to be covered in the news, this week in the Maryborough Advertiser. 

This research found that the effectiveness of clethodim on crops was greatly impaired when sprayed within a two to three-day window either before or after a frost. Gill gives his expert advice to delay the spraying of clethodim due to the adverse impact on its effectiveness.

Biological sciences

National Geographic, The New York Times and MSN News featured new research on caecilians, which are toothy worm-like creatures.

The research discovered that these animals may have venomous saliva - possibly the first example ever found in amphibians. Dr Emma Sherratt was not a part of the study, but has provided expert commentary, stating that if these animals do have venomous saliva, the implications of this will be “striking”.