News: School of Biological Sciences

Ironing out the cause of Alzheimer’s disease

Zebrafish

University of Adelaide researchers have found important evidence supporting their theory that a deficiency of active iron in the brain is an important factor in Alzheimer’s disease.

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How humans catalysed the extinction of the woolly mammoth

Woolly mammoths persisted in Siberia until the mid-Holocene. Credit Mauricio Anton - https://mauricioanton.wordpress.com/

New research shows that humans had a significant role in the extinction of woolly mammoths in Eurasia, occurring thousands of years later than previously thought. 

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Smuggling bear parts in Australia and NZ

Asiatic black bear in a cage. The sad reality of the illegal wildlife trade. Photo by yongkiet - iStock

Australia doesn’t have any native bears, yet our involvement in the illegal trade of bear parts and products is sadly a different story. 

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Does Australia have too many kangaroos?

High densities of Eastern Grey Kangaroo (Macropus giganteus). Note the short grassy sward and the bones in the foreground that are evidence of kangaroos that have perished. Photo courtesy Melissa Snape.

Wildlife scientists have come together to call for urgent reforms to the management of Australia’s kangaroo populations.

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Too late for 2050 climate change emissions target

Professor Tom Wigley

New research from the University of Adelaide says the 2050 target to reduce climate change emissions is too little and too late.

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Student-led STEM research and technology on show

Faculty of Sciences Communication Award winners, from left, Mistrel Fetzer Boegheim (1st), Vinuri Silva and Sophie Dolling (2nd), equal third Chris Keneally and Julia Pilowsky.

Emerging scientists showcase their research at Ingenuity, University of Adelaide’s annual interactive expo of STEM projects.

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The illegal wildlife trade has bigger ramifications than you might think

A vendor display featuring a sulcata tortoise, one of the largest tortoise species in the world, at a reptile trade convention in Florida, USA

Scientists have highlighted that the illegal and unsustainable global wildlife trade has bigger ramifications on our everyday lives than you might think.

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Examining Earth’s oldest complex fossils using AI

Sedimentary layers in Mars photographed by Curiosity rover (Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS).

University of Adelaide scientists will develop computer vision and machine-learning techniques to examine the fossil evidence of the Ediacara Biota – the earliest evidence of complex life.

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Can we extract ancient DNA from dinosaurs?

Tarbosaurus dinosaur by 5350755 from Pixabay

Delve into the science behind ancient DNA – what exactly is it, and how easy is it to extract from remains?

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Extinction risk of native bee populations increased by bushfires

The golden-green carpenter bee (Xylocopa (Lestis) aeratus Female)-Xylocopa, is a species especially vulnerable to fire, with much of its habitat burnt during the 2019-2020 Black Summer bushfires. Image credit James Dorey.

The number of threatened Australian native bee species is expected to increase by nearly five-fold after the devastating Black Summer bushfires in 2019-20, according to new research.

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