Living in Australia, the sensible thing to do when there’s a bushfire around is to make tracks in the other direction very quickly indeed. That’s what most creatures do, but not the Melanophilia beetle, AKA the “Fire Chaser”. It heads towards the fire, and new research suggests it can detect the infrared radiation from a fire from an incredible distance.
Today’s Google Doodle isn’t as interactive as the Moog we got last week, but it’s an important one for Australian science, as it celebrates the 100th birthday of Ruby Payne-Scott, one of the guiding lights of Radio Astronomy. Ruby’s sadly no longer with us — she passed away in 1981 — but it’s a nice recognition of her pioneering work, especially in light of the recent SKA decision that’ll share the telescope array between Australia and South Africa. [Google]
That’s right up there in terms of headlines I never thought I’d write, but it’s true nonetheless; Neil Armstrong — yes, that Neil Armstrong — a man notable for generally refusing interview requests outright, has recorded a series of indepth interview with the Certified Practicing Accountants of Australia.
We made a lot of hoopla over the recent SpaceX launch — and for good reason. A private company has done for the first time what previously took the efforts of enormous governments. It put cargo in space! But what exactly?
Boffins in Edinburgh, Scotland have discovered that a single mutated gene in male mice can inhibit the last stages of sperm development, thus inducing infertility. As a result, we are that much closer to hormone-free, reversible, and surgery-free male contraception.
