Science Illustrated

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Galaxy clusters are the biggest structures in the universe, held together by their own gravity. The Perseus cluster is the biggest of them all. The cluster, on which the Hubble telescope focused here, consists of thousands of galaxies – by way of com

Wasps consider bee hives delicious. Apart from stealing the sweet honey, they can kill the bees and feed them to their larvae. Individual bees don’t stand a chance against an attacking wasp, but in a group, they can become a lethal weapon. The bees c

ASTRONOMY Scientists are 99% certain that they have found a huge new moon in a solar system almost 5500 light years from Earth. The probable moon is only the second of its kind that astrophysicists have discovered so far. The scientists behind the st

ALZHEIMER’S Alzheimer’s Disease is the most common type of dementia in the world, yet it has no known cure, and doctors have so far been unable to develop a vaccine to prevent it. But now a world-first human experiment is about to begin, testing the

MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY The inherent inaccuracy of chemotherapy affects both sick and healthy cells, so that cancer patients often experience unpleasant side effects, including hair loss, nausea and extreme fatigue. But scientists from the American Chemic

ANIMALS Cats have been loved, valued and even worshipped by people for thousands of years. Their behaviour can seem unpredictable – sometimes friendly, sometimes aloof. Now British scientists have concluded that domesticated cats also have a rather d

MATERIALS Millions of people who live close to airports are disturbed by the noise of flights overhead. But scientists from the UK’s University of Bath have invented a new sound insulation material that can reduce the noise from aircraft jet engines

ASTRONOMY Since the 1995 discovery of the first planet orbiting a star other than the Sun, astronomers have found more than 4500 of these ‘exoplanets’. Nevertheless, the discovery of planet M51-ULS-1b is a sensation, because its star is not only outs

DNA The role of dingoes in the Australian ecosystem is widely debated, with many scientists believing they are genetically the same as wild dogs. Now the full genetic sequence of Sandy Maliki – a wild-born, pure Australian Desert Dingo – has revealed

SHARK BEHAVIOUR New research studying the behaviour of Port Jackson sharks has captured their astute ability to realise when the smell of natural prey doesn’t mean a feeding opportunity. The study by shark ecologists at Flinders University and Macqua

ASTRONOMY Heavenly bodies such as stars and planets are so heavy that gravity will always win over all other forces and eventually make them spherical. Gravity ensures that all the rock of a planet and all the gas of a star is compressed as much as p

BIOLOGY Plants certainly have senses, and they depend on them just as much as do we and other animals. Plants have a sense of touch that works by means of mechanoreceptors in the cell membranes, which resemble the corresponding sensory receptors in t

1.8g. The Etruscan shrew wins out as the smallest mammal. Its body is only 4cm long, and it lives in many places from Europe and North Africa to South East Asia. The insectivore consumes twice its weight each day, and hunts prey of its own size. This

HUMANS Yes, there has been a study from social scientists at Harvard University. It debunked the stereotype of women being chatterboxes, finding that depending on the situation, it may be men or women who talk more. Studies of speaking time have typi

GEOLOGY Liquid lava can reach temperatures of up to 1500°C – the Kilauea volcano in Hawaii in particular is known for highly hot lava. Most lava flows, however, are between 800 and 1100°C, while the Ol Doinyo Lengai volcano in Tanzania emits the worl

ZOOLOGY An ostrich egg weighs 4000-5000 times more than a humming bird’s egg. Obviously the total calcium in the eggs is not the same. But even accounting for the size of the egg and the percentage which is shell, there are differences between specie

ASTRONOMY In Roland Emmerich’s 2022 disaster film Moonfall, an unknown force knocks the Moon out of its orbit, causing it to approach Earth rapidly. The resulting tidal forces become so powerful that they trigger global natural disasters, and only a

METEOROLOGY Hailstones usually form from supercooled water drops in big thunderclouds. Supercooled water is liquid even though its temperature is below zero; it may not freeze until -48°C. The droplets don’t freeze because they consist of very pure w

ZOOLOGY Many different dinosaur types existed, and they probably tasted differently to each other. But since birds are dinosaurs, we already have a general idea of how they tasted. The T. rex’s closest modern relatives, for example, are birds and cro

BIOLOGY Crude oil is toxic. Animals that come into contact with it risk absorbing it into their bodies through the skin or digestive systems. Vapours from the oil can also find their way into the lungs and from there into the blood, with consequences

In remote Western Australia, around 800km north of Perth on the ancestral lands of the Wajarri Yamaji people, thousands of ‘pine-like’ antennas are emerging from the dry landscape. At the same time, some 10,000km away in the barren Karoo region of So

CLIMATE The idea of reducing solar radiation to counteract human-induced global warming goes back to the 1970s. This kind of technical solution–to shift the climate system on purpose – is now known as geo-engineering. Several space-based geo-engineer

The SKA telescope’s sensitivity and reach should allow us to map out galaxies on the outskirts of the visible universe. Astronomers could observe their development all the way back to the young universe 13+ billion years ago. The universe is constant

The Neanderthal was our closest relative, we thought. We know some humans carry Neanderthal DNA, and we might even discern Neanderthal features in modern humans, or in ourselves: a low forehead, a large nose, or a wide mouth. But there may be a speci

1 A broad, protruding face is observed in early human species and is considered primitive. Although Homo longi has a very broad face, it is more compact, shorter, and less protruding than those of Neanderthals. 2 The groove that Neanderthals have by

The evolution from erectus to sapiens is hotly debated. Scientists used to believe that there was a straight line from the first Homo species to us, but new discoveries and DNA evidence have revealed many branches, dead ends, and parallel lines. S. E

The spring sun is high in a clear blue sky. The meadow ripples with colourful flowers, among which butterflies are fluttering. Their magnificent patterned wings reflect the sunlight as they dance from one flower to the next. Or so it should be. But g

The Denisovan is known from very few discoveries, but according to DNA evidence, it interbred with Neanderthals and Homo sapiens. Half a Denisovan jaw was found in Tibet in 2019, and it might resemble the jaw missing from the new skull. The new disco

Ogyris otanes sublustris has habitat along the west coast of Western Australia, and was ranked at number 19 in the 2021 study’s endangered list, with an 11% chance of extinction with 20 years. With only five known colonies in Tasmania’s near-coastal

The scales of butterfly wings are transparent, but their shape bends and reflects light, providing them with their colourful apperance. The density of the scales is very high in some species, with up to 600 wing scales per mm2. A butterfly’s most imp

? Why do we buy drugs that don’t work? Do you sometimes treat your blocked nose with an over-the-counter nasal spray, or suck on a Strepsil to soothe a sore throat? You are not alone; these two treatments are among the most widely used of drugs, espe

1 Alpha receptor proteins are found on the upper side of the small blood vessels in the nasal mucosa. Normally, the hormone adrenaline (green) binds to the receptor, making the blood vessels contract and so relieving constricted airways. 2 When we ha

SUSPECT: The Nuna super continent TIME: Some 1500 million years ago 1 Supercontinents normally exist no more than a few hundred million years, but the supercontinent of Nuna remained for at least 500 million years, allowing the elements time to wear

1 2900 metres below Earth’s surface, the planet’s red-hot core starts to heat the mantle above it. The process produces a bubble of hot mantle material with low density, which rises towards the surface. 2 The bubble approaches the lower side of Earth

The 30km-wide Shoemaker crater 100km north-northeast of Wiluna in Western Australia is one of the only meteor craters from the period that has survived until now. The evidence seems to indicate that a metre-wide meteor struck Earth 1.6 billion years

Geologist John Wesley Powell gazes towards the rocky slopes that rise on both sides from the river below. He can see that something is wrong with the towering rocks. It is 1869, and Powell is on an expedition into the unexplored regions of south-west

It is 1054, and suddenly a new star appears in the sky, so bright that not only can it be observed at night, it can be seen even during the day. Chinese astronomers record the new heavenly body as a “guest star”, because it is observed in the night s

1 The core of the dying giant star consists of oxygen, neon, and magnesium atomic nuclei, plus lots of free electrons that speed about between each other. The pressure from the electrons resists gravity as it tries to compress the core. 2 The rapid e

1 At the top, the modern panhead section has two horizontal surfaces lined with carbon fibre to reduce wear. The panhead touches the contact wires, which zigzag above the track to spread the wear over the panhead section. 2 Below the panhead section

1 SKY SCRAPER Burj Khalifa 2 SPACE ROCKET Saturn V 3 (SUSPENSION) BRIDGE Akashi 4 POWERFUL ENGINE Wärtsilä RT-flex 96C 5 POWER STATION Three Gorges Dam 6 TUNNEL Gotthard Base Tunnel 7 HIGH - SPEED TRAIN SC Maglev L0 ■

1 The train’s coils with superconducting material are subjected to electricity and become magnetic. The process produces opposing north and south poles, which repel each other. The technology can be used to cause propulsion and to make the train hove

The coal deposits of the Midlands allowed easy access to fuel, so that by the 1600s craftsmen were settled in cities such as Derby and Birmingham. The region was also characterised by independent congregations that did not submit to the doctrines of

In October 1903, a few days apart, two trains run along a 23km test track in Germany, from Berlin-Marienfelde to Zossen. The two trains are the first to use an alternating current to push the train forward on the rails. First comes a train from the c

The nose-piece completes the rocket. Solar panels unfold. Camera is to shoot asteroids. Engineers ready the space probe for departure. The rocket nose receives its precious load. ■

Lucy heads towards the asteroids in Jupiter’s orbit. ■

Measured by weight, the world’s biggest snake is the green anaconda. It can weigh over 200kg, and the biggest can have the circumference of a tractor tyre. For length it is outcompeted by the reticulated python Python reticulatus, from South-East Asi

1It takes the church bell 30 seconds to sound 6 times. How long does it take it to sound 12 times? 2 Tim, Tabitha, Tom and Tina went to the hardware store. Their bill is shown here. Tim pays the bill, but he already paid $6 for parking, while Tina bo

HANDY NEW COMPACT MAGAZINE! From next issue, Australian Science Illustrated will be slightly smaller in width and height, but not knowledge! Your eyes are the body's two most sophisticated pieces of mechanics. Learn how more than two million componen