‘Do me a favour and sleep on it.’ It’s a phrase we’ve all heard when confronting big decisions – should I quit my job? Break up with my partner? Move interstate?

Byron Echo

Curious chimps and nosy kids: new study shows it’s only natural to love drama

Cosmos Magazine - July 15, 2025 0

What do toddlers and chimpanzees have in common? A deep, unshakable interest in other people’s business.

Articles & Columns

Whales help in the search for extraterrestrial signals

Cosmos Magazine - June 10, 2025 0

What do whales have to do with the search for extraterrestrial intelligence?

Articles & Columns

Polar sea ice loss beginning to affect the bottom of the food chain

Cosmos Magazine - May 20, 2025 1

Dramatic loss of sea ice due to global heating is changing the quality of light reaching algae at the base of the polar marine food chain, report Dutch and Danish marine biologists and chemists. This could have potentially disastrous effects on polar marine ecosystems.

Articles & Columns

Genetics adaptions allows all-female Korean divers to cope with extreme conditions

Cosmos Magazine - May 6, 2025 0

Humans have adapted to extreme conditions to live in nearly every environment on Earth. The Haenyeo, a group of all-female divers from the Korean island of Jeju, dive without breathing equipment in frigid waters year-round.

Articles & Columns

Experts issue ‘urgent warning’ on burning of fossil fuels

Cosmos Magazine - April 29, 2025 5

A review of research into the fossil fuel industry has led an interdisciplinary group of scientists to warn that the environment, future liveability and people’s health are at risk if urgent action is not taken to stop carbon emissions.

Articles & Columns

Secrets of how Bronze Age Scandinavians crossed seas revealed by computer simulation

Cosmos Magazine - April 15, 2025 0

Similarities between the Bronze Age cultures of Denmark and Norway suggest people were making the journey from one place to the other. How did these ancient people cross the sea?

Articles & Columns

Experts issue ‘urgent warning’ on burning of fossil fuels

Cosmos Magazine - April 1, 2025 15

Articles & Columns

Cockatoos prefer noodles dunked in blueberry yoghurt

Cosmos Magazine - February 25, 2025 5

For the first time, scientists have observed a non-primate animal using flavourings to enhance the experience of eating food.

Articles & Columns

Powerful results from joining quantum computing and AI

Cosmos Magazine - February 4, 2025 0

Researchers have used quantum physics and machine learning to quickly and accurately understand a mound of data – a technique, they say, could help extract meaning from gargantuan datasets.

Articles & Columns

Are megadroughts upon us?

Cosmos Magazine - January 28, 2025 11

International researchers who are monitoring climate change say persistent multiyear drought events – sometimes called megadroughts – pose a growing threat to nature and humans.

Articles & Columns

What did southern Scandinavia’s first farmers eat 5,000 years ago?

Cosmos Magazine - January 21, 2025 7

Clues into the mysterious lives of southern Scandinavia and northern Germany’s first farmers have been revealed in a new archaeological study.

Articles & Columns

Hottest year on record, finds… everyone

Cosmos Magazine - January 14, 2025 8

International monitoring bodies have confirmed 2024 as the warmest year on record, beating 2023 as the previous record-holder.

Articles & Columns

Danger on the reef when the party lights switch on

Cosmos Magazine - January 7, 2025 1

Artificial light is altering the behaviour of coral reef communities by waking up sleeping fish and attracting predators.

Science Goes Viral

Expert verdict on Gencost: renewables still cheaper than nuclear

Cosmos Magazine - December 10, 2024 5

Independent energy experts largely – although not universally – agree with an economic analysis that finds renewable energy, with storage, to be the cheapest energy option for Australia’s future.

Articles & Columns

Astronomers discover new hotspot in spacetime fabric

Cosmos Magazine - December 3, 2024 0

Australian astrophysicists have led an international effort to create the most detailed maps of gravitational waves across the Universe to date.

Articles & Columns

‘Red monster’ galaxies in early universe challenge current theories

Cosmos Magazine - November 19, 2024 0

Astronomers have spotted massive red galaxies dating back to the first billion years of the universe’s life. Some are almost as large as the Milky Way.

Articles & Columns

Nations must dramatically increase climate change adaptation

Cosmos Magazine - November 12, 2024 7

Nations are not doing enough to address the rising impacts of climate change the United Nations Environment Program’s latest Adaptation Gap Report 2024: Come hell and high water has found.

Byron Echo

What do real nature positive laws look like for Australia?

Cosmos Magazine - November 5, 2024 7

Following a ‘disappointing’ inaugural Nature Positive Summit in Sydney, a team of researchers say that current laws are not sufficient to achieve the summit’s lofty goal.

Articles & Columns

AI has a looming e-waste problem

Cosmos Magazine - October 29, 2024 2

The explosion in generative AI could be responsible for an extra 5 million tonnes of e-waste by 2030, according to a new study.

Articles & Columns

Did the physics Nobel committee get swept up in the AI hype?

Cosmos Magazine - October 15, 2024 0

The worlds of physics and computer science are abuzz as this year’s Nobel Prize in Physics has gone to two trailblazers in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning technologies.

Articles & Columns

Wuhan market increasingly likely origin point for COVID-19

Cosmos Magazine - October 1, 2024 23

An international team of researchers has found more evidence that COVID-19 came from animals in a Wuhan food market.

Articles & Columns

Vaping impacts exercise capacity in a similar way to smoking

Cosmos Magazine - September 24, 2024 3

A new study has added to the growing evidence that long-term vaping is harmful to health, finding that young people who vape perform worse than others in tests measuring their capacity for exercise.

Byron Echo

Are microbes the future of sustainable dietary protein and folate?

Cosmos Magazine - September 17, 2024 1

Farmed yeast, rich in protein and vitamin B9 (folate), has protein levels similar to that of beef, pork, fish, and lentils, and just 6 grams, or 0.4 tablespoon, provides the recommended daily folate requirement.

Articles & Columns

Methane emissions to be monitored under Aust-NZ space partnership

Cosmos Magazine - July 30, 2024 4

New Zealand Minister for Space, Judith Collins, has announced four new research projects under the Australia-New Zealand Collaborative Space Program.

Articles & Columns

Global warming and carbon sink decline creates vicious cycle, climate scientist warns

Cosmos Magazine - July 23, 2024 1

A worrying trend in the Earth’s ability to remove carbon from the atmosphere has climate scientists warning that more needs to be done to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Articles & Columns

We need to reinvent urban spaces to live in harmony with the planet

The Echo - July 16, 2024 0

Travel is about visiting someplace exotic, we’re told. Somewhere that looks, feels and tastes different, in a way that stirs our heart and stimulates our senses. But sit in the central business district of any global city today, and chances are it will look basically the same.

Articles & Columns

Hormones may be the key to treating anorexia

Cosmos Magazine - June 18, 2024 1

It has one of the highest death rates of any mental illness, and leads to severe physical and mental health complications. But anorexia nervosa has been poorly understood, under-recognised, under-researched, and underfunded for decades.

Articles & Columns

Australian research to assess impact of firefighting chemicals on aquatic ecosystems

Cosmos Magazine - June 4, 2024 0

Research is to get underway for the first time into the environmental impact of spraying firefighting chemicals (FFC) near waterways.

Byron Echo

First observations of meltwater eating away at Antarctic ice shelves

Cosmos Magazine - May 28, 2024 1

Scientists who have witnessed Antarctic ice shelf decay are escalating concerns that rising air temperatures will push these frozen masses to unprecedented fractures.

Articles & Columns

Managing aquifers to deal with groundwater loss

Cosmos Magazine - May 21, 2024 3

Australians have worried about running out of water since before colonisation. Back then, coastal Aboriginal people turned to rivers, streams and lakes for drinking water; those inland, perhaps a mound spring or well-charged rock hole.

Letters

New insights into great white shark behaviour off California coast

Cosmos Magazine - April 23, 2024 0

Marine scientists using tracking devices have been able to shine a spotlight on the behaviour of great white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) with the publication...

Articles & Columns

Global map shows how climate change is transforming winegrowing regions

Cosmos Magazine - April 9, 2024 11

Climate change is altering growing conditions for the world’s famous winegrowing regions which, although bustling today, may no longer be suitable in the future.

Articles & Columns

Landmark ice campaign on retreating glacier

Cosmos Magazine - April 2, 2024 0

Australia’s major science campaign to study one of the fastest retreating glaciers in East Antarctica, is already being described as a landmark project.

Articles & Columns

How the coral crisis affects other marine wildlife

Cosmos Magazine - March 26, 2024 10

Marine heatwaves are killing coral and denuding reefs of their colourful beauty – but in a world where everything is food for something else, these heatwaves also pose a major threat to biodiversity.

Articles & Columns

How fungi and theatrical performance can tackle the problem of PFAS contamination

Cosmos Magazine - March 19, 2024 0

When scientists first discovered the chemistry of per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances, PFAS, in the 1930s, they didn’t know we’d be struggling to remove them from the environment and human bodies nearly a century later.

Articles & Columns

COVID-19 pandemic has cut life expectancy globally

Cosmos Magazine - March 14, 2024 1

COVID-19 reversed earlier trends toward longer life expectancies. During the pandemic, life expectancies globally dropped by 1.6 years according to a new study published in the Lancet medical journal.

Articles & Columns

CSIRO voyage gets up close to Antarctica’s climate challenges

Cosmos Magazine - March 5, 2024 7

The rapidly changing nature of Antarctica has been witnessed first-hand by Australia’s leading research ship on a record-breaking investigation of the icy continent.

Articles & Columns

Most migratory fish on the brink says global analysis

Cosmos Magazine - February 13, 2024 1

At least 2 in 5 migratory animal species prioritised for conservation are in decline and almost all significant migratory fish are threatened with extinction, says a new report.

Local News

Up to 550 homes pegged for Byron Shire’s newest suburb

The Echo - June 12, 2026 0

Community feedback is now sought on three planning documents that will shape the future of Gulgan Village, a new residential suburb proposed on the elevated slopes of Saddle Road.

Local News

Load limit increased for Byron Creek Bridge

The Echo - June 12, 2026 0

The load limit for Byron Creek Bridge has been increased to 24 tonnes, say Byron Shire Council, following structural analysis of the bridge.

Local News

Festival and event grants on offer

The Echo - June 12, 2026 0

Community organisations are encouraged to apply for NSW government grants to bring cultural festivals and events to life across the state over the coming year.

Local News

Dr Bronwyn Bancroft wins prestigious Ochre Award

Aslan Shand - June 12, 2026 0

Bundjalung woman and artist Dr Bronwyn Bancroft AM has received the Red Ochre Award for Lifetime Achievement in Artistic Excellence.

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