Researchers on Guam, a US island east of the Philippines, have found that the island’s jungle spider population is more than 40 times larger than that of nearby islands. In one of the first studies to examine how the loss ...
More »Lessons from a Finnish school
The successful Scandinavian system allows for a good deal of individualised learning for students, writes Stuart Middleton I have been reading an interesting book lately, Finnish Lessons by Pasi Sahlberg (Teachers College Press, NY). It has a wealth of information ...
More »Remains could be of Richard III
DNA tests will be used to confirm if human remains found by archaeologists in central England are those of the medieval king Richard III. Researchers from the University of Leicester said they had unearthed the skeleton of a male, found under a ...
More »Researchers find ants use internet algorithm
A SPECIES of harvester ants determines how many foragers to send out for food in much the same way as internet protocols discover how much bandwidth is available for data transfer. A Stanford University team of scientists has dubbed the ...
More »Frozen mammoth found
Scientists have discovered frozen woolly mammoth fragments deep in Siberian permafrost that may contain living cells, raising hopes of cloning the prehistoric animal. Russia’s North Eastern Federal University said an international team of researchers had found rich research material during ...
More »Harvard rocked by cheating allegations
About 125 students at the prestigious Harvard University face a possible one-year suspension and revocation of diplomas following an investigation into the university’s largest academic misconduct scandal. The university website reported a large number of undergraduates “may have inappropriately collaborated ...
More »Wired roaches to the rescue
Scientists have developed a device to remotely control cockroaches so that the insects can be sent into tight spaces for search and rescue missions. By attaching a little electronic “backpack” to the back of a Madagascar Hissing Cockroach, researchers at ...
More »Car share plan rolls out on campus
Not everyone can afford to run their own car and there is always a problem finding parking so a university’s plan to set up a car sharing scheme may well find a welcome market. UhaulCarShare is teaming up with Graceland ...
More »Flat chat: US tests ‘talking’ cars
Nearly 3000 vehicles were deployed on the streets of Ann Arbor, Michigan recently, to test how well cars, trucks and buses can “talk” to each other. The US Department of Transportation and the University of Michigan launched a $US25 million ...
More »Attracting overseas students online
Australian institutions need to use a variety of inquiry methods to compete with other nations. For the past year it has been possible to mark time by looking at headlines proclaiming the demise of the international student sector. It ...
More »