The largest and most diverse study of PTSD genetics has identified 43 genes that appear to have a role in causing the disorder. The analysis of genetic data from more than 1.2 million people also pinpointed 95 locations on the genome associated with the risk of developing PTSD. This includes 80 locations that had not yet been identified in previous research. The findings, published the journal Nature Genetics, confirm previous research on the genetic underpinning of PTSD and provides new targets for future research into prevention and treatment strategies. “This discovery firmly validates tha ..read more

Marine scientists using tracking devices have been able to shine a spotlight on the behaviour of great white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) with the publication of 2 new studies this week. Australian-led research in the journal Ecosphere revealed that great whites along the US California coast adapt their routines to suit the specific habitat they are hunting in. The finding highlights the importance of a shark’s location when considering how or why it may be behaving in a certain way. Between 2017 and 2021, researchers fitted 21 great white sharks with motion-sensitive biologging tags that ..read more

Dutch medical scientists are warning about the risk of viruses mutating over long periods in infected immunocompromised people. Forthcoming research from the group relates to a previously reported case of a 72-year-old Dutch man who was infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus for a record 613 days before dieing from a blood disorder. The research, which is not yet published or peer-reviewed, will this week be presented at a global congress of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases.  They tracked the evolution of the virus within the man’s system, while he was ad ..read more

Mark Wong, The University of Western Australia and Raphael Didham, The University of Western Australia Have you ever wondered if there are more insects out at night than during the day? We set out to answer this question by combing through the scientific literature. We searched for meaningful comparisons of insect activity by day and by night. It turns out only about 100 studies have ever attempted the daunting and rigorous fieldwork required – so we compiled them together to work out the answer. Our global analysis confirms there are indeed more insects out at night than during the day, on a ..read more

Move over, graphene. Your blinged-up cousin, goldene, has entered the scene. Researchers have accidentally created a single-atom layer of gold. Simulation of 2D goldene layer structure. Credit: S Kashiwaya et al., Nature Synthesis. The new material has been dubbed “goldene” because it replicates the two-dimensionality of the carbon-based graphene. Graphene was discovered in 2004 after being theoretically suggested as far back as 1985. In the 20 years since its first production, graphene has taken the world by storm, showing its usefulness in applications from semiconductors in ultra-fast comp ..read more

Water on other planets and moons may be a crucial clue to finding extraterrestrial life. But finding water, even within our own solar system, is proving to be very difficult. It’s a problem which NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) is hoping to resolve with the JUICE [JUpiter ICy moons Explorer] mission launched a year ago on 14 April 2023. Europa captured by NASA’s Juno mission in 2022. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS, Kevin M. Gill (CC BY 3.0). Its objective is to study Jupiter and three of its Galilean satellites: Ganymede, Callisto and Europa. These are all icy worlds which show p ..read more

The ‘Devil Comet’ is now visible in the night sky and without the aid of binoculars or a telescope, but keen comet-watchers will need to wait a few more weeks for the best view. Officially designated as 12P/Pons-Brooks, the  Halley-type comet is making a brief visit to our neck of the Solar system – it will be closest to the Sun, ironically, this Sunday – before it shoots out beyond Neptune’s orbit over the next 35 years. It means a child born later this year will have to wait until their 70th birthday to see the Devil’s return. But it will also be difficult to spot the comet, at least f ..read more

It’s been a big week for Australia when it comes to environmental protection, but while observers are hailing an environmental victory, they’re also concerned by delays to reforming the nation’s top biodiversity law. Federal environment minister Tanya Plibersek this week made a series of major announcements, chief among them the adoption of the commonwealth’s first EPA – to be called Environmental Protection Australia (rather than ‘agency’) – which will be a statutory body operating independent of government. This EPA will be responsible for administering 7 pieces of legislation, including th ..read more

New fossils suggest that one of the world’s largest ever snakes slithered around India 47 million years ago. Vasuki indicus would have been between 11 and 15 metres according to a paper published in the journal Scientific Reports which describes the ancient creature for the first time. The fossils were found in a brown coal mine in the western Indian state of Gujarat, about 670km northwest of Mumbai. The ancient snake’s immense size rivals Titanoboa, the largest snake of all time, which lived about 60 million years ago, just after the demise of the dinosaurs. Titanoboa, described for the firs ..read more

Despite all appearances, the space between stars, known as the interstellar medium, is anything but empty. Atoms, ions, and molecules reside in this freezing, low-pressure environment. Scientists across disciplines are working to determine the types of chemical reactions that occur in this unique environment, and which produce more than 200 unique molecules known to form there… Most recently researchers have successfully emulated interstellar medium (ISM) reaction conditions on Earth and have been able to study a type of chemical reaction called ion-neutral reactions, using “Coulomb crystals ..read more