A native bushfood has proven to be a promising natural alternative to synthetic chemicals used to preserve meat, according to University of Queensland research. Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation PhD scholar Michel Beya said the Kakadu plum's high antioxidant and antimicrobial properties make it the perfect candidate for a plant-based preservative to extend the shelf life of meat ..read more

Honeyeaters' songs are mostly shaped by how big the birds are that are singing, rather than environmental or habitat influences, according to Australian research, which found that smaller-sized honeyeaters produce higher frequency songs, while the bigger birds can bring the bass. The study found that habitat type and environmental variables were found to still influence some aspects of song, but that influence is more likely to be through the environmental effects on body size, rather than direct effects. Honeyeater body size is expected to reduce with future climate change, which the authors ..read more

Researchers have identified Australian regions with high rates of cardiac arrest and low rates of CPR. Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) incidence fell during the Heart Foundation's Warning Signs campaign for heart attacks, which suggests that when people act quickly when having heart attack symptoms, such as chest pain, they can avert having a cardiac arrest ..read more

You may feel like COVID-19 left you with a lingering loss of taste, but research from the US suggests that it may actually be a loss of your sense of smell that is to blame. The research used objective measures of taste and smell in people one year after a COVID-19 infection and compared them to people who weren't infected. They found no difference in people's sense of taste but they did find some smell loss remained in nearly one-third of people who had had COVID-19, which they say could explain the taste complaints. They found infection with earlier untyped and Alpha variants were linked to ..read more

How do birds learn to maintain rhythm and tempo in their songs? They don't, according to international researchers who say these abilities are likely innate and controlled by a bird's genes. The team measured the song rhythms of yellow- and red-fronted tinkerbirds from Africa, and analysed their DNA, finding two genes - Neurexin-1 and Coenzyme Q8A - which are known to affect speech in humans, and may contribute to the innate rhythmic abilities of birds. They also found that red-fronted tinkerbirds have a faster and more stable song than yellow-fronted tinkerbirds, suggesting this may help red ..read more

An Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) survey found most Aussies would adopt a healthier lifestyle if they knew more about ways of reducing their risk of dementia, but only one in three are confident in their knowledge of how to reduce the risk. The Dementia Awareness Survey collected information on how much Aussies know about dementia. In addition to the findings about healthier lifestyles, the survey found one in five respondents mistakenly believe that dementia is a normal part of the ageing process, nearly all were engaged in healthy activities that reduce dementia risk, but ..read more

*BRIEFING RECORDING NOW AVAILABLE* We must protect the future of the Murray-Darling Basin, according to Aussie experts who say climate change is threatening the river's health and sustainability. Ten of Australia's leading water experts have contributed to a new commentary from the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences & Engineering (ATSE). A comprehensive and independent assessment of the future of the Murray-Darling Basin, the series highlights the vibrant, thriving potential of the Basin if sustainably managed for the benefit of communities and the environment. The series warns w ..read more

A team of conservation and policy researchers have called for a logging loophole within the proposed Great Koala National Park to be urgently remedied to stem the tide of harmful outcomes impacting the South East Australian koala population. The new report published in the International Journal of Social Quality highlighted exclusion of prime koala habitat from logging within the proposed park was inconsistent with koala protection efforts ..read more

The current method of measuring heart disease risk leaves many women undiagnosed, according to international researchers who used AI to find better ways to detect heart disease in women. Using AI models, the team found that women are underdiagnosed twice as often as men for certain heart conditions, and after testing thousands of possible factors to improve detection, they found electrocardiograms (EKGs) were most effective at improving disease detection in men and women. Traditionally, heart disease risk is measured using the Framingham Risk score, which is based on factors such as age, sex ..read more

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