Editor & Art curator of Wonder. Signe is a freelance science writer with work published in The Scientist, Australian Geographic, Australasian Science, and Australian Life Scientist amongst others. Signe has an MSc in cognitive science, and loves to explore wonders of the natural world both in writing and visually. And she has to say here that all views expressed are her own and not those of her employer.
Just like the workings of DNA within our cells, the intricacies of our gut microbiome are not easy to imagine. We know that gut bacteria is useful for our health, and we know that our intestines carry many more micro-organisms than the cells in our body. But what exactly do all those friendly bugs do?
Let's take one example. … Continue Reading ››
The stuff that happens within our bodies, within our organs, within their cells, within the DNA - that's the stuff life is made of. To the naked eye it is invisible. Even to an eye equipped with a microscope it can be exceedingly difficult to discern, particularly when it comes to observing changes over time.
Animation can … Continue Reading ››
What makes humans unique as a species? From consciousness to clothing to fire, one can name a bunch of things depending on how we want to carve up this whole uniqueness thing and how precisely we go about definitions.
Morality is one of the concepts caught in this discussion. And, judging by some super cute monkeys' … Continue Reading ››
"Public understanding of science is a passion of mine," writes David Eagleman, a neuroscientist and author who runs Eagleman Laboratory for Perception and Action in Houston.
This passion is echoed in one of his latest scientific publications, somewhat ambitiously dubbed as a manifesto. Appearing in the commentary section of The Journal of Neuroscience, Eagleman's … Continue Reading ››
For a few years now NASA’s Voyager 1 spacecraft has been flirting with the edge of our Solar System. After nearly 36 years and over 18 billion kilometres of travel, the space probe is now way past Neptune (4.7 billion km from Earth[1. At its farthest. It's only 4.3 at its closest!]) and even Pluto (7.4 … Continue Reading ››
Looks help with being famous in the animal world, too. Thanks to its blue feet, this goofy-looking sea bird is arguably one of the superstar species of the Galápagos Islands.
Its name is blue-footed booby (Sula nebouxii), and it can be found on the western coast of the Americas, ranging from north-west Mexico and Panama to … Continue Reading ››
The Australian Academy of Science (AAS), an otherwise exemplary organisation, is upset because most Australians have a decent grasp of basic scientific facts.
Wait, let me start from the beginning.
A scientific literacy survey, recently carried out by Auspoll on behalf of the AAS, has found that science literacy of young Australian adults has fallen in the … Continue Reading ››
Science, art, philosophy: rational appreciation of the natural world
