Cosmos Magazine 103 - (07-2024)

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ISSUE 103
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LIVING LANDSCAPES: EXPLORING FIRST NATIONS’ ECOLOGY & ENGINEERING
telescope
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Is this the
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dark matt
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THE SCIENCE OF EVERYTHING
103
9 771832 522008
AU $17.00 NZ $19.00
103 THE SCIENCE OF EVERYTHING THE ROYAL INSTITUTION OF AUSTRALIA
58
REGULARS 40 FEATURES
09 30
DIGEST DEEP DIVING FOR DRUGS
Dispatches from the world of science Drew Rooke delves beneath the surface to
10 Speed-checking neutron star jets explore the history and future of medical
13 First Nations pottery find breakthroughs found in the ocean’s depths.
16 Focus: Ancient animals
17 Guess the object 40
18 How fast can a wombat really run? INDIGENOUS INNOVATIONS
22 Webb Watch Oral history meets science in WA, where
Cat Williams joins the students and Elders
26 documenting Noongar knowledge.
FROM TOP: GREG BARTON / MIDJOURNEY. STEVE HOPPPER.
WHAT HAPPENED NEXT

Head back into Tasmania’s tall eucalypt 48
forests to get the news on the Grove of OUR DARK MATERIALS
Giants. Lauren Fuge reports. Could a new telescope solve the universe’s
biggest mystery? Martin White gives us a
28 sneak peek at the team searching for dark
NEXT BIG THING matter – using gamma rays.
For the past decades it’s been all about
lithium, but what about sodium? Maria 58
Forsyth builds the battery of the future. WORM-POWERED ATHLETES
You’ve heard about the scandals, but do
you know the science? Matthew Ward
Agius explains blood doping.
4 COSMOS MAGAZINE
COSMOS 103 WINTER 2024
48
66
WILDLIFE WONDERS
Take a look inside the lives of all creatures
great and small in this issue’s gallery.
74
MIRROR WORLDS
Can an entire nation be digitised before
30
it disappears? Prianka Srinivasan
explores the ways digital-twin technology
can help us respond to the climate crisis.
84
CONDENSED MATTERS
We’re living in the golden age of a field
of physics you may never have heard of,
according to Evrim Yazgin, who takes
us to the heart of the matter.
90
ENRICHING BUSH FOODS
David Hancock heads to the Kimberley to
find the researchers improving biodiversity
FROM TOP: MATTHEW BUGEJA. NASA SCIENTIFIC VISUALIZATION STUDIO. QI (KEVIN) GE / SUTD.
and restoring food sovereignity for First

Nations communities.
ZEITGEIST 98
98
NEXT-GEN PRINTING
Denise Cullen meets the materials
scientists fabricating 4D devices that can
change shape, size and even properties.
102
SECRETS OF SATELLITES
What does it mean to be a moon? Imma
Perfetto examines moon myths and
mysteries in our Solar System and beyond.
106
MINDGAMES
Fiendishly fun puzzles.
cosmosmagazine.com 5
ISSUE 103
Editor Lauren Fuge

Art Director Kate Timms
Graphic Designer Greg Barton
Science Journalists
Matthew Agius, Imma Perfetto,
Evrim Yazgin
Editor-at-Large Elizabeth Finkel
cosmosmagazine.com
CONTRIBUTORS
Denise Cullen, David Hancock,
Drew Rooke, Prianka Srinivasan,
Martin White, Cat Williams
Mind Games Tess Brady / Snodger Puzzles
THE ROYAL INSTITUTION OF AUSTRALIA

Executive Director Will Berryman
Corporate Services Manager Sarah Brennen
RiAus Editor-in-Chief Ian Mannix
Engagement Manager Gavin Stone
Education Manager Michelle McLeod
Engagement Officer Jess Wallace
Office Assistant Leif Gerhardy
Digital Developer Andrew Greirson
From the Editor QUESTIONS?

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WE LIVE IN A TIME DEFINED BY CHANGE, when things very rarely turn out in the way we PO Box 3652, Rundle Mall
SA 5000 Australia
expect. The world is full of variables, and often directions switch, paths diverge and even Published by The Royal
the limits of what is possible – and what is normal – shift. Institution of Australia Inc.
ABN 98638459658
This issue – my one and only issue as editor – is packed with stories that address
these questions of uncertain ground, of transformation and of possibility. Pacific cor-
respondent Prianka Srinivasan takes us to the rapidly submerging island nation of ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Tuvalu to explore their plan to move the entire country online. It’s an ambitious Cosmos is produced on unceded Kaurna land,
and we pay our respects to elders past and present.
response to an unjust global crisis, but as Srinivasan discovers, it relies on the emerging First Nations people are this country’s first
technology of digital twins – which may help us respond to climate change in more scientists and we celebrate their connection to this
place’s deep past and their critical role
ways than one. Meanwhile, Drew Rooke dives even further underwater to find out why in its future.
the humble sea sponge has provided us with such an extraordinary number of
life-saving medicines, and to ask us to shift our thinking about the ocean – this
subsurface world that comprises 99% of all living space on the planet.
Turning our gaze outwards from our pale blue dot, the ever-delightful Martin
White spins the tale of an international team tackling the dark matter problem from a riaus.org.au
different angle, using the most advanced gamma-ray telescope in the world. Elsewhere cosmosmagazine.com
education.riaus.org.au
in the physics realm, Evrim Yazgin meets researchers working in a field that many scinema.org.au
have never heard of and yet it’s vital to our lives, while Imma Perfetto looks sky high to
answer the question we may have all wondered before: what, exactly, is a moon? COSMOS RETAIL ENQUIRIES
Coming back down to Earth, we’re delighted to have two stories of two very different Ovato Retail Distribution
Australia — 1300 650 666
First Nations’ science projects coming out of Western Australia. On Merningar and New Zealand — +61 9 979 3018
Goreng Country south of Perth, Cat Williams investigates a series of collaborations
Cosmos – The Science of Everything™ is
between ecology postgraduate students and Noongar knowledge-holders, which docu- published by The Royal Institution of Australia Inc.
ment Noongar innovations by bringing oral history and Western science together. Copyright © 2024 The Royal Institution of Australia.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may
Further north up in the Kimberley, David Hancock reports on efforts to revegetate and be reproduced in any manner or form without written
enrich native species, which could help revitalise the bush-food industry and address permission. The views expressed in Cosmos are not
necessarily those of the editors or publishers. Cosmos
food sovereignity in Indigenous communities. is protected by trademarks in Australia and the USA.
Plus 4D printing, the science behind performance-enhancing drugs, giant trees, Printed in Australia by Finsbury Green.
puzzles and much more – all waiting for you over the page.
It’s been a great joy to put together this issue for you. I hope it’s a joy to read.
LAUREN FUGE
[email protected]
6 COSMOS MAGAZINE
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i Science news from around the globe (and even further)
DANIELLE FUTSELAAR AND NATHALIE DEGENAAR, UNIVERSITY OF AMSTERDAM
Artist’s impression
of a neutron star,
consuming nearby
star and producing
an ultra-fast jet.
DIGEST
The Australia Telescope

Compact Array, CSIRO.
SPACE
Cosmic speed camera simply time them as they move down-

stream – just like we would time a
100-metre sprinter as they move
reveals staggering pace between the starting blocks and the

finish line,” says co-author James
Miller-Jones, from Curtin University
of neutron star jets node of the International Centre for

Radio Astronomy Research.
“Radio telescopes are extremely
i
versatile,” says leader of ATCA opera-

tions, Jamie Stevens, who is not an
How fast, you ask? One-third of the speed of light. author on the recent paper. “Five of
ATCA’s six dishes, for instance, take on
different configurations by moving
IN A WORLD FIRST, astronomers have Because they are so dense, neutron along a track. [The array] can be used to
measured the speed of a neutron star’s stars have an immense gravitational look at everything from nearby objects
powerful jets. Turns out these energetic pull. Sometimes they pull matter in in our galaxy to some of the most dis-
beams of energy and matter travel at from other nearby stars. This can cause tant objects in the universe.
114,000 km per second – or about one thermonuclear explosions which shoot “The sensitivity and stability of
third of the speed of light. matter out into space. ATCA allowed this research team to
Neutron stars are among the dens- Until now, astronomers knew virtu- observe rapid changes in the neutron
est objects in the universe. They form ally nothing about these jets, including star’s surroundings over three days.
when a supergiant star, 10–25 times the their speed. But in this latest study, the This new method will help astronomers
mass of our Sun, runs out of fuel and its jets were detected by the European to better understand jets in many dif-
ALEX CHERNEY / CSIRO
core collapses in on itself. A neutron Space Agency’s Integral observatory ferent environments and the complex
star is only a few tens of kilometres and then tracked for three days by the events that build our universe.”
across, but weighs between one and CSIRO’s Australia Telescope Compact The results of the study – led by
three times as much as the Sun. A single Array (ATCA) to determine their speed. Thomas Russell from the Italian
teaspoon of neutron star material “The explosion tells us when the National Institute of Astrophysics in
weighs about a trillion kilograms. enhanced jets were launched, and we Palermo – are published in Nature.
10 COSMOS MAGAZINE
BIOLOGY ONE OF THE most significant chal-
lenges in treating HIV is the virus’
ability to integrate its genome into the
CRISPR-Cas genome host’s DNA. This means that lifelong

antiretroviral therapy is essential, as
latent HIV can reactivate from reser-
editing might one day be voirs as soon as treatment ends.

Now, preliminary research shows
that gene editing can be used to elimi-
used to cure HIV nate all traces of the HIV virus from
infected cells in the laboratory.
CRISPR-Cas gene editing tech-
i
nology acts like molecular scissors to

cut DNA and either delete unwanted
Is a functional HIV cure on the horizon? genes or introduce new genetic material,
while guidance RNA (gRNA) tells
CRISPR-Cas exactly where to cut at des-
ignated spots on the genome.
The team of scientists from the
Amsterdam Medical University in the
Netherlands and the Paul Ehrlich
Institute in Germany – used two gRNAs
that target “conserved” parts of the
viral genome. This means they remain
the same or conserved across all known
HIV strains. This genetic sequence does
not have a match in human genes, to
prevent the system going off-target.
“We have developed an efficient
combinatorial CRISPR-attack on the
HIV virus in various cells and the
locations where it can be hidden in
reservoirs and demonstrated that ther-
apeutics can be specifically delivered to
the cells of interest,” the authors write.
3D render of the CRISPR-Cas9 “These findings represent a pivotal
genome editing system. advancement towards designing a cure
strategy.”
CLIMATE 2023 SHATTERED in the atmosphere also The WMO and other
climate records, reached record highs, and groups are concerned that
according to the World so too did ocean heat the planet is fast losing its
Climate records Meteorological Office. It measurements. Global ability to keep average
issued a “red alert” in its mean sea level reached a temperatures to 1.5°C, the
shattered in 2023 latest State of the Global record high since satellite target of the Paris Climate
Climate report, noting recording began, in 1993. Agreement.
MELETIOS VERRAS / GETTY IMAGES
several markers of climate Last year also saw an These records are
change were smashed in unprecedented decline in tracking to predictions;
the previous year. winter sea ice in Antarctica. the WMO suggested in
The report confirms “Climate change is that one of the next five
that the planet’s average about much more than years would be the hottest
temperature measured at temperatures,” says WMO on record. That prediction
1.45°C above the pre- Secretary-General has now been confirmed
industrial baseline. Carbon Celeste Saulo. at the first opportunity.
DIGEST
PHYSICS
MEDICINE
Search for quantum Does having

gravity at the South Pole 100+ COVID
jabs harm your
immunity?
i
If quantum gravity exists, this telescope might spot it. Apparently not.
A German man who
claimed to have received
217 COVID-19
vaccinations within three
years has shown no signs
of immunity fatigue.
In research published
in The Lancet Infectious
Diseases, scientists
investigated this case of
‘hypervaccination’ by
studying blood and saliva
samples from the man
(known as ‘HIM’).
Some scientists
believed over-exposure to
the same vaccination
IceCube Neutrino Observatory. could fatigue the immune
system, as is the case
with other infectious
diseases like HIV. But in
SCIENTISTS ARE GOING to extreme at the South Pole, might contain evi- HIM’s case, it appears
lengths – and places – to try and under- dence for quantum gravity. that the jabs have had
stand the fundamental nature of the To validate their methodology, his little negative effect.
universe. team used IceCube’s data of more than ‘Memory’ cells present in
“Today, classical physics describes 300,000 neutrinos – nearly massless his samples were as high
the phenomena in our normal sur- “ghost” particles that rarely interact as in control groups used
roundings such as gravity, while the with other particles, meaning they can for the study, and there CHRISTOPHER MICHEL VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS (CC BY-SA 4.0)
atomic world can only be described travel billions of light years through the appeared to be no
using quantum mechanics,” says Tom universe largely unbothered. In this evidence of a weakened
Stuttard from the University of first stage, the team looked at neutrinos immune system.
Copenhagen’s Neils Bohr Institute in the Earth’s atmosphere, but in the HIM’s samples showed
(NBI). next phase they will study neutrinos no sign of the man having
“The unification of quantum theory from deep space. been infected with the
and gravitation remains one of the most “If the neutrino undergoes the sub- virus, though it’s unclear
outstanding challenges in fundamental tle changes that we suspect, this would whether this is due to his
physics. It would be very satisfying if be the first strong evidence of quantum hypervaccination status.
we could contribute to that end.” gravity,” says Stuttard. However, the
One theory that tries to marry the “With future measurements with researchers “do not
two is called quantum gravity. Stuttard astrophysical neutrinos, as well as endorse hypervaccination
is co-author of a paper in Nature Physics more precise detectors being built in as a strategy to enhance
which suggests that data from the the coming decade, we hope to finally adaptive immunity”.
IceCube Neutrino Observatory, located answer this fundamental question.”
12 COSMOS MAGAZINE
ARCHAEOLOGY
Pottery find reshapes the sherds are likely from small pots,
which were skilfully made and “locally
produced using clays and tempers
understanding of sourced from Jiigurru”.

However, Ulm notes “it is unlikely
that people completely independently
First Nations people learned how to manufacture pottery”.

Instead, the discovery indicates that
these First Nations groups had
i
connections with the pottery-making

communities of New Guinea, and knowl-
Communities may have been connected to the Lapita. edge was transferred between groups.
“The Jiigurru pottery appears at a
time when there is significant move-
WHAT’S BELIEVED TO be the first evi- ment of people and ideas around the
dence of pottery making by Australia’s Coral Sea,” Ulm says, adding that it is
First Nations people has been unearthed “clearly associated with Lapita cultural
at Jiigurru (Lizard Island) on the Great influences diffusing down the
Barrier Reef. Small sherds – fragments Queensland coast through exchange
of ceramic material – were uncovered networks”.
in an archaeological excavation con- CABAH Chief Investigator Ian
ducted by the Centre of Excellence for McNiven, from Monash University, says
Australian Biodiversity and Heritage the connections across the Coral Sea
(CABAH) in partnership with the were facilitated by the advanced canoe
Dingaal and Ngurrumungu Aboriginal voyaging technology and open-sea navi-
communities. The team found dozens of gation skills of the Lapita, who went on
sherds less than a metre below the to people vast areas of the Pacific.
surface, dating between 2,000 and “These findings not only open a new
3,000 years old: the oldest reliably dated chapter in Australian, Melanesian, and
pottery ever discovered in Australia. Pacific archaeology but also challenge
The researchers say this finding CABAH’s Ian colonialist stereotypes by highlighting
suggests “a rich history of long-distance the complexity and innovation of
SEAN ULM / CABAH
McNiven at the dig site

cultural exchanges and technological (above), where sherds Aboriginal communities,” McNiven
innovation long before British arrival”. (top) believed to be says.
CABAH Chief Investigator Sean 2,000–3,000 years The research is published in
Ulm from James Cook University says old were unearthed. Quaternary Science Reviews.
DIGEST
ARCHAEOLOGY
An ancient life revealed: Forager-

turned-farmer crossed seas
i
DNA, isotope and protein analysis map his migration.
The new analysis, published in the

journal PLOS ONE, shows that the
Vittrup Man had a different genetic sig-
nature to people who lived in the region
at the same time – his DNA had more in
common with Mesolithic (Middle Stone
Age) people from Sweden and Norway.
Isotopes indicate that Vittrup Man’s
early childhood was spent along the
Scandinavian coast, and the authors
note that he could be from as far north
as the Norwegian coast near the Arctic
Circle. Further analysis of isotopes and
proteins in his teeth show that Vittrup
Man’s diet shifted from coastal food
(marine mammals and fish) in early life
to farm food (including sheep or goat).
The transition happened in his later
teen years.
It’s not clear why Vittrup Man
moved south to Denmark. He would
have travelled at least 75 kilometres by
boat across the open sea between
Sweden and Denmark’s Jutlandic pen-
insula, even if small islands were used
as stopovers.
The authors propose two main sce-
Vittrup Man’s narios to explain his life story. One is
smashed skull. that he was part of an exchange for flint;
previous archaeological finds suggest a
reciprocal relationship between
Denmark and Scandinavia.
A STONE-AGE skeleton found in a “Another possibility,” they write, “is
Danish peat bog has been analysed, that he was taken prisoner, possibly far
fleshing out the ancient person’s life north in west coast Scandinavia” and
and death in stunning detail. He would have spent the years of his life when he was
STEPHEN FREIHEIT (CC-BY 4.0)
Nicknamed Vittrup Man, this indi- in peak physical fitness “as a captive
vidual died between 3300 and 3100 BCE,
aged 30–40 years old. He is named for
travelled at least 75 and source of labour”.
The fragmented remains include a
the small town northwest
Copenhagen, near where his skeleton
of kilometres across smashed skull. This suggests that
Vittrup Man met his end in a ritualistic
was found in 1915 along with a wooden
club, a ceramic vessel and cow bones.
the open sea. sacrifice. Alternatively, he could have
been a victim of feud or murder.
14 COSMOS MAGAZINE
Tharsis region and
Valles Marineris on Mars.
between the Noctis Labyrinthus (a

region of deep, steep, maze-like valleys)
and the vast canyons of Valles
Marineris, in Mars’ Tharsis province.
Despite its size, Noctis is not the Red
Planet’s biggest volcano. Mars boasts
the tallest mountain and largest vol-
cano in the Solar System: Olympus
Mons, which rises 26km above the
low-lying plains around it.
SPACE While Noctis is a relative minnow,
the site presents a new location to study
Mars’s geological evolution and expand
the search for life, according to Pascal
Massive volcano “hiding Lee, a planetary scientist with the SETI

Institute and Mars Institute.
“It’s an ancient and long-lived vol-
in plain sight” on Mars cano so deeply eroded that you could

hike, drive, or fly through it to examine,
sample, and date different parts of its
i
interior to study Mars’s evolution

through time,” he says. “It has also had
It’s bigger than Mount Everest, but we didn’t see it. a long history of heat interacting with
water and ice, which makes it a prime
location for astrobiology and our search
A GIANT VOLCANO has been hiding on eroded almost beyond recognition. Its for signs of life.
the surface of Mars. It measures true nature as a volcano was finally “Finally, with glacier ice likely still
9022 metres high and 450 kilometres given away when planetary scientists preserved near the surface in a rela-
wide, making it nearly 200 metres taller analysed the remains of a glacier in the tively warm equatorial region on Mars,
than Mt Everest. And yet scientists have area in 2023 – and realised they were, the place is looking very attractive for
only just identified the behemoth, as well in fact, studying the inside of a huge, robotic and human exploration.
as possible glacier ice beneath its surface. deeply eroded volcano. “It’s really a combination of things
Although the volcano has been The volcano has been provisionally that makes the Noctis volcano site
imaged repeatedly since 1971, it is named Noctis, as it lies at the border exceptionally exciting.”
TECHNOLOGY MULTIPLE SWARMS OF which allows for a and communicate with

MARK GARLICK / SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / GETTY IMAGES PLUS.
drones could be used to coordinated multi-swarm each other. Each drone

manage natural disasters of drones to quell forest will independently
Swarms of drones like forest fires, according fires. calculate the fire’s size
to researchers at the “By the time somebody and potential spread.
could save us from Indian Institute of Science identifies and reports a “They figure out which
(IISc). fire, it has already started cluster of fire is going to
wildfires The use of drones in spreading and cannot be spread faster, and allocate
tackling natural disasters put out with one drone,” the required number of
is not new, though they says IISc’s Suresh drones to put out that fire
have yet to be used in India, Sundaram. “You need to while the others look for
and Australian agencies have a swarm.” other fire clusters,”
are increasingly interested. Their new software Sundaram says.
The IISc researchers have allows the drones to make Full-scale field tests
developed an algorithm independent decisions are in planning.
PALAEONTOLOGY
1
Fossilised dinosaur footprints,
plants and tree stumps in Alaska’s
Focus:
Ancient
far northwest reveal the area was a
lush, warm riverine setting 100
million years ago.
2
An ancient amphibian
animals ancestor found in

Texas has been
named Kermitops
gratus in honour of
iconic Muppet,
3
Kermit the Frog.
In the Peruvian
Amazon, researchers
have found the
fossilised skull of the
largest ever river
dolphin, 3–3.5 metres
long, which lived 16
million years ago.
6
4 Another record: a
massive freshwater
New analysis of the

375-million-year-old
fish Tiktaalik shows its
ribs likely attached to its
pelvis: crucial to support
5 A haul of 1,200
Triceratops bones and
bone fragments in
Wyoming supports the
idea that these dinos
were social animals
and lived in herds.
turtle fossil has been
unearthed in Brazil. Its
shell measured 1.8m
across, bigger than
any of today’s freshies.
its body on land in the

evolution of walking.
JAIME BRAN
www.cosmosmagazine.com/history/palaeontology/ 01 dinosaur-tracks-alaska/ 02 kermit-frog-fossil-amphibian/

03 largest-river-dolphin-amazon/ 04 walking-evolution-ribs/ 05 triceratops-fossils-herd/ 06 giant-freshwater-turtle-amazon/
16 COSMOS MAGAZINE
DIGEST
Guess the object
Oral history
Let’s move away from our regular focus on gadgets and devices to present these
oddities. The one in the centre is the original; the others are casts. No more hints
needed – the objects themselves contain all the info you need, if you know what
you’re looking for. And if not, it’s a challenge you’ll have to ponder.
TECHNOLOGY
Meet the secret

ingredient for
metal recycling
In the quest to improve
precious metals recovery,
Austrian scientists have
turned to the key component
of a favourite Aussie breakfast
spread. Vegemite is made by
taking spent yeast used in the
beer-making process, and that
same waste product shows
promise for metal recovery. We know you can Google it, but where’s the fun in that? Tell us what you think it
Electronic waste often is. The correct answer − and/or the most creative − will be published in our next
consists of several different issue. Send your hunches to [email protected]
materials, making the process
of reclaiming them a challenge
for recyclers. Bacteria, algae,
clay and charcoal-like biochar New visions
have been trialled as potential
options to achieve metal Space history fiends will have had a bit of a
adsorption, but often against leg up for guessing last issue’s object, though
singular targets. it still may have befuddled a few. The object
Brewer’s yeast might offer was a 3D rendering of a spacecraft that
an opportunity, according to made history back in March 1965. Called
results published by a group Vokshod 2, it was a crewed Soviet space
from the University of Natural mission that blasted two cosmonauts – Pavel Belyayev and
Resources and Life Sciences in Alexei Leonov – up into orbit. There, in a thrilling milestone
Vienna and K1-MET GmbH, of space exploration, Leonov suited up, exited through the
showing that the addition of inflatable airlock and became the first person to conduct a
dried yeast waste recovered spacewalk. But that was only the first challenge they faced. What happened next
more than half of aluminium, was even gnarlier. When Vokshod 2 returned to Earth, a failure in the navigation
40% of copper and 70% of zinc system resulted in the craft touching down some 386 kilometres from their landing
from test solutions. site, in the middle of a snowy forest. A recovery helicopter spotted them, but
When added to wastewater, couldn’t get to them through the dense trees. Instead, it dropped warm clothes and
around 90% of suspended zinc supplies, and left Belyayev and Leonov to spend a frosty three days and two nights
and 50% of copper were in the elements before the ground team reached them – on skis.
retrieved.
DIGEST
NATURE Museums Victoria decided that a sin-

gle mention isn’t sufficient evidence to
prove wombats can run at 40km/h.
Wombats: Debunked Story over? No; the plot thickens.

After reading about Museums
Victoria’s debunking, South Australian
i
wombat researchers came forth with a

counterclaim. Wildlife biologist David
Settling the debate over our favourite furry loaves. Taggart says he has consistently seen
the vehicle odometer hit 40km/h while
tracking running wombats in the field.
But there are a few caveats.
Firstly, he can only attribute this top
speed to southern hairy-nosed wom-
bats, the species he works with. That
leaves a question mark over the north-
ern hairy-nosed wombat (Lasiorhinus
krefftii) and the common ‘bare-nosed’
wombat (Vombatus ursinus).
Secondly, it’s only been witnessed in
southern males during mating season.
“They’ll be cruising around looking
for females and they’ll get a long way
away from the warrens or burrows they
know, and then you’ll come across
them, and they’ll see you,” Taggart says.
“These big male wombats – they can
get up to 38kgs – they’re just solid mus-
BACK IN FEBRUARY, Museums Victoria publication by Flinders University cle and they’ll just take off.”
debunked long-circulating claims that archaeologist Rod Wells, who explains Taggart thinks that the scientific
the southern hairy-nosed wombat the 40km/h number likely came from survey utes accidentally spook the
(Lasiorhinus latifrons) can run at speeds survey vehicles in the 1960s and ’70s males, who bolt back home.
of 40km/h. (For context, this almost pips keeping pace with the marsupials. So, how could scientists accurately
Usain Bolt’s 43.99km/h world record for “We would pursue southern hairy- measure a wombat’s dash? It’s not as
the 100-metre dash.) nosed wombats and catch them using easy as grabbing a stopwatch and pit-
After the public information team something akin to a lacrosse net,” Wells ting the wombat against Usain Bolt.
received a call asking for the original says. “I do not recall anyone using a Wombat-spooking would be a matter
source, they traced the claim to a 1984 stopwatch to check their speed.” for the ethics committee.
BIOLOGY STEM CELLS FOUND in cells using amniocentesis, “At present, some
the fluid from the amniotic which is often used during parents can be told their
sac could be used to grow pregnancy to test for developing fetus has a
Stem cells from organoids, according to conditions such as Down disease, but not how
UK researchers. They say Syndrome. To severe it will be. This
amniocentesis used this technique could help demonstrate how this makes it very difficult … to
to develop specific might work with a make informed decisions
to grow organoids therapies for babies with developmental disorder, regarding potential
congenital diseases. the researchers created interventions,” says
MLHARING / GETTY IMAGES
Previously, the stem organoids from babies bioethicist Evie Kendal

cells required to create with a genetic lung from Swinburne. But this
organoids have mostly condition called congenital technique could enhance
come from terminated diaphragmatic hernia. The their autonomy by
pregnancies. This new organoids showed clear providing better
technique harvests the features of the disease. information.
18 COSMOS MAGAZINE
2015 2017 2019
CLIMATE
Remarkable resilience of Pacific forests

after cyclone
i
fostered the abundance of resilient spe-

cies, and that Tanna’s stewardship
Determined science tracks forests across the years. practices appear to augment the capac-
ity for resilience “because they promote
a diversity of tree species, life histories
A REMARKABLE AND long-lived The rapid, post-cyclone recovery and life stages; as well as a wide range
research program on Vanuatu has of forest canopy on Tanna Island. of pathways for regeneration”.
revealed the resilience of the nation’s “Tanna stewards value a wide range
environment to severe tropical cyclones. of species useful for food, medicines
In 2015, Tropical Cyclone (TC) Pam Researchers monitored the tran- and building materials,” says ethno-
became the strongest storm on record sects post-TC Pam for nearly five years. botanist and co-author Michael Balick.
in the South Pacific with maximum The team included researchers from “And customary stewardship involves
sustained winds of 278km/h and gusts University of Hawaii (UH) Mānoa, The management practices that enhance
up to 320km/h. It affected Vanuatu, New York Botanical Garden (NYBG), the survival and reproduction of these
Tuvalu, Kiribati and New Zealand, pro- the University of the South Pacific, the species.”
ducing high winds, coastal storm Vanuatu Cultural Centre and the For example, after a cyclone, people
surges, heavy rains and flooding in the Vanuatu Department of Forestry. weed around native tree species and
affected countries. Vanuatu was worst The results of the study, published even plant them.
hit; the storm killed 16 people and in Science of the Total Environment, The study also showed that forests
caused widespread damage. documented what the authors describe that had previously been subject to
In the years prior, researchers in as a “remarkable recovery”. grazing by cattle and pigs were slower
Vanuatu had established and surveyed “Compared to cyclones on other to recover and will likely be more vul-
eight transects across three regions Pacific islands, Pam caused relatively nerable to future cyclones.
(leeward, windward and north-central) low levels of severe damage to Tanna’s “This highlights the key role of for-
on Tanna Island, one of Vanuatu’s big- trees,” says UH Mānoa’s Tamara est management in building resilience
gest islands. A transect is a straight line Ticktin, lead author on the paper. “In to climate change,” says Gregory
that cuts through a landscape so that addition, there was high resprouting, Plunkett, NYBG’s Director. “As the
standardised observations and meas- widespread recruitment of most tree world comes to grips with more fre-
urements can be made. The eye of the species present, and basically no spread quent extreme weather events, our
cyclone crossed over the leeward and of invasive species.” work suggests that the right kind of
north-central sites, but not the wind- The authors conclude that Tanna’s human interaction can play a signifi-
ward site. historical cyclone frequency likely cant role in the survival of forests.”
SPACE
Webb watch: JWST zooms in on

distant starburst
i
New clarity on stellar nurseries at the heart of the Cigar Galaxy.
A GALAXY 12 MILLION light-years from stars and star clusters and the elements department and leader of the study. “It was
Earth is brimming with new stars, NASA surrounding them, such as hydrogen and unexpected to see the PAH [polycyclic
scientists have found. iron. aromatic hydrocarbon] emission resemble
Pointing the James Webb Space It was also able to see long swirling ionised gas. PAHs are not supposed to live NASA, ESA, CSA, STSCI, A. BOLATTO (UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND)
Telescope (JWST) at a patch of space in the patterns of material extending from the very long when exposed to such a strong
constellation Ursa Major, they discovered a galaxy’s core – a galactic wind. The radiation field, so perhaps they are being
galaxy where new stars are blooming at 10 researchers sought to understand how this replenished all the time. It challenges our
times the rate of the Milky Way. product of mass star formation is created theories and shows us that further
This star factory is called Messier 82 and propelled out from the galactic plane. investigation is required.”
(M82) and has long been considered a Using NIRCam to track polycyclic aromatic The study team will shortly have detailed
prototype starburst galaxy. Like many of hydrocarbons – basically, specks of space spectroscopic data and larger-scale images
JWST’s assignments, M82 has been dust carried through this wind – the research of M82’s wind patterns for analysis.
previously observed using both the Spitzer group was able to observe its journey out Bolatto expects this to enable
and Hubble space telescopes. from the star-forming galactic centre. calculations of the galaxy’s age and the
Using its onboard Near Infrared Camera “M82 has garnered a variety of environment of the early universe.
(NIRCam), JWST peered into the galaxy’s observations over the years because it can “Webb’s observation of M82, a target
centre to study the conditions that foster be considered as the prototypical starburst closer to us, is a reminder that the telescope
star formation. The lens cut through layers galaxy,” says Alberto Bolatto, a professor in excels at studying galaxies at all distances,”
of dust and gas to clearly spot emerging the University of Maryland’s astronomy he says.
22 COSMOS MAGAZINE
DIGEST
BIOLOGY
NATURE
The chemistry How the brain begins to

behind the
many flavours
create memories
i
of edible ants
Direction matters.
With their high
nutritional value and low
environmental impact,
insects are an alternative
to animal proteins.
Researchers believe
understanding their
flavour profiles is essential
to create insect-based food
products that can
overcome psychological
barriers.
“If there are desirable
flavours, scientists can
investigate ways to
promote their formation,
and if there are
undesirable flavours, they
can find ways to eliminate
or mask these odours,”
says Changqi Liu, from
San Diego State RESEARCHERS HAVE witnessed a new Travelling wave propagation
University in the US. phenomenon in the brain as humans directions reveal how the brain
Liu and his team store memories, shedding light on the quickly coordinates activity and
analysed the odour how the brain coordinates its many shares information across
profiles of four edible ant regions and billions of neurons. multiple regions.
species: the chicatana ant, The team recorded participants’
common black ant, spiny brain activity while they performed
ant and weaver ant. tasks that required memorising and activity. Travelling waves spread out
Black ants have a recalling lists of words or letters. across the cerebral cortex – the outer-
pungent, acidic and “Broadly, we found that waves most layer that supports higher cognitive
vinegary smell, primarily tended to move from the back of the processing – not unlike ripples on a
because of the high brain to the front while patients were pond.
content of formic acid putting something into their memory,” “We’re looking at neural oscillations
secreted from their says Uma R. Mohan, a postdoctoral not as independent stationary things
venom glands, while researcher at the National Institutes of but as things that are constantly and
chicatana ants’ Health in the US. spontaneously moving across the brain
predominant smell was “When patients were later searching in a dynamic way,” Mohan says.
nutty, woody,and fatty, to recall the same information, those This way of understanding brain
which the researchers waves moved in the opposite direction, waves offers a pathway to explaining
HONGHUI ZHANG
attribute to the presence from the front towards the back of the how the brain quickly coordinates
of aldehydes and brain.” activity and shares information across
pyrazines. Brain waves are electrical oscilla- multiple regions. The research is
tions that represent patterns of neural published in Nature Human Behaviour.
DIGEST
This message
DISCOVERY
stick, from the
British Museum
collection, is incised
with designs
including images of
a ship, a house,
trees and
topographic
features.
being an aid to memory. “Nineteenth
First database of century scholars were very interested

in the possibility that they represented
language, but they don’t,” he says. “My
Indigenous Australian argument is that comparing message

sticks to writing is the wrong way to
approach it. They’re doing social coor-
message sticks dination, validation, reinforcement and

encoding
information.”
of non-linguistic
i
Kelly’s research defines message

sticks as “a coherent system of long-
New resource may answer old questions. distance communication that connected
Australia’s First Nations across
geographical, cultural, and linguistic
THE FOUNDER OF a rich database of space”.
Indigenous Australian message sticks “Over time, I’ve become less
believes it showcases historic commu- convinced that message sticks are about
nication techniques of First Nations memory and are much more about
people. social coordination.
Piers Kelly, a linguistic anthropolo- “What is reinforced is the validity of
gist at The University of New England, the message and not so much the mem-
and his team created the Australian ory of the messenger.”
Message Stick Database (AMSD), a digi- Kelly says the sticks solve problems
tal repository of more than 1500 with communicating over long dis-
Indigenous Australian message sticks tances, and also let “people in and out
(and their associated metadata) in col- of [their] territory without undermin-
lections around the world. ing [their] territorial integrity”.
These wooden objects were once “Certain sticks … depict the route of
widely used to facilitate long-distance the messenger rather than the content
communication. The practise was trans- of the message [which] suggests a
formed by colonisation, though message passport-like function. Other message
sticks were still used in Western sticks have a ‘signature’ of the sender on
Arnhem Land up until the 1970s. them to validate who it came from.”
“It’s not accurate to say ‘message The AMSD collects every known
THE BRITISH MUSEUM / DR PIERS KELLY
sticks are just like Western literacy’,” observation or description of the sticks
Kelly says. “They’re addressing a differ- A message stick surviving in archives, collections, and
ent kind of problem that written practice sent by Nani in museums. It currently has 1,572 entries,
isn’t adapted for … Message sticks aren’t Goodooga to Pilay at including photographs and sketches.
writing but some of them can do things Tinnenburra in 1897, Kelly and his team are engaged in
very similar to writing: convey accurate to coordinate a talks with the Indigenous Data Network
information over time and distance.” ceremony between “to ensure that the data remains availa-
He adds that early literature makes two tribes on the ble and under Indigenous control for
assumptions about the message sticks Cudnappa River. future generations”.
24 COSMOS MAGAZINE
WHAT HAPPENED NEXT
What happened IT’S BEEN 18 MONTHS since I climbed

the biggest blue gum in the universe in
the Grove of Giants in southern lutru-
NEXT?
wita/Tasmania. My arboreal journey into
Lathamus Keep was made possible by
canopy scientist Jen Sanger, photogra-
pher Steve Pearce and their crew at the
non-profit The Tree Projects, whose work
i
I wrote about in our March 2023 issue.

At the time, the Grove of Giants was
In this series, we follow up on some of our slated to be logged, but by July 2023 it had
been taken off the year’s logging sched-
favourite research projects to see where they ule. Since then, The Tree Projects has
went next. This time, Lauren Fuge revisits been working hard to study these forests
and protect them long-term – and when I
her adventure to the dizzying heights of called up Sanger and Pearce (on a day
Tasmania’s tall forests. they weren’t out climbing), they’d just
had a big win.
THE TREE PROJECTS
“Over the last couple of years, we’ve

been lobbying Sustainable Timber
Tasmania to update their giant tree pol-
icy,” Sanger says. “Their old policy was a
bit ridiculous. A giant tree was anything
26 COSMOS MAGAZINE
As well as attending international “It’s the best level of reserve that we
conferences to teach climbing could hope for, for such a small area,”
(above), The Tree Projects is also Sanger says.
working with researchers to install In the meantime, their scientific work
cameras high up in the canopies of is also forging ahead. Sanger is busy
Tasmania’s eucalypt forests (left). studying the role of forest biomass in pro-
These cameras take photos every posed future hydrogen plants, while
10 minutes to measure changes in Pearce is working with scientists at the
the leaf’s petiole (stalk) size as it University of Tasmania to install tiny
swells and contracts due to water cameras in the canopy (see caption).
use. This will help us understand The Tree Projects has also gone fur-
how trees respond to drought. ther afield. In May, Pearce jetted off to
West Africa with two professional tree
climbing instructors. They spent a week
over 85 metres tall … [or] over 280 cubic Pearce explains that this change has teaching climbing skills to local scientists
metres in volume. That’s a huge tree, and greatly broadened the definition of a giant at Ghana’s University of Energy and
it’s also really hard to measure.” tree. “We would laugh, before, that 12 Natural Resources, then a few days out in
For context, this policy would not pro- metres [in circumference] was a medium tropical rainforest to apply their new skills,
tect any living tree on the Australian tree,” he says. “I would have walked past a conducting an epiphyte diversity survey.
mainland. 12-metre tree and not even thought twice “It’s actually a pretty big deal,” Pearce
In recent months, Sanger and Pearce about it.” says. “Most of their canopy science has
have spent a lot of time in Sustainable While the new policy won’t save hun- been conducted by Western scientists,
Timber Tasmania’s (STT) boardroom to dreds of hectares of continuous forest, it and the tree climbing skills and equip-
present research on other giant tree poli- will protect smaller, more fragmented ment leave with the scientists.”
cies around the world and hash out a new patches of remnant forest. Now, the university will become an
policy for Tasmania. And it paid off. In “We’re basically going a very long way independent research hub in West Africa,
March, STT announced it will protect any – in tall, wet eucalypt forests – to ending able to train other local researchers and
tree more than four metres in diameter old-growth logging,” Pearce says. spread climbing skills through the scien-
(about 12 metres in circumference). So what does this mean for Lathamus tific community.
“It makes it a lot easier to measure, Keep? “We were able to secure a whole
but it also includes potentially thousands “If you look at the Grove of Giants, bunch of climbing equipment to take over
of trees across the logging area,” Sanger under the old policy, there were about and donate to the university,” Pearce
says. “With those protections, there is 13 trees that met the definition of a giant,” adds. “They’ll have the training but also
meant to be 100-metre radius buffer Sanger says. “Now there’s about 150 trees the A-grade equipment to carry out their
around each tree. So that could potentially that meet that definition.” research with.”
be thousands of hectares of forest saved, With the 100-metre buffer, the whole To stay tuned into future tree science,
which is a really big win … We’re stoked.” grove should become an informal reserve. check out thetreeprojects.com.
hen I was doing my PhD,
Sustainable W there was no such thing as a

lithium-ion battery. The
first was commercialised in
1992, and for the next two decades or so,
sodium it was all about lithium.

My work was always parallel to that.
For the last 30 years I’ve been investigating
how we can improve the chemistry of all
sorts of batteries, capacitors, fuel cells and
solar cells. These are hugely important for
Advanced materials scientist the transition to clean energy, but we’ve
got to be careful that they don’t create new
Maria Forsyth is trying to build problems. It’s important to make these
devices safer, to make them last longer and
the battery of the future. to get more energy out of them.
The technologies we’re creating must
also be sustainable, and designed for recy-
cling in a circular economy.
For example, in Australia we’re
blessed with a lot of spodumene – a min-
eral from which we extract lithium. But
the majority of lithium comes from the
salt lakes of South America, where mining
has an environmental impact.
Maria Forsyth with Deakin University So for me, the “next big thing” is
DEAKIN UNIVERSITY
Vice-Chancellor Professor Iain Martin sodium. It’s in seawater; it’s everywhere.

(left) and Professor Patrick Howlett Sodium batteries aren’t going to replace
(right) at the university’s Battery lithium, but because of the demand for
Research and Innovation Hub in more and more energy, we’re going to
Burwood, Victoria. need to look at multiple technologies.
28 COSMOS MAGAZINE
NEXT BIG THING
Most types of modern batteries work and the structure, and that becomes the
on the same principles. It’s the materials electrode in a battery. This is obviously
that are different. Then it comes down to more sustainable.
how much voltage you can get out of the Sodium is what makes the juice, but
battery, how much it weighs and its every material that we combine in the bat-
capacity – how much energy you get per tery has to work efficiently. To this end
kilogram, or per volume. we’re also working on the cathode mate-
Lithium is one of the lightest ele- rial. This is the other end of the battery,
ments on the periodic table and also one and it is the structure that allows sodium
of the most energetic. Sodium is heavier to insert in and out as you charge and
and slightly less energetic, so you’re not discharge your battery. For example, the
going to have the same amount of energy sodium goes into your hard carbon elec-
coming out of a sodium battery as you get trodes during charge, and then it goes into
out of the same-sized lithium battery. the other electrode (the cathode) during
You’re not going to drive a car 1000 kilo-
metres on a sodium battery just yet, and
As we transition to discharge. When this happens, the sodium
travels through the electrolyte, which can
you’re probably not going to fly aero-
planes on sodium.
net zero, we’ve got be a liquid, a solid or a polymer.
But what’s really important is the
But sodium uses the same manufactur-
ing process as lithium: it has very similar
to be careful that interface between those components.
When that material is touched during the
chemistry and it’s far more sustainable. In
a lithium battery, the electrode on the
the technologies charge and discharge process, chemistry
happens. And while that chemistry has to
anode side is graphite, a form of carbon.
This is something we mine – it’s a critical
we develop don’t allow ions through, it also has to protect
you from reactions that you don’t want to
mineral, which means it’s expensive.
The beauty of sodium is that you can
create new happen, because those ions will lose
energy. We call these “parasitic”
use a much cheaper form of carbon called
hard carbon. My colleagues and I are cur-
problems. reactions, because they destroy the life of
the battery.
rently working in the lab on producing The magic comes in designing each of
hard carbon using waste biomass. these materials – the hard carbon anode,
One example: we’re carbonising waste the cathode and the electrolyte – and con-
textiles and turning them into different trolling the reaction that occurs between
carbons with different materials proper- them at that interface.
ties, different porosity and different My first-ever research project in 1990
surface chemistry. We’re also using the was on sodium electrolytes, but then
biochars that you get from bio solids. when lithium hit the world, everyone
Basically, what comes out of our bodies started working on it.
gets turned into biochar, which we then We’re now seeing companies in China
treat and refine and characterise. We con- making sodium-ion batteries to demon-
trol the porosity, the chemistry on surface strate them in smaller vehicles. Here at
Deakin University, with the help of the
Victorian government, I’ve helped estab-
lish Australia’s first pre-commercial
prototyping facility, where we go from the
materials through to the components that
go into a battery cell.
I’m passionate about translating this
technology out of the lab to commercialise
sodium batteries – and seeing safer, sus-
tainable batteries become the next big
thing.
DEAKIN UNIVERSITY
PROFESSOR MARIA FORSYTH is a world

leader in developing advanced materials for
energy technologies. She is the Chief Scientist,
Energy Storage CRC and an Alfred Deakin
Professorial Fellow at Deakin University.
30 COSMOS MAGAZINE
CURES FROM THE DEEP
Earth’s surface is 70% water, but this number doesn’t

begin to explain the vastness of the ecosystems
beneath the waterline. Drew Rooke dives into the
groundbreaking research that is deriving medicines
from the depths to transform our lives on land.
JIM BEAUDOIN / UNSPLASH
CURES FROM THE DEEP
O
n 5 June 1981, the US Center for illnesses but had been shelved because they were
Disease Control published an article ultimately ineffective.
in its regular newsletter, Morbidity Azidothymidine was one such drug. Also
and Mortality Weekly, which described known as AZT and belonging to a class of drugs
a strange cluster of sudden cases of pneumonia called nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibi-
in Los Angeles. All of the patients were young gay tors, it had first been developed in 1964 as a
men who did not know each other, had no known possible treatment for cancer. In 1985, scientists
common contacts and no knowledge of sexual involved in a screening program run by the
partners who had similar illnesses. Despite National Cancer Institute in Maryland, US, to
courses of treatment, two of the men had already identify possible medicines for the deadly new
died and the other three remained seriously ill virus discovered that AZT suppressed HIV rep-
and died shortly after the article was published. lication without damaging normal cells.
“Pneumocystis pneumonia in the United Shirley Pomponi (above Shortly afterwards, a British pharmaceuti-
LEFT: NOAA. BELOW: NASA SCIENTIFIC VISUALIZATION STUDIO (NSVS).

States is almost exclusively limited to severely and opposite), marine cal company called Burroughs Wellcome funded
immunosuppressed patients,” the editorial note biotechnologist at the a clinical trial to evaluate the drug in people with
read. “The occurrence of pneumocystosis in Harbor Branch AIDS. The results offered a twinkle of hope:
these five previously healthy individuals without Oceanographic Institute although it had adverse side effects, including
a clinically apparent underlying immunodefi- severe intestinal problems, damage to the
ciency is unusual.” immune system, nausea, vomiting and head-
This article marked the first official report- We often think of the aches, AZT did significantly decrease the fatality
ing of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. By the end of the ocean as homogeneous, rate.
1980s, more than 100,000 people in the United but beneath the surface In March 1987, AZT became the first drug to
States alone had died from AIDS and it was the are 361 million sq. km of gain approval from the US Food and Drug
leading cause of death among young adults – complex geography: Administration (FDA) for treating AIDS. Further
especially men aged between 25 and 44 years old. mountain ranges and clinical trials followed, testing different doses to
The severity of the situation triggered an valleys, plateaus and attempt to reduce the side effects. One of these
intense effort to develop a medicine to treat volcanoes. This NASA trials – known as ACTG 019 – proved particu-
HIV/AIDS. As part of this push, scientists inves- visualisation ‘drains’ the larly pivotal: it showed that AZT effectively
tigated the potential of abandoned drugs that ocean to reveal some of delayed the onset of AIDS in asymptomatic peo-
had been developed decades earlier for other these vast features. ple with HIV.
Altitude
8,333
5,000
0
Water level
-6,430
metres
32 COSMOS MAGAZINE
Since then, AZT has radically improved and
prolonged the lives of countless people with HIV;
decades later, the drug remains a common com-
ponent of a HIV patient’s treatment plan. But
what many people might not know is its oceanic,
spongey origin – which is also the source of
many other lifesaving drugs in use today.
F
or millennia, humans have explored the
natural world and collected resources
from it, including medicines. Most of
these medicines have come from land-based
organisms; perhaps the most famous examples
are penicillin – first discovered from bread
mould in 1928 – and aspirin, which was first iso-
lated from the willow tree. prey with barbed hooks that cover their ghostly,
But recently, scientific attention in this field branching limbs.
has also turned to the ocean and the creatures But their survival is also aided by something
that reside in it. else. Because sponges are immobile and cannot
In the last 40 years, more than 30,000 new flee or attack predators, they have evolved to
chemicals have been discovered from protect themselves by producing novel toxic
marine-based species including microbes,
algae, sponges and bryozoans. According
“A lot of chemical compounds, which also enable
them to thrive in some of the most
to a 2016 study in the journal
Biomolecules & Therapeutics, these
chemicals that extreme and inhospitable places on
Earth. In fact, every year, more than
chemicals “are often characterised by showed promising 200 new chemicals are discovered just
structural novelty, complexity, and from sea sponges.
diversity”. medicinal properties One scientist who has discovered
Marine sponges in particular have many of these new chemicals is Shirley
proved to be an especially rich source were coming from Pomponi. A self-described “medical
of new biochemical compounds. sponge hunter”, Pomponi is a research
There are nearly 10,000 known spe- sponges” professor and the executive director of the
cies of sponges worldwide (for comparison Cooperative Institute for Ocean Exploration,
around 6,400 extant species of mammals have Research, and Technology at Florida Atlantic
been described). They’re among the oldest line- University’s Harbor Branch Oceanographic
ages of animals on the planet, with research Institute. She has spent nearly 40 years collect-
published in Nature in 2021 indicating they first ing sea sponges from around the world and
emerged on Earth nearly 900 million years ago analysing their chemistry in search of new
– a time when the planet was populated by sim- medicines.
ple multicellular organisms like algae. Pomponi says she “got hooked” on marine
Found at all depths in the ocean, they can biology in college. In 1984, soon after she had
form vast gardens that can be several hundreds completed her PhD in biological oceanography,
of years old, cycle huge amounts of carbon and she received a call from the Harbor Branch
store a record of Earth’s climatic history. In Oceanographic Institute, which had just founded
February 2024, for example, a study published in a marine drug discovery program and needed
Nature Climate Change used 300 years of ocean someone to assist in collecting and identifying
temperature records contained in marine sponges and other marine organisms.
sponges to show that global warming has “A lot of chemicals that showed promising
increased by 0.5°C more than previous medicinal properties were coming from sponges,
estimates. and they really wanted to get a feel for what these
Being such ancient creatures, marine sponges were and refine the sample acquisition
sponges lack complex organs and tissues. Most program,” she says.
FAU HARBOR BRANCH
survive by filter feeding, actively pumping large With her previous experience studying sea
quantities of water through their porous body sponge ecology, Pomponi was an ideal person for
tissue to capture microscopic, organic organ- the job – and was soon leading the Institute’s
isms – although some, such as the harp-like acquisition program. Her work is global in scope
Chondrocladia lyra, are carnivorous and capture and has taken her to some of the most biodiverse
CURES FROM THE DEEP
regions of the planet, including the Great Barrier

Reef and Ningaloo Reef in the late 1980s. “That
Sponge salves
was a really successful trip,” she says. “We were Marine sponges are a rich source of novel bioactive compounds that have
looking at not only the tropical organisms, but produced new pharmaceuticals. Some tackle cancer, such as 1, which led to the
more warm temperate ones as well.” chemotherapy drug trabectedin; 3, which produces chemicals that can kill liver
FAR LEFT: NSVS. CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: GLOBAL SEAFOOD ALLIANCE. SHIRLEY POMPONI. UNCW SPONGE GUIDE. ED BIERMAN / WIKIMEDIA. INATURALIST. BEESOO R, BHAGOOLI R, BAHORUN T, NEERGHEEN VS.
According to Pomponi, her work is under- cancer cells; and 5, which contains an alkaloid shown to inhibit cervical cancer
pinned by a simple concept: “fi nd and grind”. cells. Meanwhile, 2 and 6 produce compounds with antibacterial and antifungal
First, she searches for organisms that are in activities, and a nucleoside from 4 led to the breakthrough HIV drug AZT.
some way unusual – either because of their
shape, colour or size – which can be an indica-
tion of a novel chemical composition. These
organisms are not confi ned to one region of the
ocean; rather, they are spread throughout it and
at various depths, from the shallows to several
kilometres underwater.
To collect those living in shallow waters,
Pomponi and her colleagues will dive using
SCUBA gear. For those residing in the dark
depths, they now use remotely operated sub-
mersibles; however, up until 2011 they used
human-operated ones.
Back in the lab, Pomponi will then make an
extract of a sample by grinding it up and mixing
it in with a solvent. “And then we test that extract, 1. Ecteinascidia turbinata 2. Amphimedon compressa
which might contain dozens or even hundreds of
different chemicals to see if it’ll, say, kill cancer
cells or inhibit microbial growth.”
If the extract achieves this, the next step
involves isolating which particular molecules
are the active ones, using a series of chemical
procedures such as spectroscopy or
chromatography.
“And gradually,” Pomponi explains, “you
narrow it down to a single molecule. And ideally,
at the end of the day, it’s a novel molecule that’s
never been discovered before with a novel bio-
logical activity, or it’s a known molecule that has
hasn’t previously been
reported to have that
particular type 3. Neopetrosia exigua 4. Tectitethya crypta
of activity.”
5. Acanthostrongylophora ingens 6. Tethya aurantium

With the active molecule identified, the pro- Currents – like those of which stretches 65,000km. Its average depth is
cess of identifying its exact mechanism of action the Atlantic (above and roughly 3,800m – four times deeper than the
begins. opposite) – are driven average land elevation is high – and its deepest
“You have to figure out: how does the chemi- primarily by wind at the point, the Mariana Trench, east of the
cal actually work – how does it kill cancer cells, surface and by water Philippines, is nearly 11,000m deep, into which
for example? Because it’s not good enough just to density differences Mount Everest would fit with almost two kilo-
say that it kills cells; you have to be way more deep below. These metres to spare.
specific than that.” immense conveyor belts This space does not contain a monoculture,
regulate global climate. even though it might seem like it from our land-
A
n oft-quoted fact about the ocean is that Without them, land based vantage point. Within it are five distinct
it covers more than 70% of Earth’s sur- temperatures would be zones of life, which are defined by the amount of
face, or roughly 361 million square far more extreme. sunlight that reaches them. The most extreme –
kilometres. But this only gives a superficial the Hadal zone, from 6,000m below – is charac-
sense of the scale of what marine biologist Rachel terised by complete darkness, freezing
Carson once called “that great mother of life”, temperatures and crushing pressure more
for it explains very little of the vast world than 1,000 times higher than at the surface.
beneath the waterline.
That world is one which we are still
“More than In all of these zones live an array of
strange and wonderful species – 91% of
– despite decades of research and three quarters which scientists estimate are yet to be
huge leaps in technology – in the nas- classified.
cent stages of perceiving, let alone of the ocean has And among the most strange and
understanding. It harbours 99% of wonderful forms of life that exist down
all living space on the planet, more never been mapped, there are the sponges.
than three quarters of which has
explored or
I
never been mapped, explored or t was a German-American chemist
observed by humans.
What we do know is that the ocean is
observed” from Yale University named Werner
Bergmann who – quite accidentally
far from being physically featureless. It con- – pioneered scientific interest into Earth’s
tains huge volcanoes, seamounts, canyons, underwater pharmacy nearly 80 years ago.
trenches, abyssal plains and mountain ranges In the autumn of 1945, Bergmann – who had
that dwarf many of those found above the a stern, serious face punctuated by a toothbrush
waterline. In fact, it’s home to the biggest moustache that overshadowed his small, thin
NSVS
mountain range on Earth: the mid-ocean ridge, mouth – travelled to Florida Keys, where he
found a previously undescribed sea sponge in nucleosides: spongouridine and spongosine.
shallow waters, which was eventually taxono- Bergmann got to work synthesising these “unu-
mised as Tectitethya crypta. sual nucleosides”, which ultimately paved the
Within a few hours of collecting samples, way for the release in 1969 of cytarabine – a drug
he preserved them in a solution of seawater
and formalin, then dried them in a vac-
“These that blocks DNA replication in acute leukaemia
and lymphoma tumours, effectively killing
uum oven. Bergmann was looking for ‘unusual them. A synthetic nucleoside modelled
fat molecules called sterols which he after spongothymidine, cytarabine was
knew play a key role in biological sys- nucleosides’ the fi rst-ever marine-derived medical
tems, but four years passed before he drug. It is still used to treat leukaemia
investigated his samples for them. ultimately paved patients, though it does come with a
When he did, he found something number of side effects, including gastro-
quite different – and very strange. the way for the intestinal disorders, pneumonia and
When he placed the samples in
boiling acetone, a “rather copious
release in 1969 of confusion.
After the approval of cytarabine,
amount of a nicely crystalline material”
began to form in the fl ammable, pungent
cytarabine” research in the field of marine pharmacology
“lapsed for a while”, according to Pomponi. But
liquid. He later showed it to be a nucleoside, in the mid-1980s, “everything started up again”
but, oddly, not one of the four types that were – with the benefit of increased funding from
already known (and would later be found to form large pharmaceutical companies like Merck.
the structure of DNA): thymidine, cytidine, This led to the development of new drugs
guanosine and adenosine. While it resembled that were modelled after the strange nucleosides
thymidine in structure, this new compound, Bergmann found within Tectitethya crypta.
instead of being linked in a chain with other One of these drugs was the HIV/AIDs treat-
nucleosides, was all alone. ment, AZT. Another was aciclovir – the fi rst
As a testament to both the organisms from antiviral medication. Discovered in 1984, it was
which it was derived and the nucleoside it approved for the treatment of herpes, chicken-
resembled, Bergmann named this compound pox and shingles seven years later and is now
spongothymidine. He also isolated from this considered by the World Health Organization to
NSVS
sponge two other previously unknown be an “essential medicine”.
36 COSMOS MAGAZINE
In the years since, marine pharmacology Barotropic or surface of debris and frozen at minus 80°C, before being
research has continued. Trabectedin – which tides (above) are very ground into a powder and soaked in solvent to
was isolated from Ecteinascidia turbinata, a sea long-period waves that obtain different chemical extracts. The extracts
squirt species that lives on corals in the move across the globe were then tested at the University of Edinburgh
Mediterranean – is a chemotherapy drug fi rst in response to the forces for their efficacy in fi ghting human cancer cells.
approved for use by the European Union (EU) in of the Sun and Moon. The results were enormously promising.
2007 and eight years later by the FDA. The FDA They produce internal One particular extract not only killed liver can-
has also approved eribulin mesylate: a medica- tides as water moves cer cells at very low doses by activating various
tion used in the treatment of patients with breast up and down steep proteins that led to their breakdown, but it also
cancer. It’s a synthetic analogue of the molecule topography (below). displayed very low toxicity towards normal
halichondrin B, which is produced by dinofl agel- cells. Many more marine-derived drugs are cur-
lates that live symbiotically in marine rently in clinical trials.
sponges.
I
In October 2023, a team n May 2023, a team of
from the University of researchers led by Muriel
Mauritius, led by Rima Rabone, a deep-sea ecologist
Beesoo, published the at the Natural History Museum
results of their study in London, published a land-
into the sponge mark paper in Current
Neopetrosia exi- Biology: “How many meta-
gua. Collected zoan species live in the
from coral reefs world’s largest mineral
near Amber exploration region?”
Island off the The region in
northeast shore question is the Clarion-
of Mauritius, Clipperton Zone (CCZ),
the sponge was which spans approxi-
transferred to mately six million sq. km
the lab under – about twice the size of
NSVS
seawater, cleaned India. It lies in the Pacific
between Hawai‘i, Kiribati and Mexico and is the Based on what is already known about
focus of deep-sea mining explorations due to the marine organisms like sponges, however, there
abundance of potato-sized nodules – found in is good reason to believe that the chemistry of at
mud 4,000 to 6,000 metres below the surface – least some of those found in the CCZ will be novel
that are rich in minerals critical for the renewa- – and so, according to Rabone, could potentially
ble energy transition, like nickel, cobalt and be the foundation of “lifesaving, blockbuster
copper. drugs”. Deep-sea mining poses a serious threat
Rabone and her fellow authors said the paper to these potential discoveries. “If we don’t pro-
represented the “first comprehensive synthe- tect [the CCZ], what are we potentially losing?
sis” of biodiversity within “the largest It’s a difficult question to answer, but one
ecosystem on our planet” on “the eve of “We don’t we will never answer if we aren’t looking
possible large-scale mining operations”
(currently, there are 17 contracts for
know about at potential applications of the organ-
isms found there.”
mineral exploration covering more
than one million sq. km).
their ecology … and According to Pomponi, deep-sea
mining and trawling are the “biggest
They parsed through more than we certainly don’t threats to the biodiversity of the deep
100,000 records of creatures found in sea” – and by extension to the potential
the CCZ gathered from numerous deep- know about their development of new, marine-based
sea research cruises, and found evidence drugs that could help in the fight not just
for 5,578 different species, with as many chemistry.” against cancer but also deadly diseases
as 92% being entirely new to science. that, over time, become resistant to antibiot-
But, according to Rabone, the paper “barely ics. As Rabone points out: “There are predictions
scratches the surface” of the biodiversity found that in 20 to 40 years’ time, bacteria diseases are
in the CCZ. Indeed, she believes there could be going to be number one killer because of
up to 8,000 more unknown species located there. antimicrobial resistance.” (See ‘Rebelling against
And even of those species that have been identi- resistance’, Issue 100.)
fied, our knowledge of them is extremely Deep-sea mining is just one of the challenges
limited. affecting the development of new marine-based
“We don’t know about their ecology or their drugs. Another is the sustainable supply of
functional role,” she says, “and we certainly sponges and other oceanic organisms. Part of
NSVS
don’t know about their chemistry.” this problem is that, as Pomponi says,
CURES FROM THE DEEP
Deep-sea species on display
“deep-water
sponges are
very difficult to access”.
But in addition to this, it’s often necessary to col-
lect a huge amount of sponge samples to conduct
useful experiments.
Indeed, scientists were only able to produce
300 milligrams of halichondrin B from the one
tonne of a rare, deep-water sponge they collected.
As the 2016 paper in Biomolecules & Therapeutics
said: “This very low yield did not allow the sus-
tainable isolation of halichondrin B.”
In the case of halichondrin, this problem was The Clarion-Clipperton Zone – a region of the Pacific between Hawai‘i and
solved by chemical synthesis in 1992. For others, Mexico – is a treasure trove of biodiversity. In 2023, scientists discovered more
it has been solved with aquaculture. But Pomponi than 5,000 deep-sea species there, from the ‘gummy squirrel’ (Psychropotes
is working on another solution: in vitro cell longicauda, top left) to strange new sea cucumbers (Oneirophanta mutabilis,
development. middle right) to worms, corals, glass sponges and members of the spider family.
“How can we get cells from these sponges
that produce chemicals that have human health
applications and grow those cells in the labora-
tory, so we don’t have to keep going back and Author Arthur C. Clarke geophysicist and oceanographer Athelstan F.
collecting from the natural environment?” she once wrote: “How Spilhaus more than 80 years ago. It shows
asks. inappropriate to call Antarctica floating in the middle of one continu-
Her process is to take small fragments of this planet Earth, when ous body of blue water – around which lay the
cells from sponges and then cryopreserve them it’s quite clearly Ocean.” other land masses, like an audience.
FROM TOP LEFT: ESRI / NASA. SMARTEX / NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM / NOAA.
so they stay alive, before thawing and attempt- The Spilhaus projection This map provides an opportunity to reima-
ing to grow them in the lab – a process she says (above) would have been gine the ocean and see it for what it is – namely,
can be applied to other marine organisms as more like Thrillhaus for the protagonist who plays the starring role in the
well. Clarke, as it visualises grand narrative of life on Earth.
Four years ago, she made a “big break- the oceans as a single, The research by Pomponi, Rabone and others
through” on this front when she and colleagues continuous body of offers a similar kind of opportunity. It expands
grew sponge cells in culture for the first time. water, with Antarctica how we think of the ocean, transforming it from
“It took me 30 years to successfully do it. And at the heart. He may simply a flat expanse stretching to the horizon
we just got a grant from the [EU] to scale up pro- have been similarly taken into a multi-dimensional, multi-zonal space.
duction for anti-cancer compounds.” with the image opposite, It’s an opportunity to appreciate just how
which shows sea- vast and complex the ocean really is. But it also
O
ur standard world maps centre the land. surface chlorophyll – a helps us appreciate something else about it as
Looking at them, we have our land-bias proxy for phytoplankton, well: the seemingly infinite discoveries to be
reinforced; we see the continents the microscopic algae made underwater, including those hidden in the
fringed by segregated oceans, which exist almost on which virtually porous tissue of ancient marine animals which,
in the background. But one map flips this every marine food quite literally, can save our lives.
representation. web depends.
Known as the Spilhaus projection, it was DREW ROOKE is based in Sydney. His last story, on the
developed by South African-American rich history of climate modelling, appeared in Issue 102.
INDIGENOUS INNOVATIONS
In the southwest of estern technological socie-
Western Australia,
postgraduate science
“W ties continue
biodiversity,”
to fail
Stephen
Hopper tells me bluntly.
A world-renowned ecologist and professor of
biodiversity at the University of Western Australia
(UWA), Hopper believes that Indigenous land
students are working management practices could be the secret to sav-
ing Western Australia’s landscapes. This is why he
with Indigenous works with Traditional Owners to combine
Indigenous knowledge with scientific research.
families to put Noongar He’s spent a decade on Merningar/Menang and
Goreng Country near Kinjarling/Albany, WA. It’s
knowledge on the map, a rugged landscape near the coast, with tall
marri forests and large granite outcrops.
“You learn something different every time
reports Cat Williams. you have a yarn or go out bush,” he says. “I’m
continually amazed by the generosity of Elders
to share their knowledge.”
During the fi rst few years, Hopper built rela-
tionships with Noongar Elders and families,
including Merningar Elder Lynette Knapp, who
has a very close relationship with the university.
“They’re my family,” she says. “It’s like going out
bush with my family.”
Together, Hopper, Knapp and another UWA
academic Alison Lullfitz supervise a number of
postgraduate students in projects that document
Noongar innovation and knowledge (kaartadijin,
pronouced cart-a-jin), ranging from traditional
burns to animal traps. These collaborations are
combining Noongar kaartadijin and Western sci-
ence to produce important new Australian
research – and an exciting model of how to com-
bine such different knowledge systems.
Noongar groups
Amangu
Yuat
ong
B alard
Perth
Whadjuk
PHOTOTRIP / GETTY IMAGES
Nadji Nadji
Pindjarup
Wilma
n
Bunbury Njunga
i Wudjari
rd and G or
eng
Wa Kaneang
B il Esperance
elm
an Mirningar
Albany
Fire is central to Noongar life and is the focus of one regimes, how they have adapted and how they
of Hopper, Knapp and Lullfitz’s PhD students, might adapt in future.
Ursula Rodrigues. With a background in ecology, Knapp, for example, believes that current
Rodrigues is researching prescribed burning, as Western burning practices do not help land
well as investigating storytelling in science. management. “There’s absolutely no way you
Eliza Woods, a Goreng Noongar Elder, says can just chuck fi re sticks from the air,” she says.
it’s exciting to be involved in Rodrigues’ work. Both Woods and Knapp say that traditional
“We haven’t had access to our land for many, In May 2023 (above), burns were seasonal to benefit the plants, as well
many years; it’s only through UWA that we can Goreng Elders led a as the humans and animals who ate them. “That
do this,” she explains. burn in a cleared and was their supermarket,” Woods says.
This is primarily due to government restric- salt-affected area at Part of Rodrigues’ research is to assess “cul-
tions around fi re in areas such as national parks, Nowanup, near tural resource species”, which includes bush
of which Merningar and Goreng Country have Boxwood Hill. This is foods. Noongar people are concerned that bush
many, including the Stirling Ranges, the second season foods are less common than they were histori-
URSULA RODRIGUES X2
Waychinicup and Porongurup. running that Elders cally, so research is investigating whether
There are plenty of published ecological and caretakers have smaller burns can increase the abundance of
studies using historical information to describe regenerated Country specific species.
Aboriginal fi re practices. But Rodrigues says and revitalised cultural For Rodrigues, a typical day in the field
there is little research working with contempo- knowledge through involves everyone rolling out onto Country: open
rary Noongar people to understand current fi re fire practice. land, with some thick bush. “There’s a couple of
42 COSMOS MAGAZINE
4WDs, four or five Elders … maybe a few kids or Noongar seasons

grandkids.” She describes an army of people
including land managers, land owners, rangers
and researchers.
o n of t h e yo u n g :
Se as
“We spend quite a bit of time deciding where d r y a n d h ot Se
as
[to burn] and just spending time in that place,” h: ds h
on ttes year
pe t
r y bir
ri o
of t t i m
o he
Rodrigues says. Before they burn, the team sets
e r d of
ad
l o n g ason
o l e of
up camp and has a yarn. Rodrigues says they
sce
Se
e
nce:
discuss the weather, how they will light the fi re,
and listen to the aspirations of the Elders for the
hood:
egins
c o nc rm d igh
w et , w , c o l d
burn. These Elders have burned plenty of
S e a i o n: s
clea
we a d u l t
e pt
er b
so mi
Country before, and this knowledge was passed
a
r
no x
ath
f
no
f
down from generations before them.
ay
a n of
so
a
n
Se
er
ts d Fe r t i ol
The yarn is important for Woods and her l it y s e a s o n: co
cold t
e s t a n d w e t te s
family to share stories. “We can train the young t i m e o f t h e ye a r
ones, teach them about the weather,” she says.

But before the yarn and the burn, there’s
work to do for Rodrigues’ research. “We spend a
couple of days doing some really in-depth … data Aunty Eliza Woods Across Australia, temperature rises;
collection at the site,” Rodrigues says. She devel- (below) uses porrong different language days mostly see
oped a data-collection method combining fi re bush to spread flames groups recognise morning easterly
behaviour and species composition into a simple along the ground at an different seasons, winds and afternoon
format, so anyone can be involved. This means Elder-led burn in York based on weather ocean breezes. This
that Elders and Indigenous rangers can partici- Gum Woodland at Bush patterns, harvests and is the fire season, as
pate to gather data suitable for research Heritage’s Red Moort animal abundance. the winds create
standards. “It’s learning for us too,” Woods says. Reserve, midway In the Noongar conditions that burn
At each burn site, they make a field herbar- between Stirling Range season Birak, for some patches while
ium: a sample of the plants growing in the area. and Fitzgerald River example, rainfall leaving others
These are taken three times: before the fire, a national parks. decreases and untouched.
week after and then in the following spring.
“ Tra d i t i o n a l b u rn s we r e s e a s o n a l to b e n efi t t h e p l a nt s ,
a s we l l a s t h e h u m a n s a n d a n i m a l s w h o ate t h e m ”
“We measure the arrangement of biomass …

at the surface level, and then move all the way
up into the trees,” Rodrigues says. Biomass
refers to the total amount of organisms living in
the area.
When the team is ready to begin burning
Country, it is always an Elder who lights the fi re.
It’s too early in Rodrigues’ research to have
data to confi rm the burns’ success, but she says
there is anecdotal evidence for landscapes recov-
FAR RIGHT: BUREAU OF METEOROLOGY
ering well from the fi re. Rodrigues is looking at

how to apply fi re depending on what plants are
present, and how fi re could be applied at a metre-
by-metre scale, across the Noongar seasons –
which hasn’t been done before.
Woods says “it’s healing” to participate, and
is grateful to UWA for continuing connection to
Country. “We keep telling our story [because] we
want people out there to know our culture is
alive and well,” she says.
ANNA ISCHENKO
44 COSMOS MAGAZINE
For thousands of years, Indigenous people have

found ingenious ways to collect and contain
water. While many rivers flow on Merningar
and Goreng Country, Noongar people also cre-
ated gnaama boorna (pronounced narma borna),
which translates to ‘waterhole in a tree’.
Anna Ischenko completed her master’s pro-
ject last year on gnaama boorna, and describes
one as “a tree that was horticulturally managed
by Noongar families … over generations”.
To create gnaama boorna, Noongar people
would remove the middle shoot of a tree sapling,
creating a circular depression. As the tree grew,
they would make the hole bigger through fi re or
manual carving. “Basically, over generations,
you have a tree with a hole in the middle that
stores water,” Ischenko says. Funnels were also
carved into side branches to direct rainwater
into the waterhole.
During the research, Ischenko worked with
Knapp to confirm the cultural and historical
importance of the trees.
“Aunty Lynette [Knapp] … has driven this pro-
ject. She was told about these trees by her father,
and they hadn’t been recorded before – until she
showed Steve [Hopper],” Ischenko says. “There’s
evidence of these trees in early colonial diaries,
but they haven’t been documented in any [scien-
tific] literature.”
“Th e re’s evi d e n c e of t h e s e t re e s i n e a rly c o l o n i a l d i a ri e s ,

b ut t h ey h aven’t b e e n d o c u m e nte d [by s c i e n c e].”
The fi rst part of Ischenko’s work was to From the model, Ischenko walked some of
identify and measure gnaama boorna in order to these routes and found more gnaama boorna.
create a foundation of knowledge. Alongside When Ischenko showed Elders her model, they
Elders, she developed identification criteria to thought it looked accurate based on their know-
distinguish a gnaama boorna from a random ledge of Country, and could imagine where their
hole in a tree – namely, that a gnaama boorna A gnaama boorna ancestors may have walked. “It was a feeling you
has an unusual branching structure, has been (opposite) – tree just can’t explain,” Knapp says. “Getting to see
altered by people and has a basin-type hole in the waterhole – on the that map was really awesome.”
trunk. Kalgan River, which Gnaama boorna are mostly found in marri
In the second stage of Ischenko’s research, flows to sea near trees (Corymbia calophylla), which Ischenko says
she interviewed Elders about the most important Kinjarling/Albany, hold medicinal properties in the sap and bark
factors that influence travel across Country. She shows the characteristic that could seep into the water. There is anecdotal
found out these were distance to water, avoiding basin-type hole in the evidence that the water can reduce stomach
dense vegetation and avoiding sacred sites. From trunk. UWA researcher aches and have anti-microbial effects, resulting
this information, Ischenko created a model to Anna Ischenko created in debate over whether gnaama boorna were pri-
trace the most efficient path to travel across a model that links marily created for water or medicine.
Country, and found that many known gnaama gnaama boorna to travel The trees are at risk from being cut down or
STEVE HOPPER
boorna lay along these routes. “The factors going routes – which Elder burnt in wildfi res or prescribed burns. Ischenko,
into the model is what Indigenous people said Lynette Knapp (above) alongside Knapp, is working to get gnaama
was important, not necessarily what the litera- said gave her “a feeling boorna trees on a cultural heritage tree register,
ture presumes to be important,” she says. you just can’t explain”. to protect them for future generations.
Another one of Hopper, Knapp and Lullfitz’s stu- stories. Cramp says that without Elders, she
dents is Susie Cramp, who recently submitted wouldn’t know anything about where to fi nd the
her PhD thesis investigating food sources on traps. “It’s their cultural knowledge that reveals
Noongar Country. so much,” she says.
Cramp’s research documented granite lizard Cramp measured 750 lizard traps across
traps, which look like a slab of granite, around 100 granite outcrops over three years, and says
one metre long and held up by a smaller ‘prop’ she didn’t scratch the surface of how many traps
stone, creating a space underneath for reptiles. are present. Aside from measuring the trap’s
They have been constructed by Noongar people size, Cramp used cameras to identify seven
for thousands of years, to lure animals into a reptile species using the traps for various
‘safe’ spot, so reptiles could be caught and eaten, behaviours, including basking and hiding from
providing the necessary calories for survival. predators. Animals included karda (goanna,
According to Knapp, many people still use Varanus rosenbergi), noorn (tiger snake, Notechis
them. scutatus) and yondi (king skink, Egernia kingii).
“ Th ey ’r e c u l t u ra l l y ve r y i m p o r t a nt , a n d n ow t h e r e’s d at a
to s h ow t h at t h ey ’r e e c o l o g i c a l l y ve r y i m p o r t a nt ”
ANDREW PEACOCK / GETTY IMAGES
Like Rodrigues and Ischenko, Cramp’s field- Knapp says that if the trap was built on a steep
work approach is different to Western science. outcrop, it could even catch small wallabies.
“The main activity is to set up chairs in a nice Cramp’s research found no difference in the
spot and making sure everyone’s got a cup of tea, presence and behaviour of reptiles between traps
and usually a biscuit,” she says. and natural uplifted sheets of granite, which are a
They yarn about where they should research, well-established reptile habitat. These data are
and who should come along. Once everyone is yet to be published, but the study provides the
out bush, they talk about lizard traps and share first evidence that the traps – artificially created
46 COSMOS MAGAZINE
THE FUTURE OF NOONGAR KAARTADIJIN

Granite lizard traps (above) targeted animals such The collaboration between Noongar Elders, their
as goannas (Varanus rosenbergi, opposite) and various community and these postgraduate students has
snake species, including pythons (above top). Elder connected scientific and cultural knowledge to
Gail Yorkshire (right, at left) has worked with UWA reach a common goal: restoring natural land-
botany professor Steve Hopper (right) for many years. scapes in a culturally sensitive way.
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: SUSIE CRAMP. NOONGAR BOODJAR LANGUAGE CENTRE. HOPPER.
This work has built a significant knowledge

environments – have now become natural habitat base and demonstrated a successful method of
for reptiles, whether Noongar people are using scientifically combining Indigenous knowledge
them as traps or not. “They’re culturally very with Western science.
important, and now there’s data to show that “We continue to be surprised and elated by
they’re ecologically very important,” Cramp says. the depth of insight and breadth of conservation
Granite outcrops are sacred for Noongar peo- actions inherent in traditional Noongar life in
ple, but lizard traps are increasingly under this global biodiversity hotspot,” Hopper says.
threat. Rock crawling in cars had damaged He, Knapp and Lullfitz will keep supervising
70% of surveyed traps, while rock stacking postgraduate students at the University of
(where people create cairns) had altered 50% of Western Australia. They hope the research pro-
surveyed traps. “It’s great that people are con- jects will lead to increasing levels of biodiversity
necting with nature,” Cramp says, “but we need on Merningar and Goreng Country, as well as
to make sure disturbances are minimised.” demonstrate the importance of Noongar people’s
Cramp says that the best way to conserve liz- knowledge.
ard traps is by management strategies led by “When we fi rst started working with the
Elders, along with minimising disturbances and girls down at the uni … they didn’t know much
removing the barriers for Traditional Owners about Aboriginal survival techniques,” Knapp
who care for Country. says. “Now, I can’t say anything in language in
There is anecdotal evidence that like gnaama front of them! It’s been a brilliant journey.”
boorna, lizard traps are found along commonly
travelled paths across Country. “They created CAT WILLIAMS is a freelance science writer, interested
the pathway for where we walked,” Knapp says. in zoology, the environment and Indigenous knowledge.
48 COSMOS MAGAZINE
DARK MATTER
Dark matter’s revelatory moment is near, writes Martin White.

AKIHIRO IKESHITA, MERO-TSK, INTERNATIONAL
A
2023 poll to decide the most famous underground where smashed protons reveal
opening line of a book yielded “It was their secrets. It took us more than a decade to
the best of times, it was the worst of realise that looking both ways is the key to
times”, the first words of Charles unravelling one of the biggest remaining mys-
Dickens’ Victorian blockbuster A Tale of Two teries in physics: dark matter.
Cities. Set in London and Paris during the French When Emmanuel and I first met, no one had
Revolution, the action zips along in customary any idea what dark matter was made from. We
Dickensian fashion, told almost exclusively in resolved to one day combine our expertise to find
sentences longer than his own gargantuan beard. out. Seventeen years later, feeling somewhat
In February of this year, a different tale of After first meeting while guilty about the long pause, I invited him to
two cities commenced with the arrival in working on the Large spend six months in Australia assembling a plan
Adelaide of Parisian astronomer Emmanuel Hadron Collider (bottom to finally end the season of darkness.
Moulin. Although this new yarn exchanges revo- and opposite), Martin As I write this tale in 2024, we are on the
lutionary politics for the less deadly terrain of White (below, centre) verge of opening a new window to the heavens
high-energy astrophysics, it is otherwise eerily and Emmanuel Moulin, that will take us further than ever before, using
reminiscent of that famous opening sentence, at right, have formed one of the most powerful astronomical observa-
taking in the age of wisdom, the season of light a crack team of tories ever built.
and the season of darkness. physicists – including
Our tale truly begins in 2007, when I first met Sabrina Einecke, at left THE SEASON OF DARKNESS
Emmanuel at the CERN particle physics labora- – to hunt for elusive dark But first, let’s take a step back to shed light on
tory in Geneva, Switzerland. Particle physics is matter using high- what we currently know about dark matter.
my bread and butter, and at the time, I was busy energy gamma-ray Look up on a clear night, and you’ll be dazzled
testing bits of the ATLAS experiment of the Large telescopes. by the immense number of points and smudges
Hadron Collider, the world’s that are comprised of stars, planets
largest underground particle and more exotic objects such as nebu-
accelerator that would go on to dis- lae. Indeed, Australia’s exceptionally
cover the Higgs boson in 2012. As clear skies gave rise to the first
an astrophysicist, Emmanuel was astronomy, created by Aboriginal
using high-energy radiation from and Torres Strait Islander scientists.
space to map and understand Tens of thousands of years later,
some of the strangest regions of we now know that what you don’t see
the cosmos. Both of us shared a in the night sky is as compelling as
passion for unravelling the funda- the visible. A multitude of apparently
mental laws of the universe. disparate measurements – from
However, Emmanuel was looking observations of the motion of galaxies
directly to heaven, whereas I was orbiting each other, to detailed meas-
looking the other way – deep urements of the microwaves reaching
TOP: MATTHEW BUGEJA. LEFT: R WHITE (MPIK) / K BERNLOHR (MPIK) / DESY

us from the early universe – indicate
that 85% of all matter consists of a mysterious
form of “dark matter”, so-named because it does
not interact directly with light. It is spread like a
net of fibres through the universe, with galaxy
clusters forming where the fibres intersect. For
individual galaxies like our own Milky Way, we
expect the dark matter to be concentrated in the
middle of the galaxy, slowly becoming less and less
prevalent towards the edge.
But what is dark matter?
In school, we learn the startling fact that
everything around us is made of a small set of
atomic elements, summarised conveniently in
the periodic table. In fact, we even know what
atoms are made of – particles called quarks and
leptons, held together variously by three types
of glue called the strong force, the weak force
50 COSMOS MAGAZINE
DARK MATTER
“WE ARE ON THE VERGE OF OPENING A NEW WINDOW TO THE

HEAVENS THAT WILL TAKE US FURTHER THAN BEFORE”
and the electromagnetic force. The theory of Taken together, these properties are restric-
this is now so well understood that it is known tive. We’re left with a particle that must only
as the Standard Model of Particle Physics (see interact via gravity (which is how we discovered it
Issue 95). in the first place), plus either via the weak force or
Dark matter unfortunately does not appear via some new force similar in strength to the weak
in this Standard Model, but we do get some clues force. Finally, to get the shapes, sizes and types of
about its nature from current observations. For galaxies that we see today, the dark matter parti-
example, since all visible matter is made of a cle must be fairly heavy and slow-moving, or it
small set of particles, it seems natural to assume would have blasted galaxies apart as they tried to
that dark matter is a new type of particle. form in the early universe.
Furthermore, it is dark – which means that it The hunt is thus on for what has been dubbed
can’t have electric charge (since anything with a WIMP – a Weakly-Interacting Massive Particle,
electric charge interacts directly with light). We the catch-all name for a hypothetical dark matter
also do not expect it to interact via the strong particle that interacts via gravity and some other
force, since that would give rise to behaviour force. To truly understand dark matter, we need
CERN
that we have not observed. to see the particle interacting through this other
force and work out what sort of particle it is, in the properties under perfect laboratory condi-
the same way we have classified the existing par- tions. This is why Emmanuel and I first worked
ticles of the Standard Model. And for that, we together all those years ago at CERN.
must move beyond theory and into experiment. The second way is to exploit the fact that as
the Earth whizzes through space, it is constantly
THE AGE OF WISDOM racing through and towards dark matter. If we
Mathematical theories of dark matter have put a tank of special material underground to
helped us invent three basic ways of discovering shield it from other interactions, we should very
a dark matter particle. The first is to study it in occasionally see the direct interaction of dark
the laboratory, using the Large Hadron Collider matter particles with nuclei inside the detector.
to smash protons together at near the speed of This approach is popular with several large
light. When the protons strike each other, they international teams, including those construct-
create a region of enormous energy density from ing the SABRE experiment at the Stawell gold
which any other particle can emerge, provided mine in rural Victoria (see Issue 94).
the energy is high enough. Very occasionally, Finally, and with the greatest of irony, one
therefore, one expects to produce dark matter can search for dark matter using light. Although
particles, and we could then precisely measure dark matter has no direct interaction with light,
Ȗ-ray enters the Primary Ȗ

WHAT IS CHERENKOV atmosphere
RADIATION?
Electromagnetic cascade
10 nanosecond snapshot
0.1 km2 “light pool” – a few photons per m2
R WHITE (MPIK), K BERNLOHR (MPIK) DESY
Nothing can travel faster than the speed of light (c) – but this maximum speed only occurs in a perfect vacuum. Light travels slower
through other mediums; in our atmosphere, for example, it travels at about 99.97% of c. So when a high-energy gamma ray hits the
atmosphere and produces particles (electron-positron pairs), these actually travel faster than the speed of light in air, creating the
light equivalent of a sonic boom. They trigger a cascade of secondary particles and Cherenkov radiation: optical photons that travel
down to Earth in a blue cone, lasting only a few nanoseconds. The more energetic the original gamma ray, the bigger the shower of
particles it creates, forming a cone of light spreading over large areas and requiring more widely spaced telescopes to detect.
52 COSMOS MAGAZINE
DARK MATTER
our theories predict that when dark Cherenkov radiation can then be
matter collides with its antiparticle picked up by ultra-fast cameras.
and they annihilate, this produces Such cameras form the basis of
particles that themselves produce special telescopes called Imaging
light. For example, dark matter Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescopes,
could produce other particles of the which pack many highly sensitive
Standard Model that immediately electronic sensors onto a robust
decay to yet more particles that frame that can be pointed at different
then decay to produce photons. regions of the sky. To get the most
Dark matter is therefore not com- precise picture, you need multiple
pletely dark, though the theories telescope dishes all pointing at the
tell us that the light produced would same source. The images in each
be gamma rays – light of such high individual dish can then be combined
energy that it wouldn’t be visible to to better measure the direction the
the naked eye. Since light travels to gamma ray came from, along with
Earth from distant objects in a other properties such as its energy.
straight line, all we need to do is I first heard about the Cherenkov
point a special type of telescope at Telescope Array from my University
regions of the universe expected to of Adelaide colleague, astrophysicist
be rich in dark matter, and we should see a steady This cutaway shows the Sabrina Einecke. Sabrina serves as Australia’s
stream of gamma rays. inside of the SABRE commissioning scientist in CTAO, leading the
This is precisely what Emmanuel and I plan to experiment, deep data analysis for the Small-Sized Telescopes.
do, by collaborating with the Cherenkov Telescope underground in Victoria. Over coffee in her office, she explains to me how
Array Observatory (CTAO), which will soon be the Using sensors (the these telescopes work together. “Each individual
world’s most powerful ground-based observatory globes), it aims to detect telescope records a particular gamma-ray event
for very-high-energy gamma-ray astronomy. dark matter particles from a different view. By combining all these dif-
that interact with the ferent views, we obtain a 3D recording, similar
THE SEASON OF LIGHT crystal modules inside to how two cameras are used to film 3D movies.
Decades in the planning, CTAO marks the first the shielded vessel. The more telescopes contributing to this record-
time that almost the whole community of inter- ing, the more precisely we can reconstruct where
national gamma-ray astronomers – more than the gamma ray came from.”
1,000 scientists around the world, including an Another crucial factor is the area of the tele-
Australian team led by Gavin Rowell at the scopes. As Sabrina explains: “The larger the area
University of Adelaide – has come together to covered with telescopes, the more gamma rays we
“AS THE EARTH WHIZZES THROUGH SPACE, IT IS CONSTANTLY

RACING THROUGH AND TOWARDS DARK MATTER”
MICHAEL MEWS (UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE, SABRE MEMBER)
build a single experiment. Sixty-four telescopes detect. This is essential for observing the
are currently under construction in two loca- highest-energy gamma rays, as their number
tions across hemispheres: La Palma in Spain’s decreases rapidly with energy, but also to collect
Canary Islands and the Atacama Desert in Chile. sufficient gamma rays in the case of faint signals.”
These are not your garden variety optical There are currently three arrays of two to
telescopes. Gamma rays are at the high-energy five Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescopes
extreme of the electromagnetic spectrum, with around the world, which have undertaken some
wavelengths of roughly a millionth of a millionth searches for dark matter – without finding it.
of a metre, so to see them, CTAO’s telescopes CTAO, however, will outstrip them all. It’s 10
must exploit a special property of light called times more sensitive than current instruments,
Cherenkov radiation (see diagram, opposite). A with more than 60 individual telescopes of dif-
gamma ray striking the upper atmosphere ferent sizes, covering a larger energy range.
produces a faint cone of blue light that hurtles The arrival of CTAO marks a step change in
down to the Earth’s surface, lasting just a few our ability to image the universe at its highest
billionths of a second. This short-lived flash of energies – which is excellent news not just for
THE FUTURE OF GAMMA-RAY ASTRONOMY
CTAO will be the world’s universe’s most extreme rays, radio waves,
largest and most particle accelerators, neutrinos, X-rays and
sensitive observatory for understanding what is gravitational waves.
gamma-ray astronomy, going on close to With current
10 times more sensitive neutron stars and black instruments it is possible
than any existing holes, and searching for to observe all of these
instrument. Between quantum gravity effects. signatures
three classes of CTAO will also lead simultaneously,
telescopes – each using the way in the emerging combining images to
segmented mirrors to field of transient write new theories of
reflect Cherenkov astronomy, which astrophysics.
radiation into high- studies events that Plans are also
speed cameras – CTAO change brightness over underway to place future
will cover an energy short timescales, such Cherenkov telescopes
range between 20 GeV as supernovae, in Australia, which –
and 300 TeV. explosive bursts of combined with the
Its full science radiation from collisions other sites – would allow
program will be much and various processes for continuous all-sky
broader than unravelling near black holes. These monitoring of transient
the nature of dark transients could send us gamma-ray events for
12M MEDIUM-SIZED TELESCOPE
matter. Other goals signals in all sorts of the first time. The future
include studying the ways, including gamma is very bright indeed.
Camera using photomultiplier tubes

as sensors, where the Cherenkov light
is focused, digitised and processed; it
observes a sky field of 9° (about 18
times the size of the Moon)
86 hexagonal-shaped
mirrors, with a total
reflective surface of 88m2
Camera
4M SMALL-SIZED calibration
box
1.8-m-diameter TELESCOPE
secondary mirror to focus
light from the primary
mirror onto the camera 2048-pixel camera with silicon
photomultiplier sensors to record
128-frame videos; each frame
lasts one billionth of a second
GABRIEL PÉREZ DÍAZ / IAC
Primary mirror, with

18 hexagonal segments Counterweight structure
and a total reflective
surface of 4.3m2
54 COSMOS MAGAZINE
DARK MATTER
23M LARGE-SIZED TELESCOPE
Two-tonne, 3m2 camera

with 1855 photomultiplier
tube sensors, covering 4.5°
of sky
Rail the telescope moves

on to reposition; it can
point at any part of the
sky within 20 seconds, Camera support
which is important for structure
following up transients
198 hexagonal mirrors with

mirror area of 368m2
Camera
calibration box
Camera
access tower
machine-learning experts at three Australian
universities and many international institutes, all
of whom are essential if we are to make progress.
Our starting point is my own work with an
international team of collaborators called
GAMBIT. Over the past decade, this team of
nearly 100 people has developed a computer pro-
gram – the catchily titled Global and Modular
Beyond-Standard Model Inference Tool – that
draws on decades of experimental data to suggest
which theories of WIMPs are still viable. Theorists
over the years have posited a number of different
WIMP candidates with different properties and
interactions, and GAMBIT has told us which ideas
meet all currently known experimental tests.
By combining Sabrina’s simulation expertise,
Emmanuel’s astrophysics knowledge and my own
GAMBIT-derived knowledge of viable WIMP
theories, we are currently performing detailed
computer simulations that tell us exactly what the
pattern of gamma rays measured by CTAO would
look like for each theory. The mathematics of
WIMP theories tell us that the photons coming
from dark matter annihilation can be released
with a range of energies, the only firm constraint
CTAO prototypes astrophysicists, but for physicists like me inter- being that the energy cannot exceed the mass of
are already in ested in new ways to detect dark matter. There is the dark matter particle.
operation across now a very real prospect of solving the dark mat- In an experiment such as CTAO, we can graph
the globe to test ter problem within the next decade. the number of photons that were detected at each
their design and Not that it’s been easy. The telescope is cur- energy, which is called the energy spectrum. This
technology. In rently under construction, and when telling me is like a barcode: each different WIMP theory pro-
2019, for example, about her experience of working in such an inter- duces a unique pattern of characteristic bumps
a 9.7-m-diameter national collaboration, Sabrina relates tales that and lines in the spectrum that can be predicted
telescope was make Dickens’ bizarre plot tangents seem tame. and simulated. In principle, the dark matter prob-
inagurated at the For example, whilst working on a CTAO prototype lem can then be solved: simply point CTAO at the
Fred Lawrence housed near Mount Etna in Italy, she had to con- centre of our galaxy, observe the gamma-ray spec-
Whipple tend with being rained on by small lava rocks that trum, then see which of the expected simulated
Observatory in were also threatening the telescope itself. At the patterns the observation corresponds to.
Arizona (above). future CTAO site of La Palma, a volcanic eruption Unfortunately, like a Dickens novel, life is not
Based on in 2021 paused astronomical observations alto- that simple, for a multitude of reasons. The first is
Schwarzschild- gether for a short period of time. that the number of gamma rays reaching us from
Couder two-mirror Nevertheless, Sabrina describes La Palma as dark matter annihilation depends on the amount
technology, it a truly magical office environment. “One of the of dark matter we’re looking at. Whilst we know
is one of many most amazing experiences was to drive through this amount very roughly, we need to get much
pathfinders for the clouds to the top of the mountain and then more precise. To this end, a new collaboration of
CTAO’s Medium- work above the clouds, seeing nothing of the Australian physicists is being formed that will, for
Sized Telescopes, world beneath. That’s how it must be in heaven.” the first time, see world experts in galaxy forma-
and is currently tion work side-by-side with particle physicists to
studying gamma GOING DIRECT TO HEAVEN determine the precise distribution of dark matter.
rays in the energy Cue Emmanuel’s arrival on Australian soil in By combining particle physics theory with detailed
early 2024, to spend six months planning how to simulations of the universe’s history, we’ll be able
CONSORTIUM CTA
range from 100

GeV to 10 TeV. best use CTAO for our dark matter search. Since to make much stronger predictions of the expected
arriving, he and I have assembled a crack team of distribution of dark matter in the Milky Way.
dark-matter hunters comprising astronomers, The second spanner in the works is that dark
particle physicists, cosmologists, statisticians and matter is not the only process in the galactic
56 COSMOS MAGAZINE
DARK MATTER
centre that sends gamma rays in our direction. (the forthcoming Square Kilometre Array) to
Picture a supermassive black hole, exploding cosmic rays (Pierre Auger) and very-high-energy
stars and rapidly rotating neutron stars that neutrinos (IceCube). Working with experts such
blast out radiation and high-energy particles, as high-energy astrophysicist Roland Crocker at
which interact with each other, with powerful the Australian National University, plus a team
magnetic fields and with the gas between stars to of observational astronomers, we are developing
generate a cosmic tantrum of radiation. Gamma and calibrating mathematical models that can
rays, radio waves and X-rays emerge from the predict the signatures visible to all of these dif-
stew to reach Earth, giving us what we call the ferent types of telescope. This will eventually
astrophysical background. allow us to determine if our final measured
As if this wasn’t bad enough, we also don’t spectrum contains a dark matter component
have a clean view of the galactic centre. It’s like and, if so, which particle model explains it. If the
looking through a dirty window and seeing dis- Large Hadron Collider discovers a WIMP in the
tant objects that are obscured by things much meantime, we can even use our detailed knowl-
closer to home. In astronomy, gas and dust edge of the interactions in the collider to improve
between us and the object we are trying to look at our models and accelerate the CTAO discovery.
“IN AN EXPERIMENT SUCH AS CTAO, WE CAN MAKE A GRAPH OF

THE NUMBER OF PHOTONS DETECTED AT EACH ENERGY”
are called foregrounds, and we need to know THE AGE OF BELIEF

exactly what they are if we want to get a true By the time Emmanuel returns to Paris, we hope
image. When we count the number of gamma to have our first detailed predictions of gamma-ray
rays at each energy seen by CTAO, we can tell the Other CTAO prototypes patterns in CTAO for the most popular dark mat-
direction and energy of the gamma ray, but not have been built across ter candidates, plus a strategy for developing the
which process produced it. the world, including astrophysical models that will take us the next
To make progress, we therefore need to not Spain, Germany, Italy few years of painstaking work to accomplish. I
only calculate the energy spectrum of gamma and France (below). This will spend a decent chunk of next year perform-
rays expected from dark matter, but also to 4-m-diameter telescope ing that work in Paris – making this both a tale of
develop and test detailed models of the astro- has been picking up two physicists and a tale of two cities.
physics involved. This work is being accelerated gamma rays between a Having first visited Paris in 2017 to chase a
by the brilliant data coming from the trail- few TeV and 300 TeV Higgs-like particle with colleagues on the Large
blazing experiments of the 21st century that since 2015, helping test Hadron Collider, I was amazed to find that the
measure everything from X-rays (e.g. the the tech for CTAO’s graves of the mathematician Jules Henri Poincare,
Chandra X-ray Observatory) and radio waves Small-Sized Telescopes. astronomer Urbain Le Verrier, philosophers Jean
Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir, and pop pro-
vocateur Serge Gainsbourg all lie in the same
cemetery, along with poet Charles Baudelaire.
Given this multidisciplinary history, perhaps
Paris will be a fitting location for the next chapter
of this story.
With the first CTAO telescope already in
operation, we hope to have completed most of
our theoretical work by the time the full array is
finished in 2028. By 2030, we will finally be in a
position to know whether A Tale of Two Cities’
closing line is as appropriate to our case as his
opener: “It is a far, far better thing that I do, than
I have ever done.”
CONSORTIUM CTA
MARTIN WHITE is a particle physicist and professor at

the University of Adelaide. His last story – on the W
boson – appeared in Issue 95.
DOPING IN SPORT
FASTER HIGHER
STRO
NGER
To d
DOPE
R
o pe o
r no
t to
dop
scie e? M
nce atth
beh ew
ind Wa
the s rd Ag
W
hat the hell?
can i
There was
no other way to react
dals us look
to the bizarre headlines
. s at th
that dropped in November last year. e
“Tour de France rider tried to obtain marine
worm haemoglobin for blood doping boost,” read
Cycling News. “I never thought the next break- W o r m
through in doping would be fishing worms,” haemoglobin is
wrote an op-ed from Cycling Weekly. More far more potent than
poetically: “Opening a can of worms” from the the haemoglobin humans
bike journalism project Escape Collective. It cer- possess, and Zal saw its promise
tainly had. as a therapeutic that could support
Any mention of doping in cycling probably the preservation of transplanted organs.
sends fans into a nail-biting chatter as they But that unnamed Tour de France athlete
remember the halcyon years of 1990s juicing. clearly saw the possibilities of harnessing worm
This story, though, is something far odder. blood to turbocharge his circulatory system for
We’re not just talking about blood from a human. the big race.
Not even another mammalian species; we’re To understand why the frontier of perfor-
climbing the ladder of Linnaean classification: mance enhancement has athletes looking
Genus – Family – Order – Class (looking back at elsewhere in the animal kingdom, it’s important
all our fellow mammals) – Phylum (saluting to consider where these biological boosters come
every animal with a backbone) – and up to from, and what they do.
Kingdom, where we neatly jump over to the
annelids (the segmented worms) and scramble Power of the protein
all the way back down to the genus Arenicola. Almost every vertebrate contains haemoglobin
That’s where oceanographer Franck Zal proteins in their red blood cells. Its job is vital:
landed in the noughties, when he was based at the delivering oxygen to tissues through the blood.
French national scientific research organisation In mammals, haemoglobin consists of four sub-
GREG BARTON / MIDJOURNEY
CNRS and the Sorbonne University. His motiva- units, each a long, folded chain of amino acids
tion wasn’t juicing his favourite French ped- that determine the protein’s properties and
allers. Instead, his research had identified function. These subunits are each connected to a
potential applications for haemoglobin – that all- heme group: a ring of organic compounds that
important protein responsible for transporting contain a single iron ion. This iron binds with a
oxygen to our tissues – extracted from a species single oxygen molecule and aids its transporta-
of European lugworm (Arenicola marina). tion around the body.
With four subunits, each haemoglobin can carry
four oxygen molecules. Think of haemoglobin as
a four-seater car. The car itself is the haemo-
globin, its four seats the subunits, and the driver
and their three mates are the oxygen molecules
being transported to their destination.
In other mammals, and in most vertebrates,
haemoglobin is similarly structured – including
having four seats for oxygen – and performs the
same role. This consistency has enabled the
development of new blood transfusion products
from the haemoglobin of cows and pigs.
Worm your way cross-kingdom, and you’ll
find that A. marina haemoglobin performs the
same role too. Except it has not four, but 156 of
these oxygen terminals: that’s 39 times
more carrying capacity
than paltry
bin has
em oglo ing
in a ha ca rry
a r re od ”
“A. m imes mo man blo
39 t than hu
a p a city
c hu m a n
blood.
This advantage led
Zal to start his own company
– Hemarina – 15 years ago, with the
goal of producing A. marina-based blood
transfusion products at scale. The benefits are a CE certification by the EU in 2022, enabling it to
clinician’s dream: A. marina haemoglobin is a be sold across Europe.
universal donor and appears to lack the side But the big question for our potential
effects of other non-human and artificial sources blood-doping cyclist: how do they actually work?
such as in early haemoglobin-based oxygen car-
riers (HBOCs), which caused hypertension, Doping deep dive
vasoconstriction and oxidation. Through training, skill development, a rigorous
The lack of side effects may be thanks to the diet and sometimes a rare mix of genetic gifts,
way the molecule has evolved in worms: it is humans have pushed themselves to go faster,
highly stable, resists oxidation and floats freely higher and stronger since the first Olympics.
in the animal’s bloodstream as opposed to being Records tumble every year, across every sport.
embedded within blood cells, as it is in But where winning and losing are separated
vertebrates. by wafer-thin margins – sometimes requiring a
Mouse studies using common earthworm photo finish – the dark arts of performance
Lumbricus terrestris haemoglobin (with 144 oxy- enhancement are seductive.
gen terminals by the way) have also shown an According to data from the World Anti-
absence of adverse physiological responses. Doping Authority (WADA), nearly one in 80 ath-
Lugworm blood is now being adopted as a letes globally use performance-enhancing

support mechanism for those in need of oxygen, drugs, and one in every 215 Australian athletes.
especially organ donor recipients. Hemarina’s Those who take the bait seek an edge to run a
HEMO2life product has been used to support little faster or lift a little more, using a chemical
organ preservation during an upper limb trans- shortcut. Shortcut is the keyword here. There’s
plant in India and a facial transplant performed no magic pill that transfigures a scrawny laya-
on a French soldier. The product was granted bout into medal-capable mega specimen.
60 COSMOS MAGAZINE
DOPING IN SPORT
Performance enhancement – whether substance RISE OF THE ROIDS

or technique-based – simply enables the body to
do more, work harder, or recover more quickly Prohibited in and out of hormones are
than would otherwise be possible. sanctioned steroidal; others – like
Historically, there have been two favoured competition, anabolic human growth
methods of performance enhancement. Anabolic steroids are the most- hormone and insulin –
steroids were once the drug of choice for athletes studied class of are not.
looking to build muscle mass and recover faster performance- When used as part
– and are still used today. But the rise of blood enhancing drugs. In of a weight training
doping from the 1980s onwards as a way to the simplest terms, program, they promote
enhance aerobic capacity is where the promise of these synthetic the growth of new
worm blood lies. How it works is remarkably products assist the muscle (thus giving
simple. development of athletes more force-
Muscles have an enormous capacity for work, muscle mass. generating ability), as
but our circulatory system is the limiting factor. Whether a well as aid recovery by
The performance of endurance athletes powerlifter, sprinter, accelerating protein
relies on their ability to use oxygen to produce rower or cyclist, an synthesis – effectively
energy. Oxygen is essential to cellular respira- athlete’s muscles need enabling the user to do
tion, where glucose from food is subject to to be in peak condition more work, more often.
oxidation, resulting in the release of carbon to provide the strength “So you can reduce
dioxide (exhaled), water (sweat) and energy in and power needed to the training time
the form of adenosine triphosphate. effectively perform between sessions
All of this takes place in what’s commonly their role. And just as because you’ve got an
called the “powerhouse of the cell” – the mito- doping shortcuts red accelerated recovery,”
chondria. But glucose and oxygen don’t simply blood cell delivery, Graham says. “That,
materialise there; they need to be ferried through certain hormones can combined with more
the blood. Haemoglobin is transported by red prompt the body to training, you get the
blood cells, which are the body’s cargo ships. But build muscle and contribution for an
we only produce so many. Along with cardiac recover from exercise enhanced
output (the amount of blood the heart is pumping quicker. Some of these performance capacity.”
around the body), the amount of oxygen in each
litre of blood provides a performance ceiling.
Kenneth Graham, former principal scientist cells available to move oxygen is a handy way to
for the NSW Institute of Sport and now an boost an athlete’s energy stocks.
anti-doping policy and research consultant, “If we increase red blood cells and haemo-
explains that expanding the fleet of red blood globin, we have more oxygen being transported
per litre of blood around the body, we have a
higher VO2 Max [an individual’s maximum
oxygen capacity], we have a greater capacity to do
The structure of human haemoglobin
Iron Polypeptide chain aerobic work,” says Graham, who worked with
many Australian Olympic and Commonwealth
gold medallists between 1992 and 2020.
This increase can be done naturally through
good diet, exercise and innovative training. Some
athletes will, for instance, travel to higher alti-
tudes, where the body adapts to less available
oxygen by producing more haemoglobin and red
blood cells.
RUJIRAT BOONYONG / GETTY IMAGES
Or you could just dope.

There are typically two ways to cheat your
Heme group Oxygen molecule way to higher haemoglobin.
The first: extract the blood, centrifuge out
Located within our red blood cells, haemoglobin is a protein that is necessary and then reinfuse the plasma, and refrigerate or
for oxygen transport. In humans, it consists of four polypeptide chains (two freeze the rest, to be reinfused before competi-
alpha and two beta chains). On the end of each chain is a single iron ion, which tion. Since your blood naturally replenishes the
acts as the terminal for oxygen molecules to be transported around the body. missing blood, an athlete will basically be
injecting a bonus later on, like buying an iced
coffee and dropping in an extra teaspoon of inclinations. Orr describes such scientists as
instant for a bonus caffeine hit. This is classic “enterprising chemists”. “[They] see these new
blood doping: an instant haemoglobin booster. developments and they can see the potential
The second: inject yourself with hormones. application to performance enhancement.”
EPO – erythropoietin – is the glycoprotein uti- The Hemarina product is no different: devel-
lised in massive doping scandals like cycling’s oped to offer a human-compatible oxygen carrier
1998 Festina Affair and by the US Postal Service to supplement limited blood stocks, it’s a possible
team, led by Lance Armstrong, described by the doping agent as well.
US Anti-Doping Agency in 2012 as “the most So with new and different products being
sophisticated, professionalised and successful taken from medical science and used for perfor-
doping program that [cycling] has ever seen”. mance enhancement all the time, how do
EPO is naturally produced by the body’s endo- sporting bodies keep up?
crine system in response to low blood oxygen.
“In the body, we have self-regulating mecha- Hunting the dopers
nisms,” explains Graham. “EPO is produced in If, instead of going to Paris in mid-2024, you
the kidneys, the renal medulla, in response to jumped in a time machine back to the first
reduced oxygen levels … The kidneys are basi- Olympics in Greece, you’d find a lot of naked ath-
cally saying, ‘we’re getting less oxygen, we will letes strutting their stuff in the ancient arena.
fix this up, we’ll release EPO, it will go and cause You’d also find some of them, according to histo-
the production of new red blood cells, which will rians, trying to enhance their performance
increase the O2 transport and the body will get through the use of plants and fungi. Some
the oxygen we need’.” scholars suggest that the use of these external
When athletes head to higher altitudes, the substances wasn’t discouraged.
hypoxic environment stimulates the kidneys to Wind the clock towards the present day and
release EPO. This signals the bone marrow to the cases of performance enhancement begin to
produce more red blood cells, thus enabling rack up. The first bans on stimulants were intro-
blood oxygen levels to normalise. When they duced in 1928; in 1960 a Danish cyclist who died
come back down the mountain, they’re better at the 1960 Rome Olympics was found to have
equipped to tackle that next demanding event. amphetamines in his system; in 1967, the
But EPO can also be unnaturally topped up International Olympic Committee listed the first
through injections, much like the reinfusion of banned substances. Tests for drug use were
blood products. slowly introduced – once a substance is known,
So, Graham says, “even if the body shuts it’s possible to develop a process to spot it. A
down its own production of EPO, it’s still got this notable moment in the early fight against drug
exogenous supply that’s stimulating the produc- cheating came at the 1988 Seoul games, where
tion of red blood cells”. Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson was stripped of
But how do athletes get their hands on new
substances to dope with?
“Many of the products that are used for per-
The power of worm haemoglobin
THERAPEUTIC POTENTIAL OF HEMOGLOBIN DERIVED FROM THE MARINE

formance enhancement have actually been
derived from clinical use,” says Rhonda Orr,
director of movement sciences at Sydney
University’s School of Health Sciences.
“New drugs and processes have been devel-
WORM ARENICOLA MARINA (M101)MAR. DRUGS 2021.
oped because there’s a clinical need,” she adds,

giving the example of synthetic red blood cells,
which were developed for people with severe
anaemia.
Natural or synthetic EPO is also a vital ther-
apeutic for people with damaged kidneys (as
with chronic kidney disease) or some forms of
blood cancer. Anabolic steroids can treat a range
of hormonal issues such as delayed puberty in Annelids (segmented worms) have large bi-layered hexagonal haemoglobin.
males, as well as encourage muscle growth in Each of the two hexagon layers has six polypeptide chains (12 in total). In a
those suffering illnesses like cancer or HIV. saturated state they can transport 144 oxygen molecules. A. marina has a 13th
But advances in medicine can be nurtured, central polypeptide chain to enable the transport of 156 oxygen molecules.
massaged and modified by scientists with other
62 COSMOS MAGAZINE
DOPING IN SPORT
and urine samples for EPO use. Four years later,

in Athens, a screen for human growth hormone
was introduced.
Today, anti-doping authorities test athletes’
biological samples for hundreds of banned sub-
stances, all inscribed on WADA’s prohibited list,
including anabolic agents, peptide hormones,
Beta-2 agonists, hormone and metabolic
modulators, diuretics and masking agents,
stimulants, narcotics, cannabinoids and
glucocorticoids.
Banned methods are listed too, including the
administration or reintroduction of any quantity
of blood to the body, and the manipulation of the
blood through physical or chemical means, as well
as chemical or physical alteration of samples.
According to Mario Thevis, a biochemist who
heads the Centre for Preventative Doping
Research at the German Sport University in
Cologne, three main techniques are used by
testing labs to find performance-enhancing
drugs.
en
ha “M The first is mass spectrometry, where the
nc a molecular mass of a sample is measured to
em ny p discern the presence of target analytes –
en rod profiles of banned chemicals.

Immunological assays (tests) are
t h uc
av ts performed to screen for the
e b us presence of other mole-
ee ed cules, for example

n d fo human growth
er r pe hormone.
ive
d f rform
ro
m anc
cli
his 100m gold after testing positive for the nic e
banned steroid stanozolol. Electrophoresis al
Then came the fall of the Berlin Wall, the reuni- (a process that separates us
fication of Germany, and the opening of records molecules based on size and
e”
from the former East Germany (GDR) confirming electrical charge) is also often
that drugs had systematically been administered used to find abnormal blood pro-
to its athletes, helping catapult the Soviet state to teins. As red blood cells tend to reduce
sporting success in the 1970s and ’80s. in size when extracted for storage and rein-
Tests of athletes’ blood and urine were confusion, this technique can identify instances of
ducted at approved labs – including ones in the blood transfusions of EPO.
GDR – but without a uniform body to oversee Biochemists like Thevis don’t just analyse
sample acquisition and analysis. That changed athlete samples for current banned substances
following the Festina Affair at the 1998 Tour de or methods: they also develop tests for new ones.
France, where evidence of a sophisticated EPO It’s not easy to find substances previously
doping program was uncovered by police raids unknown to tests. Both Thevis and Graham
on that team’s vehicles and hotel rooms. The relate the story where an anonymous syringe
World Anti-Doping Authority (WADA) was sub- arrived in the mail at the headquarters of the
sequently established in 1999. United States Anti-Doping Authority in 2003.
At the Sydney Olympics, the International The clear liquid within was tested and
Olympic Committee debuted a test to screen blood retested, until eventually, analytical chemists at
the University of California Los Angeles cracked liquid-chromatography-mass-spectroscopy-
it: the syringe contained tetrahydrogestri- based method, which has been used for about two
none, or THG – a steroid never made decades to detect doping with oxygen-carrying
available for medical use. products like transfused haemoglobin and
“E Thevis says designer ster- HBOCs. They modified this existing mass spec-
ve
ryb oids like THG are modified
from existing struc-
trometry test and injected Hemarina’s
HEMO2life – containing 40mg/mL of the active
o dy tures – just worm hemes – into three male lab rats.
is s enough to “We saw that [lugworm haemoglobin] can be
od retain detected because its amino acid sequence is dif-
iffe ferent from bovine and porcine and also from
their
anabolic prop-
re nt
human haemoglobin,” Thevis says. “With some
minor modifications to our sample preparation
erties – “but they – the procedure, we were able to include that
were not immediately on
re’ new analyte into our testing platform
our radar because they were ss with the information that it
slightly modified”. uc might have advantages
Within three months, the California hv over earlier first or
laboratories of the Bay Area Laboratory ari second generation
Co-operative (BALCO) were raided. Seized ati HBOCs.”
records shed light on who was taking THG: four on
track and field athletes during the 2003 national in t
meets, as well as National Football League and The results he
Major League Baseball (MLB) players; one in 20 were encourag- h um
MLB tests were positive. US runner Marion ing. The test could an
Jones was stripped of her five Sydney Olympic detect 10 micrograms of ”
medals after admitting to taking THG. lug heme per millilitre in a
Without that syringe, it would have taken 50-microlitre sample. Lugworm hae-
anti-doping authorities much longer to hook onto moglobin doesn’t last long. In rats it could
THG. But identifying a questionable chemical is be “unambiguously detected” for 4–8 hours after
not the only signal testers need. Knowing what administration, though in one sample traces were
the body does with it provides further clues. found after two days.
“If you take a drug, a urine sample is col- That, says Thevis, means it would only likely
lected and we analyse it, we can either target the be used in competition, not training. Athletes
substance you took or the biotransformation using haemoglobin from fishing bait are rolling
product – the metabolite,” says Thevis. “The the dice. “If you’re tested in competition, a detec-
entire drug might disappear entirely and we tion window of eight or even 12 to 24 hours for
need to look for breakdown products. lugworm haemoglobin is probably sufficient,
“Once we know about a general structure of a because that covers the most relevant period of
new therapeutic class or a specific substance … the drug’s assumed action on the athlete.”
then we can start developing test methods. We do But assuming that a best-case 48-hour win-
biotransformation experiments with cell dow exists for testers to detect worm blood, a
cultures, or animal experiments, or, if it’s a [clin- well-timed doper could plan their transfusion
ically] approved drug, we collaborate with clinics strategically. Say you have a three-hour mara-
where the drug is therapeutically administered to thon – you might get sampled immediately after
patients [and] we get approval to sample those the race, then it takes a few hours for the sample
patients to have authentic material to work with. to be transported to a lab for testing, then it’s
“Eventually, all we need to have is an analyt- tested, then verified. If you doped two days
ical platform that allows us to identify those before, you could still derive some benefit from
prohibited substances in blood or urine.” the short-lived annelid haem before it becomes
undetectable by testing time.
Platform testing Thevis hears that, and raises the Athlete
So what about our lugworm blood? Is it a gold Biological Passport (ABP). An ABP is a data cata-
pass to an ill-gotten gold medal? logue of your biology, broken down into steroidal,
When French colleagues sent A. marina their haematological and hormonal modules. Every
way, Thevis and his team set about seeing blood and urine sample informs and refines this
whether it could be detected. They employed a profile over time.
64 COSMOS MAGAZINE
DOPING IN SPORT
Unlike lab tests, which hunt for specific A strong passport

banned substances or resulting metabolites, the In January 2023, Australian runner Peter Bol
passport works over extended periods to identify was provisionally suspended from competition
abnormal biomarker readings that last well after after an EPO test showed he had elevated levels
the act. Those stand out as red flags when com- as compared to his ABP baseline. A second sam-
pared to the rest of the profile, indicating the ple, drawn to confirm the result, returned an
need for further investigation. Even blood dona- “atypical finding”. Bol’s samples were then ana-
tions – the ones you do every three months for lysed by other accredited labs, and WADA
the Red Cross – show up in the profile. experts were consulted. By August 2023, the first
“That’s a change that is accepted,” Thevis sample was deemed negative and Bol’s name was
says. “But if there’s a change in the profile that cleared. It’s since been suggested that Bol may
indicates blood withdrawal and blood re- have naturally elevated levels of EPO – a blessing
transfusion … that will end in [disciplinary] for his athletic prospects, but a curse when a test
proceedings.” flags it as a potential sign of doping.
Keen to shake its reputation as the sport of “Hormones have really put those tests to the
dopers, professional cycling became the first limit,” Orr says, “because you can’t just say ‘let’s
sport to implement ABPs back in 2009. Other just measure someone’s growth hormone and,
sports have followed, including running. But aha, it’s higher than we expect – they must be
ABPs don’t yet entirely protect athletes. doping!’ Because hormones are endogenous
[produced by the body] and everybody is so dif-
ferent – there’s such variation in the human –
they’ve had to come up with other tests.”
The solution to situations like Bol’s could be
to test early and test often, building up a time
machine of biology that establishes an athlete’s
natural ranges starting early on in their career.
Frequent testing could also help pinpoint the
window of time in which the change occurred:
for example, if an athlete tested positive for a
certain metabolite just two weeks after their last
test, then authorities could more easily narrow
down a potential cause – possibly an accidental
diet change – within that window of time.
“As counterintuitive as it might sound to an
athlete, the more you’re tested, the less likely it is
that you receive an anti-doping rule violation,”
Thevis says. “If you’re tested with a tiny amount
today, and your last test was negative, and your
follow-up test is also negative, then in most
instances you can’t have had a pharmacologically
relevant dose – or a doping dose – in between.”
But if there was a six-month gap between
samples, plenty could happen naturally to an
athlete’s body chemistry – including changes to
a training program, illness or altitude training
– that may instead be flagged as suspicious.
“Overall, the more tests that these athletes
do, the greater and more reliable their Athlete
Biological Passport is going to be,” Orr says.
With that in mind, worm blood doesn’t sound
like the secret sauce to Paris gold. That mis-
guided athlete digging up lugworms from their
local beach would be better off putting the worms
on the end of a hook instead.
MATTHEW WARD AGIUS is a journalist at Cosmos. His

story on planetary art appeared in Issue 99.
Wild world Mirror mates
It’s a bird, it’s a plane – no, it’s a mammal!
Bats are set apart from others of the
Mammalia class by their ability to achieve
true and sustained flight, though they lack
the wing-strength to take flight from the
ground. Instead, they need to get a
Swimming, screaming, snacking, head-start from the height of trees. They
are also one of the very few mammals to
snuggling: the Sony World snooze upside down. That said, these two
seem to be wide awake and highly alert.
Photography Awards offer an Shortlist (Natural World & Wildlife)
Photographer: Pedro Jarque Krebs
intimate glimpse into the
multi-faceted lives of animals.
Muscovy moves in
Some animals, like this Muscovy duck
(Cairina moschata), are both wild and feral.
Captured here in the city of Chattanooga
in the US state of Tennessee, this
slick-haired waterfowl is actually a tropical
bird native to the Americas, from Texas
and Mexico down to Argentina and
Uruguay. Yet small, patchy, breeding
populations can now be found not just in
Tennessee but as far north as Canada.
Shortlist (Natural World & Wildlife)
Photographer: Stuart James
66 COSMOS MAGAZINE
GALLERY: WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY
Spawning season
It is not yet dawn, but this coral reef is already hard at work. Off the coast of
Japan’s Kagoshima Prefecture – which spreads across the island of Kyushu
and the Ryukyu Islands – a colony of coral stirs up an underwater blizzard.
The coral simultaneously release tiny eggs and sperm (called gametes):
billions of floating jewels that will rise to the surface, join together as embryos
and then return to the ocean floor to grow.
Photographer: Rina Saito
68 COSMOS MAGAZINE
It’s not just you and me, babe

A mother and her calf share a tender
moment in this shortlisted photo. Baby
elephants are born into complex,
female-led herds, where members rely on
their elders and particularly on their
matriarch. In such herds, the family group
consists not just of mothers and their
young, but other elephants that fill the
roles of sisters, aunts and grandmothers.
Elephants have a long childhood; a male
will leave the herd between the ages of
nine and 18, while a female will likely stay
with the same herd her whole life.
Photographer: Jesus Frias
Want a bite to eat?

Talk about capturing intimate moments of
animal worlds – UK photographer Ian Ford
takes the cake with this snap of a jaguar’s
feast in central South America’s Pantanal,
the world’s largest tropical wetland area.
Ford nearly missed the shot; he was
leaving on the last day of his trip when he
heard a jaguar had been spotted nearby.
“We raced to the scene and encountered
this sleek female jaguar stalking her prey.
Our boat – and my camera – were
perfectly positioned as she pounced
on an unsuspecting caiman.”
Winner (Natural World & Wildlife)
Photographer: Ian Ford
Too close for comfort

Who would have thought that the humble
bumblebee could look so eerie? Up close,
the fuzz and buzz turns to sharp intensity,
and its compound eye’s 6,000 hexagonal
units – called ommatidia – become visible.
Photographer: Francis Principe-Gillespie
Eye to eye
This breathtaking shot was snapped in
Washington state, US, where the
endangered Cascade red fox (Vulpes
Where’s Wally? vulpes cascadensis) can be found roaming
Each year, the Great Migration rolls into Masai Mara, a vast wildlife reserve in subalpine meadows, parklands and open
Kenya. Up to 1.7 million wildebeest follow the rain by trekking from Tanzania forests. “As the light was fading I got very
through the Serengeti National Park and towards Masai Mara, where they stay for lucky, as a parent and pup appeared on
the dry season through the middle of the year. They make their journey along with the path with a brilliant sunset glow behind
470,000 gazelles and 260,000 zebras – one of which can be spotted here, if you them,” the photographer says.
look very hard. Shortlist (Natural World & Wildlife)
Shortlist (Natural World & Wildlife) Photographer: Christopher Ratcliff Iverson
Photographer: Pui Sun Tang
70 COSMOS MAGAZINE
Golden hour
Usually found in waterways and coasts across North America, these gloriously
sunlit otters are playing in their enclosure at Caldwell Zoo in Texas, US. As
semi-aquatic mammals, river otters (Lontra canadensis) are equipped with thick,
water-repellent fur that allows them to build burrows close to the water’s edge and
hunt in cold waters for fish, amphibians, freshwater clams, mussels, snails, crayfish
and even small turtles. Shortlist (Natural World & Wildlife)
Photographer: Jonathan McSwain
72 COSMOS MAGAZINE
Hey mum, hold still Down the hatch

Whales, of course, are mammals, but we In the wetlands of Madison, Alabama, US, a
don’t often think about them nursing their great blue heron (Ardea herodias) captures
young. This rare picture captures a its breakfast. This wading bird is the largest
sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) in the heron family, standing 115–138
mother feeding her calf, who nuzzles centimetres tall, and is found widely across
against her nipple cavity (the nipple is North and Central America. It also
inverted at the mammary gland). The occasionally appears on British shores,
mother then squirts milk the consistency where it’s classed as a “vagrant”. The first
of yoghurt directly into the calf’s mouth. flew across the pond of its own accord in
To add to the difficulties, feeding must 2007; a previous heron, which was
happen in short intervals, as calves can’t transported by ship to British waters in
nurse and breathe at the same time. 1968, is not counted by twitchers.
Shortlist (Natural World & Wildlife) Shortlist (Natural World & Wildlife)
Photographer: Thien Nguyen Ngoc Photographer: Christopher Baker
Can digital twins save humanity?
By Prianka Srinivasan
74 COSMOS MAGAZINE
DIGITAL TWINS
BRANDI MEULLER / GETTY IMAGES
I
n the physical realm, Tuvalu is under
threat.
The Pacific nation, made up of nine
atolls dotting a 676-kilometre stretch of
ocean midway between Hawai‘i and Australia, is
one of the lowest-lying countries in the world –
its highest point peaks just a few metres above
sea level. Residents fear the waves that con-
stantly lick at the shore will one day swallow
their land completely. Some have already been
forced to relocate from their coastal homes as
droughts, violent storms and floods become
more frequent and unpredictable.
Climate change could soon push their coun-
try to oblivion. A recent technical report from
FROM TOP: TUVALU MINISTRY HANDOUT. ACCENTURE SONG.

NASA reveals Tuvalu is experiencing sea level
rise 1.5 times faster than the global average, and
predicts that by 2050, much of its land and criti-
cal infrastructure will be covered by average The Tuvalu islet Te travel restrictions; they constructed the proof-
high tide levels. Afualiku (below) is the of-concept model “by eye” using drone footage
In the digital realm, though, Tuvalu hopes to first to be completely and screenshots sent to them by Tuvalu residents
attain immortality. digitised. Knee-deep via WhatsApp. It’s hoped that eventually clones
Its government plans to replicate the entire in water on what used of all 124 of Tuvalu’s islands will be accessible
nation onto a virtual platform. Te Afualiku – a to be land (above), online and through virtual-reality headsets.
small islet expected to be one of the first in Tuvalu Tuvalu Foreign Minister But the country’s plans extend far beyond
to be completely submerged – has already been Simon Kofe told COP27: simply making three-dimensional copies of
painstakingly mapped, digitised and put on the “As our land disappears, their fragile lands. They plan to recreate an
Metaverse as an interactive simulation by devel- we have no choice but entire government on the blockchain, so that all
opers from the Australian firm Accenture Song. to become the world’s administrative processes, institutional affairs
The team couldn’t visit the islet due to COVID first digital nation.” and taxation procedures can happen virtually.
76 COSMOS MAGAZINE
DIGITAL TWINS
Digital Twins 101
Physical Digital
Asset Twin
IoT platform Data analytics
Real-time or on-demand Information processing for

information generation selected applications (e.g., energy
efficiency)
Sensors from the physical building collect raw or

unprocessed information and send it to the digital twin
Digital twin sends feedback or intervention flows back to the

physical building, where they are implemented
One of the simpler uses of digital twin technology is in the operation of a building. An existing building – say, an apartment block or a university
facility – can be outfitted with a multitude of sensors that feed real-world, real-time information into a digital model, which forms a virtual replica
of the building. Crucially, this isn't a one-way street – these data can be analysed to inform decisions about the building’s management, such as
predicting maintenance, identifying hazards or improving energy efficiency, which flow back to influence the physical space.
Last year, Tuvalu also launched a “Digital Ark” But the frequent storms and power outages
program that will preserve copies of the coun- also point to the immense challenges facing the
try’s cultural and historical artifacts on an government as it races against time to create this
online database. It’s hoped these projects, collec- digital twin. Is such an ambitious project even
tively called the “Future Now” initiative, will possible, let alone worthwhile?
allow Tuvalu’s citizens to operate within a living
DIGITAL TWINS IN BUILT ENVIRONMENTS: AN INVESTIGATION OF THE CHARACTERISTICS, APPLICATIONS,
digital twin of their nation. ENTER THE MIRROR WORLD

“Tuvalu is the fi rst digital nation in the sense At fi rst glance, the concept of developing virtual
that we [will be able to] exist fully online without replicas of physical spaces might not seem so
a physical territory,” says Simon Kofe, Tuvalu’s groundbreaking. We’ve all used Google Maps or
Foreign Minister. “We can use technology virtual simulators to explore real-world
to preserve culture, our cultural heritage,
our history, our language.” “We can use destinations through our screens.
But digital twins go one step beyond
Minister Kofe and I are speaking over
a Zoom video call. We have been trying to
technology to simply being a visual reproduction of our
world. They are constantly fed with real-
organise a time to meet online for weeks,
but a giant king tide – the worst Kofe has
preserve culture, time data – wind speed, weather and traffic
information – by sensors in the field, which
ever seen – recently flooded the country, our cultural change the way the virtual image looks and
cutting electricity to parts of the capital responds. A true digital twin is therefore a
Funafuti. The storm also left newly heritage, our synchronous and ever-evolving reflection
elected parliamentary members stranded of its real-world counterpart – a complex
history, our
AND CHALLENGES, BUILDINGS 2022.
on their home islands, halting the forma- universe trapped behind a screen.
tion of the next government and leaving
the country’s leadership in limbo for language.” NASA says it developed some of the
fi rst digital twins in the 1960s, when its
almost a month, meaning Kofe did not space-shuttle simulations were used to
have ministerial authority to speak to me. plan and execute missions. Other experts in the
Such events are a reminder of the urgency for field say the technology was fi rst proposed at the
Tuvalu to rebuild online, Kofe says. “This gives beginning of the 21st century, when researchers
us a view of what is to come. Things are just at the University of Michigan suggested a virtual
going to get worse for us Tuvaluans.” management system to improve manufacturing
processes. Since then, the scales of these models
have grown impressively, with researchers now
creating digital doppelgangers of entire
buildings, cities and states.
Arguably, the idea of large-scale digital twins
was fi rst sparked by Yale computer scientist
David Gelernter in his 1992 book Mirror Worlds:
or the Day Software Puts the Universe in a Shoebox.
In it, he contemplates a future both terrifying
and revolutionary, where computers are so
power ful they can “mimic reality’s every move”.
“This is a three-dimensional kind of reflec-
tion: The program reaches out and engulfs some
chunk of reality,” Gelernter wrote. “Like a child-
sized play village modelled precisely on a real
town and tracking reality’s every move, the
Mirror World supplies a software object to match
and track every real one.
“Such models, such Mirror Worlds, promise
to be powerful, fascinating, and gigantic in their
implications.”
Breakthroughs over the last decades have
inched us closer to this future. Supercomputing
has given scientists the ability to digest and ana-
lyse massive amounts of data, while artificial
intelligence and machine-learning systems can
ensure the models are extracting the right data
to accurately mirror the real world.
That’s the hope, anyway. The field is still in
its infancy – though pulsing with activity.
Digital twins are being developed across the
world, in almost every industry. Healthcare pro- DON’T WAIT, SIMULATE
fessionals are looking to create digital twins of At the University of Pittsburgh in the US, research-
human bodies to personalise treatments without ers and engineers are testing whether a digital
cutting the skin. Urban planners are developing twin of the campus can help them understand
virtual cities to improve transport systems. And how climate change will affect their facilities. The
then there are places like Tuvalu, looking to work is led by civil engineer Alessandro Fascetti,
deploy digital twins to better plan for an who says the power of the technology lies
uncertain future.
One of the most popular uses of digital
“Such Mirror in its ability to make predictions on how
different climate possibilities may affect
twins is at this intersection of climate
change adaptation and technology. Just as
Worlds promise the operation of buildings.
“The most sought-after thing right
crash-test dummies simulate what hap-
pens to a body in a car accident, the hope is
to be powerful, now for this particular application is
transitioning to zero-carbon, or at least to
for digital twins to accurately predict fascinating, lowering carbon emissions, which is the
what will happen to our homes, cities, main thing we’re looking at.”
oceans and countries as our climate sys- and gigantic His team have begun by digitally rep-
tems face radical change. licating one building, the Mascaro Centre
There has been a swarm of interest in in their for Sustainable Innovation, chosen for
this area – the United States’ National
implications.” the vast number of sensors that already
DOCTOR EGG / GETTY IMAGES
Academies has said digital-twin technol- mark its walls, constantly collecting data
ogy could “revolutionise atmospheric and on energy use, occupancy, temperature
climate sciences”, while the European Union is levels and other variables.
creating a virtual replica of the planet to forecast The researchers have also been busy building
the impacts of a warming climate. the virtual platform to house this data. Fascetti
More on that later – fi rst, let’s dive in at the and his research students use mobile lasers –
smaller scale. black glass cloches about the size of a small
78 COSMOS MAGAZINE
DIGITAL TWINS
this change will simultaneously be represented

on the 3D model.
Just like that, a digital twin is born.
But then comes the hardest part– getting the
twin to make accurate predictions about the
future. This is done through an “alignment”
process, Fascetti says – the researchers will
intentionally hide certain data streams and get
the model to guess the missing information over
many iterations. Once it does so correctly, they’ll
know it is capable of making accurate predic-
tions about the physical world.
From here, the possibilities are endless. They
can start inputting climate projections and see
how the building’s twin reacts. How much extra
electricity is necessary to keep classrooms cool
when temperatures rise? How will building occu-
pancies change as weather patterns begin to shift?
“We don’t have to wait and see. We can simu-
late,” Fascetti says.
Even at this small scale, there is something
almost mystical in what these engineers are try-
ing to create: a system that will allow us to peek
into our possible futures. Until recently, even
contemplating such technologies was difficult –
the sheer amount of data and computing infra-
structure needed simply didn’t exist. Even now,
despite his optimism, Fascetti is aware of the
challenges.
“If you’re talking even of a medium-sized
city, this becomes daunting,” he says. “If you talk
flowerpot – to take images and corresponding After nine damaging about the region – well, at this point, we really
spatial information about the building. floods hit the nation in don’t know if we even have computers to do that.”
“The scanner houses an array of sensors, 2011, the Singapore There are scientists, though, who are trying
from 360° cameras similar to the ones on Google Land Authority (SLA) to find out.
Maps cars, to infrared imaging,” Fascetti says, began to create a 3D
then points to the black lens at the centre of the map to identify flooding CLONING OUR CITIES
dome in his hand. “At the same time, this object risk. Later, they In 2015, an aircraft flew above Singapore with a
here in the middle is a LiDAR sensor that collects collaborated with GPS very unusual passenger on board. Operated by
high-resolution data.” Lands Singapore to the geospatial service AAM Group (now
LiDAR, or Light Detection and Ranging, is a create Virtual Woolpert), the plane carried a sophisticated
way of collecting geospatial data by shooting Singapore, a digital twin LiDAR imaging system that bounced laser
pulses of light out from a laser to an object. that displays the country beams across the country.
“You read the time it takes for the reflection to in a highly detailed 3D The aircraft was commissioned by the coun-
come back, and since you know that the laser trav- representation. The aim try’s land services department as part of its
els at the speed of light, you know the distance.” is for the twin to take in plans to create a digital twin of the entire nation.
With this information, Fascetti and the team real-time information The aerial images would be combined with data
craft a “digital shadow” by importing the data and help inform urban collected by laser-equipped cars that traced
into a graphics editor called Unreal Engine – the planning and design, every street in Singapore. Three million pano-
same software used by video game developers. from mitigating flooding ramic images and around 25 terabytes of data
The software converts these millions of data risk to managing green went into the system.
points into an interactive, high-resolution visual spaces. Next, SLA is The SGD$73 million National 3D Mapping
model of the building. turning its attention to Programme was conceived to help the country
“This shadow gets morphed into a twin when mapping below the better respond to emerging climate threats, like
we start including all the data streams and pre- surface to manage the flash floods that regularly wash through city
dictive models,” Fascetti explains. For example, underground utilities. streets after heavy rains. Singapore is one of the
when temperatures rise in the physical building, most densely populated countries in the world,
so fi guring out how to build infrastructure to A digital twin of Earth twin to identify which trees are obstructing
best assist its citizens can challenge city plan- can help us understand motorists and need pruning.
ners. It was hoped a digital twin could help take our planet’s past, “We are constantly looking at how we can
the guesswork out of social, economic and envi- present and future – harness the potential of geospatial data and
ronmental intervention. but to create such an technologies further to support Singapore’s sus-
“The software offers visualisations of 3G/4G in-depth replica requires tainability efforts,” Singapore’s Land Services
network coverage areas; simulations of crowd a multitude of smaller department said in an email, calling the future
control and evacuation measures; and planning twins of the Earth's of digital-twin technology “limitless”.
scenarios for delivering municipal services, systems. These range Digital twins are also in the works for Dubai,
analysing pedestrian flows, as well as projecting from urban areas – Wellington, London, Paris, Melbourne and
science research outcomes,” Singapore’s Land like the model of New dozens of other places. Experts, like infra-
Authority said at the project’s launch a decade ago. Zealand's Wellington structure engineer Abbas Rajabifard from the
Touted as the world’s fi rst digital twin of a (opposite), currently University of Melbourne, say that digital twins
country, the 3D simulation of Singapore is exqui- used to understand the offer decision-makers the seductive ability to
site in its detail. Any point in the country can be city's transport capacity witness the impacts of climate change virtually,
inspected in 360° of clarity. Users can fly over the – to physical systems before they confront them in reality.
city model like a virtual drone. like the reconstruction “If we bring this [digital twin] system to life, it
The model has allowed city planners to iden- of Antarctica's hydrology becomes like a live testbed – you can bring any-
tify flood-prone areas and create a tailored (below). Data-fed thing into it, and it provides the solution,”
coastal protection plan. Singapore’s 3D building models of forests, Rajabifard says. He gives the example of planning
models have also been used to establish a national oceans, river systems your morning commute. The simulation would not
“solar potential map” that reveals suitable roof- and more will be crucial only tell you if it will rain today, but also the impact
tops for solar panel installations. Even the to creating a responsive, of driving versus taking the train – how much
country’s parks department is using the digital whole-Earth digital twin. time you might save, what the road conditions will
be like, how much fuel your trip will consume.
“You can put yourself into that situation vir-
tually … and then you can choose your option,”
he says.
But there is some danger behind this hype.
As the amount and complexity of information
fed into the digital twin grows, and its engineers
rely on artificial intelligence models to extract
useful information, it will become harder to
understand how and why the twin makes its
predictions. There’s a risk a digital twin could be
treated more as an impenetrable digital oracle.
Rajabifard and his colleagues call this prob-
lem the “black box” of digital twin and AI
development. “In some areas, [a prediction] can
be totally meaningless until the system becomes
more mature,” Rajabifard says.
For example, a predictive, AI-powered digital
twin used in farming may prioritise a larger
harvest over worker safety, without the end-
users knowing what it’s doing. Rajabifard says
governments must ask themselves an important
question.
“How can we validate that information
before we apply it to our decision processes?”
The answer lies in developing powerful
“auditing” systems, Rajabifard says – though
there’s still “more room to learn” about what
those systems might look like. Most likely, it
EARTHWAVE X2
would mean widening the type of data the model

wrestles with – in the above example, an audit-
ing system could ensure variables around
employee wellbeing, like rates of injury or
80 COSMOS MAGAZINE
DIGITAL TWINS
working hours, are provided alongside the twin’s less data and therefore cost less – but the twin
farming recommendations. would also quickly lose its synchronicity with its
But the solutions are not all technology- physical doppelganger, and its powerful predic-
related. Rajabifard has been developing tion capabilities would be greatly diminished.
workshops for community and government Peter Dueben from the European Centre for
leaders on how to use digital twins, comprehend Medium Range Weather Forecast is part of a new
their outputs and validate their simulations. initiative to create a digital twin of the entire
“Let’s engage as much as we can with differ- planet. He is very familiar with the complica-
ent authorities so that they can bring their own tions posed by the butterfly effect.
data sets into this,” he says. “That’s one of the reasons why it’s get-
ting more and more complicated to make
PLANET NO. 2 “As the scale of good predictions as we go into the future,”
There is a further problem presented by Dueben says. “The degrees of freedom are
the vast sea of data needed by digital digital twins overwhelming.”
twins to make accurate predictions.
Take the butterfly effect: chaos
increases, The European Commission-funded
project, called Destination Earth – DestinE
theory’s thought experiment fi rst
proposed by mathematician and meteor-
engineers have for short – is combatting this problem by
using highly sophisticated sensors and
ologist Edward Norton Lorenz. It holds
that miniscule changes to our weather
a difficult massive computing power to wrangle the
“overwhelming” amount of information
systems can have massive yet unpredicta- balancing act needed to create a virtual planet.
ble flow-on effects – like how the flapping The MareNostrum 5 supercomputer,
of butterfly wings can eventually lead to to maintain.” unveiled in Barcelona last year and capable
a tornado on the other side of the world. of executing 314 million billion calculations
As the scale of digital twins increases, engi- per second, will be tasked with analysing the data
neers have a difficult balancing act to maintain. needed to create our planetary twin. Dueben says
At high resolutions, the twin is able to better take simulations with the highest resolution will
into account granular interactions at the level of include more than 250 million horizontal grid
BUILDMEDIA
butterfly wings, but this would require an explo- points, 137 vertical levels and at least 10 different
sion in data and computational costs. On the other prognostic variables per grid point – which
hand, a lower-resolution model would require include things like temperature and pressure.
“It’s something that a normal human can’t
really comprehend,” he says.
But if the team pulls it off, DestinE could
supercharge our ability to visualise our climate
futures. Current forecasts run at the nine-
kilometre range, at best covering large suburbs
or townships, predicting the weather over the
next week or so. Meanwhile our existing climate
models analyse components like atmosphere
chemistry, oceans, land surface and ice to pro-
vide broad, global temperature predictions years
or decades into the future.
DestinE would provide much greater detail
over larger timeframes and smaller areas. Its sci-
entists are aiming to push enough data into the
system – from satellites, weather stations and
sensors around the world – to develop a model
with a powerful one-kilometre grid resolution of
our meteorological system. At these higher reso-
lutions scientists would be able to pinpoint paths
storm clouds might take as they form over
villages in the Pacific, or determine risk levels of
bushfi res in Australia before they even strike.
“If you go to the one-kilometre range of reso-
lution, you basically end up with a model
simulation of the atmosphere that is very hard to
distinguish from the observation,” Dueben
explains; if you were to take a satellite and ask it
to focus on a one-kilometre-square patch of land,
the images it produces would be identical to what
the digital twin simulates.
Two years into the project, Earth’s digital twin
is still early in its lifecycle. It’s still unknown pre-
cisely how the system will be used, and by whom.
But Dueben believes, ultimately, DestinE can
empower governments and policy makers around
the world to prepare for climate-changed futures.
“What would, for example, happen if
the rainforest in the Amazon was to disap-
pear?” Dueben asks. “You can … look at “What would ‘WORST-CASE SCENARIO’
what the Earth would actually respond to While digital twins offer some countries
and how it would work.” happen if the a revealing glimpse into their future (and
This visual component to the digital
twin can’t be overstated. It’s true, complex rainforest in the with it, the possibility to alter its course),
for small island countries, those dire
climate modelling is already available to us,
including studies into how deforestation
Amazon was to predictions are already coming true.
In Tuvalu, leaders don’t need technol-
can change our communities and the world.
But Dueben explains that DestinE, and
disappear? You ogy to witness the impacts of climate
change – they can just look out the win-
digital twins like it, could allow anyone to can look at how dow. “Certain areas that used to be land
FRANK RAMSPOTT / GETTY IMAGES
witness these impacts with their own eyes. are now underwater. We’re also seeing
“It’s not only about the model develop- it would work.” salt water seeping through the land, which
ment, but also about how we make the data is making it very difficult for us to grow
available to users and how the society can interact things on the island,” Foreign Minister Kofe says.
with the model simulations as well,” Dueben says. I ask Dueben if the money and attention put
The next phase of the project is to embed into cloning the planet is really worth the cost,
powerful machine-learning technologies into given that the science is conclusive around the
the simulation. impacts of increased fossil fuel emissions.
82 COSMOS MAGAZINE
DIGITAL TWINS
the nation today, rather than imagine possible

disasters tomorrow.
“Part of our advocacy and messaging is to try
and get people to understand how climate change
is really affecting countries like Tuvalu that are
at the forefront,” he says.
There’s frustration in Kofe’s voice when I speak
to him about how technology can help his country.
“The media likes to put the attention on the
Metaverse stuff but the core of it is just looking at
how we can harness the power of technology to
improve the lives of Tuvaluans,” he says.
I ask Kofe if he believes developing a digital
twin is really a viable solution to the country’s
climate change vulnerabilities. Does he really
expect Tuvaluans to relocate to an online, virtual
country and abandon their physical homes?
On one hand, he hopes contemplating such a
future serves as a wake-up-call to the rest of the
world, allowing them to avoid entering the digi-
tal twin altogether.
“We feel that the more people understand the
situation that we’re facing … hopefully that will
have a chain reaction to the leadership in their
countries,” Kofe says. “Pressure can be put on
the leaders to take stronger climate action.”
But he also says his government’s digital
twin endeavours aren’t simply “PR stunts”. The
country is legitimately preparing for what could
happen when their land disappears.
“Scientists are predicting that our islands
could be fully submerged within a matter of
decades,” Kofe says. “This is a plan for that
worst-case scenario.”
Kofe doesn’t know when the government will
finish creating Tuvalu’s digital twin. The plans
are, after all, ambitious – to preserve an entire
country’s history, culture and geography virtu-
ally. Is it fair to ask a vulnerable nation to consider
Extreme weather fluctuations, major biodiversity The European Union’s such a future for its people? Can a digital twin
loss and food insecurity have already been pre- digital-twin-Earth provide more than a shadow of its reality?
dicted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate project – DestinE – Such questions can only be answered as
Change, without the need of a digital twin. aims to accurately twins become better at mimicking our real
“We know basically that it’s going to be bad if forecast conditions worlds. Engineers in Europe expect the “full dig-
we increase climate change. But we don’t know at a 1 sq. km scale. ital replica” of Earth to be completed in 2030.
exactly what’s going to happen in our local area,” Climate scientists predict that around 2030,
Dueben responds. He says providing such global temperatures will exceed 1.5°C above
localised images of the future can also be an pre-industrial levels, pushing many countries
important tool for communities and govern- into irreversible peril.
ments to understand the impact of climate At that stage, we may all be faced with the
change, and advocate for a better response. same “worst-case scenario” that Tuvalu contem-
But what happens if our environments are plates today: pondering if a mirror world can
already facing extinction, or if we are accelerat- ever truly replicate our real one once it becomes
ing too fast down a path of climate collapse? uninhabitable.
Such questions are front of mind for Kofe.
According to him, Tuvalu's government is using PRIANKA SRINIVASAN is a reporter and photographer
digital-twin technology to preserve an image of specialising in the Pacific.
n a hot, dry day in February, I
O arrive at Charles Sturt

University just outside the
New South Wales town of
Wagga Wagga. I’m here to meet a special
breed of physicist.
The most important
field of physics you’ve
One by one, they arrive at the shady never heard of. Evrim field isn’t that well known. I com-
outdoor seating area of a campus café. pleted my master’s at the
Seasoned, retired professors are joined Yazgin reports. University of Melbourne in theo-
by up-and-coming postdocs and fresh- retical condensed matter physics,
faced master’s students. and my family could only remem-
Within half an hour, about 50 rest- ber the field by referring to it as
less physicists crowd around tables “condensed milk”. It was the joke
adorned with bowls of chips and nuts. that never grew old – for them.
They begin to make conversation in an But while it doesn’t have the same recog-
endearingly awkward way. There’s no small nition as, say, particle physics or astrophysics,
talk, no mention of the weather or the trip to condensed matter physics plays a critical role in
Wagga Wagga. It’s straight into the physics. the physical sciences and our daily lives.
“What kind of plot matches your data?” It’s been essential in developing semi-
“Are you using machine-learning algorithms conducting chips that led to modern computers,
to model the energies?” green technologies like solar panels, super-
“What if you use a ferrous metal and fluctu- conductors, nanotechnology, electronics, energy
ate the magnetic field?” storage, magnetic materials and applications in
You may be wondering: Who are these people, medicine such as drug delivery.
what on Earth are they talking about and why are Wagga 2024, the 46th installation of the con-
they all gathered in rural NSW on the banks of the ference held in early February 2024, was a
Murrumbidgee River? celebration of these aspects of condensed matter
Fair questions. physics and materials science.
These physicists conduct research in the As a science journalist, I was in heaven. Over
fields of condensed matter physics and materials four days of presentations, discussions and casual
science, and they are attending an annual chats over lunch or coffee, I met a cast of interest-
conference – affectionally called “Wagga” – ing characters at the forefront of surprisingly
organised by the Australian Institute of Physics. diverse research into condensed matter physics.
What, I hear you ask, is condensed matter But before I introduce you to them, let’s delve
physics? In the grand scheme of physics, this into the intriguing history of this field.
84 COSMOS MAGAZINE
FUTURE PHYSICS
A MATTER OF TIME No longer was our knowl-

Millions of years ago, our human edge of materials just based on
ancestors began shaping materials like what we could sense. Quantum
stone and wood into useful tools. As our tech- mechanics could help explain the different
nology developed, so did our understanding and properties of materials through the combined
our ability to use more specialised materials for effects of all the quantum states of all the atoms
specific purposes, and we began making pottery, and molecules that make them up.
weaving fabrics and smelting metals. This new, bizarre theory could explain why
Skipping ahead to the 19th century, physicists some materials are magnetic, rigid, soft, liquid
and chemists were grappling with more at room temperature – and why some are
advanced questions around why materials conductors.
behave as they do. In particular, they were try- Drude’s model of free electrons was helpful
ing to work out why electricity and magnetism to this end; it was built upon in 1926 by another
came about. German physicist – Arnold Sommerfeld, one of
An early model to explain the flow of electric- the fathers of modern quantum mechanics.
ity was developed by German physicist Paul Austrian quantum pioneer Wolfgang Pauli then
Drude in 1900. Drude suggested that a metal used this to explain the heat capacity of metals.
atom’s outer-shell electrons move freely through This was also based on the quantum statistical
the material, but his model couldn’t explain model developed by English physicist Paul Dirac
other properties of metals. and Italian Enrico Fermi.
A theory that could peer into the subatomic Unlocking this weird and wacky quantum
to make sense of the macroscopic was just world led physicists to fi nally understand more
BACKGROUND: MDLOTHFOR / ADOBE STOCK
around the corner. In the fi rst decades of the 20th exotic properties of materials like superconduc-
century, one of the greatest shifts in our under- tivity and superfluidity, by combining quantum
standing of the natural world occurred: quan- mechanics with statistics.
tum mechanics. Up until the 1940s, physicists working in met-
Quantum theory tells us that on the tiny allurgy, crystallography, elasticity, magnetism
scale of particles, atoms and molecules, you can- and other areas were considered separate. They
not take what you know about a particle right were then brought together under the umbrella of
now and predict what it will be doing in the “solid-state physics.” Then, in the 1960s, those
future. You can only work out the probability studying liquids were brought into the fold.
that the particle will be in one of a given set of A new field – condensed matter physics –
states. was born.
ENERGETIC THINKING
Condensed matter today is the most diverse field
in physics – a variety reflected in the range of
scientists at Wagga 2024. It would take several
books to give a true state of the field, but I’ll give
you a taste of this world by introducing you to a
few of the scientists working in it.
Jacob Martin, a materials scientist and nano-
technologist from Western Australia’s Curtin
University, caught my attention when he won an
award for his presentation – not a fancy plaque
or formal certificate, but a tattered sculpture of a
galah named Jacko. He’s the fi rst to admit that he
may have edged out other presenters for the
prize by bringing props to his talk – 3D-printed
pieces and even a VR headset.
“There’s nothing better than getting a joke
prize,” he says with a laugh. “It’s an honour of
course to be given the prize, but also that we
don’t take it too seriously.”
Martin says that what he loves about
Australia’s condensed matter physics community
is how it blends serious science with a laid-back
attitude. “When you find a group of people that carbon mate-
are in it for the science and are willing to kind of rials are critical
give each other a bit of hell, it’s quite enjoyable.” for the green transi-
Plus, he adds: “they’re quite practical people. tion, but they’re quite
The other thing I love about condensed matter energy intensive to prepare,”
physicists is that they’re very grounded in Martin says.
experiments.” “The sheets wrinkle, get cut and
Martin’s work is highly practical too. At interweave. To get rid of the defects that allow Jacob Martin (above and
Curtin, he leads a team which is trying to turn the sheets to come apart – which is what you opposite) is working on
carbon from a problem into a solution – in par- need for lithium-ion battery – requires an enor- an energy-efficient
ticular, a useful form of carbon called graphite. mous amount of energy. That’s the big issue. method of creating
Graphite is a stable, crystalline form of car- “Our focus is on reducing the energy require- graphite (below right).
bon, made up of thin sheets composed of carbon ments to make graphite so that we can make
atoms arranged in a hexagonal pattern. The lithium-ion batteries with fewer emissions.”
atom-thick layers are loosely held together, Martin’s team is trying to understand how
meaning they can slide off each other – a very graphite forms in order to make production
useful property. faster and more energy efficient.
Graphite is not only used as a dry lubricant Because carbon is so stable, Martin says that
and as pencil “lead”. By mass, it’s the largest to get atoms to rearrange into the graphite ABOVE LEFT: CURTIN UNIVERSITY. RIGHT: DR JACOB MARTIN X2.
component in lithium-ion batteries, mak- sheets requires heating the material to
ing up nearly a third of the energy 3,000°C – halfway to the tempera-
storage devices which are used ture on the surface of the Sun.
in many household “We’re talking about
applications, including extreme tempera-
electric vehicles. tures,” he enthuses.
When lithium-ion
“WE SHOULD BE “Graphite has a high
batteries are charging, ABLE TO FORM heat capacity, which
the lithium gets “pulled” means that it takes a lot
into graphite sheets GRAPHITE ON of energy to raise its
where it is stored and its temperature.”
chemical energy can be
THE SECONDS Martin has showed
accessed. TIMESCALE” that, on paper, graphite
But there’s a catch. “It should take much less
turns out that a lot of energy to make than
86 COSMOS MAGAZINE
FUTURE PHYSICS
current methods. “I worked out theoretically defects form at high temperature but disappear
how much energy it would take to heat carbon up within seconds. Heating graphite up for hours
to 3,000°C from the heat capacity. It’s about a essentially encourages the formation of new
tenth of the energy that we use currently to heat screws, drawing out the process of producing
it up to those temperatures.” graphite without the defects. Instead, to make
“It takes 14 hours to heat up, then you hold it the process more energy efficient, Martin’s team
there for three hours. All the heat is lost by just suggest a “pulsed” production process where
radiation and convection. It’s a very inefficient carbon is heated for a matter of seconds, forming
process. It means graphite has the same energy graphite, before quickly being brought back to
input per kilogram as steel,” Martin explains – room temperature.
though he’s quick to point out that some electric “If you only need to heat the material for 10
vehicle batteries are at least two times better in seconds, it changes the way you think about
terms of carbon emissions than petrol. this completely,” he says. “You could
His team built an instrument have a smaller amount of material
which could measure how quickly and feed it continuously through.
carbon transforms into graphite. We’re now commercialising that.”
They found something unexpected. One of Martin’s students devel-
“When you heat it up, it actually oped 3D virtual environments
goes twice as fast as you’d expect,” showing computer simulations of
he says. “That means that we graphite formation (hence the VR
should be able to form graphite on goggles which won him the galah
the seconds timescale and not on the prize). The team then examined how
hours timescale.” these visualisations feed into experiments.
Their instrument also allowed them to see that “I call it a sort of experimental-computa-
graphite formation is a completely different process tional approach,” Martin says. “We jump
to that which physicists had previously theorised. between doing virtual experiments and real
Martin and his team discovered “screw experiments. The virtual experiments give us
defects” – structures which wind things to look for and the real experiments give
between the layers like spiral us things to look at in the simulations.”
staircases – developing
as the graphite was A “HOLE” LOT OF FUN
forming. The Among the conference attendees were a few
screw starry-eyed students just sinking their teeth
into the field of condensed matter physics. One of
them is Matthew Smith, a master’s student from
Adelaide’s Flinders University. When I met him
over coffee between presentations, he told me
that what he enjoys about the field is how it links
to real-world outcomes.
“Often in physics and physical sciences, it can
be a little bit hard to draw a yellow line from what
you’re doing to how someone’s going to benefit,”
he says. He adds that pure science research is still
vitally important, “but one of the things I like
about condensed matter physics and the research
I’m doing at the moment is that it’s extremely
easy to draw a yellow line between what I study
and things that are actually going to help.”
Like Martin, Smith’s research has potential
in developing game-changing green energy
sources. In Smith’s case: hydrogen fuel.
Hydrogen gas combusts to make water and
energy. It is, therefore, a carbon-emission-free
fuel source which is already being used in trans-
port systems like buses and is even powering
new drones. But, like current graphite produc-
tion, hydrogen is not energy efficient to make.
Nearly 95% of industrial hydrogen is made Smith says the details of the project are still The work of Matthew
by breaking down organic materials such as fos- confidential – he can’t tell me what stage the Smith (left) involves
sil fuels and biomass. The downside – and it’s a research is at or even what compound the team is creating an energy-
biggie – is that this releases more carbon into using in their semiconductor. But it’s an exciting friendly semiconductor
the atmosphere. piece of research in the works. with the capacity to
A more environmentally friendly way produce hydrogen from
of producing hydrogen is a process ACCELERATING PHYSICS water by electrolysis.
called electrolysis: splitting water Wagga 2024 isn’t just for pure con-
molecules, H 2O, into hydrogen and densed matter physicists. Those
oxygen gas. But current electro- who use the field’s methods come in
lysis methods are energy intensive a variety of packages – including
because they require a current to researchers who work with particle
pass through a catalyst which is accelerators, like Krystina Lamb.
submerged in water. “The Wagga conference is always
“I work on solar photocatalytic fun,” Lamb says. “It’s a legendary
hydrogen,” Smith explains excitedly. conference among condensed matter
This is a way of making hydrogen using physicists.”
only a catalyst, water and sunlight. Lamb is a physical chemist working at the
“No electronic equipment – just the photons Australian Synchrotron in Melbourne’s south-
from the Sun, which power the water-splitting east. Operated by the Australian Nuclear Science
reaction.” and Technology Organisation (ANSTO), the
Smith’s team is using semiconductors as the synchrotron’s main purpose is to facilitate
catalyst for hydrogen electrolysis. research.
Semiconductors are vital to our daily lives. “It’s here for researchers around Australia and
They underpin all kinds of electronic devices internationally to do their science,” Lamb says.
from diodes and transistors to the circuits in “We have a very large group of physi-
computers and mobile phones. cists who run the machine itself.
They’re useful because they have electrical I’m a beamline scientist. I
conductivity somewhere between that of a con- manage, maintain, oper-
ductor – like copper – and an insulator, which ate and train other
can’t conduct electricity. This means the flow of people [in]
electrical current through a semiconductor how to
device can be controlled.
Semiconductors are made from compounds
like silicon, which are “doped”. Doping is a pro-
cess in which impurities – other elements – are
introduced into the crystal structure. When two
differently doped regions are in the same crystal,
a “junction” is created through which electricity
can flow.
Electricity normally flows via the negatively
charged electron. In semiconductors, electricity
is transmitted through both electrons and “holes”
– the positively charged spots where electrons
used to be. Like electrons, these holes move from
atom to atom through the crystal. Smith is one of
many researchers looking at semiconductors as
catalysts for hydrogen electrolysis. But the elec-
tron and “hole” pairs don’t always play dice.
“The problem with most of them is it’s actu-
ally quite hard to get the electron and the hole to
where you need them to be,” he says.
But the team at Flinders is working with a
semiconducting material in which electrons and
holes cross the semiconductor junction when the
material is struck by photons, creating an elec-
tric current and catalysing electrolysis.
88 COSMOS MAGAZINE
FUTURE PHYSICS
use a specific instru- for humans who con-

ment. In my case, it’s the
THE sume it?”
X-ray absorption spec- SYNCHROTRON IS Lamb’s job is to
troscopy (XAS) bring the synchrotron
instrument.” A CANDY SHOP, expertise. “One of the
She explains that the things that I really
XAS instrument has
AND SCIENTISTS enjoy about it is there is
many uses. “You can do OF ALL STRIPES that really big range of
whatever you want on it, research,” she says.
to be honest,” she laughs. ARE THE KIDS. “People from all differ-
A sample, like a rock ent areas come and
or a grain of wheat, is have a chat about what
bombarded with X-rays which they’re doing.”
“excite” its electrons, making them
reach higher quantum energy levels. CMP: THE PLACE TO BE
When the excited electrons calm down, they One of the great advantages of condensed
release energy in the form of X-rays. By measur- matter physics is its breadth. At Wagga 2024, the
ing which X-rays were absorbed and then question-and-answer periods after presenta-
released, beamline scientists can tell how much tions were often fi lled with helpful suggestions
of which elements are present in a sample. from the floor – coming at the same problem
It can even be used to map the structure of a from a different angle. An atomic physicist might
sample down to micrometre precision. have a unique approach to a problem that a mate-
“This technique is an element-specific tech- rials scientist is working on. But they’re both in
nique,” Lamb explains. “For example, there are this glorious condensed matter world.
people who do studies on mercury, and particu- “That was one of my first conferences,” Smith
larly mercury in very low concentrations. says. “I must admit, I didn’t understand all of the
Depending on the specific oxidation state of the presentations as well as I would like to. I think it’s
mercury or the other elements that it’s really cool when people are bringing ideas
attached to, mercury can be toxic or it from other places.”
can be benign.” Martin says condensed matter
Organic mercury is extremely physics is one of the “unsung
toxic – very small concentrations heroes” of physics. “I don’t think
will kill you – while inorganic mer- people appreciate how much con-
cury is more benign. “We can tell densed matter physics has changed
the difference between those mer- their lives,” he says.
curies in very low concentrations: And it will continue to change
in soil, food, mining runoff or all our lives.
those sorts of things. Quantum computing promises to
“But you can do it on any element in the be millions of times more powerful and
range of the energy that we can look at.” faster than current computers. And it’s con-
And that range basically includes the whole densed matter physics. Finding better ways of
periodic table other than hydrogen and helium. storing and producing energy – also condensed
Lamb says she’s supported researchers matter physics. Producing a room-temperature
looking into catalysis, batteries, soil research, geo- superconductor to conduct electricity with no
chemistry, metal accumulation in steel pipes and power loss and no need for an industrial refrig-
other engineering processes, food science, cells erator – you guessed it: condensed matter
and bioaccumulation of elements in cells. Even physics.
palaeontologists have brought fossils for analysis. “It’s the largest branch and the most practical,”
The Synchrotron is basically a candy shop, Martin says. “So much of what we consider key
and scientists of all stripes – including materials technologies to decarbonise is to do with con-
The Australian and condensed matter scientists – are the kids. densed matter physics. It requires that theoretical,
Synchrotron, opposite, “Users come in and they have a research fundamental understanding to enable it, and we
holds a cornucopia of question. They might say, I have this flour that’s still don’t have a lot of the solutions. We need more
tools for research, under made from wheat that’s genetically modified, or people in condensed matter physics.”
LEFT: ANSTO
the careful operation of we’ve grown it in these specific kinds of soils,

scientists like Krystina and I want to know what the speciation of iron is. EVRIM YAZGIN is a journalist at Cosmos. His story
Lamb (right). How available is the iron in these flour samples mythbusting our Solar System appeared last issue.
BUSH FOODS
A partnership between a young Brazilian scientist, a veteran

horticulturalist and First Nations people of the West Kimberley,
in Western Australia, promises to improve biodiversity and
heal Country damaged by wildfires and land clearing.
Story and photographs by David Hancock.
W
hen she first arrived in the West
Australian Kimberley six years
ago, Sara Cavalcanti Marques
felt a strong affinity with the
region. This vast area of dramatic and relatively
undisturbed landscapes, cut by pristine rivers,
forms a haven for rare plants and animals. The
lush, warm ecosystem with a strong tradition of
Indigenous land stewardship reminded her of
her birthplace of Belém, at the mouth of the
Amazon in northern Brazil.
Initially based in Perth at Murdoch University, Courtenay is particularly interested in the
the young scientist – who holds a bachelor’s concept of “savanna enrichment”, where certain
degree with honours in terrestrial ecology from native flora species, usually trees, are planted
São Paulo State University – was so entranced by within existing vegetation. Coupled with regular
the West Kimberley that she sought opportunities early-season burning, the practice results in
to work with First Nations people in native food productive woodlands where natural biodiver-
production and land stewardship practices. sity is preserved and enhanced.
She contacted First Nations research insti- Much of northern Australia’s vegetation is
tutes in Broome including North Regional (NR) dominated by various fire-tolerant acacias. In
TAFE, which works with Traditional Owners many places fires come through, the acacias
and trains First Nations students in conventional burn and then regenerate more thickly, creating
horticultural techniques, such as large-scale even hotter fires next time there’s a burn. During
irrigation. Almost by chance, Cavalcanti intense fires, a lot of long-lived native trees are
Marques came across Kim Courtenay, one of destroyed and the landscape effectively changes
northern Australia’s most experienced from tropical woodland to scrub. Where once
Savanna
stood large eucalypts (such as bloodwoods,
stringybarks and woollybutts), boabs, bauhin-
ias, kurrajongs and others, often there are
burned, twisted skeletons.
sustenance horticulturalists, who has spent decades work-

ing with First Nations people of the Kimberley.
“This means you lose biodiversity,”
Courtenay says. “And you lose the bush foods so
Courtenay has been on the payroll of NR TAFE important to Aboriginal people. Those are plants
for 29 years and has long-established links with that they used to go and collect and obtain so
Traditional Owners and remote communities. much goodness from. Savanna enrichment is
Aside from training, NR TAFE staff help basically reversing that process [of losing bush
Community members at communities establish their own gardens and food plants]. We are re-establishing the valuable
Bidyadanga harvest native food plantations, assist pastoralists with native plants and using various methods to sup-
gubinge (Kakadu plum) restoring degraded land and provide skills to press or replace the acacia thickets.”
from the plantation of inmates at rehabilitation institutions such as It is a land-management technique used by
trees they raised and the West Kimberley Regional Prison. Courtenay for decades and First Nations people
irrigated over the past 15 Importantly for Cavalcanti Marques, one of the for generations, yet they have only been able to
years. The highly valued first initiatives Courtenay launched for NR provide anecdotal evidence of its success.
native fruit is gathered in TAFE was an on-Country learning centre, called Savanna enrichment uses traditional practices
a wild harvest in other Balu Buru, “place of trees” in the local Yawuru such as cool, patchy fires and caring for bush
parts of Western language: a 20-hectare site outside Broome produce plants that have always been part of
Australia and the dedicated to training, cultivating native species First Nations culture. For Western science,
Northern Territory by and developing sustainable land-management savanna enrichment is yet to be proved.
First Nations people. practices. Enter Sara Cavalcanti Marques.
The Brazilian is undertaking a PhD project at
Murdoch University called “Assessing the Social
and Ecological Benefits of Bush Tucker Inclusion
and Land Stewardship Practices”. Its main aim is
to scientifically prove the ecological process and
benefits of savanna enrichment. It’s also expected
to open up extensive economic opportunities for
First Nations businesses and communities.
“TAFE and Kim [Courtenay] have been doing
this for several years,” Cavalcanti Marques says.
“We know that it works on the ground as a model
for bush produce cultivation, but the idea is try-
ing to quantify those benefits in order to get
more support behind it, so this activity can be
rolled out on a bigger scale.
“So far, it has happened in very specific,
punctual cases from the TAFE and across a cou-
ple of different communities. The idea is to try
and bring more evidence of the ecological and
social benefits of this model, so it can be sup-
ported and incentivised to be carried out across
regional areas.”
applied to different types of country – the species

you would incorporate would depend upon where
you want to implement this model. Here, in this
case study we are looking at with TAFE, we are
looking at the pindan scrub – this tropical savanna
– so the species reflects that local context.”
Pindan is a name given to the red soil coun-
try of the south-western Kimberley region, and
the flora associated with it. The pindan forms a
transitional zone between the wetter areas of the
north Kimberley and the Great Sandy Desert to
the south-east. It is a low, open woodland of
“Kakadu plum has the potential to

combat many prevalent diseases.”
scattered trees dominated by wattles, eucalypts
and tall shrubs. Higher ground is home to paper-
Cavalcanti Marques points out that while Above, Sara Cavalcanti barks and larger trees.
there is evidence showing that savanna enrich- Marques (right) The native species with the biggest potential
ment works as a means to grow native bush foods celebrates a planting at to generate income for First Nations people in the
and medicines – that it’s providing social benefits Balu Buru with a NR Kimberley, including the pindan scrub region, is
and increasing diversity of bush tucker plants – TAFE student (left); their Terminalia ferdinandiana. It grows across north-
so far that evidence is strictly anecdotal. techniques to improve ern Australia between Broome and the Gulf of
“Through research you can actually prove the native food industry Carpentaria in sandy soils and harsh terrain
whether or not this model is also contributing to could apply even to the where other plants struggle to survive. The fruit
things like restoration, and whether it is, for sub-tropical climate of is a traditional Aboriginal food and medicine
instance, contributing to carbon sequestration, NSW and Queensland, known by several names including gubinge in
carbon offsetting and that sort of thing,” she says. where native fingerlimes the west and billygoat plum in the east. The name
“What I think is interesting about this (top of page) are grown Kakadu plum was created to standardise the
savanna enrichment model is the principle can be in large numbers. product name for the native-food industry.
92 COSMOS MAGAZINE
BUSH FOODS
The small, green fruit sells well in Australia

as a gourmet bush-food ingredient for jams and
chutneys. Local and global companies are also
seeking Kakadu plum for cosmetic products
(primarily skin care), nutraceuticals (health
food and drink supplements) and as a natural
food preservative.
According to some experts, Kakadu plum has
the potential to combat many diseases prevalent
in Western society: inflammation, cancer, diabe-
tes and other afflictions. It has the highest known
levels of Vitamin C of any plant in the world and
is full of antioxidants. According to biologist Ian
Cock of Griffith University, Queensland, people
are starting to take notice of the plant.
“The more we work on this plant the more we
find,” he says. “It has possibilities with
Alzheimer’s [disease] and as a natural antibiotic
to assist the old, sick and infirm in fighting bac- The native plant industry
teria. It has possibilities as a natural antibiotic in Kakadu plum is gathered primarily from
animal husbandry where there is a trend Aboriginal lands; often, it is Indigenous women
towards plant extracts instead of manufactured who pick the fruit by walking through the bush
after the wet season to harvest up to 20 kilograms
per day from trees that grow to three metres.
Around Darwin, non-indigenous pickers target
crown land or pay a royalty for gathering on
Aboriginal country; they can earn $10–20 per kg.
In some cases, plums are frozen and shipped
away while other fruit are converted to powder
(essentially, the plums are pulped and dried) and
sold for $300–500 per kg. It takes about 10kg of
fresh plums to create 1kg of powder. In a good
year there is potential to harvest 40–60 tonnes of
Kakadu plums from Western Australia, and
20–40 tonnes from the Northern Territory.
Courtenay believes Kakadu plum and other
native plants, in combination with conventional
food gardens, could underpin the economies of
remote Aboriginal communities in Western
Australia and elsewhere. Through practical
training programs, he and Traditional Owners
around Broome have planted more than 2,500
Horticulturalist Kim antibiotics that animals develop resistance to. It gubinge trees in the past 15 years. Nearly 600 trees
Courtenay (above) has has major potential in many fields.” were planted at Bidyadanga community,
pioneered the concept A member of the Centre for Planetary Health 180 kilometres south of Broome, and another
of savannah enrichment and Food Security at Griffith University, Dr Cock 1,000 in a plantation-like situation at GoGo
in northern WA, where it says Kakadu plum may be the stand-out native Station, about 400km east of Broome, near Fitzroy
helps grow traditional plant that could provide value and income to com- Crossing. The trees at Bidyadanga provide a regu-
foods with the potential munities, but others are ideal to rehabilitate the lar harvest and income for the community;
for commercial environment and provide medicinal benefits. initially they were well-irrigated but now survive
development, such as He cited Scaevola spinescens (also known as under normal seasonal conditions.
the Kakadu plum and the prickly fanflower, currant bush and maroon “Gubinge is our hero plant,” Courtenay says.
Pindan walnut (top right). bush), which has potential to treat cancer, heart “But across the north there are a number of other
disease and kidney complaints. He said plants plants such as the wild mango or green plum
from the Eremophila genus (sometimes known (Buchanania obovata), the pindan walnut
as Emu bush) also have well-documented anti- (Terminalia cunninghamii), also known locally
bacterial and antiviral properties. as kumpaja, a very oil-rich nut.
The core of Cavalcanti Marques’ PhD research
looks at social and ecological benefits of
Indigenous involvement in savanna enrichment.
“That is really my focus,” she says. “Looking
at what are the opportunities for communities
and Indigenous groups to be able to implement
savanna enrichment.
“Unfortunately, I don’t have findings or publi-
cations yet I can share about what the data tells us
regarding the potential of savanna enrichment as
a tool for land stewardship (namely restoration
and carbon farming). However, anecdotal evi-
dence suggests it might be an opportunity that
fits in with the wants and needs of Aboriginal
Rangers working on caring for Country.”
“There is another nut which occurs in the Rangers and students Cavalcanti Marques also works closely with
desert which is called the desert walnut (Owenia from all over the the ARC Training Centre for Healing Country.
reticulata) that has prized oil in it, very impor- Kimberley came to Balu “I feel very frustrated by the fact that in
tant to the traditional Aboriginal people from the Buru near Broome to Australia 2% of the Indigenous bush-tucker
desert; they applied the oil to their skin,” plant trees that will form sector nationally is held by Indigenous people,”
Courtenay says. “One of the old priests at the basis of the savanna she adds. “It’s outrageous because the knowledge
Bidyadanga saw several of the people coming out enrichment project. is 100% Indigenous knowledge – the whole
of the desert, emerging from the traditional life.
He said their skin shone like polished ebony and
it was because they regularly applied oil of the
desert walnut to their skin.”
These native plants have long been estab-
lished at Balu Buru and form the backbone of
Cavalcanti Marques’ program to prove the bene-
fits of savanna enrichment; over time, there have
been extra plantings in and around Broome,
where First Nations people collect them to eat or
to sell when in season.
“The horticultural techniques used for grow-
ing bush foods are very similar to those used in
“Native foods can become a mainstay

of remote Indigenous economies.”
conventional horticulture, including market
gardening,” Courtenay says. “Teaching these
skills can contribute to the big-picture issue of
food security [in] remote communities.”
In other parts of Australia native plants such
as finger limes (Citrus australasica), Davidson
plums (Davidsonia spp.) and lemon myrtle
(Backhousia citriodora) are popular ingredients
in foods, drinks, cosmetics and medicines, and
demand is high.
However, in southern Australia there are rel-
atively few First Nations people directly involved
in the native-food, or bush-tucker, industry. In
Australia’s north, hopes are high that native
foods can become a mainstay of remote
Indigenous economies.
94 COSMOS MAGAZINE
BUSH FOODS
viability of the bush-tucker industry in Australia should support First Nations groups and fami-
relies heavily on this Indigenous knowledge. lies who want to return to Country to grow and
“I think economic benefits are what stand out harvest bush tucker.
first and foremost – we know that the demand “Western agricultural methodology, includ-
for bush tucker in Australia far outstrips supply, ing grazing by cattle and horses, has meant many
and we know that there is a big global interest in native species have become extinct,” she says.
a lot of Indigenous products. There is not enough “Aboriginal people are more aligned with a holis-
to actually meet that demand, so economically tic way of looking after the land. Targeted burning
there is a big opportunity there – but I think that and savanna enrichment is part of that.”
is only the tip of the iceberg in terms of social and Torres says it is essential governments legis-
cultural benefits.” late to recognise and protect Indigenous
knowledge, and provide as much infrastructure
(Horti)cultural matters funding to remote communities as is provided to
At Balu Buru, Cavalcanti Marques and Courtenay large corporates and pastoral interests.
work with Indigenous rangers and students Cavalcanti Marques says working at Balu
planting, irrigating and recording details about Buru feels like a “very lucky occurrence”:
the flora – information that forms the basis of “Having that site there that TAFE has looked
the study project. They dig long, shallow chan-
nels in the red, sandy soil to lay poly pipes that
will bring water to young saplings. These new
plants exist in a time capsule, because they are
alongside the same species that were established
more than 15 years ago.
Recently, representatives of several
Indigenous groups – the Nyangumarta Women
Rangers, Bardi Jawi Rangers, Karajarri Women
Rangers and the Kimberley Mineral Sands
Rangers – visited Balu Buru and worked with
Cavalcanti Marques and Courtenay to plant a
variety of native species.
The rangers said there was potential for their
communities in a variety of ways: to regenerate
burnt country, establish seed banks and nurser-
ies for native-food industries, bring native plants
closer to communities so old and young people
don’t have to travel long distances to gather and
learn about traditional tucker, even to re-establish
culturally important trees that have been
destroyed by natural disasters, such as cyclones.
Lynette Wilridge, Roberta Hunter and Lisa
Toby, of the Nyangumarta Women Rangers, say
they had Elders who were born under some of Operated by North after for so many years, having the ability to take
those large kumpaja trees along 80 Mile Beach, Regional TAFE, Balu students through and show them that this area
south and west of Broome. “They were very Buru has become a we just planted out will look like in 15 to 20 years,
important places for our community,” the highly successful site people can experience the transformation before
women say. “Cyclones took all that. We would for training people in their eyes,” she says.
like to grow those plants and put them back cross-cultural “They can examine mature, enriched savanna
there. It won’t be the same, but it is important horticultural techniques. areas … you can see their eyes light up immediately
that we take those plants back to Country as a when they start looking at the plants, identifying
way to remember our ancestors.” the plants, talking about how it compares to their
The rangers agreed elements of savanna Country. I think that site has power and impact.
enrichment could bring a community back to People can go there and not only get the training
doing things they have been doing (traditionally) and the skills but get inspiration of what the
in the past, and help protect plants and animals potential is and what it could look like.”
as well as providing shelter and food.
Pat Torres, of Mayi Harvests, who helps DAVID HANCOCK is based in Darwin. His last story, on
develop native-food ventures, says governments Stone Country ecology, was in Issue 101.
Europa is one of Jupiter’s 95 known moons – and one of its most interesting.
Its surface is covered in ice, forming a frozen crust beneath which a saltwater
STOCKTREK / GETTY IMAGES
ocean may lurk; evidence suggests it is twice as big as all of Earth’s oceans
combined. This icy mini-world is crisscrossed by streaks and gashes that
make it look a little like an eye, bulging with veins. But these features are
actually cracks and ridges – some thousands of kilometres long – that form at
weak points in the icy crust and are exacerbated by the tidal forces the moon
experiences from Jupiter’s immense gravitational pull. To learn more about
Europa and its fellow satellites of the Solar System, head to page 102.
96 COSMOS MAGAZINE
i Science meets life
98
PRINTING
THE FUTURE
Meet the researchers
harnessing materials
science to make
shapeshifting,
4D-printed objects.
i 102
MOON
MADNESS
What’s in a moon?
And what is a moon,
anyway? All the
questions orbiting
your head answered.
106
PUZZLES
Science-inspired
brain bogglers.
iNtO tHe
fOuRtH
dImEnSiOn
An Australian institute is designing and printing There’s no such thing as a 4D printer. Rather,
items assume the mantle of 4D by the way in
objects that can shapeshift after they’re made. which specific ingredients are combined to give
the fi nished product useful qualities and abili-
Forget next-gen – Denise Cullen reports ties. Using a readily available 3D printer pur-
chased for about $300, Qiao and Zhang turn out
from the next dimension. solid objects with the capacity to morph into
different forms when exposed to stimuli such as
aterials scientist Liwen Zhang dips heat, water or light.
m a pair of tweezers into a beaker of

iced water (0°C) and plucks out a
small grey object the shape of a lotus
flower in full bloom.
He plunges it into a second beaker fi lled with
4D printing is already in use in the medical
device sector to create coronary stents, artificial
muscles and other devices that adapt and change
shape inside the body.
But having the ability to customise and shape
tepid water (15°C). When Zhang retrieves it after materials after printing opens up the possibility
a few seconds, the flower has fl attened out to of broader manufacturing breakthroughs and
form a disc shaped like a picture-book sun. MIT’s Skylar Tibbits consumer innovations, from self-healing plumb-
This demonstration, unfolding during my (below) highlighted the ing pipes to clothes that react to weather. And in
tour of The University of Queensland’s essential weakness in good news for anyone who’s ever struggled to put
Australian Institute for Bioengineering and 3D printing in a 2013 together an IKEA cabinet, 4D printing might
Nanotechnology (AIBN), may seem simple, but TED talk: once also lead to self-assembling furniture.
it’s an example of the remarkable and pioneering fabricated, 3D-printed “4D printing is a rapidly evolving field that is
field of four-dimensional (4D) printing. objects couldn’t be really only limited by imagination,” Qiao says.
This emerging process – which is how the altered. 4D printing
shapeshifting object was made – has profound would correct that flaw, tHe fOuRtH dImEnSiOn
implications for a range of fields, from manufac- he said. It’s been almost five decades since the advent of
turing and medicine to fashion 3D printing.
and furniture. Sometimes called additive
The AIBN’s Group Leader, manufacturing, 3D printing cre-
Senior Research Fellow and ates three-dimensional objects
NHMRC Emerging Leadership layer by layer, using a digital fi le.
Fellow, Ruirui Qiao, explains This permits the creation of
that 4D printing is an exten- complex structures with mini-
sion of three-dimensional (3D) mal waste.
printing. The two most commonly
“3D printing is the technol- used techniques are fused depo-
ogy – 4D printing is just the sition modelling – where molten
process,” she says. “The fourth material is deposited on a bed
STEELCASE
dimension is actually time – layer by layer using a heated

these structures can change nozzle – and stereolithography
their shape over time.” (SLA), which uses a UV laser to
98 COSMOS MAGAZINE
ZEITGEIST 4D PRINTING
the concept to life by dipping a 4D-printed single

strand structure into water to reveal how it
changed shape into the letters MIT; meanwhile,
a different strand self-folded into a cube.
Tibbits didn’t tell the audience exactly how
he worked this magic. However, the authors of a
2021 review in the journal Polymer noted that it
was done by using a moisture-responsive mate-
rial over plastic. On contact with water, the
material expanded due to the formation of a
hydrogel. It worked, but there was only a 30%
expansion, and the structure gradually degraded
over successive folding and unfolding cycles.
tRiGgEr pOiNt
Despite these early limitations, the idea of
UQ materials scientists 4D printing caught on quickly.
Liwen Zhang (above, at In 2015, US doctors treated three infants
right) and Ruirui Qiao with a potentially fatal airway condition by
(left) are among the implanting 3D-printed splints that changed
4D printing leaders in shape as the children grew.
Australia. Qiao says Writing in Science Translational Medicine, they
the field is limited only explained that the splints – hollow, porous tubes –
“by imagination”. were stitched over the affected airways to provide
scaffolding, improving the children’s breathing.
Made with a “bioabsorbable” material known
as polycaprolactone (PCL) that dissolves in the
body over time, the splints stayed in place until
the airway cartilage naturally strengthened
with age and the associated risks of cardio-
selectively cure a polymer pulmonary arrest abated.
resin and thus build suc- An MRI follow-up in one patient at 38 months
cessive layers. post operation showed fragmentation and deg-
A range of objects, radation of the splint “with no problems related
from architectural to the device”. According to paediatric otolaryn-
models to dental gologist and co-author Glenn Green, the splints
crowns, can be built by were gone within four years.
TOP: AIBN. FLOWERS: 4D PRINTING SELF-MORPHING STRUCTURES, MATERIALS 2019.
printing successive layers His subsequent 2021 paper, and another

in plastic, metal, resin or published in RadioGraphics in 2022, reports
other materials. that the same procedure has been since used in
In a 2013 TED talk, Skylar other children and adults.
Tibbits – founder and co-director of
the Self-Assembly Lab at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) –
highlighted the flaw inherent in 3D-printed objects:
they were static, inanimate and unable to change
their form or function after they were made.
“Imagine if water pipes could expand or con-
tract to change capacity or change flow rate, or
maybe even undulate like peristalsis to move the
water themselves,” he said.
In his eight-minute presentation, he unveiled
a new concept called 4D printing, in which
objects printed using “programmable” or
“smart” materials could transform from one
shape to another directly on their own “like
robotics without wires or motors”. He brought
How 4D-printed objects react to stimuli like Mixed in, the liquid metals tended to clump
temperature, light or moisture depends on the together or expel themselves during the printing
intrinsic properties of the materials they are process, and they were susceptible to oxidation.
made from. A jacket made from polymers with These factors detrimentally altered the proper-
“shape memory” properties could stiffen to pro- ties of the printed materials.
vide extra insulation during cold weather and So Zhang, Qiao and colleagues developed a
then revert to a more flexible, breathable state in method that is breaking new ground for 4D
warmer weather. Drug-delivery patches or printing. They take small organic molecules
implants based on hydrogels can swell in responsible for controlling growth – called
response to moisture (releasing medication) and reversible addition-fragmentation chain-transfer
contract in dry conditions (reducing the release polymerisation (RAFT) agents – and graft them
of medication). onto liquid metal nanoparticles. They then
But a gamechanger arrived in 2017, with the synthesise nanoparticles into a polymer matrix
introduction of nanoparticles to 4D printing. during the polymerisation
process, which improves the dis-
iNtO tHe nAnO-vErSe persal of liquid metal nanoparti-
Nanoparticles are tiny cles in solutions and
materials ranging in size prevents surface
from one to 100 nano-
metres. (As a point of
“wHeN yOu oxidation.
Qiao says the
comparison, a single hAvE tHe spherical liquid
human hair is approxi- metal nanoparticles
mately 80,000 to 100,000 mIcRo yOu are created from bulk
nanometres wide.) Their liquid metals. A bulk
size gives them unique cAn bUiLd alloy of gallium and
physical, chemical and indium is added to 3D
biological properties. a fAr mOrE printing liquid res-
Integrating nanoparti-
cles into polymers or
iNtRiCaTe ins; the metals are
then directly reduced
other materials for 3D
printing allows creators
pAtTeRn” to nanosized liquid
metal particles
SPACESHIP MATERIALS NASA is
creating a foldable, shapeshifting
to exercise enhanced through the applica- fabric that could be useful for large
control over how these materials respond to tion of high-frequency sound antennas and other deployable
stimuli, without the challenges posed by other waves (ultrasound) in a process devices. The material could one day
materials including stability and compatibility. known as sonication. be used to shield a spacecraft, make
By enabling more precise and efficient shape Finally, the liquid is placed in astronaut spacesuits, or capture
changes, the integration of nanoparticles paves the 3D printer’s resin tank and objects on the surface of another
the way towards more complex and functional printed using the stereolithogra- planet. One side of the fabric reflects
4D-printed structures. phy method, in which a laser light, while the other absorbs it, acting
AIBN’s director Alan Rowan likens it to the solidifies or cures the liquid as a means of thermal control, the
difference between working with the big clunky resin with ultraviolet light. space agency reports.
Lego Duplo sets versus the much smaller
Nanoblocks.
FROM TOP: NASA / JPL-CALTECH. MIT SELF ASSEMBLY LAB.
“When you have the micro, you can

4D-PRINTED FASHION In his book
build a far more intricate pattern,” he
Things Fall Together: A Guide
says.
to the New Materials Revolution
One conventional way to incorporate
(Princeton University Press, 2021)
nanoparticles into 4D printing is to syn-
Tibbits documented his team’s
thesise the nanoparticles and then
experimentation towards a self-
immerse them in the resins, or “ink”.
assembling shoe that sprung into
However, writing in Nature
shape when released from a rigid plate.
Communications late last year, Qiao,
He also explored climate-adaptable
Zhang and colleagues explained that
clothes, the fibres of which would
blending nanoparticles directly into a
expand or contract based on external
molten polymer matrix didn’t always
temperature or moisture change.
imbue the 4D-printed materials with the
desired shapeshifting capabilities.
100 COSMOS MAGAZINE

ZEITGEIST 4D PRINTING
DRUG DELIVERY 4D-printed devices A B

can release drugs when the target
environment provides the correct
stimulus. These scanning electron
microscopy images show one such
device: a thermo-responsive
“theragripper” (B), which changes
shape to latch onto mucosal tissue
in the gastrointestinal tract and
then release an encapsulated drug.
The design of its sharp microtips is
based on the teeth of a hookworm (A).
Ruirui Qiao’s team Like the lotus flower growth – though it depends upon the precise
have created a “soft I saw, the resulting combination of materials used.
gripper” (centre x 3) objects have shape
that can grasp and memory properties. a nEw eRa
release small objects. This means that they While I saw a lotus flower, Qiao and her team
4D-printed objects can return from an have also designed a claw, or soft gripper, capa-
may have application altered state (the flower) ble of grasping a cap and then releasing it. In
in fields as diverse as to their original shape much the same way, other 4D structures can be
robotics and (the sun) when induced coaxed into performing a range of different
medicine. by an external trigger – mechanical tasks with infrared lasers – mean-
in this case, shifting ing they can bend, grasp, lift and release items
from a chilled to a tepid five times their weight.
beaker of water. Zhang says this method allows the research-
Unlike Tibbits’ 2013 ers to produce objects that can be customised,
demonstration, Qiao, Zhang and colleagues found shaped and prompted to change over time with-
that their 4D-printed materials remained “unaf- out the need for wires or circuits. “This is a new
fected” through at least 25 cycles of programming. era for robotics applications and a gamechanger
In real-life medical and other applications, for additive manufacturing,” he says.
though, the trigger would not be water but a laser There is also huge potential for the use of
– near-infrared light irradiation, which increases such devices in the medical field.
temperature due to the excitation of molecules. So “For example, you could print a stent struc-
what it is about the shift in temperature that ture, and you could put it in the vascular [system]
causes the object to change shape? and use light to trigger a change in shape which
Qiao explains that this is due to a fundamental causes the stent to expand [inside the blood
property of polymers. At a critical temperature vessel],” says Qiao.
threshold, they transition from a rigid, glassy While further research is required to develop
FROM TOP: HUMAN PARASITOLOGY, 4TH ED. QI (KEVIN) GE / SUTD.
state to a more flexible, rubbery state, due to the a stent with sound biocompatibility and the right
movements of the carbon chains polymers are level of responsiveness, Qiao anticipates that
composed of. Polymers are often chosen for appli- this research will be in market within two years.
cations based on their capability to be both rigid She’s also planning to upgrade the laborato-
and flexible. ry’s $300 printer. While most 3D printers can
Incorporating nanoparticles into polymer incorporate nanoparticles into 4D printed com-
matrices allows researchers to further tailor the posites, cheaper models have limitations in
glassy-to-rubbery transition behaviour. terms of the intricacy of the structures they can
Other stimuli that can induce change in create, and the maximum size of the object.
4D-printed objects include moisture, mag- Such a printer may cost in the ballpark of
netism, UV light, electrical energy, pH value, $20,000 – a massive upgrade. What will they
glucose and enzymes. The mechanisms of make with it? In time, I’ll have to come back and
change are similarly diverse, potentially includ- see.
ing an expansion in mass due to absorption (as in
Tibbits’ shapeshifting strands), thermal expan- DENISE CULLEN is based in Brisbane. Her story on the
sion, molecular transformation or organic Mandela effect appeared in Issue 99.
makes a mo
at on?
h
W
Th e
Mo
on
ns .
is
oo
ac
t
ne
ns
fm
ANDREW MCCARTHY, CONNOR MATHERNE / REDDIT
a
o
ta l
yp
so
nt n l
fi x
wi
ha eo
ri e
tu r
t
co e of n ’t t h s te
mp th e n h i s y
an ight sky, but Ear t d m
ion an
. Im yt hs
ma P th e m
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102 COSMOS MAGAZINE

ZEITGEIST MOONS
F
or as long as humans have gazed up spherical shape. And third, it must have “cleared
into the night sky, our closest celestial the neighbourhood” around its orbit. (It’s that
neighbour – the Moon – has peered last criterion that caught out Pluto in 2006, when
back. So, while Neil Armstrong may the International Astronomical Union (IAU)
have been the first man to step foot on it, cul- updated its definition of a planet and down-
tures have been telling stories about the “man in graded Pluto to dwarf-planet status.)
the Moon” for millennia. Moons are what’s known as a natural satel-
In 1610 we learned that moons aren’t unique lite – a solid object in orbit around a planet. But
to Earth when Galileo Galilei pointed a telescope quasi-moons also travel through the void of
near Jupiter and discovered the first moons space near planets. They’re not really moons: it’s
away from Earth: the Galilean quartet of more accurate to say that they appear to orbit a
Ganymede, Callisto, Io and Europa. planet, but they really orbit the Sun.
Humankind has made some giant In February 2024 the IAU confirmed a name
leaps in moon-related knowledge. Recently for the first quasi-moon discovered in our Solar
it was announced that scientists from the System. Discovered in 2002 and originally desig-
Carnegie Institution for Science had nated 2002-VE, Zoozve has a funky moniker that
discovered a new moon orbiting Uranus – comes from a typo, spotted by US podcaster Latif
provisionally named S/2023 U1 – and two Nasser on a Solar System poster. Zoozve is an
new moons orbiting Neptune, S/2002 N5 and asteroid that, from the perspective of an
S/2021 N1. As of May 2024, the current moon One of Jupiter’s observer standing on Venus, appears to circle
count in our Solar System is a whopping 293! four Galilean moons the planet during one Venusian year.
You might be thinking: That’s all very well, (below), Io (above) is the
but what exactly are moons? Let’s take a look. Solar System’s most Are moons made of cheese?
volcanically active body (molten On April Fool’s Day 2002, NASA announced
How does a moon differ from silicate lava!) – quite a contrast the Hubble Space Telescope had resolved
a planet? to Earth’s stable satellite, an expiration date on
For a celestial body to be considered a full-sized the Moon (opposite). the surface
planet in the Solar System, it has to tick three of our
important boxes. First, it must be in orbit around
the Sun. Second, it has to have sufficient mass,
and therefore gravity, to pull itself into a
A
WORLD OF
FROM TOP: NASA / JPL. NEMES LASZLO / GETTY IMAGES.
FIRE AND ICE

A 2016 study in the Journal of
Geophysical Research: Planets found
that Jupiter’s huge shadow causes Io’s
atmosphere to drop to about -170°C,
freezing sulphur dioxide gas into ice. This
falls to the surface of the planet as
frost, which then sublimates to gas
when Io steps back into the
light once more.
pressurised space suit. But since the atmos-
phere is mostly composed of nitrogen and
organic compounds, a spacesuit would be
recommended – if you like breathing.
How do moons form?

The Solar System was born from a cloud of gas
and dust about 4.6 billion years ago, with the
Sun at its centre and the planets combining from
the disc of orbiting material. Most moons
probably clumped together from the discs sur-
rounding the planets as they formed, but not all.
Zoozve’s orbit from the year 1600 to 2500 Earth’s Moon is estimated to be at least
Quasi-moon 4.46 billion years old, according to a 2023
Zoozve’s orbit (above) study published in Geochemical Perspectives
cheesy Moon – 2002APR01. “To be cautious, we seems to circle Venus, but Letters. The leading idea behind its forma-
should completely devour the Moon by tomorrow,” mapping shows it’s really tion is known as the Giant Impact
a spokesperson advised. orbiting the Sun at a similar Hypothesis. In this scenario, a Mars-sized
But despite what the almost 500-year-old speed to the planet. celestial object called Theia smashed into
myth says, the Moon isn’t made from cheese. If Earth, causing a violent collision that ejected
you tried to eat it, modern astronomy tells us debris into orbit which eventually coalesced,
you’d more likely chip a tooth. Like Earth, it’s LITERATURE due to gravity, into the Moon.
composed of layers – a dense iron alloy core, a IN SPACE! The gas giants, on the other hand, don’t
mantle of minerals such as olivine and Fun fact: The planitias – low have to wait for an object to come to them.
pyroxene, and a rocky crust. In 2018, we plains on its suface – of Titan They have such enormous gravitational
even got confi rmation that frozen water (below) are all named for fictional pull that sometimes they can just steal a
exists in the permanently shadowed planets in Frank Herbert’s Dune science- moon. Neptune’s largest moon Triton
craters at the Moon’s poles. This was fol- fiction novels. Planitia names include is unusual because it’s the only large
lowed in 2020 by confi rmation of water Arrakis, Caladan and Giedi. Meanwhile, moon with a retrograde orbit – moving
in the sunlit Clavius Crater, one of the Titan’s colles – small hills or knobs – are in the opposite direction to its planet’s
largest craters visible from Earth. named for characters in J.R.R.
Turning our telescopes to Jupiter Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings,
reveals that moons come in hot’n’spicy fla- including Arwen, Bilbo
vours too. Unlike most outer-Solar-System and Gandalf.
moons, which are comprised of frozen water, Io
is made of silicate rock with a molten iron core.
It’s also the most volcanically active world in the
Solar System, due to the competing gravitational
pulls of Jupiter and neighbouring moons Europa
and Ganymede. These tidal forces cause Io’s solid
surface to bulge by as much as 100 metres,
which generates an incredible amount of heat FROM TOP: NASA / JPL. NASA / JPL/ SPACE SCIENCE INSTITUTE.
and results in hundreds of continually
erupting volcanoes spewing molten silicate
lava onto its surface.
One planet over, orbiting around Saturn
is the surprisingly Earth-like Titan – the
only other known place in the Solar System
that has liquid flowing on its surface. Titan
is much too cold for liquid water; liquid
hydrocarbons like methane and ethane rain
from its sky to form rivers and lakes on the
thick crust of frozen water covering its surface.
Titan is also the only known moon to have a sub-
stantial atmosphere. Its surface pressure is about
50% greater than Earth – so dense that a human
walking on its surface wouldn’t require a
104 COSMOS MAGAZINE

ZEITGEIST MOONS
harbouring a 100km-deep, salty, liquid water

ocean beneath its icy crust. It may also have chem-
ical energy sources from surface radiation from
Jupiter and potential interactions between the
water and a rocky seafloor heated by tidal forces
flexing Europa’s interior. This October NASA
will launch its Europa Clipper mission to
send a spacecraft to the moon and deter-
mine if there are places below its surface
that could support life.
Are there moons beyond our

Solar System?
Moons that could exist outside of our
Solar System get the prefix ‘exo’ – short for
extrasolar: beyond the Sun. But while there
are more than 5,600 confirmed exoplanets
discovered so far, scientists haven’t yet been
able to confirm the existence of an exomoon.
Exoplanets have been spotted using several
different methods. The most common ones
detect how the gravitational pull of orbiting exo-
planets causes their stars to wobble in space,
changing the colour of light observed by
The sharp eye astronomers. Or, astronomers search for
of NASA’s Hubble the shadow of an exoplanet passing
Space Telescope directly between its star and the observer,
captured the tiny moon dimming the star’s light by a slight but
rotation. This means it must have been captured Phobos during its orbital measurable amount.
from elsewhere – probably the Kuiper belt, the trek around Mars in 2016. But because of their small size and
ring of icy objects extending past Neptune’s orbit. immense distance from us, exomoons are
No known moon orbits closer to its planet much more difficult to detect. Despite the
than Phobos, which is just 6,000 kilometres above challenge, scientists have found two possible
the surface of Mars and getting even closer. Its BEWARE exomoon candidates orbiting different exo-
orbit is decaying by about two metres every THE DARK AND planets – Kepler-1625 b i and Kepler-1708 b i,
hundred years – so in about 50 million LIGHT SIDES OF THE discovered in 2018 and 2022 respectively
years, it’s bye-bye for Phobos. (In con- MOON – but their existence is hotly contested.
trast, our own Moon is edging away Because the scant lunar atmosphere In December 2023, a paper published
from us by about 3.8 centimetres per can’t trap the Sun’s energy, temperatures in Nature Astronomy re-analysed the
year. But don’t fret! The Sun will fluctuate extremely between sunlit and data collected by the Hubble Space
engulf both the Earth and Moon shadowed areas on the Moon. If you were to Telescope and Kepler Space
about 7.59 billion years from now, stand at the equator in daylight, temperatures Telescope and concluded that neither
well before calculations suggest the could rise to a toasty 121°C. Venturing into the exoplanet is likely to be orbited by a
Moon could escape Earth’s gravity.) permanent inky shadows inside craters large exomoon.
near its poles could plummet you below But thanks to the James Webb Space
Could moons harbour life? -246°C. Better pack a jacket! Telescope (JWST) – which is a hundred
Life flourishes here on Earth but we haven’t times more powerful than Hubble – we
detected it elsewhere in the universe… yet. may not have to wait much longer for our first
Astrobiologists searching for the three essential confirmed exomoon. In its next phase of
conditions to support life as we know it – liquid observations, JWST is set to check out the
water, the presence of certain chemical planetary system TO1-700, 101.4 light-years
compounds and a source of energy – are turning away, in search of rocky moons the same size as
to the Solar System’s moons as potential habita- Earth’s. Watch this space – or rather, that space
ble environments. out there.
Jupiter’s icy moon Europa is one place that
might have all three of those ingredients cooking IMMA PERFETTO is a journalist at Cosmos. Her story
beneath its surface. All evidence points to Europa on mysterious metamorphosis appeared last issue.
NO.29
WHERE IN THE COSMOS? Send us a pic of MIND GAMES
where you’re reading
Cosmos to win Who Said?
a limited edition “Eventually, we’ll realise that if we destroy
notebook. the ecosystem, we destroy ourselves.” (5,4)

,
,,
,,,
,9
9,
9,,
9,,,
,;
Hot off the press
On an early train to uni in her first year, Lana Hughes of Kyneton, Victoria,
cracks open the latest copy of Cosmos. “Since I’m up to date with all my
homework, I’m looking forward to reading about ‘A year in Antarctica’,” she Instructions
wrote in. Meanwhile, Pam and Peter Smith from Queensland took Issue 101 Answers to each of the clues in columns 1 to 9.
on a trip to Big White Ski Resort in Canada. We’d love to see where you’re Row IV reveals the answer.
reading. Send us your shot: [email protected].
Clues and columns

GUESS WHO? Question 1 What is the SI unit, 10 to the power of 18 of
Whose Law? Decode where i = P a Newton, that moves one metre in the
direction of the force? (8)
2 What is the fourth stage of mitosis or cell
OLHNHH division? (9)
3 What was the largest piece of continental
crust of the Palaeozoic Era? (8)
4 What is a regular shallow water wave caused
JzLKzPNO by effects of gravitational pull between the
Sun, Moon and Earth? (5,4)
HLHKPMMLL 5 Dating back to the sixteenth century,
which type of camera consists of a darkened
PMOL`KPMMLP box, tent, or room with a small hole or lens
at one side through which an image is
LPOLKPH projected onto a wall? (7)
6 Which set of posterior thigh muscles are
HLzLNO, between the buttock and the knee? (9)
7 Found in the Cetus constellation, which
zPHJL binary star contains a variable star of
330 days? (4,4)
P`. 8 Which Australian marine architect, born with
the surname Miller, designed Australia II,
winning the America’s Cup in 1983? (3,6)
Hint: He was a nineteenth-century German mathematician and scientist 9 What type of images does the Rorschach Test
who has a number, a graph and an integral named after him. use? (8)
106 COSMOS MAGAZINE

ENDPOINT
COSMOS CODEWORD NO.29 NO.29

IT FIGURES
Codeword requires inspired guesswork. It is a crossword without clues. Each letter 1 2 3 4

of the alphabet is used and each letter has its own number. For example, ‘A’ might be
6 and ‘G’ might be 23 . A
Through your knowledge of the English language you will be able to break
the code. We have given you three letters to get you started. B
C
&
D

Instructions
Using the clues below place the numbers
1 to 16 correctly in the grid. How many clues
do you need?

Level 1 – Chief Scientist

1 Each column (outside the first) contains
exactly three multiples of that column
number.
2 The product of the first three numbers in
Row B is equal to the last.
3 The numbers in Row C have a range of 3.

6 4 The column ending with a two-digit prime
number contains three square numbers.
5 The product of the three ascending
numbers ending Row D is 280.

Level 2 – Senior Analyst
6 The smallest number is directly above the
0 largest.
7 There is only one two-digit number in
Column 3.
Level 3 – Lab Assistant

8 The sum of the last two numbers in Row C
ALL PUZZLES DESIGNED AND COMPILED BY SNODGER.COM.AU is 28.
SOLUTIONS: COSMOS 102

IT FIGURES WHO SAID? $ 6 ( - / 5
CODEWORD 7 7 3 * 5 ) 6 8 $ $
Paracelsus
H O M I N O I D I N F A N T
Hailed as “the father of
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the use of chemicals and
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WHOSE PRINCIPLE? ANSWER:
1
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2
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5
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6
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The product of the sine of the angle formed between the ray of light, the normal straight line and
14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26
R U S Q C O W K P I A H E the refractive index of the media must be constant. Willebrord Snellius
proudly present
Trailblazers
Driving innovation and shaping the future
Are video games good for you? y Research beyond boundaries y Inspiring First Nations youths
One path.
Two degrees.
Fast forward to a
Master of Data Analytics
Meet soaring industry demands and graduate with a bachelor and
master in four years. Combine data analytics with a bachelor in:
• information technology
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• science.
QUT vertical data analytics
2 TRAILBLAZERS
Bold ideas, real-world impact
W ith a commitment to real-world

applications and a legacy of pro-
ducing industry-ready graduates, we’re
not just preparing students for the future
here at the QUT Faculty of Science, we’re
actively creating it. Discover how our global
community, leading research centres, and
strong industry ties are pioneering ad-
vancements in science, mathematics, data
science and information technology.
Our commitment to multidisciplinary
research bridges the gap between theoretical knowledge and practical ap-
plication, ensuring our students are not just educated but real-world ready.
We’re at the forefront of translating academic inquiry into real-world impact,
nurturing a new generation of thinkers and doers who are well-prepared to
meet the complex challenges of our time.
I’m incredibly proud of the pioneering spirit of our faculty, which is a hub
of creativity and problem-solving, where trailblazing scientists and ambitious
students come together to push the boundaries of what’s possible.
The projects and profiles featured here exemplify our dedication to creating
solutions that matter. They illuminate how our community of scholars and
learners contribute to solving real-world problems, embodying the essence of
QUT’s mission to develop industry-ready graduates who are poised to make
a difference.
I’m honoured to represent a faculty that’s not just part of the academic
landscape but drives research that has real impact, locally and globally. Join us
in celebrating the achievements and aspirations that drive us forward, stead-
fast in our pursuit of knowledge and innovation for a better world.
Professor Troy Farrell

Executive Dean, Faculty of Science, QUT
CONTENTS
04. Research beyond QUT acknowledges the Turrbal and Yugara as the First Nations owners of the lands where QUT now stands. We
boundaries pay respect to their Elders, lores, customs, and creation spirits. We recognise these lands have always been places
of teaching, research, and learning. QUT acknowledges the important role Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
people play within the QUT community.

Inspiring Indigenous
08. scientist empowers First
Nations youths
09. Computer games might be

good for you
cosmosmagazine.com/cosmos-studio 3
Research beyond boundaries
Discover how interdisciplinary PhD research approach has become increas-
programs are redefining research ingly necessary. So, as senior researchers
paradigms and creating a new era of increasingly participate in multidiscipli-
The power of data
scientific innovation.
nary projects, there’s a lot of growth in science
opportunities for postgraduate students
I
n a world inundated by complex to build skills across several domains. Data science is revolutionising
global challenges and new technol- Interdisciplinary endeavours have entire industries and creating op-
ogy, innovative solutions are no proven vital across a variety of sectors, portunities for innovation and pro-
longer born out of traditional research most notably when addressing climate gress in almost every field. From
silos. Instead, they emerge from the change and advancing autonomous transforming business strategies
fusion of diverse disciplines that ignites vehicle technology. These areas exemplify to advancing healthcare, data ana-
innovation and drives significant break- how combining ecological, meteoro- lytics is at the forefront of the push
throughs. Therefore, to hit the ground logical, economic, sociological, and policy to develop solutions to some of the
running, PhD scholars must now con- expertise yields comprehensive strat- most daunting challenges we’ve
sider whether a narrow specialty or egies for climate action, while the fusion ever faced.
cross-disciplinary PhD research project of mechanical engineering, artificial Learn how mastering data science
is going to better equip them to achieve intelligence, urban planning, and ethics skills could empower you to be a
their goals. propels innovations in self-driving part of this dynamic field, shaping
The question is, what does a good car development. the future and solving real-world
multidisciplinary PhD program look like? Such collaborations enhance under- challenges so you can be part of
standing and drive technological the change you wish to see in the
progress, underscoring the necessity of world.
Breaking academic silos nurturing professionals and researchers
Throughout academia, a signifi- who understand and integrate the
cant transformation is underway. breadth of knowledge from several
Traditionally, research projects, espe- domains. Bringing such multifaceted
cially PhD projects, have largely been experts together creates a rich tapestry
confined within the boundaries of a single of perspectives that single-discipline
discipline. However, as the complex- pursuits might overlook, resulting in
ities of the world’s challenges grow, a more comprehensive solutions and https://link.cosmosmagazine.com/L_yE
more integrative and cross-collaborative visionary advancements.
4 TRAILBLAZERS
Multidisciplinary research in university labs, but geology teachers
have to organise expensive field trips if
in action
they want to give their students hands-on
Meet Vanessa
Multidisciplinary research produces experience in some of the most educa- Zepeda, trailblazing
exceptional impacts. Here are some ex- tionally valuable locations. At least that
amples of how QUT’s multidisciplinary was the case until Cael and her team
astrobiologist
research, at the postgraduate level and began developing virtual geology field
beyond, shapes a brighter future for us all. trips for undergraduate science students.
These digital excursions offer acces-
Pioneering virtual geology sible, interactive learning experiences,
allowing a wider range of students to
Imagine exploring the rugged terrain of explore geological wonders from their
Mars or delving into the geological won- classrooms. And the applications of this
ders of Earth, all from the comfort of your research don’t stop at Earthly geology.
Beyond Earth’s landscapes, Cael’s
team has crafted a virtual Mars surface,
granting students unprecedented access
to extraterrestrial geology, a domain
once reserved for astronauts and elite
scientists. By harnessing the power of
virtual reality (VR), this research opens
up new frontiers in education and our
understanding of the universe.
Cael’s endeavours showcase the
synergy of IT and geology, fostering
innovative educational solutions and
broadening the scope of scientific
inquiry. Her work exemplifies the power
of interdisciplinary research to break
new ground in both educational meth-
odology and the understanding of our From marine biology to environ-
planet and beyond, thereby inspiring mental science to astrobiology, Va-
future generations of scientists and revo- nessa’s path has been a little curvy.
Cael Gallagher using a virtual geology lutionising the educational landscape. It’s even taken her to NASA’s Jet
teaching tool in a first-year QUT Earth science
Propulsion Laboratory! For her
workshop.
Fashion meets function with PhD at QUT, she studied the possi-
wearable tech bilities of life beyond Earth. Vanes-
classroom. This is no longer the stuff of sa’s research explores how organ-
science fiction, thanks to the ground- Current Australian guidelines advise isms survive in extreme marine
breaking work of PhD student Cael Gal- us to ‘slip, slop, slap, seek, and slide’ to environments, drawing parallels to
lagher and her colleagues in QUT’s Vir- protect against harmful UV radiation, potential conditions on other planets.
tual Geology research group. Supervised while also recommending sufficient sun Discover more about Vanessa’s
by Associate Professor Selen Túrkay and journey and her groundbreak-
Associate Professor Christoph Schrank, ing research.
Cael’s research is a key part of a larger
ARC Discovery Project that blurs the
lines between IT and geoscience. Creat-
ing virtual environments, this initiative
revolutionises geoscience education and
research, and it’s an excellent example of
interdisciplinary impact.
Geology is a notoriously challenging
subject to teach at university. After
all, astronomy students can view the
https://link.cosmosmagazine.com/L_yG
universe through a telescope, and chem-
istry students can conduct experiments
exposure to obtain a vitamin D-effective This fusion of expertise from no longer a dream, but a reality being
dose. But how can we know when we’ve distinct fields is setting a new standard sculpted thanks to a collaboration
had enough UV exposure? in wearable technology — one that between QUT and Google Australia,
UV-sensing wearable technology protects, informs, and styles, all in a through their visionary A2O sound
could offer a handy way to monitor single, sustainable package. search engine.
your exposure and is becoming more Until recently, researchers had to
commonplace. But not everyone wants, Harnessing AI for wildlife manually sift through hundreds of years’
or can afford, to wear expensive smart- worth of audio records to find sounds
watches and VR glasses, and single-use Imagine a world where the vast chorus of that match or are similar to the animal
alternatives are neither cost-effective nor wildlife can be understood and preserved sounds they’ve recorded. Now, thanks
environmentally friendly. through the power of technology. This is to A2O, they can upload a recording and
Fortunately, QUT is well on its way
to resolving those issues thanks to a
project that spans several traditionally
siloed fields.
Chemists have developed a ground-
breaking switchable dye that changes
from colourless to pink after UV
exposure and can be reset using nothing
more complicated than LED light. And
fashion designers are designing super
stylish 3D-printed earrings, bracelets,
and bag clips that are impregnated with
this dye, allowing anyone to seamlessly
integrate this technology into their daily
routine. In the future, people may even
be able to create personalised designs.
Researchers are working on ways to
enhance the speed of the reaction. So,
eventually, this tech will be instrumental
in monitoring UV exposure over time
and alerting to the wearer when they
need to seek shelter. The integration
with digital technology may also allow Collaborative research at QUT developing wearables that change from colourless to pink when
long-term exposure monitoring. exposed to UV light.
Introducing Bailey Richardson, biomimicry innovator
Winner of the ATSE Ezio Rizzardo Pol- Dive deeper into Bailey Richardson’s
ymer Scholarship, Bailey Richardson, innovative work and the exciting possibili-
is using his PhD research to prepare ties of biomimicry in material science.
for a future where biomimetic chem-
istry transforms healthcare and other
industries. He builds peptides that flu-
oresce or change colour when exposed
to light or a change in pH for use in di-
agnostic medicine. Other applications
include targeted drug delivery and
smart solar cells. https://link.cosmosmagazine.com/L_yH
https://link.cosmosmagazine.com/L_yH
6 TRAILBLAZERS
AI will automatically match it to any How to get started shaping
recordings in the extensive A2O database,
allowing scientists to more quickly and
tomorrow’s world through Applied maths to
easily make connections between species
interdisciplinary research the rescue: the Jack
and locations. Some of history’s most celebrated
This will save thousands of hours of experts had a very narrow focus and
Powers story
manual labour and presents oppor- remained focused on their specific fields.
tunities for using recordings made by However, a traditional PhD in a narrow,
citizen scientists to widen the scope of well-defined field of study isn’t your only
ecological studies. option. As this research snapshot shows,
Professor Paul Roe, Head of QUT’s scientists at all levels are also developing
School of Computer Science and the incredible solutions thanks to multidisci-
Lead Researcher at the Australian plinary research.
Acoustics Observatory, says, “You have to If you’d rather not be limited to a
understand the environment before you narrow field of expertise, QUT offers an
can protect it”. A2O is now a powerful array of PhD research projects that will
tool that will enable scientists to better enable you to develop multidisciplinary
understand Australia’s ecosystems to skills, equipping you to make a signif-
protect them from threats like deforesta- icant impact on the world — not just a
tion, bushfires, and invasive species. substantial contribution to the body of
Through the A2O search engine, QUT knowledge. So, stop dreaming and start
and Google Australia aren’t merely bridg- doing. Check out the QUT PhD projects
ing silos and innovating technologically. actively looking for students now.
This collaboration marks a crucial step
towards understanding and preserving
our natural world. It also demonstrates
the immense potential of AI in contribut-
ing to conservation efforts.
https://link.cosmosmagazine.com/L_yD
QUT PhD student, Jack Powers,

may hold the key to solving
Australia’s elective surgery waiting
list problems. His superpower?
Applied mathematics. Currently,
category one patients are dispro-
portionately prioritised, meaning
category three patients often
have to wait an inordinately long
time before they can access the
surgery they need. By developing
a dynamic priority scoring system,
Jack gives hospitals a more objec-
tive method of equitably prior-
itising patients.
Learn more about Jack’s journey
and the transformative power of
applied mathematics:
https://link.cosmosmagazine.com/L_yI
QUT ecoacoustics research team, Professor Paul Roe and Dr Danielle Teixeira (2023).
postdoctoral fellowship and the chance to
diversify her professional development
with a year-long secondment to another
university (Katrina chose the University
of Melbourne).
This support has allowed her to
conduct truly groundbreaking research.
Her PhD work on zeolites, transforming
mining waste into beneficial zeolite LTA,
is set to be patented. And her postdoctoral
research is crucial, focusing on breaking
down harmful forever chemicals into
safer elements. The latter offers hope
in addressing global contamination and
environmental preservation challenges,
with especially significant implications
for vulnerable polar regions where
forever chemicals are bioaccumulating
despite no significant human presence.
Dr Katrina Wruck is excelling in academia and sharing her knowledge with remote Aboriginal and
Katrina’s impressive skills earned her
Torres Strait Islander communities
the 2022 Queensland Women in STEM
Prize as well as several prestigious
appointments, including the 2024 Deadly
Inspiring Indigenous scientist Science Ambassador and a position
on Science and Technology Australia’s
empowers First Nations youths Reconciliation Action Plan Working
Group. As a result, she’s asked to speak
at a wide variety of events. She then uses
Dr Katrina Wruck, industrial chemist her speaker’s fees to fund outreach trips
and proud Mabuigilaig and Goemulgal to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
woman, is revolutionising the field of communities where she’s inspiring
environmental chemistry and standing the next generation of First Nations
out as a beacon of hope for young scientists and academics.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Katrina’s story is not just one of
people who often mistakenly believe scientific achievement but also of
they’ll never be able to go to university empowering Aboriginal and Torres
or become a scientist. Strait Islander youth, making her
Like many Aboriginal and Torres work both immensely impactful and
Strait Islander people, from an early transformative. You too can become an
age, Katrina faced significant challenges inspirational scientist when you choose
that could easily have derailed her future a course from QUT’s Faculty of Science.
career. From having her academic
abilities underestimated to battling
logistical challenges that had her waking
at 4 am for lectures, the road to becoming KICKSTART your academic career with
a postdoctoral fellow has been anything They tell me I’m the first QUT’S P2P program.
but smooth. But she never let the Indigenous scientist they’ve
challenges defeat her.
ever met. And that really tells
Thankfully, she caught a break when
me that what I’m doing with this
her dedication was rewarded with a
CPME top-up PhD scholarship and later, outreach is so important.
the opportunity to become the inaugural
participant in the QUT Indigenous
Australians PhD/Professional Doctorate
to Postdoctoral Fellowship (P2P)
program, which gave her funding for a https://link.cosmosmagazine.com/L_yC
8 TRAILBLAZERS
Computer games might be good
for you
Professor Daniel Johnson is redefining give to concerned parents, he said, “the
the narrative around interactive media, best advice we have for parents is for you
merging his academic prowess and to play computer games with your kids. See
passion for gaming to challenge prevalent what they’re playing, play with them, find
misconceptions about video games, pre- out who they’re playing with, get engaged”.
senting them not as mere sources of Daniel’s work shows that interactive
entertainment but as significant societal media is more than mere entertainment.
tools. He argues the medium, often crit- His findings demonstrate that gaming
icised for promoting violence or antiso- can enhance problem-solving skills,
cial behaviour, has far-reaching positive foster creativity, promote emotional Video games can be an outlet
impacts that are overlooked. In fact, his resilience, facilitate human connections, that’s absolutely what’s
work on human-computer interaction and a whole lot more. Perhaps most sur- keeping you above water and
sheds light on how gaming can improve prisingly, his work reveals games have keeping you on track.
mental health, foster community, therapeutic potential, offering hope for
enhance learning, and even act as a innovative approaches to preventing and
catalyst for social change. treating mental health challenges, and
Like many of us, Daniel was, from a even rehabilitation.
young age, captivated by the narratives
and interactive worlds offered by video
games. But while many video game LOVE GAMES and keen to understand
enthusiasts fear it’s not a sustainable job what makes us tick? Check out QUT’s
option, he’s proving it’s entirely possible Bachelor of Games and Interactive
to build a career around games. In fact, Environments. https://link.cosmosmagazine.com/L_yA
as a psychologist with only a fundamen-
tal knowledge of coding, he’s living proof
you can enter the field even if you’re not
enthused by coding.
So what exactly does Daniel do?
He studies how people interact with
computers with the aim of designing
technologies that allow us to interact
in novel ways. And what his research is
uncovering is utterly fascinating, not
least for parents worried about how
much time their children spend gaming.
“There are some amazing quotes and
pieces of research about the dangers of
things like fiction novel reading,” Daniel
says. “Contrast that with today and how
excited parents might be if their children
pick up a fiction novel. Yet, it was not that
long ago that there were real concerns
about that. I believe we’ll one day be in a
similar situation with computer games.”
He goes on to say that popular media
has cast gaming as a bit of a villain and
that parents often tell him they person-
ally see their children having a great
time but that they ‘know they should be Human-computer interaction researcher, Professor Daniel Johnson, believes the benefits of video
worried’. When asked what advice he’d games are underrated

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S

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Editor Lauren Fuge

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