Why the platypus sweats milk and is so weird

The first complete mapping of the genome of the quirky duck-billed platypus reveals how it got so strange.

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evolution genomes australia featured science-and-technology milk chromosomes

Wildfire smoke may spread infectious disease

Smoke from wildfires could be a surprising new route for the spread of microbes, experts believe.

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california-wildfires wildfires australia-fires

Asteroid capsule landing point detected

A search is under way for a capsule carrying the first large quantities of rock from an asteroid.

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space australia space-exploration japan asteroids hayabusa-2 university-of-glasgow natural-history-museum university-of-manchester

Climate change: 2020 set to be one of the three warmest years on record

Provisional figures indicate that 2020 will be one of the hottest in a record dating back to 1850.

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climate-change california-wildfires hurricanes intergovernmental-panel-on-climate-change australia-fires uk-heatwaves

Australian scientists map millions of galaxies with new telescope

A powerful telescope in Australia gives a glimpse of three million galaxies in record time.

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astronomy australia space-exploration western-australia the-universe

Fences have big effects on land and wildlife around the world that are rarely measured

Millions of miles of fences crisscross the Earth's surface. They divide ecosystems and affect wild species in ways that often are harmful, but are virtually unstudied.

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africa ecology australia infrastructure wildlife livestock us-mexico-border-wall ecosystems roads habitat-fragmentation invasive-species predators us-west fences animal-migration

Great Barrier Reef: Scientists find reef taller than Empire State Building

Standing 500m (1,640ft) tall, the "blade-like" reef was found off Australia's far north.

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australia coral-reefs great-barrier-reef

Great Barrier Reef has lost half of its corals since 1995

Every type of coral has declined since 1995 because of climate change, an Australian study finds.

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climate-change australia australia-climate great-barrier-reef

Rio Tinto bosses lose bonuses over Aboriginal cave destruction

Executives at the mining giant Rio Tinto have had their payouts cut over the culturally important site.

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australia mining western-australia australian-aboriginal-culture

Whale shark 'crushes' tourist in Australia

The woman is in a "serious but stable condition" after being hit by the shark's tail while snorkelling.

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australia whales western-australia