Jacinta Bowler is the ABC science reporter. They have previously hosted Science Friction series Dead and Alive on Radio National, and co-hosted the previous series, Artemis Explained. Their work has been published in the Best Australian Science Writing anthology for the last 5 years.
The most comprehensive study of its kind confirms that jumping spiders go through two phases of sleep, including a REM-like state that is associated with human dreaming.
If you're up for braving the early wake-up, experts suggest you will be rewarded with a meteor every few minutes during this week's Orionid meteor shower.
Three years after a devastating elephant death at a Victorian zoo, a new vaccine might stop it happening again.
A round hole in the shoulder blade of a Neanderthal fossil could be the earliest known evidence of ancient humans attacking one another with wooden spears, researchers say.
A newly discovered fast radio burst from 3 billion years after the big bang is among the most mysterious objects in astronomy.
While the Anthropocene is a term most of us are well aware of, it is not an official geological epoch. Now a group of scientists has reignited the push to get it formally recognised.
While the study of death records across 500 occupations is US based, experts say the finding could be similar in Australia and suggests more radiation monitoring of airline crew is needed.
A well-preserved feather discovered inside fossilised dinosaur faeces could help explain why ancestors of modern birds survived the mass extinction.
The subject of the controversy may be extremely complex, but experts say it boils down to simple issues of trust and ethics.
Each year, the Ig Nobel prizes celebrate research that makes you laugh, then makes you think. This year's winners include an "underwear index", a cumbersome kissing definition and why we want friends that will happily stab someone in the eye.
A single flash of energy spotted by the world's most sensitive dark matter detector has scientists excited they may have found hints of the elusive substance that permeates the universe.
Bird flu has quickly spread around Australia. Hidden in the numbers are more than 20 distinct species of birds and mammals that have fallen to the disease.
The country's top 10 wildflowers have been revealed, with the flannel flower crowned the winner in a tightly contested battle of the blooms.
We often think that native plants thrive on little water and poor soil, but according to our expert it takes a bit more TLC than that, at least to get them started.
It takes years of work, dozens of volunteers, picky pollinators and a special fungus to save Australia's endangered orchids. Here's why people drive from all over the country to do it anyway.
You may have spotted more native plants popping up in your local park or on the side of the road. It's part of a push to create hardier, more beautiful council plantings across Australia.
More than half a century after the first computers were built, Australia is aiming to be a global innovator in quantum computing. But can it compete with the rise of AI?
Evidence of ancient burnt grasses unearthed in a Victorian cave suggest the old ancestors of the GunaiKurnai people used the cave for fire rituals during the Ice Age.
The search for life beyond Earth has marked a new discovery — evidence of an atmosphere on an Earth-like planet beyond our Solar System with modelling suggesting it may be a water world.
The countdown is on to Q-Day, when an algorithm written more than 30 years ago could run on a quantum computer and compromise the security of data on the internet. How are we preparing?
A species of huntsman spider found in Queensland is the fastest mover out of more than 250 spider species analysed in a new study.
With bird flu arriving on our shores, governments, wildlife groups and agricultural organisations are springing into action. But can vaccines limit the economic and environmental damage of the deadly influenza?
Before being diagnosed with cancer, the 2024 Australian of the Year was a leading melanoma researcher, developing better therapies for those with the disease.
The latest Ebola outbreak is caused by a strain of virus discovered nearly two decades ago, yet there is no vaccine. So what does this mean for people affected? And can vaccines be fast-tracked?
Scientists say they have the first direct evidence that seeds can sense the sound of rain, and will sprout faster when they do.
