ScienceAlert - Latest Opinions

Food engineering for the future

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 10:00:00 +0100

Xiao Dong Chen believes that obstacles to producing healthy and sustainable processed food could be overcome by collaborations between engineers and food scientists.

Tackling the global food challenge

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 10:00:00 +0100

The global food shortage isn't just an agricultural problem, it affects environmental, defence and refugee policies, and there is no quick fix solution, argues Julian Cribb.

Australia needs to ride the GM wave

Sun, 31 Aug 2008 14:59:26 +0100

Burying our heads in the sand by ignoring GM technology is a short-term, high-risk strategy that will undermine the competitiveness of our agrifood sector in the long term, believes Dr Matthew Morell.

Climate change, carbon sequestration and Tasmania

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 10:00:00 +0100

We need to establish the optimal use of Tasmania’s forest resources in an era of climate change and carbon sequestration, argues Fred Gale.

Equity and morality in food and technology - biofuels or food?

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 16:40:16 +0100

Climate change is inevitable, but biofuels replacing food production, and thereby increasing food prices further, is not, writes Professor Lindsay Falvey.

Malaria vaccine warrants more support

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 10:00:00 +0100

While Australian scientists have contributed to the science behind the development of a malaria vaccine, there is insufficient local support for the clinical development of promising vaccines, believes Robin Anders.

Biotechnology can improve health, if we let it

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 12:13:22 +0100

Biotechnology could help to prevent deadly and costly diseases associeted with poor diet, believes David Topping.

A killing in clean technology

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 10:00:00 +0100

There is money to be made in cleaning up the environment, writes Paul Gilding.

Facing the facts on obesity

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 10:00:00 +0100

The Australian Government needs to realise that obesity is a real problem that they can help solve, argues Stephen Leader.

Saving the Coorong by restoring its native state

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 10:00:00 +0100

Opening the barrages can save the lower lakes but not the Murray River, writes Jennifer Marohasy.

No simple matter- carbon trading and agriculture

Sun, 17 Aug 2008 10:00:00 +0100

There are many challenges involved in applying a carbon pollution reduction scheme to Australian agriculture; perhaps while overcoming them we can not only reduce emissions, but also build a more resilient industry for the future, writes Dr Richard Eckard.

The drought we had to have?

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 16:31:31 +0100

Perhaps the drought has been a blessing in disguise for Australians, by making us face up to the problems that have been developing in our environment for decades. Or are we still missing the big picture, only aware of how these problems will affect us, questions Dr Paul Humphries.

Regional areas must seize control of greener future

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 15:10:05 +0100

The Government’s new green paper shields regional areas from the initial financial blows of reducing carbon emissions, allowing them time to prepare for the future – an opportunity that should be grasped with both hands, believes Barney Foran.

The effect of acidation on polar oceans

Tue, 12 Aug 2008 10:00:00 +0100

Acidification isn't limited to the tropics, we need to better understand the damage that is being done to cooler ocean ecosystems and how it may affect both marine and human communities, believes Bruce Mapstone.

Sowing feudalism

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 10:00:00 +0100

Genetically engineered crops now being grown represent a massive uncontrolled experiment whose outcome is inherently unpredictable, argues Evaggelos Vallianatos.

Raising capital for our medical technologies and therapeutics

Sun, 10 Aug 2008 10:00:00 +0100

Australian governments have supported medical research for some time now and in a few areas we do have a worldwide reputation for ‘punching above our weight’, writes Carrie Hillyard.

Ocean acidification - cooler or not, reason to take CO2 seriously

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 10:00:00 +0100

Forget forecasts of global warmth, ocean pH levels are the thing to watch, believes Steven Watkinson.

Biopharmaceuticals - filling the gaps in Australia's capabilities

Tue, 05 Aug 2008 13:22:36 +0100

Developments in pre-clinical manufacture and scale-up, pre-clinical and toxicology testing, and in the design and running of clinical trials, mean the main gaps have been filled in Australia’s development chain for new biopharmaceuticals, writes Peter Gray.

Global warming - myth, threat or opportunity

Mon, 04 Aug 2008 10:00:00 +0100

The most critical problem we now confront is how to provide enough affordable fuel to avoid severe recession before alternative energy can become reality, argues Walter Starck.

A carbon-constrained world

Sun, 03 Aug 2008 10:00:00 +0100

Energy consumers and producers alike bear moral and environmental responsibilities and cannot neglect future generations, believes Chandran Nair.

It's the water, stupid!

Thu, 31 Jul 2008 10:00:00 +0100

Professor Mike Young and Fiona McKenzie comment on the 3 July 2008 Council of Australian Governments (COAG) water agreement.

Whos afraid of the big bad toad?

Wed, 30 Jul 2008 10:00:00 +0100

Professor Rick Shine writes on new developments in the fight against cane toads.

In food we trust

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 10:00:00 +0100

Consumers are coming to the realisation that food increasingly arrives not from 'farm to fork' but 'biotech lab to fork', writes Greg Revell.

Climate security, energy security

Mon, 28 Jul 2008 10:00:00 +0100

Focusing on energy security could lead to reaping the harvest of climate security as a by product, according to Jonathan Ariel.

Meeting the carbon challenge? The place of your house in the city

Sun, 27 Jul 2008 17:57:54 +0100

Expecting to meet the carbon challenge without adjusting our cities is like telling your doctor you want a lung cancer cure without giving up smoking, writes Juris Geste.

Hot rocks rock!

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 07:57:50 +0100

The renewable energy resources are available - all that is required is the political will and a movement away from orthodox economic thinking, believes Kevin Cox.

Doing less, but doing it better

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 10:00:00 +0100

In the past, Australia’s early lead in a new field has often been lost because research teams could not match the size and funding of overseas groups - but all this is changing, writes Merilyn Sleigh.

Urgent action needed on innovation

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 10:00:00 +0100

Australia needs to strengthen its national innovation system, writes Peter Laver.

Great research how about some outcomes?

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 10:00:00 +0100

Though Australian health research is strong in theory, it needs to be translated into social and commercial outcomes, according to Peter Andrews.

Medical technology: prospects for the 21st century

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 10:00:00 +0100

'Small technologies' such as nanobiotechnology will lead to important developments in medical science, according to Graeme Clark.