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This week has been great for learning about sharks, and reflecting on our relationship with them. The iconic Jaws movie came out 50 years ago – and dramatically changed humanity’s relationship with great white sharks.
While the word “shark” typically evokes a toothy, fearsome predator, these fish come in so many other shapes and sizes. Some are only the size of a human hand. In fact, this diversity makes sharks perfect for investigating a centuries-old mathematical rule that seems central to biology – but is hard to test.
Even more curiously, I was surprised to learn that some sharks freeze when they’re turned upside down. It’s akin to the response in some prey species when they “play dead”, but it would be quite the predicament for a shark! Biologists have now studied this strange response and uncovered a wonderful evolutionary answer.
PS. We’ve been thrilled by the response to our annual fundraising company – thank you for your support and your feedback. With six days to go until the end of the financial year, there’s still time to make a tax deductible donation.
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Signe Dean
Science + Technology Editor
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Jodie L. Rummer, James Cook University; Joel Gayford, James Cook University
A new study proves for the first time that the ‘two-thirds scaling law’ applies to large animals as well as small ones, offering key lessons for conversation.
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Jodie L. Rummer, James Cook University; Joel Gayford, James Cook University
Rather than a clever survival tactic, tonic immobility might just be ‘evolutionary baggage’.
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John Long, Flinders University; Heather L. Robinson, Flinders University
White sharks suffered great declines after the Jaws movie was released. But these iconic predators must be protected.
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Eric Warrant, Lund University
Australia’s iconic bogong moths are the first creatures other than humans and some birds known to navigate by the night sky.
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Vitomir Kovanovic, University of South Australia; Rebecca Marrone, University of South Australia
Like calculators before them, AI tools can raise the bar for what people can achieve – if they’re used the right way.
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Our most-read science articles this week
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James Dwyer, University of Tasmania
The GBU-57 Massive Ordance Penetrator is a weapon only the US can deploy – but it may have unintended consequences.
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Jairo Gutierrez, Auckland University of Technology
If your phone frequently doesn’t ring, there are a few steps you can take to solve the problem.
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Melinda Jackson, Monash University; Eleni Kavaliotis, Monash University
Is there any science behind this TikTok trend? Cognitive shuffling attempts to mimic the thinking patterns good sleepers typically have before drifting off.
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Frank Jotzo, Australian National University; Annette Zou, Australian National University
How can Australia reconcile its ambition to become a renewables superpower as it ships fossil fuels overseas? With a net-zero target on exports.
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More of this week's coverage
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Vanessa Pirotta, Macquarie University
For the first time, orcas have been seen making and using tools out of seaweed. The reason? Most likely as a form of social grooming.
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Alistair Evans, Monash University; Anthony J. Martin, Emory University
One fossilised log from southern Australia has spilled the dirt on termites’ very cold and very ancient past.
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Christian Jakob, Monash University
Earth has less highly reflective clouds than it used to, and it’s amplifying global warming
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Adam D Hines, Queensland University of Technology; Michael Milford, Queensland University of Technology; Tobias Fischer, Queensland University of Technology
Robots in challenging places like disaster zones need energy-efficient systems to find their way.
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Dean J. Miller, CQUniversity Australia
Your smartwatch or ring promises to tell you how well you slept. But how?
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Theresa Larkin, University of Wollongong
An operation to remove the uterus should be called a uterectomy – like the removal of the tonsils is a tonsillectomy, or an appendix removal is an appendectomy.
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