Most of us know someone whose life has been touched by ovarian cancer: it kills over 100,000 people each year and affects millions more.But an Australian-invented blood test is giving us revolutionary insights into the differences between separate ovarian tumours. This could lead to life-saving early screenings and new treatments tailored to indivi…

Australia's 60,000 abandoned mines range from poisoned goldrush-era mine shafts to huge, open-cut wounds on the natural landscape. Many pose grave threats to the health of our community and environment. In developing countries like India, these danger is even worseBut what if we could turn these mine sites back into thriving ecosystems, and deal wi…

COVID isn’t the only pandemic threat we face. The infectious disease that killed the most people in 2018 wasn’t malaria or HIV: it was tuberculosis.Because of antibiotic resistance, a growing number of TB infections can’t be cured by current methods. Rising fever, chest-pain, coughing up blood – without new treatments, this ancient sickness could b…

The number of Australians who die from unintentional drug overdose continues to rise every year.Treatment can be complicated because it’s not always known what substance has been taken. And there are new synthetic drugs hitting the streets all the time.Imagine the benefit of a test that could quickly and accurately identify which drug is present. T…

Australia is one of the sunniest continents in the world, so it’s no surprise Australians have embraced solar energy to cut their power bills and slow down climate change. One in-five-homes now have rooftop solar panels. But all that extra energy being fed into the grid can be tricky to manage. Our infrastructure wasn’t built for electricity to mov…

Once the stuff of science fiction, Carbon Dioxide lasers are now crucial to soft-tissue surgery and next gen manufacturing.But a laser is only as good as the glass fibre that carries it.Professor Heike Ebendorff-Heidepriem is deputy director at the Institute for Photonics and Advanced Sensing at the University of Adelaide.Professor Heike Ebendorff-…

High blood sugar can injure nerves and blood vessels throughout the body. And the first nerves to be affected tend to be the smallest ones, furthest away from the spinal cord – those that stretch to the toes and feet.That nerve damage is called diabetic neuropathy and it can cause a tingling in the toes or a constant burning feeling in the feet. It…

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in Australia. It claims 21 lives every day. Those who do survive heart attacks can take months to recover.That’s where Associate Professor Nicole Freene comes in. She's developed an app-based exercise program designed to improve the health of older people at risk of a repeat heart attack.TechNOW is a podc…

On RN Breakfast with Hamish MacdonaldAustralia faces a critical challenge in the future management of our waste. New forms of waste are set to increase, including e-waste, solar PV panels, and batteries. Advanced technologies and engineering solutions have the potential to divert valuable resources from landfill.Recycling, reuse, remanufacturing an…

The Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering Annual Oration delivered by Professor Margaret Sheil AO FTSE, Vice-Chancellor and President, QUT (Queensland University of Technology)Kirjoittanut Academy of Technology and Engineering

Engineer, company director and diversity leader Leeanne Bond talks about breaking down the blokey barriers in the world of engineering. She's also a Fellow of the Academy.Kirjoittanut Academy of Technology and Engineering