WSU Science Librarian

Map of Australia showing critical mineral deposits across the country. The map uses a satellite-style background with state boundaries labeled, including Western Australia, Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia, New South Wales, and Victoria. Numerous colored squares and circles are scattered across the map, representing different types of critical minerals. High concentrations of markers appear in Western Australia, Queensland, and along the eastern and southern coasts near major cities such as Perth, Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, and Adelaide. The title above the map reads: “Analysing Australian geology, topography, and critical minerals using online datasets – Classroom inquiry activities.” A caption below states: “Map of Australia marking out critical mineral deposits (Geoscience Australia data portal).”

It's ⚒️🧪 #EarthScienceWeek2025 !

Here's a new product from the awesome Geoscience Australia Education and Outreach team: a Year 8-10 classroom activity exploring critical minerals in Australia and their value through the lens of topographic data and the geology of Australia.

buff.ly/Y8v46nt

A huge new city is being built in Sydney – the first major city to be built in Australia in more than 100 years It will be home to 10,000 homes and a NYC-style Central Park, and the first building in the city has just opened.

Bradfield City is flying high after coming one step closer to becoming Australia's first master planned city in over a century, with the construction of its first building. The development is part of a bigger idea to boost investment in the Western Sydney- #newcities
www.timeout.com/sydney/news/...

One hundred years of Australian flower data reveals pollination drop Researchers behind a new study examining thousands of flower specimens collected over the past century say temperature increases could be behind a pollination decline in native orchids.

After examining 10,494 herbarium specimens of the orchid genus Caladenia, new Australian research suggests there’s been a >60% decline in orchid pollination since 1977 with sexually deceptive orchid species more impacted

#orchids #ozflora #wildoz #pollination

www.abc.net.au/news/science...

How do we make assessment tasks secure in a time of #GenAI? Find out with our expert panel of #assessment and academic integrity scholars and practitioners. Join us on Thurs 23 Oct at 2pm.

Read more and register: blogs.deakin.edu.au/cradle/how-d...

A Professor’s Final Gift to Her Students: Her Life Savings

www.nytimes.com/2025/05/11/u... This article shows the impact and influence of an academic

Awesome!

A new COVID variant is on the rise. Here’s what to know about LP.8.1 LP.8.1, a descendant of Omicron, is driving a growing proportion of COVID infections in Australia and elsewhere.

My latest @conversationaunz.bsky.social is out today and covers the new #COVID strain theconversation.com/a-new-covid-...

From trading nutrients to storing carbon: 5 things you didn’t know about our underground fungi Most of Australia’s plants rely on a hidden underground network of fungi for water and minerals. They could be in trouble – but we don’t have the data to know.

Mycorrhizal fungi promote native & suppress invasive plants & help prevent soil erosion

Why don't (fed or state) governments monitor fungi?

Soil biology, generally, is not included in biodiversity assessments. Yet soil contains 59% of biodiversity?

Madness.

theconversation.com/from-trading...

💡 Latest research shows that babies are already learning how sounds are physically produced BEFORE tuning in to their native language.

This discovery challenges previous beliefs and opens up new possibilities for early intervention.

🔗https://tinyurl.com/msx2vw7a

@eylemaltuntas.bsky.social

Eylem Altunutas - Babies taking in information faster than anticipated (05/02/25) - Ron Wilson for Breakfast Eylum Altunutas is from The MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development at Western Sydney University

I had a great time this morning chatting with Ron Wilson on 2SM Radio's Breakfast program about how babies decode language and how they take in information faster than we ever imagined! 👶🧠 🔊 Listen to the full interview here: omny.fm/shows/ronwil...
#BabyScience #LanguageDevelopment #InfantLanguage

How awesome! Congratulations

@westernsydneyu.bsky.social researchers have discovered that drought affected wheat plants are able to call on eco-friendly soil bacteria to survive
Find out more: shorturl.at/Nnyjz
Read the article: doi.org/10.1016/j.ch...
@prof-braj-singh.bsky.social

Registration is now open for the Soil Health and Biology Certificate Program offered in partnership with @soilscienceaust.bsky.social
Harness the life in soils for healthy & sustainable crops. Find out more & register at: shorturl.at/q4NXx
#soilhealth #soilbiology

A fungus that can ‘eat you from the inside out’ could spread as the world heats up | CNN Infection-causing fungi responsible for millions of deaths a year will spread significantly to new regions as the planet heats up, new research predicts —and the world is not prepared.

www.cnn.com/2025/05/24/c...

The Queensland melioidosis outbreak is still growing. What’s keeping this deadly mud bug active? So far there have been 221 cases of melioidosis and 31 deaths from the disease in 2025. A microbiologist explains what to know about this infection.

theconversation.com/the-queensla...

Pilot Study Comparing the In Vitro Response of Circulating Monocytes to Aspergillus fumigatus Swollen Conidia in Patients with Chronic Graft-Versus-Host Disease and Healthy Volunteers www.mdpi.com/2309-608X/11...

Congrats to all of our 2025 HDR Forum participants for another fantastic day of showcasing your research, especially award winners: Sami Arja, @aramirezharo3.bsky.social @oliviamaurice.bsky.social & Mina Aghaei. We may be biased, but our HDR Candidates are the best! #PhD

New PhD scholarship available to work with us at Western Sydney University.

Determining the functional diversity of stress tolerance in eucalypts

Link for online application below.

Please contact me by email if you are interested in applying

www.westernsydney.edu.au/schools/grs/...

March 13 Workshop Expressions of Interest Hey there! ReachOut is recruiting for a face-to-face workshop! The details of the workshop are: Date: March 13 Time: 10am - 3pm Location: Western Sydney University, Westmead Campus (right next to W...

📣 Looking for young voices! Aged 16-22 and open to sharing your thoughts on mental health? Join ReachOut’s co-design workshop to help shape better support for young people.

📆 13 Mar 2025, 10am – 3pm at WSU Westmead Innovation Quarter | Receive $250 | Apply now: tinyurl.com/ReachOut13Mar

Western Sydney University PhD scholarship round is now open
[Australian & New Zealand citizens|residents only]

If you are interested in doing a PhD on arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, fungal ecology & related topics then get in touch with me.
www.westernsydney.edu.au/schools/grs/...

Study shows hot leaves can’t catch carbon from the air. It’s bad news for rainforests – and Earth An experiment in the Daintree rainforest found the rate of photosynthesis in leaves warmed by 4°C dropped by an average of 35% compared to non-warmed controls.

Study shows hot leaves can’t catch carbon from the air. It’s bad news for rainforests – and Earth
theconversation.com/study-shows-...

As the heat soars, dangers mount in Sydney’s parks and playgrounds Though temperature records were not broken across the state on Monday as feared, scientists are finding that even a standard summer day presents real dangers in Sydney.

"Professor Sebastian Pfautsch, an expert in urban planning at the University of Western Sydney who has been gathering data on the growing dangers of heat in our sprawling city, took a reading off the surface of a piece of gym equipment. It was 98 degrees – easily enough to burn a child’s hand"