Donna Lu
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Journalist @GuardianAus. Not here anymore. donnadlu@bsky.social
Articles by Donna Lu
Kultur : Die Testosteron-Besessenheit rechter Männer hat eine Nebenwirkung, die sie kaum bedenken
Sind Sie müde? Fühlen Sie sich kraftlos und gereizt? Fällt es Ihnen schwer, sich zu konzentrieren? Vielleicht leiden Sie unter den scheinbar allgegenwärtigen Symptomen des modernen Lebens. Oder, wenn Sie ein Mann sind, haben Ihnen vielleicht unzählige Online-Influencer ohne fachliche Qualifikation eingeredet, dass Sie wahrscheinlich unter einem „niedrigen Testosteronspiegel“ leiden. Seit Jahrzehnten wird Testosteron Männern als Mittel zur Maximierung der Potenz angepriesen.
Vitamin patches have their grip on the wellness industry: but is the fad only skin deep?
‘One of the big fundamental problems of vitamin patches is that most vitamins are water soluble. What doesn’t get through the skin? Stuff that’s water soluble,’ says Prof Nial Wheate. Composite: Getty Images Feeling fatigued and listless? Searching for an energy boost? Want to improve your mood and motivation? The solution may be, according to a proliferation of online articles and wellness TikToks, not to seek medical advice, but to whack on a vitamin patch.
Astronomers detect mysterious burst of energy from a galaxy far, far away
Artist impression of a fast radio burst. Astronomers have detected they believe to be the most distant fast radio burst ever recorded, which was produced before there was Earth or sun. Illustration: Carl Knox/OzGrav A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, a mysterious flash of energy was released into the universe.
‘Lawyers should be running to courts’ to stop coal approvals after landmark ruling, NSW MP says
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‘Lawyers should be running to courts' to stop coal approvals after landmark ruling, NSW MP says
Donna Lu, Lisa Cox, and Adam Morton A landmark decision in Australia's first climate change high court case has been described as a clear message to governments and fossil fuel companies that exported greenhouse gas emissions “cannot simply be ignored”. On Wednesday morning, the nation's highest court ruled that the approval of MACH Energy's Mount Pleasant coalmine expansion in NSW's Hunter Valley was invalid, in a judgment that sets a precedent for fossil fuel projects in the state.
‘Lawyers should be running to courts’ to stop coal approvals after landmark ruling, NSW MP says
Tony Lonergan and Wendy Wales, president of the Denman Aberdeen Muswellbrook Scone Healthy Environment Group, outside the high court in Canberra on Wednesday. Photograph: ZoeLonergan/Climate Media Centre A landmark decision in Australia’s first climate change high court case has been described as a clear message to governments and fossil fuel companies that exported greenhouse gas emissions “cannot simply be ignored”.
Hunter Valley community group wins landmark high court climate change case over coalmine
Wendy Wales, president of the Denman Aberdeen Muswellbrook Scone Healthy Environment Group, said too many Australians were already suffering from ‘extreme weather devastation’. The group won their high court case against a proposed expansion of the the Mount Pleasant coalmine in Muswellbrook.
Coogee ranks as Sydney’s worst ocean beach for faecal pollution – again
Coogee beach received a ‘poor’ rating in the 2026 State of the Beaches report. The popular Sydney swimming spot is ‘susceptible to faecal pollution, particularly after rainfall’. Photograph: James Gourley/The Guardian Coogee has ranked as the Sydney ocean beach most polluted with faecal matter, an annual state survey has found.
‘Very messy eaters’: scientists solve the mystery of when black holes ‘burp’
Scientists have solved the mystery of when black holes “burp” – when the astronomical bodies launch jets after feeding on stars, blasting material enormous distances in space. Black holes are objects so densely compact that beyond a certain point their gravity is too strong for light and matter to escape. This boundary of no return is known as the event horizon – the point at which escaping would require something to travel faster than the speed of light.
Peter's farm is on ‘flood country'. As Australia's sea levels rise, safe land is vanishing and costs are huge
When grazier Peter Lake moved to the Clarence Valley in the New South Wales northern rivers region in 2007, he knew was “buying in flood country with … eyes open”. His cattle farm, about halfway between Yamba and Grafton, borders the Coldstream River and has flooded five times since 2009. “Out of 130 acres … in a major flood we would have maybe 15 acres that were flood-free,” he said.
What we know about the link between Nepal’s flash floods and our climate crisis Original
At 8.37am local time last Wednesday, a huge mass of rock and ice sheared free from a mountain, sliding 1,200 metres to the valley floor in Nepal's Langtang national park, about 60km north of the country's capital, Kathmandu. Horrifying images and videos soon emerged of a torrent of mud, water and debris that swept down the Lhende Khola valley at speeds approaching 150km/h.
Qué provocó la riada de Nepal y qué papel juega el cambio climático
Durante la mañana del miércoles, hora local, un deslizamiento de hielo y rocas provocó un torrente de barro, agua y escombros que desbordó las orillas del río Trishuli, también conocido como Bhotekoshi, que discurre entre China y Nepal. La ingente masa arrasó viviendas, carreteras, puentes y centrales eléctricas.
Qué provocó la riada de Nepal y qué papel juega el cambio climático: “Estos fenómenos son diferentes a lo que habíamos visto antes”
Durante la mañana del miércoles, hora local, un deslizamiento de hielo y rocas provocó un torrente de barro, agua y escombros que desbordó las orillas del río Trishuli, también conocido como Bhotekoshi, que discurre entre China y Nepal. La ingente masa arrasó viviendas, carreteras, puentes y centrales eléctricas.
What caused the catastrophic flash flood in Nepal and Tibet – and how does a glacier collapse?
Flash floods that swept through the Nepal-Tibet border region on Wednesday have left scores dead and more than 1000 people missing. Here’s what we know so far, and what likely caused the disaster. On Wednesday morning local time, a landslide of ice and rock resulted in a torrent of mud, water and debris bursting the banks of the Trishuli river, also known as the Bhotekoshi, which runs between China and Nepal. Homes, roads, bridges and power plants were swept away.
Male redback spiders invite cannibalism through a ‘self-sacrificial somersault' during sex – but why?
If you think you've had a bad one-night stand, spare a thought for the male redback spider, whose sole reproductive partner eats him after sex. Male redbacks appear to invite this cannibalism through a “self-sacrificial somersault”, with new research shedding light on the genetic basis of the behaviour. The redback, also known as the Australian black widow, is one of two monogynous widow spider species – meaning that males typically only mate with a single female.
Bird flu is spreading locally and Australia faces more wildlife deaths. How bad could it get?
Conservationists fear for the sea lion population at South Australia’s Kangaroo Island, after bird flu was detected there. Photograph: Andrea Izzotti/Getty Images/iStockphoto Australia has entered a new phase in dealing with the incursion of deadly H5N1 bird flu, with authorities confirming on Wednesday that local transmission of the highly virulent strain had taken place.
Great Barrier Reef microbiome mapped as researchers discover 500 bacterial species previously unknown to science
More than a decade after the human microbiome was comprehensively mapped, scientists have now identified the vast communities of microbes that make up the Great Barrier Reef. Analysing DNA from seawater samples of 48 reefs, researchers have mapped the microbiome of the Great Barrier Reef, documenting more than 360,000 distinct viruses as well as more than 500 new bacterial species not previously known to science.
Great Barrier Reef microbiome mapped as researchers discover 500 bacterial species previously unknown to science
Scientists have identified the vast communities of microbes that make up the Great Barrier Reef. Photograph: Jürgen Freund/WWF/PA More than a decade after the human microbiome was comprehensively mapped, scientists have now identified the vast communities of microbes that make up the Great Barrier Reef.
Great Barrier Reef microbiome mapped as researchers discover 500 bacterial species previously unknown to science
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Climate and rock art advocates take on Woodside's ‘carbon bomb' WA gas project in federal court
The Albanese government's decision to approve one of the world's largest gas projects in Western Australia is being challenged in the federal court, setting up a significant test of how Australia's environment law deals with the climate crisis. The Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) and Friends of Australian Rock Art (Fara) are this week running concurrent court challenges against the approval of the extension of Woodside's major North West Shelf gas export project.
Climate and rock art advocates take on Woodside’s ‘carbon bomb’ WA gas project in federal court
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What actually happens when your heart breaks? A hit play with classic breakup songs unpacks the ‘universal experience'
In 1983, the Japanese doctor Hikaru Sato diagnosed the first medical case of “broken heart syndrome”. Seen in patients after a significant physical or emotional stressor, such as grief, the condition results in a sudden, temporary weakening of the heart's muscular wall Sato named it takotsubo cardiomyopathy, because in those with the syndrome the left ventricle of the heart changes to resemble a takotsubo – a Japanese pot traditionally used to catch octopus, with a narrow neck and wide base.
A cathartic play unpacks the pain of heartbreak with classic breakup songs: ‘As close to a universal experience as one gets’
In 1983, the Japanese doctor Hikaru Sato diagnosed the first medical case of “broken heart syndrome”. Seen in patients after a significant physical or emotional stressor, such as grief, the condition results in a sudden, temporary weakening of the muscular wall of the heart. Sato named it takotsubo cardiomyopathy, because in those with the syndrome the left ventricle of the heart changes to resemble a takotsubo – a Japanese pot traditionally used to catch octopus, with a narrow neck and wide base.
The winter of our disconnect: how Telstra's outage wrought havoc across a continent
The first signs something was wrong with the country's largest mobile network began just after 4am, as people rolled out of bed to begin their day only to find they couldn't make or receive phone calls or access mobile internet. “No Telstra mobile service for past half hour,” one person from Victoria's Point Cook wrote on Down Detector, which had reports slowly trickle in from 4am and then ratchet up to 7,000 in the hour from 5.30am.
Pore substitute: can AI be trusted when it comes to skincare advice?
Consulting AI chatbots for skin advice may be driven by the cost of seeing a dermatologist. Composite: Guardian design/Getty Images Who among us has not, in a moment of panic or curiosity, consulted the internet in search of solutions to a medical ailment? Increasingly, people are turning to AI for health advice, and skincare is no exception.
Charlie Pickering: ‘We used to be able to just disagree. Social media has a lot to answer for’
default Sandwiched between the Arts Centre and Hamer Hall, in Melbourne's arts precinct, is a sculpture of wave-like steel structures called Forward Surge. On the day we walk past, it is hidden behind construction fencing, but Charlie Pickering has fond memories of the place. "As a teenager, I would almost every weekend get kicked out of here," he says.
El Niño expected to develop in coming months, bringing hotter and drier weather to eastern Australia
The BoM says models indicate the forecast El Niño will be at least moderate in strength, with a strong event possible. Photograph: Tracey Nearmy/Reuters Australia should prepare for an imminent El Niño, with the Bureau of Meteorology and other agencies forecasting that the weather phenomenon is likely to develop in the coming months. “The models are really aligning now,” Felicity Gamble, a senior BoM climatologist, said.
Can you not? Plastic and metal ‘franken-can’ named Australia’s worst packaging at Unpackit awards
The inaugural Unpackit Award for Australia’s worst packaging went to a plastic–metal hybrid drinking vessel that ‘ticks every box for problematic packaging’. Photograph: Unpackit Awards A single-use plastic and metal drinking vessel dubbed a “franken-can” has been given the dubious honour of the nation’s worst plastic packaging. The plastic-metal hybrid can, which is not accepted by container refund schemes or easily recycled – has won the inaugural Unpackit award for Australia’s worst packaging.
Wild weather unleashes thunderstorms across south-east Australia, triggering flash flooding
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Flooding rains expected across three Australian states as parched interior receives drenching
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Flooding rains expected across three Australian states as parched interior receives drenching
Brisbane was hit by severe weather on Wednesday with some roads closed due to flooding. Photograph: Darren England/AAP Multiple states are at risk of flash flooding on Thursday, with severe weather warnings issued in New South Wales, Queensland and Tasmania. Ilana Cherny, a senior meteorologist at the Bureau of Meteorology, said the wet weather battering eastern Australia was being driven by a broad low-pressure trough that had drawn in “a lot of tropical moisture across the region”.
Australian medical college leader suspended from position over alleged health and safety breach
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Australian medical college leader suspended from position over alleged health and safety breach
RACP president-elect Dr Sharmila Chandran declined to comment on her suspension from the college’s board by Australia’s charity regulator. Photograph: Andrew Campbell/Melbourne Headshot Company The charities regulator has suspended the president-elect of one of Australia’s oldest medical colleges for allegedly contravening a direction from the NSW work health and safety watchdog.
Labor accused of ‘robbing Peter to pay Paul’ for axing $760m research program to fund other science measures
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Labor accused of ‘robbing Peter to pay Paul’ for axing $760m research program to fund other science measures
The government has been criticised for cutting a research commercialisation program in the federal budget to fund science initiatives such as the CSIRO and National Measurement Institute. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP The federal government has been accused of “robbing Peter to pay Paul” over the budget axing of a $760m research commercialisation program in order to fund other science initiatives.
Sound baths are supposed to help relax and ‘soothe’ your nervous system. But do any of these claims ring true?
Listening to music communally in a sound bath can be a ‘helpful, healthy thing’, experts say. But there is no regulatory body for practitioners in Australia. Composite: Guardian Design/Getty Images/Jessica Hromas I, for one, am partial to a bath: what’s not to love about a dim room, candles and nary an electronic device in sight? But a wellness trend that has emerged in recent years makes soaking in tepid water seem quaint: increasingly, people are paying to be “bathed” in sound.
What is hantavirus, and why will cruise passengers spend so long in quarantine?
A passenger evacuated from the hantavirus-stricken cruise ship MV Hondius waves from a military bus after being transferred to Tenerife in Spain on 10 May. Repatriation flights for the nearly 150 passengers onboard the ship began on Monday. Photograph: Jorge Guerrero/AFP/Getty Images Up to 150 people aboard the hantavirus-hit cruise ship MV Hondius began their journey home from Spain’s Canary Islands on Monday, after an outbreak that resulted in three deaths.
‘Unprecedented’ global effort gives new name to polycystic ovary syndrome – and new hope to millions of women
After more than a decade of global consultation, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) – a condition that affects one in eight women – has been renamed. The hormonal disorder, estimated to affect 170 million women worldwide, will now be known as polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome (PMOS).
‘Unprecedented’ global effort gives new name to polycystic ovary syndrome – and new hope to millions of women
The name change was published in the Lancet and announced at the European Congress of Endocrinology in Prague on Tuesday, after 14 years of collaboration between international societies and patient groups across six continents. The renaming was spearheaded by the endocrinologist Prof Helena Teede, the director of Melbourne’s Monash Centre for Health Research & Implementation.
New gasfield approved near Twelve Apostles puts climate and 'pristine' ocean in jeopardy, environmentalists warn
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New gasfield approved near Twelve Apostles puts climate and ‘pristine’ ocean in jeopardy, environmentalists warn
A gas platform. Environment Victoria said the Otway basin project would ‘only set back progress on the clean energy transition under way’ in the state. Photograph: Suzanne Long/Alamy A new gas drilling project approved for Victoria’s Otway basin will make “the path to a safe climate harder” and put a “pristine ocean environment” at risk, environment groups have warned.
Microsoft se preocupa por tu privacidad Qué es el hantavirus, la infección que ha matado a tres personas en el crucero MV Hondius
Las enfermedades transmitidas por roedores no suelen ser contagiosas entre personas y los brotes son poco frecuentes, pero las variantes del Nuevo Mundo son las más mortales, ¿cuáles son los síntomas y el tratamiento? De Patagonia a Canarias: cronología del crucero afectado por el brote de hantavirus Tres pasajeros de un crucero en el océano Atlántico han fallecido tras un presunto brote de hantavirus , según la Organización Mundial de la Salud (OMS).
Qué es el hantavirus, la infección que ha matado a tres personas en el crucero MV Hondius
Tres pasajeros de un crucero en el océano Atlántico han fallecido tras un presunto brote de hantavirus, según la Organización Mundial de la Salud (OMS). El brote se ha registrado en el crucero polar MV Hondius, que navegaba entre Argentina y Cabo Verde.
Preguntas y respuestas sobre el hantavirus, la infección que ya mató a tres personas en un crucero
Tres pasajeros de un crucero en el océano Atlántico fallecieron tras un presunto brote de hantavirus, según la Organización Mundial de la Salud (OMS). El brote se ha registrado en el crucero polar MV Hondius, que navegaba entre Argentina y Cabo Verde. Investigan tres muertes y un posible brote de hantavirus en un crucero que partió desde Ushuaia La OMS afirmó que se había confirmado al menos un caso de hantavirus, con un paciente ingresado en cuidados intensivos en un hospital sudafricano.
Preguntas y respuestas sobre el hantavirus, la infección que ha matado a tres personas en un crucero
Tres pasajeros de un crucero en el océano Atlántico han fallecido tras un presunto brote de hantavirus, según la Organización Mundial de la Salud (OMS). El brote se ha registrado en el crucero polar MV Hondius, que navegaba entre Argentina y Cabo Verde. Las enfermedades infecciosas rebrotan en silencio, pero imparables La OMS afirmó que se había confirmado al menos un caso de hantavirus, con un paciente ingresado en cuidados intensivos en un hospital sudafricano.
What is hantavirus, the infection that has killed three people on a cruise ship?
Donna Lu Three passengers on a cruise ship in the Atlantic Ocean have died after a suspected hantavirus outbreak, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The outbreak was reported on the polar cruise ship MV Hondius, which was travelling between Argentina andCape Verde. The WHO said at least one case of hantavirus had been confirmed, with one patient in intensive care in a South African hospital. Two of those who died were a couple from the Netherlands.
What is hantavirus, the infection that has killed three people on a cruise ship?
This aerial picture shows a general view of the cruise ship MV Hondius stationary off the port of Praia, the capital of Cape Verde, which has been hit by an outbreak of hantavirus.Photograph: AFP/Getty Images Three passengers on a cruise ship in the Atlantic Ocean have died after a suspected hantavirus outbreak, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The outbreak was reported on the polar cruise ship MV Hondius, which was travelling between Argentina and Cape Verde.
Scientists discover 27 potential new planets that orbit two stars in solar systems far, far away
Donna Lu Astronomers have discovered 27 new potential planets that orbit two stars, like the fictional desert planet Tatooine from the Star Wars universe. To date, only about 18 circumbinary planets – which orbit around two stars – had been identified in the universe. More than 6,000 planets have been discovered that orbit single stars, like Earth does around the sun.
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