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Articles by Tarryn Basden
PARTICLE 101: Gas Export Tax
Australia has gas – a lot of gas. So much gas that we don’t shy away from exporting billions of dollars’ worth of it overseas every year. In 2023/24, 78% of Australia’s extracted natural gas was exported as liquefied natural gas (LNG), generating almost $70 billion in export earnings. That has politicians, unions and industry groups asking: what exactly is Australia getting in return for all this gas?
Particle 101: Diphtheria
Diphtheria is one of those diseases most of us haven’t heard of. It’s so rare in Australia that many doctors haven’t seen a case outside a textbook. Which is where we like diseases to stay – filed alongside smallpox and iron lungs under ‘things we beat’. So what is causing its resurgence? Diphtheria is an infectious, toxin-driven bacterial disease. The bacterium that causes diphtheria (Corynebacterium diphtheriae or C. ulcerans) is unremarkable. The real damage comes from the toxin it releases.
Particle 101: Digital IDs
Republishing our content We want our stories to be shared and seen by as many people as possible. Therefore, unless it says otherwise, copyright on the stories on Particle belongs to Scitech and they are published under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. This allows you to republish our articles online or in print for free. You just need to credit us and link to us, and you can’t edit our material or sell it separately.
Particle 101: High Seas Treaty
Republishing our content We want our stories to be shared and seen by as many people as possible. Therefore, unless it says otherwise, copyright on the stories on Particle belongs to Scitech and they are published under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. This allows you to republish our articles online or in print for free. You just need to credit us and link to us, and you can’t edit our material or sell it separately.
Chocolate, Conservation and the Reluctant Influencer
The greater bilby is endangered, partly due to competition with introduced rabbits. The obvious solution? Compete with bunnies. If they can’t beat them in the wild, maybe they can beat them in the chocolate aisle. The idea is simple – crowdfunding, but edible. Conservation economics disguised as confectionery. Replace the rabbit invading our country and our chocolate aisles with a native species that needs protecting. Then direct a portion of the profits toward conservation.
PARTICLE 101: LONG COVID
Illnesses are a bit like gatecrashers at your body’s house party. They show up uninvited, make a mess, then saunter off, leaving the aftermath behind. Usually the clean-up is pretty manageable – rest, fluids, a few days in your favourite hoodie. But sometimes the gatecrasher gets wild. Symptoms linger, the mess is worse and there’s a mysterious gnome in your bathtub. If that particular gatecrasher was the COVID virus, the lingering aftermath is what doctors call long COVID.
PARTICLE 101: Brain Aneurysms
There’s a party happening inside your head. Vessels are twisting and turning to the blood-pumping rhythm. They’re keeping you alive and vibing 24/7. Your brain’s blood vessels resemble a beautiful, delicate, carefully twisted balloon animal sculpture at the best (or worst) birthday party ever. They’re flexible, functional and absolutely not designed to take extra pressure forever. A brain aneurysm is a weak spot in a blood vessel, usually where arteries fork.
101: Maps | Particle
One might assume maps are just recreations of roads on paper – a kind of cosmic tracing. But maps aren’t just about where things are. They’re about where we think things should be. Which is slightly concerning when you need one to tell you where you are. Maps are built from observations, guesses, the combined brainpower of science and a surprising amount of politics. Maps are made by a car full of disciplines all travelling to the same destination: cartography. And all wondering where the hell are we?
Particle 101: Nuclear Power
Australia is staring down the double barrel of a climate and energy crisis: stick to the green we know or gamble on the green that glows. We’re talking about nuclear power. The controversial option doesn’t pair well with polite tea parties – but it certainly stirs up strong opinions. Strip away the sci-fi hype and a nuclear power plant is basically a glorified kettle. The process? Fission (not fusion – yet) generates heat and boils water into steam, spinning a turbine, and ta-da: electricity.
Astronomers Confirm that Early-Universe Quasar Neighbourhoods are Indeed Cluttered
New finding offers a clear explanation to quasar ‘urban density’ conundrum. Astronomers have confirmed their expectation that early-Universe quasars formed in regions of space densely populated with smaller companion galaxies. The Dark Energy Camera (DECam) exceptionally wide field-of-view and special filters were vital in reaching this conclusion, and revealing why previous studies have given conflicting results.
JOIN NASA’S INTERNATIONAL OBSERVE THE MOON NIGHT IN PERTH
The International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR) is calling on space enthusiasts young and old to join an unforgettable evening under the stars at NASA’s International Observe the Moon Night! With events held around the world, NASA describes the night as a time to come together with fellow Moon enthusiasts and curious people across the globe, to learn about lunar science and exploration, take part in celestial observations, and honour cultural and personal connections to the Moon.
Astronomers take alien search to thousands of galaxies, far, far away
Curtin University has played a major role in an out-of-this-world international study which has taken the search for extraterrestrial life into exciting new territory.
Particle 101: DNA – Health News | Particle
Complex thing with a complex name that makes complex life – simplified. Deoxyribonucleic acid (also known as DNA) contains, among other things, our genetics. Genes are small sequences within your DNA that make you you. They make a tree a tree, a giraffe a giraffe and a beetle a beetle. So DNA is like a recipe on how to make life. It has all the ingredients and tells your cells how to replicate, what to be and how to be it. But it is a little more complicated than just following a recipe.
Particle 101: Hostile architecture – People News | Particle
DESIGNS AGAINST HUMANITY The original intention of preventing anti-social behaviour seems reasonable enough. However, it’s become a polarising topic due to its effect on the most vulnerable members of society. Anti-homeless spikes don’t just prevent people sleeping rough – they restrict people from simply resting their feet. This can be a problem for the elderly, pregnant women, children or people with disabilities.
Particle 101: Fungus – Environment News | Particle
While most fungi may look like plants, they have no chlorophyll – the stuff that makes plants green and helps them turn sunlight into food. Since they can’t make their own food, fungi have to feed on other organic matter. This is how those leftover noodles hiding in the back of your fridge slowly turn into a semi-sentient ecosystem. Fungi reproduce through tiny spores that they send off into the world. When these spores touch down on a suitable moist surface, they grow into bigger fungi.
Can we cure the frog pandemic?
Frogs play an important part in ecosystems, but they're also fighting to survive an ongoing pandemic. Chytrid fungus (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis) has ravaged amphibian species for decades. Found in 56 countries across six continents, it's the biggest cause of decline in global amphibian populations. So far, more than 500 amphibian species have been affected, with more than 90 species wiped out by the disease.
Can we cure the frog pandemic?
Frogs have an ability to drink and breathe through their skin. A crucial part of their biology that’s vulnerable to the chytrid fungus. The fungus starts life as spores spreading through water and burrowing into the frog’s delicate skin. When chytrid fungus attacks the skin, the frog loses its ability to move water, electrolytes and oxygen in and out of its body. This affects its breathing and muscle movement, until the frog inevitably croaks. no easy feat Finding a cure for chytrid fungus is tricky.
The conservation conundrum: How to choose which species to protect?
Not all species are created equal. Some are more important than others. So how do we choose what to protect? Biodiversity is vital for a healthy environment and a healthy planet. Every plant and animal has a role to play to keep its ecosystem healthy. It might be a food source, a pollinator, an ecosystem engineer or a seed disperser, to name a few. But all have a job to do. The keystone to it all Every ecosystem has keystone species.
The conservation conundrum – Earth News | Particle
The conservation conundrum Biodiversity is vital for a healthy environment and a healthy planet. Every plant and animal has a role to play to keep its ecosystem healthy. It might be a food source, a pollinator, an ecosystem engineer or a seed disperser, to name a few. But all have a job to do. The keystone to it all Every ecosystem has keystone species. These plants and animals play a critical role in maintaining the structure of the ecosystem community.
When good neighbours become good meals – Earth News | Particle Original
When good neighbours become good meals Community ecology is the study of relationships and interactions between plants and animals living within the same ecological area or ‘community’. Wild communities are rough. Whether it’s somewhere to live, something to eat or someone to hang out with, all organisms are competing for the same resources. And there’s only so many resources to go around. So naturally, when times are tough and the resources are lacking, you just gotta eat thy neighbour.
Particle 101: Stromatolites
Particle 101: Stromatolites Have you ever wanted to travel back in time? To see what the world was like before human civilisation? Before dinosaurs. Before fish crawled their scaly butts out of the ocean. Well, you can. Several hours north of Perth are some of the world’s oldest living life forms – stromatolites. These unassuming blobs – they resemble the love child of a rock and a cauliflower – have existed for 3.5 billion years.
Particle 101: Taxidermy
People Particle 101: Taxidermy Visit any museum and you’re almost guaranteed to come across taxidermied animals staring into your soul. If you’re with kids, the sight is usually met with the wide-eyed exclamation, “Is that real?!” Most of us could confidently reply, “Yes, it’s stuffed.” But stuffed with what? And how? And more importantly, why? Welcome to Taxidermy 101. The word taxidermy comes from the Greek words ‘taxis’ meaning arrangement and ‘derma’ meaning skin.
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