Cosmos Magazine

Cosmos Magazine is an award-winning literary science magazine, published in Australia but with a global reach. Cosmos Magazine presents the exciting world of science in a way that everyone can enjoy, with beautiful pictures and clear explanations of the latest developments. Discover the universe around you and what makes it tick.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

CONTRIBUTORS

FROM THE EDITOR AND LEAD SCIENTIST

Breakfast cereal is great for modelling ice sheet collapse

Brown Labradors die young • Study finds coat colour links with longevity.

Sand flies fly high • Scientists discover a surprising diet for disease-carrying insects.

Da Vinci’s bung eye • Ophthalmologist suggests eye disorder helped Leonardo’s genius.

Galaxy collision confirmed • Evidence shows “recent” crash of two nearby galaxies.

Early humans had multiple deformities • Analysis finds problems plagued Pleistocene people.

Hubble law no more • Name change corrects historical injustice.

Dinos laid the first coloured eggs • Speckles and tints evolved long before birds.

Mars makes rocket fuel • Experiments suggest crucial component is abundant.

The beerpocalypse is coming • Climate change could impact barley supplies, modelling shows.

Aussie streams full of pharma • Antidepressants and other meds rife in waterways.

New particle may turn physics upside down • Peculiar NASA results defy standard explanations.

Look harder for ET, NASA told • Expert panels recommends boosting astrobiology.

Shark passes Turing test • The reaction-diffusion model works for ancient fish as well as modern vertebrates.

COLD GREEN LIFE: THE CLIMATE SCIENTIST BALANCING ANTARCTIC RESEARCH AND SUSTAINABILITY • Nerilie Abram is living the dream, and trying to ensure it doesn’t turn into a nightmare.

Meet the world’s largest flying launchpad • Paul Allen co-founded Microsoft, but will the Stratolaunch become his greatest legacy?

SABRE RATTLING DEEP UNDERGROUND • ALAN DUFFY is lead scientist at The Royal Institution of Australia.

A LETTER TO A YEAR 10 STUDENT • ALAN FINKEL is an electrical engineer, a neuroscientist and the Chief Scientist of Australia.

FROM THE FRONT LINE • Agricultural courses are no longer the male-dominated places they once were.

MIND AND MUSCLES – HOW TO AGE WELL • When it comes to exercise, it’s never too late, and it can change the dynamics of getting older.

STEMMING THE TIDE • Twenty years ago, US and Australian researchers independently succeeded in making human embryonic stem cells. Here, ALAN TROUNSON, the leader of the Australian team, reflects on how reality has lived up to the dream.

MAKE IT IN SPACE • CATHAL O’CONNELL investigates the future of in-space manufacturing.

BY THE NUMBERS

SCIENTISTS MUST SPEAK OUT • Physicist and documentary-maker Brian Cox on why researchers should never stay silent.

THE TECH WE’RE GOING TO NEED TO DETECT ET • A meeting of astrobiologists results in a target list of developments needed in the next two decades.

TURTLES’ LIVES IN THE BALANCE • A mystery virus has devastated Bellinger River’s turtles – but that’s not the only threat.

A SHORT HISTORY OF SPACETIME FROM EUCLID TO LIGO • A YEAR AGO, the world learned that a huge team of scientists around the world had confirmed the existence of gravitational waves. Here, DAVID BLAIR, from the Australian International Gravitational Research Centre, traces the long history of discovery that led to the breakthrough.

THE EVENTS ENCODED IN ANCIENT TALES • Indigenous societies kept records of geological catastrophes for thousands of years, writes PATRICK NUNN.

TINY LENSES REVEAL BIG SURPRISES •...