Wilson da Silva

Why are rural people healthier than city folk? It turns out it’s the diversity of bacteria in the soil — and that those benefits can be brought to the city. By Wilson da Silva MEANDERING DOWN the narrow tracks from the summit of Mount Lofty, near…

On a clear day 66 million years ago, the sky abruptly caved in and 75% of all life became extinct. By Wilson da Silva SIXTY-SIX MILLION years ago, in one cataclysmic flash, the Earth changed forever. Without warning, a mountain-sized rock pierced…

For decades forgotten in a warehouse, one of the grandfathers of modern computers — and only the fifth to go live — has been restored. By Wilson da SilvaTHE WORLD was a different place in 1949: vinyl LP records had just been invented, the now-iconic…

We need to expand beyond Earth, but not abandon it — just stop relying on Earth as our only quarry and only site for factories. By Wilson da Silva FEEL ANGUISHED about the state of our planet? Care about the future of human civilisation? Then you…

AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW MAGAZINE The differing experiences of two recently honoured Nobel laureates show that the prizes, far from rising above the political fray, have now become a part of it. By Wilson da Silva THIS IS A TALE of two Australian…

Their biggest drawback is safety. The electrolyte fluid sitting between the positive and negative electrodes is flammable, and only a thin plastic membrane keeps the two electrodes apart. If overcharged, or if an internal…

AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW MAGAZINEFour decades ago the founder of Paspaley Pearls sowed the seeds of a lucrative family operation. In a demanding business, his children have carefully nurtured their legacy and the Australian pearling empire is…

The world’s oldest surviving first-generation computer – and only the fourth ever built – was CSIRAC, and it was Australian. And it has been restored to its former glory.Produced, directed and written by Wilson da Silva. Broadcast on 28 October 1999…

A new space race is unfolding, driven by commerce and permanent bases on the Moon. To succeed, they’ll need to be self-sustaining. Wilson da Silva Jan 10 · 16 min read WHEN SOPHIA Casanova was 10, her parents bought her a telescope, and she fell head…

THE WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN MAGAZINE It began with a hurried flight on a small, chartered twin-engine Cessna from Dili to Darwin on December 4, 1975. It ended with another flight, this time on a white United Nations Hercules that left from Darwin to Dili…

They should have died out with the dinosaurs, but their seedlings are now being nurtured back from oblivion. IT HAS BEEN CALLED the botanical find of a century: a lonely stand of conifers, the last of their kind and thought to have been extinct for…

What’s it really like to watch a space shuttle blast off? Even for someone who’s seen hours of footage, it’s literally breathtaking.By Wilson da SilvaIF HUMANITY HAS a beachhead to the stars, this is it: Cape Canaveral. This sandy promontory,…

Nature’s deadliest weapon is giving scientists new tools to fight disease and control the body’s internal machinery. By Wilson da Silva STUDYING VENOM is a risky business. Ask Bryan Fry: he’s been bitten by venomous creatures 27 times — mostly by…

Working late one night, Alan Guth accidentally struck upon a solution to the birth of the cosmos. Until then, he’d had trouble holding down a job. By Wilson da Silva ALAN GUTH still finds it amazing that he can understand anything about the first few…

A gifted artist, Pasteur had wanted to teach painting; instead, he proved microbes cause disease and showed the world how to stop them. His work led to the salvation of millions.By Wilson da SilvaLOUIS PASTEUR never really wanted to study science: in…

Marie Curie was an undisputed scientific giant, and the first person to win two Nobel Prizes. But her research also eventually claimed her life. By Wilson da Silva AN AILING François Mitterrand, in the final weeks of his last term as French…

In the global race to build a scalable quantum computer, Australia is betting it all on three elegant designs in silicon. By Wilson da Silva ANDREA MORELLO is not what you expect when you think of quantum computing. Tall, lizard-thin and sporting a…

By Wilson da SilvaINSIDE AN OLD courthouse  in the dusty tropical town of Dili, an exhibition documents the history of East Timor’s resistance to Indonesian occupation. Next to a grainy black-and-white photo of a youthful man in a beard, a…

AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW MAGAZINEAs the oceans run out of stocks, the world’s fishing fleets are moving into southern waters, where the battle to save unexploited fisheries is raging.By Wilson da Silva"You see the ways the fisherman doth…

Australia's think tanks wield enormous influence over the country's politics, and yet are largely invisible. Once obsessed with economics, they are now increasingly interested in social issues.By Wilson da SilvaWE ARE IN KENNET LAND at…