Winds of ChangeAustralia’s national science agency, CSIRO, has a new boss, Dr Geoff Garrett. He’s charming, fast-talking and really wants to take CSIRO places – and fast.By Wilson da SilvaMIDDLE-AGED MEN with beards. That’s how the public sees Australia’s… Nov 01 01November 01, 2001Article at Newton Magazine
Milk of Human Kindness: Louis Pasteur and the War Against DiseaseHis dream had been to teach painting, but Louis Pasteur became instead the man who not only proved microbes caused disease, but that they could be stopped. By the end of his career, his work had guaranteed the salvation of millions.By… Nov 01 01November 01, 2001Article at Newton Magazine
The Bone CollectorPatricia Vickers-Rich is a palaeontologist with an infectious enthusiasm for the past, who’s travelled the world in her quest to understand the creatures, climates and ecologies of long ago. By Wilson da Silva SHE MAY BE a recognised… Sep 01 01September 01, 2001Article at Newton Magazine
The Day the Sky Fell InBy Wilson da SilvaSIXTY-FIVE MILLION years ago, in one catastrophic flash, the Earth changed forever. Without warning, a mountain-sized rock from space crashed through the atmosphere like a giant flaming fireball. When it struck the ground, the… Jul 01 01July 01, 2001Article at Newton Magazine
Master of Light and DarkBy Wilson da Silva FEW PEOPLE have an asteroid named after them, much less a planet or a star. But a whole galaxy filled with billions and billions of stars? That’s what happened to David Malin, one of Australia’s most celebrated… May 01 01May 01, 2001Article at Newton Magazine
The Electronic BrainIt was a marvel of its time, one of the world’s very first computers, but for decades remained a forgotten relic. Now this little-known piece of world computing history has been restored, and is now recognised for what it is: one of the grandfathers… May 01 01May 01, 2001Article at Newton Magazine
The Brilliant Career of Marie CurieMarie Curie was not only the first woman in Europe to gain a doctorate in science, but the first person to be awarded two Nobel prizes. An undisputed scientific giant of her time, it was Curie’s very research that ended her life.By Wilson da… Jan 01 01January 01, 2001Article at Newton Magazine
Liquid FireballBy Wilson da SilvaOUR SUN is a seething, broiling mass of superhot gases. Rivers of fire pour across its surface, hydrogen burns at its core and long geysers of plasma rise thousands of kilometres into space before cascading back onto the Sun’s… Jan 01 01January 01, 2001Article at Newton Magazine
Height of FashionBy Wilson da SilvaHIGH HEELS were not invented for comfort, as this coloured X-ray of a woman's foot wearing a stiletto shows. But they have long been considered stylish, although it took the 20th century to take heels to new… Nov 01 00November 01, 2000Article at Newton Magazine
Mining the MotherlodeBy Wilson da SilvaHEARD OF data mining? It’s all the rage. Thanks to the burgeoning databanks of seemingly unrelated information now accumulating in computers servers, as well as some very savvy technology like artificial intelligence, software… Sep 01 00September 01, 2000Article at Newton Magazine
