Latest from the AM Blog

Writing from the frontiers of science, culture and education, as well as all the latest news from the Museum.

  • AMRI

    Drought, dung and destruction

    Dung beetles may not be the first animals to come to mind when thinking about the organisms impacted by the 2019-20 intense bushfires - but perhaps they should. We were recently in Northeast NSW to determine the impacts on dung beetle populations.

    Written by Chris Reid Aidan Runagall-McNaull / Category AMRI / Published 03 March 2021
  • AMRI

    Lifting the shroud from the marsupials of Turin

    Hidden for over a century, a significant historic collection of marsupials and monotremes has been unveiled in Turin, Italy.

    Written by Dr Mark Eldridge, Dr Sandy Ingleby / Category AMRI / Published 02 March 2021
  • AMRI

    This month in Archaeology: The oldest archaeological evidence of insect foods on stone artefacts in the world

    New evidence for the oldest insect foods on stone artefacts in the world found in Cloggs Cave in the lands of the Krauatungalung clan of the GunaiKurnai people, in the southern foothills of the Australian Alps

    Written by Dr Amy Way / Category AMRI / Published 01 March 2021
  • AMRI

    Fairy Wrasses and Fairy Tales!

    A recent study with Yi-Kai Tea and Joey DiBattista at the Australian Museum uncovers the evolutionary origins of the most species-rich wrasse lineage with the help of an integrative genome-wide dataset.

    Written by Yi-Kai Tea / Category AMRI / Published 24 February 2021
  • AMRI

    Wombat pouch microbes: protecting the young?

    Marsupials are born without a functioning immune system, yet they manage to survive, how?

    Written by Professor Kristofer Helgen Dr Raphael Eisenhofer / Category AMRI / Published 23 February 2021
  • AMRI

    New insights into the pink cockatoo, an outback Australian icon

    Scientists have undertaken the first genetic assessment of the pink cockatoo, providing insights into how the species has evolved in the harsh inland regions of Australia and how we can conserve this Australian icon.

    Written by Kyle Ewart / Category AMRI / Published 16 February 2021
  • AMRI

    Does the Blue Mountains Tree Frog have really bad neighbours?

    Neighbourly feuds are a universal problem – but for the Blue Mountains Tree Frog, could the other frog species they share a stream with, be deadly?

    Written by Jordann Crawford-Ash / Category AMRI / Published 12 February 2021
  • AMRI

    Celebrating AMRI Women in Science

    To celebrate this year’s International Day of Women and Girls in Science, we are profiling women from the Australian Museum Research Institute (AMRI).

    Category AMRI / Published 11 February 2021
  • At The Museum

    Early Birds: Autism and Sensory-friendly Mornings

    The Australian Museum's Early Birds program provides a reduced sensory and supportive environment for visitors on the autism spectrum or those who have other access requirements.

    Written by Cordelia Hough / Category At The Museum / Published 10 February 2021
    Autism Early Birds
  • AMRI

    Surrender Your Shell: Using DNA to protect the Hawksbill Turtle

    Did you know that real tortoiseshell products are made from the shell of critically endangered Hawksbill turtles? This illegal trade has brought the species to the brink of extinction. To learn more, the Australian Museum, WWF-Australia and Royal Caribbean International launch Surrender Your Shell.

    Written by Dr Greta Frankham / Category AMRI / Published 08 February 2021
  • AMRI

    Recovery and discovery: rare snails on Lord Howe Island

    After more than a year rodent-free, two of the Critically Endangered land snails on Lord Howe Island are showing strong signs of recovery – and a closely related mystery species has also reappeared!

    Written by Dr Isabel Hyman / Category AMRI / Published 03 February 2021
  • AMRI

    This month in Archaeology: The origins of money

    This month in Archaeology, Dr Way discusses the origins of money examined in the recent PLoS ONE publication, ‘The origins of money: Calculation of similarity indexes demonstrates the earliest development of commodity money in prehistoric Central Europe’ by M.H.G. Kuijpers and C. N. Popa.

    Written by Dr Amy Way / Category AMRI / Published 01 February 2021
  • AMRI

    FrogID Week 2020 – rapid citizen science data informing frog conservation

    FrogID, an AM citizen science initiative, is rapidly gathering the information we need to help understand and conserve Australia’s frogs.

    Written by Nadiah Roslan / Category AMRI / Published 28 January 2021
  • Science

    Legacy of the Egypt Exploration Fund in the Australian Museum

    Since 1882 the Egypt Exploration Fund focused on digging for objects and distributing them widely to subscribing organisations around the world, including those in United Kingdom, United States, South Africa, India, Japan, and Australia.

    Written by Peter Dadswell, Dr Stan Florek David Chan / Category Science / Published 22 January 2021
    archaeology Ancient Egypt North Africa Egyptian
  • AMRI

    What can we learn about wombat habitats from their poo?

    Microbes that live in the guts of mammals can be critical to their health and survival, yet we know little about the microbes that inhabit our unique Australian marsupials. Scientists from the University of Adelaide and the Australian Museum studied the Southern Hairy-nosed Wombat to learn more.

    Written by Professor Kristofer Helgen Dr Raphael Eisenhofer / Category AMRI / Published 18 January 2021