Search Results for: Australia

Emma Jackson

Researchers at Australia’s Deakin University have found a way to strengthen plastic nanofibres, using carbon nanotubes to make them up to 400% stronger than ever before and leading to possible new commercial applications.

Already used in technology for optoelectronics, filter systems and as catalysts, these special reinforced polymer nanofibres may now be strong enough for new technologal uses in medicine, the environment, energy and security, claims lead researcher Minoo Naebe (NOTE: SPELLING CORRECT).…

By Leah Germain

A new study from the University of South Australia has shown that a hiring beautiful sales staff may not be the best business model for clothing retailers. Bianca Price, the PhD researcher heading the study determined that women are less likely to make a purchase if they find the saleswoman are more attractive than them.…

BY KARRYN MILLER

AUSTRALIA’S paint and coatings manufacturers have not felt the burden of the economic downturn equally. "Generally speaking, sales are down, but some product lines have experienced growth because they are replacing products that are being phased out," explained Daniel Wurm, managing director of Greenpainters Ltd, a non-profit network promoting sustainable paint and coatings technology in Australia.…

BY ANDREW CAVE

Food commodity prices are seldom out of the news nowadays, due to a mushrooming global population, the food-for-fuel controversy, an increasing focus on sustainability and the continued growth of the organic sector. However, beyond the generality of crop prices spiralling to new highs in 2007 and 2008 and then plummeting – in some cases – back to where they were before the boom, the picture is far from uniform.…

BY ALAN OSBORN

THESE are uncertain times for international aviation deals generally thanks to the global recession, but nowhere is the situation more fraught than in Washington where negotiations for the second stage of the 2007 ‘open skies’ agreement between the European Union (EU) and the USA appear to have run into the buffers.…

BY MARK ROWE

AIRLINES and airports are perfect carriers for infectious diseases and have helped swine flu to spread around the world within a matter of weeks, to the extent that it is now classified as the first pandemic of the 21st century.…

By Leah Germain

New research from may lead to the early detection of preeclampsia, a condition that threatens eight million pregnant women’s livers and kidneys worldwide each year, says a study released by the University of Auckland.

Its researchers examined blood samples from pregnant women who have been pregnant for at least 20 weeks and pinpointed a set of 33 proteins recorded at abnormal levels, which may serve in tests as an indicator in the blood of pregnant women who are at risk of developing preeclampsia.…

BY ALAN OSBORN, LUCY JONES, RAGHAVENDRA VERMA, JULIAN RYALL, and KARRYN MILLER

THERE are 108 recognised Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs) throughout the world and more are being created every year as the fight against international money laundering becomes ever more global.…

BY MARK ROWE, in London; KARRYN CARTELLE, in TOKYO; RUSSELL BERMAN, in Washington DC; and MONICA DOBIE, in Ottawa

INNOVATION in drinks packaging is more intense today than it has been for decades, with cutting edge innovation in intelligent materials, microchip integration and nanomaterials allowing designers to create boxes, bottles, cans and sacks that they could not dream of before.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL, ALAN OSBORN, DAVID HAWORTH, RUSSELL BERMAN, MARK GODFREY and GAVIN BLAIR

INTRODUCTION

WHILE the drinks industry is undoubtedly an important sector in the global economy, the honest truth is that there are bigger players in town: the IT sector, steel making, and food, to name a handful.…