Features

Funnel-web spider shows vulnerable side while moulting

The Sydney Funnel-web spider is considered the world’s deadliest spider—but even lethal venomous spiders have a moment of vulnerability when they moult.

Cartoon of different types of bacteria and viruses

What’s the difference between bacteria and viruses?

Published on: 20 April 2020

Bacteria and viruses are all around us - some beneficial and some fatal.

Working from home: the superpower to defeating COVID-19

Your home could be your new work environment for the near future - but how do we switch the focus?

This year’s Nobel Prize in Chemistry goes to three chemists who collectively developed something that has become an absolute necessity in our daily lives – the lithium ion battery.

Three chemists and a battery: scientists power their way to Nobel Prize

A trio of scientists have claimed the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for a product that has become an absolute staple in our lives - the lithium ion battery.

Algae and bacteria may help us produce more environmentally friendly versions of plastic.

Could algae help us fight the plastic problem?

Published on: 27 September 2019

It’s no secret that the world has a problem with plastic. An IMB research team examined the future of plastics and how tiny species of algae and bacteria may help us produce more environmentally friendly versions.

Video: Fighting sepsis

Published on: 13 November 2018

IMB researchers and Dr Luregn Schlapbach from the Lady Cilento Children's Hospital are fighting sepsis through developing better diagnostics

Good hand washing is one of the most effective ways to help prevent the spread of deadly bacteria. Credit: rawpixel/unsplash.

From peaceful coexistence to potential peril: the bacteria that live in and on us

Good and bad bacteria are everywhere, including on and in our bodies. Dr Mark Blaskovich explains how disease-causing bacteria enter our body and how we fight them off.

Funnel-web spider. Credit: Sharath J Vois/iStock.

Fatal spider venom could protect against post-stroke brain damage

Published on: 3 September 2018

Professor Glenn King and partners have discovered a peptide in the venom of funnel-web spiders that could drastically reduce brain damage following stroke.

Spiders are a treasure trove of scientific wonder

Australia has an incredible diversity of native spiders, including the potentially lethal funnel-web, the ubiquitous huntsman, and the charming peacock spider.

Purple tarantula bird spider. Credit: Shutterstock/Lucasz Kowalkowski.

Next-gen painkillers from nature’s deadliest life forms

Published on: 23 July 2018

Researchers are figuring out how to manipulate venom extracted from some of the deadliest species in the world, to combat the various forms of pain we experience.

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