Research News
Andrew Burke: environmental crime fighter
Andrew Burke (BSc/LLB '97) is fascinated by a particularly unique branch of the law: environmental crime. That fascination has now developed into a full-time occupation, with Andrew immersed in the topic, both as researcher and teacher. “Environmental crime is different to other forms of crime. Most obviously, the victim is usually not a person,” Andrew explains. That throw...
Blood test discovered for MS
An international study, led by Macquarie University researchers Dr Edwin Lim and Professor Gilles Guillemin, has discovered the first blood biomarker – a chemical identifier in the blood – for multiple sclerosis (MS), a debilitating disorder of the central nervous system that affects more than 23,000 Australians and 2.3 million people worldwide. The findings, which took 12 years to di...
How ethnicity and religion can influence financial habit
New research has found that people with a religious or ethnic background are more likely to save money, quelling the long-held belief that income and financial proficiency are the main determinates of an individual’s ability to save. Alongside a team of international researchers, Associate Professor Chris Baumann of Macquarie University’s Department of Marketing and Management studied low, ...
What’s more important for weight loss — calories or macronutrients?
It’s almost impossible these days to go a day without hearing about a new dieting fad or weight-loss trend. Most of that craze centres on slashing calories — an approach that works for many but leaves out a key aspect of nutrition: macronutrients. According to Macquarie University’s Sport and Recreation team, rather than solely focusing on a calorie count, the macronutrient approach o...
Creating stepping stones to healthier habitats
More than half of Australia's threatened species occur within the urban fringe: Sydney alone is home to 68 threatened birds, 28 threatened mammals and five threatened frogs. For residents concerned about disappearing wildlife the scale of the issue can be overwhelming, but a new online tool is helping to create wildlife-friendly stopovers between existing corridors. The team at Macquarie’...
Seals help plug Antarctic water mystery
Elephant seals have helped scientists to demonstrate that fresh water from Antarctic’s melting ice shelves slows the processes responsible for the formation of deep-water ocean currents that regulate global temperatures. The study was led by Dr Guy Williams from the Institute of Marine and Antarctic Studies and Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems CRC together with Professor Rob Harcourt from...