Outside the protective cocoon of the Earth’s magnetic field is a universe full of damaging radiation. NASA’s Artemis Missions aim to establish humanity’s first long-term presence on the Moon in 2024, so experimental physicist Dr Gail Iles is investigating ways to overcome the radiation factor so that astronauts can survive long journeys, or even live indefinitely, in space.

Just as we cannot see the air, we can see its effect on the objects it moves, such as swaying tree branches in the wind. Similarly, dark matter is composed of particles that cannot be seen or felt directly, but astrophysicists like Professor Alan Duffy can detect its presence from the effect these particles have on observable phenomena.

AI applications are revolutionising the way we create. But these creations rely on ideas conceived by humans who are not always given appropriate credit. It is likely that generative AI systems will soon only be allowed to be trained on work in the public domain or under licences, which will affect everyone who integrates generative AI into their work.

We have had many wake-up calls in recent times. Bushfires, floods, war, and the COVID-19 pandemic all exposed the cracks in our food supply systems. More Australians have experienced food insecurity in the past few years than ever. Dr Rachel Carey wants to make our food supply chains much more resilient to future shocks and stresses.

Plants have been used as traditional medicines around the world for centuries – even millennia. With the technology we have now, Dr Tien Huynh can uncover the science behind how they work. Drawing on her Vietnamese heritage, she is particularly interested in plants from tropical Asia – including the gấc fruit (Momordica cochinchinensis).