Despite strict biosecurity laws and protocols, Varroa destructor breached Australian borders in June of 2022, threatening a $14B industry. By September 2023 the Australian Federal Government announced they were abandoning their eradication strategy, turning instead to management. Now, the parasitic varroa mite has broken through into Victoria’s ecosystems too.

Australia is home to a rich diversity of birdlife, with over 830 species – nearly one-tenth of the world’s bird species. Our environment ranges from arid deserts to lush, wet tropical rainforests. This diversity of climatic conditions has forced bird species to be innovative and adaptable, evolving in extraordinary ways. In fact, most of the world’s bird species can trace their ancestry back to Australia.

The hormone oestrogen pollutes our waterways, virtually unchanged even by wastewater treatment, and now marine life is subjected to a drug cocktail that contaminates rivers and streams. Enter our hero, Smart Rust, which can attract many substances, including oil, microplastics, and oestrogen, depending on the coating applied to its superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles.

“Community” extends beyond human collectives to embrace a vast network of adaptable lifeforms, all of us reliant on each other in our remarkable planet’s dynamic web of life. This National Science Week, the Survive and Thrive program explored how we can use science to help flora, fauna, and ourselves to not only survive, but thrive in our changing world.  

Feral cat populations urgently need to be controlled. The challenge is enormous, and requires ‘boots on the ground’, so we need the media, politicians, government, invasive species organisations, and conservation agencies to encourage and empower people to take individual responsibility in addressing the impacts of outdoor cats.