Double Helix

Looking for seriously fun science, technology, engineering, and maths news for your curious kids or tech-talented teens? We've got you covered! Inside every issue you'll find articles, activities, puzzles, comics, and prizes galore. Perfect reading for enquiring minds, CSIRO's Double Helix magazine is packed with news, features, fun experiments, giveaways and more. Each issue focuses on a different theme, from smells to spaceships and beyond! With clear language and eye-catching design, the content promotes critical thinking, strengthens literacy skills and is the perfect fuel to spark or sustain an interest in STEM. Double Helix is published eight times a year. It is ideal for 8 to 13-year-olds and enjoyed by older readers as well.

ON THE COVER

Double Helix

HELIX HQ

ON THE DOUBLE

WHY FROGS DON’T GET POISONED

'ZOMBIE-FINGER' FUNGUS HANGING ON

FROST FEATHERS

HEALTHY EATING, BIRD-STYLE

HOPE ROARS

JACKALS’ MELON VINE

HIGH-RISE FLYERS

BY THE NUMBERS: THE MIGHTY WOLLY!

SWEET NEWS FOR FRUIT BATS

DOLPHIN DIALECTS

GAME ON!

SUBSCRIBE

TWIRL, TWIRL MAGNETIC STAR

IO: THE ETERNAL INFERNO

SWEAT: A NEW POWER SOURCE?

3D SCANS SOLVE DINO DILEMMA

CURING A CROCODILE BITE • Nyikina Mangala People have used mudjala bark from mangroves as medicine for many generations. The bark can be used to clean wounds and relieve pain. It has even been used to help heal crocodile bites!

Sounding out invasives • Close your eyes and imagine the sounds of a forest – birdsong, flowing creeks, rustling leaves. Listening to these sounds is like checking nature’s pulse. But it can also reveal invasive species.

THE TIDE IS TURNING • Good news travels fast, and this is so cool, we should be shouting it from the rooftops! Twenty-nine animal species that were at risk of potential extinction have recovered to the point where they’re no longer listed as threatened under Australia’s national environment laws.

LIVING FOSSIL • Since life first began on Earth around four billion years ago, more than 99 per cent of all species that ever lived have disappeared. Yet some species have managed to stick around, surviving unchanged for an extremely long time. We call these living fossils.

POSTER

How to Save the Whole Blinkin’ Planet

First Woman: NASA’s Promise for Humanity

TIME-TRAVELLING SHED

VILE VENUS • HI THERE, EARTHLINGS. GAIL LEXY HERE WITH NEWS ABOUT VENUS, YOUR NASTY NEIGHBOUR.

FROM DNA TO DE-EXTINCTION • DNA carries the instructions for life, and every animal has its own DNA code. Now, scientists are using DNA to protect animals…and maybe even bring extinct animals back!

BACK OF THE ENVELOPE

WHAT’S YOUR QUESTION?

THE LIBRARY

TAKE ON CITIZEN SCIENCE • BE THE EYES AND EARS OF SCIENCE. BE A CITIZEN SCIENTIST!

BUBBLE NETS • IF YOU THOUGHT HUMANS WERE THE ONLY FISHERS WHO USE NETS, THINK AGAIN! HUMPBACK WHALES WORK TOGETHER TO NET AND HERD FISH, MAKING THEM EASIER TO CATCH AND EAT. BUT INSTEAD OF ROPE OR FISHING LINE, THESE NETS ARE MADE OF BUBBLES! TO LEARN MORE, IT’S TIME TO BLOW SOME BUBBLE NETS OURSELVES.

MAKE A PIT TRAP • MEET YOUR BACKYARD CREEPY CRAWLIES! SCIENTISTS OFTEN USE THESE SIMPLE TRAPS TO SEE WHAT INSECTS LIVE NEARBY.

MAKE IT LISTENUP

WHO MESSED UP THE LAB?

PUZZLES

PRIZES