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.

Double Helix

HELIX HQ

ON THE DOUBLE

GLASS FROM VOLCANOES, METEORITES AND SPINIFEX • Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have used natural forms of glass to make cutting tools for many thousands of years. These tools were used for a variety of tasks, including preparing food, creating clothing, and for warfare and ceremonial purposes.

GLASS-TOWERED SPONGES

EXAMINING X-RAYS • X-rays have been helping doctors (and superheroes) look closer at what’s going on inside us for more than 120 years. Today, computer programmers are teaming up with medical professionals to help make X-rays safer for patients.

BY THE NUMBERS: GLASS

TAILS ON, TAILS OFF! • Many lizards can drop their tails to escape becoming dinner. But how do their tails stay on?

TIMING OF CLOWNFISH STRIPES DEPENDS ON ANEMONE • Imagine if your home affected how fast you grew up! For the orange clownfish, it does.

CAN BIRDS OUTSMART SCIENTISTS? • Studying animals is difficult. Scientists often battle unpredictable animal behaviours, natural disasters and equipment problems in their efforts to understand our fellow inhabitants.

SUBSCRIBE

Bringing back the oyster reefs

TIME-TRAVELLING SHED

IMPROVING AUSTRALIA’S GLASS RECYCLING • Do you see the glass as half full or half empty? Well, research scientists such as Dr Tim Baynes at CSIRO look at the glass and think about where it will end up when you throw it out.

TECHNOLOGY IN ACTION: OUR GLASS FUTURE

OUR INCREDIBLE RELIANCE ON SAND • SAND IS A PRETTY SPECIAL MATERIAL. GLASS, CONCRETE, ELECTRONICS AND EVEN SOME MEDICINES ALL USE SAND IN THEIR CONSTRUCTION, MAKING IT THE MOST-CONSUMED NATURAL RESOURCE – BESIDES WATER – ON THE WHOLE PLANET.

HOW CAN WE HELP SAVE SAND? • ALTHOUGH THIS PROBLEM MIGHT SEEM QUITE FAR AWAY, WE CAN START HELPING NOW.

‘Unbreakable’ smartphone screens • Have you ever been inspired by food? Dr Jingwei Hou has. Jingwei and his team at the University of Queensland (UQ) have developed the technology to produce crystal-clear, ‘unbreakable’ glass for smartphones, televisions and computer screens. And it started with a chocolate chip cookie.

GLASS MODELS OF MARINE MARVELS

POSTER

THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF STEM WORDS

OCEANS OF PLASTIC

MARS AWAKENS

DOUBLE HELIX SPOKE WITH HM WAUGH, AUTHOR OF MARS AWAKENS

ARCHAEOLOGY IN SPACE • HELLO HUMANS! GAIL LEXY HERE, DIGGING INTO THE FIRST ARCHAEOLOGICAL STUDY IN SPACE.

VIRTUAL REALITY • Computer games can really suck you in, but virtual reality (VR) makes them feel almost real. And new tech means VR’s still getting better.

RUN OFF • SOMETIMES THE BEST WAY TO FIGURE SOMETHING OUT IS TO GRAB A SCRAP OF PAPER AND DO A QUICK CALCULATION. SCIENTISTS CALL THESE ’BACK OF THE ENVELOPE’ CALCULATIONS. GET YOUR ENVELOPE READY!

WHAT’S YOUR QUESTION? • Got a weird and wonderful question about science, technology, engineering or maths? If you don’t know who to ask, let us help you out! We’ll find answers to the best questions...