Angus Dalton
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angusdalton.bsky.social
Angus Dalton
@angusdalton.bsky.social
Science reporter at SMH. Get in touch angusdalton@smh.com.au | angusdalton@proton.me 🦎🧬🧪
This is such great news. I was totally crushed when I had to stop giving blood, despite being in a monogamous relationship (one that's still going 11 years later!).

Can't wait to roll up my sleeves - a win for science.

www.smh.com.au/healthcare/b...
Ban lifted: Gay and bisexual men among over 600,000 Australians newly eligible to donate blood
Rules that have effectively banned all sexually active gay and bisexual men from donating blood and plasma will be lifted, in a world-first move that would expand Australia’s donor pool and redress a ...
www.smh.com.au
June 17, 2025 at 11:57 PM
🙏🙏🙏
Thrilled to see the first ever Best Science Journalist award handed to @smritimallapaty.bsky.social and for @angusdalton.bsky.social to grab the Highly Commended. The field was absolutely stacked and there was the slimmest margin between the top 2. Congratulations 🧪👏🎉
March 28, 2025 at 10:51 PM
Off Lizard Island, three side-by-side corals display different responses: one's healthy, one has a sick neon glow, and one's bleached. Could (and should) the polyps surviving in hot waters help buy more time for the Great Barrier Reef?

Full story from the GBR: www.smh.com.au/national/thi...
This is the heartbeat of efforts to save a global icon. Is it too late?
A new generation of scientists are refusing to give up on the Great Barrier Reef.
www.smh.com.au
March 24, 2025 at 5:02 AM
Hello scientists of Bluesky - I'm keen to speak with Australian researchers affected by the Trump administration's impact on science.

If you've received a questionnaire from a US agency, or your work has been affected by cuts or funding freezes to US science orgs, I'd love to hear from you.
March 17, 2025 at 5:46 AM
I’m just back from five days reporting on the ground on Cyclone Alfred in the battered Northern Rivers. Here’s the quote that stood out to me:
March 10, 2025 at 9:11 AM
February 8, 2025 at 7:54 AM
Reposted by Angus Dalton
New from me: Their arms, legs and throats start randomly swelling. Then scientists ‘engineered’ a precision treatment www.theage.com.au/national/vic...
Their arms, legs and throats start randomly swelling. Then scientists ‘engineered’ a precision treatment
The swelling started with almost no warning, then seven-year-old Fiona Wardman’s hand ballooned like a rubber glove hooked to a tap.
www.theage.com.au
January 23, 2025 at 10:58 PM
I sprinted to the Botanic Gardens late last night after hearing they were preparing to pollinate Putricia.

I made it with seconds to spare - here's what it's like to witness the intimate art of corpse flower pollination 🌺

www.smh.com.au/national/nsw...
The night I accidentally became a corpse flower’s bedside manservant
I ran to the Royal Botanic Garden late last night – and accidentally became involved with the stinky, intimate art of Putricia’s pollination.
www.smh.com.au
January 24, 2025 at 1:44 AM
TikTok gym bros told me to eat 180 grams of protein per day. It sucked. Here's why I'm listening to Stella - a baboon - instead. 💪 www.smh.com.au/national/wha...
What Stella the baboon taught me about losing weight and living longer
Baboons eat the perfect diet in the wild. There’s one specific “appetite” that could help humans eat well too.
www.smh.com.au
January 22, 2025 at 5:03 AM
Reposted by Angus Dalton
I talked with @angusdalton.bsky.social at the Sydney Morning Herald about Wednesday's big thunderstorm in Sydney. www.smh.com.au/national/nsw...
73,700 lightning strikes: How the storm that stunned Sydney exploded
Wednesday’s destructive storm was lit up by flashes of lightning, with more than 70,000 strikes recorded within 100 kilometres of the CBD.
www.smh.com.au
January 17, 2025 at 1:19 AM
Reposted by Angus Dalton
When you complain about paywalls, what you are really complaining about is people getting paid for their work. Subscribe (yes please!). Please don't expect work to be available for you for free. Everyone deserves to get paid for work. You. Me. Everyone. Or go to your local library. Awesome places!
January 15, 2025 at 11:07 PM
Reposted by Angus Dalton
New from me and Clay Lucas

Dying woman and ethical doubts spark probe into cannabis cancer ‘cure’

www.theage.com.au/national/dyi...

As always, if you know more, get in touch
Dying woman, ethical doubts spark probe into cancer ‘cure’
A research project on a cannabis cancer cure is under investigation amid allegations over ethical approvals.
www.theage.com.au
January 13, 2025 at 10:57 PM
Reposted by Angus Dalton
“When one prowled across a benchtop, you could hear its footsteps."

Love you, Australia, but FFS
*draws breath, screams* NEW SPECIES OF SYDNEY FUNNEL WEB DISCOVERED!!!

I am obsessed with these big, black, brawny beasts. Read all about how a non-scientist uncovered this new species - and why the world's most dangerous spider just got deadlier 🕷️

www.smh.com.au/national/nsw...
A new species of Sydney funnel web has been discovered – and it’s a monster
The world’s most dangerous spider just got deadlier. And they’re on the move, with a baby already bitten this season.
www.smh.com.au
January 13, 2025 at 6:25 AM
*draws breath, screams* NEW SPECIES OF SYDNEY FUNNEL WEB DISCOVERED!!!

I am obsessed with these big, black, brawny beasts. Read all about how a non-scientist uncovered this new species - and why the world's most dangerous spider just got deadlier 🕷️

www.smh.com.au/national/nsw...
A new species of Sydney funnel web has been discovered – and it’s a monster
The world’s most dangerous spider just got deadlier. And they’re on the move, with a baby already bitten this season.
www.smh.com.au
January 13, 2025 at 5:40 AM
There's so much that's extraordinary about the LA fires. They're raging as news hit the world surpassed 1.5C of warming last year, the hottest on record, which was added to the climate stripes with a new shade of red so dark it's almost black.
January 12, 2025 at 4:00 AM
It's our last Examine science newsletter/column for the year and what an ~extremely~ cool and beautifully written story @liammannix.bsky.social has for us. Check it out + sign up to the newsletter for free science reportage in your inbox next year! ☄️💎

www.theage.com.au/national/vic...
A Melbourne meteorite reveals an exotic new mineral hiding in plain sight
Hundreds of thousands of visitors have walked past the chunk of ancient space rock that has been on display at the Melbourne Museum for years. Then several small patches of green caught a scientist’s ...
www.theage.com.au
December 17, 2024 at 9:36 PM
*bangs pots and pans together* SOUTHERLY BUSTER COMING! 🌬️

Here's why the dramatic gusts are getting more common - but feel like they've gone on hiatus:
www.smh.com.au/national/nsw...
Sydney’s relieving southerly buster may be running out of puff
Desperate for a cool change? New analysis shows Sydneysiders should change their expectations of the city’s defining weather event.
www.smh.com.au
December 17, 2024 at 4:52 AM
Fluoro-red mosquitoes are headed for Australia to help repel dengue - and you could be hatching them.

Here's how gene engineering - inspired by DNA from coral, E.Coli, herpes, moths and fruit flies - could slash invasive mozzie numbers 🦟

www.smh.com.au/national/the...
The fluorescent red mozzies that could protect us from other blood-hungry biters
Floods and heatwaves are fanning a spike in mosquito-borne disease with one aggressive species threatening to invade Australia.
www.smh.com.au
December 10, 2024 at 3:55 AM
Reposted by Angus Dalton
What attracts mosquitoes? How to know if you’re a magnet - thanks for this @angusdalton.bsky.social and @mozziebites.bsky.social
😊🦟
www.theage.com.au/national/nsw...
The colours you should avoid wearing if you’re a mosquito magnet
Why do mosquitoes terrorise some people and spare others? As mosquito season begins, it could be down to your outfit.
www.theage.com.au
December 5, 2024 at 1:24 AM