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Official page for the Faculty of Science, The University of Melbourne

Here you will find the latest science happenings at the University of Melbourne, in Australia and around the world. You can also follow us on:
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University of Melbourne CRICOS code: 00116K

02/06/2026

How does the sausage get made? 🤔 To find out, we visited a Food Processing & Preservation (FOOD30007) sausage-making class practical and asked Bachelor of Science students Gabriella and Sitan.

Unfortunately we don't have Smell-o-vision yet, but we here at SciMelb can verify that the student-made sausages smelled delicious 🌭

Tap to learn more about majoring in Food Science in the Bachelor of Science ➡️ https://unimelb.me/4voM6d2

01/06/2026

Using mathematical modelling, UniMelb researchers have been tracking currents around the Great Barrier Reef 🌊 Tiny hair-like structures on corals, called cilia, generate currents to exchange oxygen and nutrients between corals and the water. But researchers also found that warming ocean temperatures disrupt the cilia's movements and can cause the coral to die off - shedding more light on our knowledge of coral bleaching.

Tap to learn more from lead researcher Associate Professor Douglas Brumley from the School of Mathematics and Statistics in Pursuit ➡️ https://unimelb.me/4e0ePOh

29/05/2026

1 in 4 Australians have gut issues, and almost 900 of them tuned in for our Science at Melbourne Conversation on gut health.

UniMelb academics across food science, data analysis and gastroenterology shared their expertise (did you know that our bodies are full of bugs?), the struggles of collecting data (can you answer honestly how much chocolate have you eaten?), and the link between gut health, stress, sleep and environment.

Plus, we learned about their exciting new research on biofortified food, a future where celiacs might be able to eat gluten, and gut health diagnosis could be less invasive.

Thank you to our panellists Professor Jessica Biesiekierski, Professor Alex Johnson, Professor Kim-Anh Le Cao and Professor Jason Tye-Din, our moderator Professor Chibuike Udenigwe and to all of you for coming along 👏

Our next Science at Melbourne Conversation is on during the Science Festival. Keep an eye out on our socials and website for more details.

Tap to watch the lecture recording ⏯️ https://unimelb.me/4uAt434

26/05/2026

Plane trees - do you love 'em or hate 'em? What should we do with them? We asked urban horticulture expert Dr Mohammad Rahman and urban landscape ecologist Dr Marie Dade for their expert perspective on these pretty, but pesky trees.

Dr Rahman and Dr Dade both spoke at an earlier Science at Melbourne Conversation this year on liveable cities. Tap to watch the full lecture ➡️ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhy7GFmL5zM

22/05/2026

Being a maths student can be an emotional rollercoaster!

Thanks MUMS - Melbourne Uni Maths and Stats Society for the hee-hees.

Tap to learn more about the School of Mathematics and Statistics ➡️ https://ms.unimelb.edu.au/

20/05/2026

We had sooo many questions at our last Science at Melbourne Conversation on Liveable Cities that we didn't have time to answer, so we asked some of the burning question to our panellists Professor Ilhan Wiesal, Dr Marie Dade and Dr Mohammad Rahman afterwards: What is a happy city? Why doesn't Melbourne rate as well on the happiness scale? And what other cities are doing greening well? 🌳

Check out past lecture recordings and keep up to date on the Science at Melbourne Conversations series here ➡️ https://unimelb.me/42crlEw

15/05/2026

There's something in the water - a rakali! Voted ABC Science's Most Underrated Animal of 2025, rakali are furry native Australian animals that live amongst us in creeks, rivers and beaches. Have you seen one? 👀

Dr Kylie Soanes from the School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences and Pursuit's next Map of the Month will show where to spot these super-swimmers - but we need your help. Email your rakali sightings to [email protected] or DM Dr Kylie Soanes on Instagram at .

Creative Commons image credits: David Cook, Glaubradu, Ed Dunen

14/05/2026

Meet Priya, Master of Biotechnology student 👋 We met her as she was visiting the new MBERS teaching lab in Old Microbiology.

Priya's interest in science began in high school. "There was this really interesting fact that one of my biology teachers told me that our body contains more microbes, like more than 90% of of the cells on our body are microbes than human cells. And that's what got got me into studying microbiology," she says.

When someone close to her had endometriosis, Priya set her sights on biotechnology.

💬 "That sort of really made me realise how much healthcare disparities we have and how there are a lack of competent therapeutics and that sort of really got me into research translation - like what are the steps involved in bringing a product from the bench to the bedside?"

"That's exactly what the Master of Biotech has to offer, and that's why I chose this course."

The variety of subjects and experience with industry appealed to Priya. "You get to learn about the technical aspects of biotech as well as the more business side of things," she says.

💬 "Most of our core subjects revolve around the commercialisation of science and all the steps involved in it, and then you can choose electives based on your interest."

Priya came to Melbourne from India. "As as an international student, when you come to uni, one thing that really, really stresses you out is: how do I make friends?" she says.

So she dove into the many student opportunities available in Science - she became a Science student ambassador and joined the Women in Science and Engineering club, eventually becoming the President.

💬 "Through that, I got to make a lot of friends with the other ambassadors. I got to know a lot of people there and it really helped me build the confidence that I thought I didn't have.

"Those two years were really meaningful because through that I got to meet so many wonderful people in STEM, especially some of them got to be my mentors later on in life."

Tap to learn more about our specialist graduate degrees in science ➡️ https://unimelb.me/4tq3AFq

13/05/2026

All around the world, one of the first signs of summer is the evening song of the cricket 🦗But the song is more than a familiar sound; it is also a signal of a healthy ecosystem.

As part of the Venice Biennale arts festival, 'The Song of the Cricket' reintroduced the Adriatic Marbled Bush-Cricket to Venice lagoons via floating habitats, creating both art an installation and ecological experiment, offering a new model for conservation, where art, design and science work together to restore ecological relationships.

This project, led by Melbourne School of Design, involves an interdisciplinary team from Faculty of Engineering & Information Technology, Science and Fine Arts and Music at Melbourne - VCA & Conservatorium, and is one of five worldwide to be shortlisted for the Architizer A+Awards Popular Choice Vote in this category.

Our science academics Professor Michael-Shawn Fletcher, Professor Ary Hoffman, Professor Theresa Jones and Professor Michael Kearney contributed to this project.

Tap to learn more ➡️ https://unimelb.me/4d6CHAA

12/05/2026

Meet Associate Professor Marcy Robertson from the School of Mathematics and Statistics 👋 Although she is an algebraic topology whiz, Australian Research Council Future Fellow and educator, Marcy wasn't originally interested in maths in her youth. But after trying a few different things from art to astrophysics, Marcy found her calling studying mathematics.

"The challenge is part of the joy of it," Marcy says. "Maths is solving puzzles, and hard puzzles are more rewarding to solve. If you go to an escape room and you're done in five minutes, then you feel like you've wasted your money, right?" 🧩

Tap to learn more ➡️ https://unimelb.me/4u6PUPS

This story was written to celebrate International Women in Maths Day. Who are you celebrating today?

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