Tiny ‘desert’ fish found only in Australia narrowly avoids extinction
With scoops made from milk bottles, volunteers have been working tirelessly to save the red-fin blue-eye, found nowhere else in the world, from extinction.
Google wants to release 16 million sterile mozzies. Our Australian tests offer a valuable lesson
In the United States, Google’s (now Alphabet) Debug initiative has asked the federal government for permission to release up to 32 million sterilised male mosquitoes in California and Florida.
Male mosquitoes don’t bite or carry disease. The hope is these millions of male mosquitoes will mate with disease-carrying females, the eggs won’t hatch, and mosquito numbers will fall.
Unsurpringly, the US public has questions about the plan, including whether the release is safe and will work at scale, and what happens afterwards. Google/Alphabet’s plan is to release more than 16 million mozzies each year, for two years.
More than a decade ago, I led a project with Google’s life sciences division, (now known as Verily), to test a novel mosquito-control strategy in far north Queensland.
The results showed releasing specially bred male mosquitoes can dramatically suppress populations of the exotic, invasive mosquito species Aedes aegypti. This species is responsible for spreading deadly diseases such as dengue, Zika, chikungunya and yellow fever. Given the US is seriously considering this approach, our Australian experience offers important lessons.
Using mosquitoes against themselves
This story begins in 2015, when we travelled to Silicon Valley to meet Verily scientists interested in developing a mosquito suppression technology. Their goals aligned closely with our own research, supported by an Australian National Health and Medical Research Council grant, to develop environmentally friendly tools for suppressing invasive mosquitoes.
The strategy focuses on male mosquitoes because they don’t bite, and female Aedes aegypti, which generally only mate once during their lifetime. If that mating event was incompatible – meaning the embryos don’t develop – it could not produce viable offspring. Our challenge was to make mating ineffective.
The approach we ultimately tested relied on Wolbachia, a naturally occurring bacterium found in many insects. Some Wolbachia strains create a form of reproductive incompatibility, as described above.
The theory is simple: release enough Wolbachia-carrying males into a population and, over time, the population declines. The released males are also beautifully evolved to search and find the last females – their large bushy antennae are super-radars for this job.
North Queensland the perfect laboratory
The Cassowary Coast in north Queensland provided ideal conditions for a large-scale trial of this approach. The region contained towns with abundant Aedes aegypti populations, while surrounding agricultural areas limited movement between communities. Equally important was the support of residents, local government and First Nations leaders.
Aedes aegypti likely arrived in Queensland in the late 1800s. It is distinct from our native mosquitoes because it is highly domesticated and feeds mainly on humans.
Before a single mosquito was released, the project team spent two years conducting field surveys and engaging with communities. We met with households, community organisations, First Nations leaders and local councils to discuss the technology and answer questions. The project, known as “Debug Innisfail”, ultimately received regulatory approval from multiple authorities.
Releasing three million male mosquitoes
Field surveys began in 2015, involving a collaborative team spanning Australian and US institutions. During a 20-week release period in 2018, around three million Wolbachia-carrying male mosquitoes were released into three treatment towns. Meanwhile, control towns where no mosquitoes were released were monitored.
The release system itself reflected Verily’s engineering strengths. The company developed bespoke technologies, including machine-learning-based systems capable of separating male and female mosquitoes, crucial to ensuring only males were released.
The results were striking: when compared with control towns, mosquito populations in towns where mosquitoes were released began declining within four weeks. The findings, published in 2021, demonstrated incompatible male mosquito releases could achieve strong suppression.
In two treatment towns, suppression effects persisted into the following year. In one town, monitoring detected only a handful of Aedes aegypti 12 months later, corresponding to roughly 95% suppression.
What this means for the US
The Australian trials provide evidence-based answers to many of the concerns now being raised in the US.
First, ecological impacts are likely to be very small. Aedes aegypti is an invasive species in Australia and many other countries. Because it exclusively lives around humans and bites them, removing it from urban environments has minimal ecological consequences.
Second, the approach can work at scale. Although adult mosquitoes survive for only a few days, continuous releases of highly competitive males can substantially reduce populations across entire towns.
Third, benefits may persist after releases finish. This is because the suppression outcome does not necessarily disappear straight away, and can carry over into subsequent seasons. But that doesn’t mean mosquito biology can be ignored – success depends on factors such as local ecology, mosquito movement patterns, and community participation. The technology alone is not enough.
A model for future mosquito control
Perhaps the most important lesson from the trials is the value of collaboration. This project brought together researchers from six universities and Verily. Combining scientific expertise with industrial-scale engineering accelerated the journey from laboratory concept to real-world field trial in an incredibly short time.
We are still working towards biological and mechanical approaches to efficiently separating male mosquitoes, which would have better utility in developing countries.
As Aedes aegypti expands its range and insecticides fail to suppress it, using the mosquito against itself as the biological control tool will become increasingly important.
The Queensland trials helped lay the groundwork for programs now underway in the US. And they are a reminder that when science, technology and communities work together, it is possible to solve problems that matter.
Nigel Beebe receives funding from The National Health and Medical Research Council and the Gates Foundation.
Chinese companies are taking over the EV market. What’s behind their meteoric rise?
If producing electric vehicles (EVs) was an Olympic sport, China would be dominating the medals podium.
China now leads the world in the sale and export of EVs, a term encompassing everything from battery-powered cars to plug-in hybrids. Chinese companies also produce the lion’s share of the rechargeable batteries that keep EVs running.
Between 2009 and 2022, the Chinese government dished out more than A$41 billion in subsidies and tax benefits to boost the production of electric cars, taxis and buses.
But subsidies alone can’t explain the meteoric rise of China’s EV industry. Over two decades, Beijing has built a manufacturing sector that fosters domestic competition, rapid production and company-level innovation.
The rise of Chinese EVs
By producing more EVs, China aims to reduce its reliance on imported oil from countries such as Iran, Russia and Venezuela. It also hopes to leapfrog countries that historically have dominated the global car manufacturing industry, including Germany, Japan and the US. In September 2020, the Chinese government folded these objectives into a national decarbonisation strategy.
In 2025, more than half of the new cars sold in China were EVs. And Chinese-made vehicles are gaining traction around the world. In the United Kingdom, more than 30% of the new cars sold in 2025 were EVs. In Norway, EV sales surged to represent more than 95% of the country’s total car sales in 2025.
But they are proving less popular in the United States, with EV sales sitting at just 10%. That’s even despite the US walling out Chinese EVs through tariffs.
Australia has also been slow to adopt Chinese-made EVs. But our market reached a tipping point in June 2026, when EVs made up close to 30% of new car sales.
Crucially, Chinese-made vehicles are no longer marginal. In 2026, China overtook Japan – the market leader over nearly three decades – as Australia’s primary source of new vehicles. Affordable models, rising fuel prices, an expanding charging network and the New Vehicle Efficiency Standard all accelerated this shift.
Tesla still sells the most pure battery EVs in Australia, holding 28% of the market. However, Chinese brands such as BYD, Geely and XPeng have gone from being fringe players to mainstream companies. BYD is a prime example, chasing Tesla with its 24% share of the Australian market.
Read more: 20 years ago, China bet big on electric vehicles. Now Western carmakers are feeling the pain
Survival of the fittest
These companies didn’t achieve success overnight. They spent years competing, failing and innovating in an often brutal domestic market.
At the height of China’s EV boom, more than 500 companies rushed into the EV sector. They were driven by cheap capital, local government backing and start-up enthusiasm.
Most did not survive.
As subsidies were wound back and purchase incentives became less generous, roughly 90% of early movers were squeezed out. So the state created the early market, but the market then ruthlessly punished weak players.
To stay afloat, companies had to adapt. Here are three examples.
Geely/Zeekr
Legacy brand Geely began as a refrigerator parts maker. But in 1994, it pivoted to produce motorcycles and China’s first domestically built scooters. It entered the automotive industry in 1997. To produce a competitive EV, Geely drew on the international engineering expertise of Volvo to improve on the product of premium global EV brand Zeekr.
Xiaomi
As a latecomer, Xiaomi launched its first EV in 2024. Founded in 2010 as a software start-up, Xiaomi’s first successful product was an Android-like operating system for smartphones. But it soon brought this technology into the world of smart home appliances and EVs.
BYD
BYD started out manufacturing batteries, becoming China’s largest rechargeable battery producer by the early 2000s. But in 2003, BYD made the leap to EVs after acquiring a struggling state-owned carmaker. And in just two decades, BYD has become the vertically integrated titan of the EV world. By controlling its EV supply chain – ranging from power electronics to vehicle platforms and shipping – the company is able to assemble one vehicle every 52 seconds. In 2025, BYD delivered a record 4.5 million cars globally.
China’s hubs of regional expertise ensure individual companies can rapidly move from design to production. One example is the Pearl River Delta, where EV brands can tap into Shenzhen’s electronics prowess and Guangzhou’s long history in car manufacturing.
Read more: China’s ‘innovation machine’: how it works, how it’s changing and why it matters
Feeling the pressure
Despite its promising growth, China’s EV sector is now under strain.
The reasons for this are complex. But a saturated market and eroding profit margins are two key factors.
And domestic demand simply can’t absorb all the EVs China is producing. In the first half of 2026, Chinese car buyers spent nearly 13% less compared to the previous year. That represents the sharpest decline among China’s major consumer goods.
So for China, overseas markets are not just an expansion opportunity. They are a vital pressure valve.
Winning the global EV race requires more than low-cost production. Tariffs, data security, battery standards, charging infrastructure, resale values and consumer trust will ultimately determine if Chinese EV companies become globally-respected brands.
Read more: Chinese electric vehicles are transforming Australia’s car market. Are we getting a good deal?
Where to from here?
For Australia, the rise of China’s EV sector presents a strategic paradox. Without our own car manufacturing industry, we have little economic rationale to impose tariffs that mirror those of the European Union or US.
And relying on Chinese EVs would put the world’s clean energy transition at the mercy of Beijing. However, these vehicles could also help countries such as Australia rapidly reach their transport-emissions targets.
Rather than resisting this shift, countries should bolster their national standards around data security, vehicle safety and battery recycling, and fund more public charging networks. If not, we risk importing thousands of Chinese-made EVs without the knowledge or infrastructure to use them wisely.
Read more: Electric vehicles are built different. Australia needs better data to get the most out of the shift
Marina Yue Zhang does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
‘A public health emergency waiting to occur’: how US industry groups spent years fighting who gets to measure toxic air
Air polluters try to ensure toxic emissions happen far from monitors – but the people who live nearby still feel it
Kimbrelle Kyereh lives just a few hundred feet from the massive chemical storage tanks in St Rose, in south-eastern Louisiana. Oily fumes sometimes drift into her home, bringing headaches, nausea and insomnia. On one such night, she grabbed her son at 3am and fled to an all-night Ihop.
In 2023, after years of coping with the noxious odors, Kyereh began collecting air samples in her yard for a local environmental justice group. But soon after, Louisiana passed an industry-backed law that sharply restricted how that kind of data could be used.
Ten of Louisiana’s heaviest air-polluting facilities, based on self-reported data shared with the EPA, operate without a single public air monitor within five miles.
This list includes Dow Chemical’s plastics factory in Plaquemine, which is about eight miles from the nearest air monitoring station. The station measures only ozone even though the plant releases an array of toxic pollutants including ethylene oxide, a known carcinogen.
No public monitors measure ammonia – despite the fact that CF Industries’ Donaldsonville plant emits more than 7m lb of the hazardous chemical each year, according to EPA data.
The three chemicals that researchers have concluded “together account for the large majority of total cancer risk” in the area – ethylene oxide, chloroprene and formaldehyde – aren’t monitored by the state at all.
‘My shirt was wringing’: National Express bus drivers speak out on 40C conditions
Drivers in West Midlands say buses ‘unbearable’ during heatwaves, raising employee and passenger safety fears
Bus drivers in the West Midlands have spoken out about the “horrendous” working conditions they have experienced during heatwaves, which led to 40C temperatures in their cabs.
The UK was hit by high temperatures and dry weather in three successive heatwaves, with temperatures topping 37C last month when the country recorded its hottest ever June day. Last week, the Met Office warned climate extremes were becoming the “new ‘normal’ for the UK”.