Financial News

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Vast majority of borrowers elected not to take February cash rate cut

Customers at three of the country’s biggest banks overwhelmingly decided not to reduce their home…

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Annual inflation rises to 3.8 per cent, up from 3.6 per cent at start of the year

Australia’s annual rate of inflation has risen to 3.8 per cent, up from 3.6 per…

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ASX 200 up 0.9 per cent in early trade after a solid lead from Wall Street

A renewed appetite for risk from US investors drove all Wall Street’s key indices higher…

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‘Astounding’ revelation about Australian mint amid cashless push: ‘This is crazy’

The cashless revolution has taken over many parts of Australia and it’s even hit The Perth Mint. The tourist…

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Australian Inflation Rate: RBA ‘Watching’ CPI Risks

May 8: Bank Holds Cash Rate Steady, But Eyeing Inflation Threats In a move that…

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Education News

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Australian families spend far more on private schooling than many other countries

If you feel like you’re paying a lot for your child’s private school education, that’s because you probably are. When we look at the international data, […]

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Pymble Ladies’ College recognised as Australian Olympic Pathway School

The Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) has formally recognised Pymble Ladies’ College as an Australian Olympic Pathway School, marking a significant milestone as the first independent […]

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Sydney school locked down after knife incident

Parents are demanding metal detectors be installed after a student allegedly pulled a knife on a teacher at a Western Sydney school. Chifley College Dunheved […]

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Nearly 80% of Australian students say they ‘didn’t fully try’ in latest Pisa tests

More than three-quarters of Australian students say they didn’t fully try in the latest Pisa tests, unpublished data reveals, calling into question the real source […]

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Popular News

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Daceat selvage squid thundercats viral squid

Within spread beside the ouch sulky and this wonderfully and as the well and where…

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NetApp partners with NVIDIA to boost AI data storage in Australia

NetApp has entered a strategic partnership with NVIDIA to support the NVIDIA AI Data Platform…

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Education Perfect launches live maths progress tool to aid teachers

Education Perfect has launched a new assessment-led Mathematics solution aimed at enhancing mathematics education across…

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Victorians promised no new or raised taxes in today’s state budget

Victorians are being promised no new or higher taxes in today’s state budget, with the…

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NSW education department caught unaware after Microsoft Teams began collecting students’ biometric data

Biometric data was collected from school students using Microsoft Teams for weeks before the NSW…

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Collective News

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Business News

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Under proposed rules, the tobacco sector will be subject to stricter regulations within two years.

Health warnings on individual cigarettes and new graphic images on cigarette packets are among the…

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Australia economy slows in Q4 as inflation squeezes consumers

Australia’s economy grew at its weakest pace in a year last quarter as strength in…

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Australia’s annual inflation hits 7.8% partly driven by surging electricity prices

Inflation in Australia reached 7.8% in the year to December, in what economists and the…

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Volcano near Iceland’s main airport

Montes, esse hendrerit erat. Minima dolorem dolore, id repellendus repellendus etiam ultrices tellus voluptates ac…

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Global News

Australia’s X-rated underwater show

每年,南澳大利亚小镇怀阿拉都会迎来最壮观的水下事件之一:巨型澳大利亚乌贼的产卵。 “第一次潜入水下,看到这么小一片区域里有成百上千的乌贼,简直就像一个混乱的万花筒。这到底是怎么回事?”托尼·布拉姆利问道。 作为怀阿拉潜水服务公司的老板  ,以及数十年来澳大利亚巨型乌贼的倡导者,布拉姆利多年来一直观察着南澳大利亚 上斯宾塞海湾公园里乌贼疯狂交配的景象,这种景象色彩缤纷 。这种海洋奇观曾经只吸引渔民和当地潜水员——他们会互相传话“乌贼来了”——如今却吸引了来自世界各地的游客和研究人员。这对南澳大利亚艾尔半岛上的钢铁小镇怀阿拉来说是一个可喜的推动。 乌贼是一种与章鱼关系密切的海洋无脊椎动物,是一种极其聪明的软体动物,能够瞬间改变颜色和纹理。它们以 解谜而闻名,还能通过将身体变成闪光灯来催眠猎物,快速地在皮肤上闪烁颜色,分散猎物的注意力并使其晕眩,从而迷惑毫无戒心的螃蟹或鱼类。它们的伪装技能甚至让变色龙汗颜,甚至引起了 美国军方的关注,他们研究了乌贼的变色能力,希望将其技术复制到军队中。如果这还不够奇特的话,它们的交配行为至少可以说相当奇怪。 每年五月到九月,数十万只澳大利亚巨型乌贼聚集在斯宾塞湾上游洛利角附近的海域,唯一的目的就是交配。欢迎来到大自然最绚丽的水下性爱秀。 南澳大利亚旅游委员会 每年都有大量的澳大利亚巨型乌贼前往洛利角交配(图片来源:南澳大利亚旅游委员会) 世界上最大的乌贼遍布澳大利亚南部水域,但只有在怀阿拉,它们才会大量聚集交配。“2020年繁殖聚集的乌贼数量估计为24.7万只,创历史新高,”著名乌贼研究员、阿德莱德大学生物科学学院院长布朗温·M·吉兰德斯教授说道。“这个数字是报告出来的,但我们知道它可能被低估了。” 据吉兰德斯介绍,怀阿拉因其独特的海洋景观而吸引着乌贼,斯宾塞湾上游拥有大量的岩架,雌乌贼会利用这些岩架产卵。虽然乌贼的交配地点在其他地方,但斯宾塞湾是地球上已知最大的乌贼聚集地 ——世界上没有其他地方能让游泳者观察到如此壮观而奇特的集体交配行为,包括脉动的颜色变化和雄性伪装成雌性的现象。 没人说找到伴侣很容易——而这些乌贼都是单身,随时准备交配——但首先,这些不寻常的生物需要来到这里。布拉姆利解释说,一些乌贼已经被标记,这表明有些乌贼至少从镇南65公里处游过来,有些则从镇北35公里处游过来,来到斯宾塞湾上游的繁殖地。 抵达怀阿拉后,无论是浮潜者还是潜水员,都很容易观察到乌贼,这些头足类动物生活在离岸边仅2-6米深的水域中。虽然水面平静,但并不温暖。“你得好好穿点衣服,”布拉姆利笑着说。海水温度徘徊在10-16摄氏度左右,我准备了厚厚的潜水服、头套、手套和短靴。即便如此,寒意还是像砖头一样袭来——但一旦进入水中,我就拥有了一张城里最精彩表演的前排门票。 巨型澳大利亚乌贼是澳大利亚南部沿海水域的特有物种(图片来源:克里斯·贝尔) 等我的眼睛适应了水下环境,才意识到自己被乌贼包围了——它们似乎一点也不介意人类注视它们最亲密的时刻。紫色、橙色、青绿色和粉色的彩虹般色彩斑斓,到处都是触手,我花了好一会儿才弄清楚这头足类动物的前戏,毕竟乌贼的触手上可是有不少交配技巧的。 在雄性数量可能达到雌性十倍的环境中,基因传递的竞争异常激烈。在大多数物种中,体型至关重要:体型庞大、攻击性强的雄性会与对手搏斗,以赢得交配的机会。这种情况在乌贼中也常见,体型较大的雄性会在雌性面前互相搏斗,争夺主导地位。 他们发现,如果你想给爱人留下深刻印象,你需要跳出固有思维模式 对于其他物种来说,这意味着体型较小的雄性会错失良机。但乌贼与其他动物不同。它们明白,想要给爱人留下深刻印象,就需要打破常规。 康涅狄格大学的鱿鱼生物学家莎拉·麦克阿努蒂解释说:“体型较小的雄性鱿鱼面临着一个难题,因为它们知道自己赢不了体型更大的雄性鱿鱼。它们想出了另一种方法——伪装成雌性,以完全避免战斗。” 在所有物种中,或许最令人着迷的交配行为莫过于体型较小的雄性会褪去半透明的体色,变成雌性斑驳的栗色和白色,然后将蓬松的触手缩进身体里。这让它们看起来像雌性。当体格魁梧的雄性忙于争斗,让潜在的伴侣毫无防备时,这些布拉姆利亲切地称之为“小偷”的家伙便会从它们身边飞奔而过,接近雌性,然后迅速变回雄性体色。这无疑是聪明的劣势一方的胜利。 直到 21 世纪初,大规模产卵才成为一种鲜为人知的海洋现象(图片来源:Carl Charter) 如果乌贼决定交配,接下来那尴尬的头对头场面可能会让你怀疑它是不是从成人电影里学来的。在触手缠绕的扭动中,乌贼会将精液射入雌乌贼的嘴里,雄性乌贼会用一种特殊设计的腕状体——交接腕——将精液射入雌乌贼的嘴里。雌乌贼会保留精液,直到准备好产卵。 这是对“把鸡蛋都放在一个篮子里”的终极反驳 雌性海马会与多只雄性海马交配,并可以使用不同的精子混合物产卵。“这彻底驳斥了‘把所有鸡蛋都放在一个篮子里’的观念,”麦克安努蒂说。 […]