9 October: bogong bomb: fire alarm set off by bogong moths after they flew in the path of a laser beam at Parliament House in Canberra

A Fire alarm at Parliament House in Canberra yesterday may have been set off by bogong moths alter they flew in the path of a laser beam, reported The Daily Telegraph (10/10/2007, p.3).

Jury of 15 to sit on trial of nine men caught in Australia’s biggest anti-terrorism sweep: conspiring “to do acts in preparation of a terrorist act”

NSW was expected to pass legislation allowing an expanded jury of 15 to sit on the trial of nine men caught in Australia’s biggest anti-terrorism sweep, wrote Michael Pelly in The Australian (24/9/2007, p.3).

Businesses should abandon person-to-person email for their own legal protection, management expert warns

Businesses should abandon person-to-person email for their own legal protection, according to a global information management specialist, reported The Age (10/9/2007, p.B1).

New theory explains strange events during 2003 Canberra fires: changes in pressure create shock waves, lead to explosions

The Canberra firestorm that ravaged Australia’s capital in January 2003 surprised everyone, reported New Scientist (4/8/2007, p38).

Analysis of “metabolism” of cities shows big cities just get richer; rich cities get bigger; and superlinear boom followed by a bust

With help from their collaborators at Arizona State University, Tempe, and Dresden University of Technology in Germany, West and Bettencourt tracked down all sorts of information about the “metabolism” of cities, including the number of gasoline stations and laundries, electrical power usage and the total wages earned. Their database, assembled with the aid of the internet from hundreds of cities across the US, Europe and China, is the first important outcome of the project. It was reported in Proceedings of the National Academy Of Sciences, vol104, P 7301