Queensland researchers are planning to collect 20,000 saliva samples from adults to help determine what role genes play in skin cancer.

Scientists are seeking recruits from a broad range of Australians living in every state and territory, who have had the disease, never had it and who have different skin types. 

400,000 Australians seek treatment every year for skin cancer.

Two Sunshine Coast mushroom growers are crowdfunding in order to expand their business.

Katrina Atkinson and Daniel Tibbet grow shiitake, oyster and lion's mane mushrooms for their business, Mountaintop Mushrooms.

As they each work two part-time jobs on top of their business, they are relying on the sale of mushroom kits, shiitake logs, training sessions and crowdfunding to meet their goal of doubling their production to 50 kilograms a week.

Image: Mountaintop Mushrooms

Youth bail houses, built to keep children out of youth detention centres, are costing Queensland taxpayers around $2,600 a day per child. 

The independent evaluation of the Queensland Government's Supervised Community Accommodation program found that the bail houses are not effective.

Few children elect to stay in the houses, the overcrowding in youth detention centres is not effectively being alleviated, and hundreds of incidents described as “critical” by the report have occurred.

A Queensland study has revealed that a growing demand for ethanol biofuel could increase sugarcane farmland in Brazil by 5 million hectares.

University of Queensland School of Earth and Environmental Sciences researcher Milton Aurelio Uba de Andrade Junior says that future biofuel demand would directly impact land use, with predictions of a twofold increase in demand of ethanol by 2030.

The sugarcane land is likely to expand primarily into pasturelands, with little effect on native rainforests.

Leader of the Islamic State has released a new recording calling on members of the extremist group to free Muslim women and IS detainees held in camps and jails.

The leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, says in the recording that militants should target judges and interrogators questioning IS members.

The 30-minute recording was released by the media arm of the group, and is the first public statement the group has made since April.

The proposed extension of the Brisbane Metro out to the Brisbane Airport has been delayed by a request by the state to relocate one of the planned stations. 

While the council works on redesigning the station, Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner says that he will wait to release the predicted cost.

The budget had been set at 944 million dollars, but this will be blown out with the delays, still in force after being announced two months ago.

A fire has broken out at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation building in Hobart.

The blaze began at around 8:15am this morning, and four firefighter crews are now at the scene.

A HAZMAT crew, responsible for protecting the community from hazardous materials, are on their way to the fire.

Proposed changes to the law will see that Queenslanders who leave their dog in the car could face jail time and large fines.

The state government wants to amend existing laws to make it clear that leaving a dog in a car that could get too hot is an offence.

The changes would mean that people would be charged with animal cruelty in cases where animals are harmed or when people are breaching their duty of care - even when no heat stress has actually suffered.

Fire authorities are warning thunderstorms with the risk of lightning strikes might spark new fires through the Darling Downs this afternoon.

Wind gusts of up to 100 kilometres per hour are expected to fan existing fires, and lightning strikes could set tinder-dry grazing land alight.

Queensland Fire and Emergency Services Assistant Commissioner John Bolger says crews are “well set up” for the expected conditions.

School strikes are planned in 120 countries across the world to demand action on the climate crisis.

The strikes will ensue on Friday 20 September, days before the United Nations climate summit in the US.

1.5 million activists marched in a similar global day of action earlier this year, but the cause has gained considerable support from unions, workers and companies since.

Students in almost 100 locations across Australia are set to participate on Friday.