The Science Show Podcast
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RN's science flagship: your essential source of what's making news in the complex world of scientific research, scandal and discovery. The Science Show with Robyn Williams is one of the longest running programs on Australian radio.
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http://www.abc.net.au/rn/science/ss/
Science Show - 2008-11-29
Author: ABC Radio National
Sat, Nov 29, 2008
University enrolments in IT halve in Australia
John Harvey says while information technology is ubiquitous its role in industry is not widely appreciated. Unlike law and medicine, education in IT can be used for employment anywhere in the world.
Traditional Indian farming encourages biodiversity
Tropical forests used to cover large parts of India, especially along the Malabar Coast in Karnataka State. Modern tropical agriculture doesn´t support biodiversity. The human population is predicted to grow to 9 or 10 billion people. So how can food be supplied while maintaining biological life support systems? Gretchen Daily counted birds and found abundance and richness in the Indian countryside, despite dense human population. The secret is complexity to farming rather than monocultures; for example, high palms with lower understorey crops.
Conserving Peru´s coastal forests
Prosopis pallida or Huarango is a very useful plant. In the dry forests of southern coastal Peru it provides food and forage for many people. Now it is being chopped for charcoal for cooking and the forests are threatened. Only a few tens of hectares of native Huarango forest remain and much of the landscape now resembles a moonscape. Oliver Whaley is part of a team from Kew Gardens assisting local people to conserve their forests.
Tribute to Michael Crichton - science in the media
Michael Crichton was a doctor who went on to make movies including Jurassic Park. Michael Crichton died November 4, 2008. By way of a tribute, we present an excerpt from an address he made at the American Association for the Advancement of Science meeting in 1999 where he discusses the challenge of having scientists presenting science to the public and the media.
Darwin year - 2009
2009 marks 200 years since the birth of Charles Darwin and 150 years since the publication of The Origin of Species. Philip Batterham describes the significance of Darwin´s work, and why so much effort is being put into celebrating Darwin´s life and achievements.
The fragile internet and celebrating Milton at Christ´s College
The internet is carrying the information for more and more of society´s critical infrastructure but the network is always on the verge of breaking down. Frank Kelly is investigating internet routing whereby multiple routes are used for backup in case of failure. 2008 is the 400th anniversary of poet John Milton´s birth and this will be celebrated at Christ´s College.
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Science Show - 2008-11-22
Author: ABC Radio National
Sat, Nov 22, 2008
Supernovae and the fusing of elements
Researchers at The University of Sydney have discovered an extremely young supernova, the corpse of a star that exploded around 1,000 years ago. Supernovae are the result of stars like our sun exploding at the end of their life. When they do, light is emitted equivalent to half a trillion stars. The last supernova in our galaxy was in 1604. Records exist of an extremely bright sky at that time. But it's a mystery as to why we've not seen one since. All elements heavier than iron were made in supernovae. Bryan Gaensler describes the fusing of elements in the centre of stars and how at a certain point, a catastrophic explosion results.
The Royal Observatory
The Royal Observatory was important as British established itself as a maritime nation; the stars were used for navigation. The zero meridian of longitude which signifies Greenwich Mean Time is the zero point for time all over the world. It runs through the Royal Observatory Greenwich. Marek Kukula takes Robyn Williams on a tour of the grounds of the Royal Observatory. These days astronomy isn´t done in Greenwich due to the poor weather and light from the city of London. The observatory isn´t used as a working observatory, now it´s a museum and science centre.
Paintings to bridge the arts and science
Nicola Sasanelli has produced a book with prints of 10 paintings to celebrate the achievements of famous scientists. Sasanelli is one of 26 scientific attachés serving in Italian embassies worldwide to promote scientific research. Profits from the book are used for scholarships. The ten canvas oil paintings are now permanently displayed at NICTA, the National Information Communication Technology Centre of Excellence in Canberra. Rob Morrison reports.
Diary of a maths olympiad team leader - part 3 of 3
Geoff Smith has led the United Kingdom´s team in the International Maths Olympiad since 2002. He gives insight into the organisation behind a Maths Olympiad.
Bacteria used to treat skin tumours
An American surgeon, William Coley (1862-1936) found patients with fever or bacterial infection would lose their skin tumours. He suspected the tumours were susceptible to immune activation. Later he inoculated these patients with bacteria and noticed some remarkable results. The tumours are destroyed in a bystander effect. This research was not pursued as chemotherapy developed. Now, the idea has again gained attention. The thought is you can excite the immune system by introducing bacteria and have it attack a tumour.
Grooming - good for health and good for feeling good
Primates spend a lot of time grooming. Francis McGlone is investigating whether why grooming behaviour makes us feel good. Imaging is used to look inside the brain to see response to stroking, as speed and force vary. Grooming releases endorphins. Grooming activity is rewarding and it´s good for you, influencing mood. Touch is an important experience for developing brains and ultimately social wellbeing. There may be a relationship between tactile history and depression. Francis McGlone is fascinated by why scratching and itching should be so rewarding!
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Science Show - 2008-11-15
Author: ABC Radio National
Sat, Nov 15, 2008
Daylight saving and energy consumption
Nicky Phillips reports on the results of a United States survey on changes in energy consumption as daylight saving is introduced.
Worms help remediate soils
Earthworms can eat thirty times their body weight of soil each day. Metals in the soil are taken in and change in form, often becoming inert. Mark Hodson is investigating the use of earthworms to help remediate sites degraded by metal contamination.
Carbon dioxide in New Zealand waters
The waters around New Zealand are cold, and carbon dioxide dissolves in cold water more readily than warm water. This raises the acidity of the water and affects organisms that build shells. The impacts of ocean acidification are expected to be very pronounced around New Zealand.
Guerilla gardening
Ruth Beran meets an inner city couple who´ve transformed their nature strip into a market garden.
Tribute to Michael Crichton
Michael Crichton was a doctor who went on to make movies including Jurassic Park. Michael Crichton died this week, November 4, 2008. By way of a tribute, we present an excerpt from an address he made at the American Association for the Advancement of Science meeting in 1999.
Diary of a maths olympiad team leader - part 2 of 3
Geoff Smith has led the United Kingdom´s team in the International Maths Olympiad since 2002. He gives insight into the organisation behind a maths olympiad and the challenges in running the competition.
Sports research
Anthony Bull is bringing physics and engineering to sports including rowing, cricket, rugby and cycling. The aim is to increase endurance and minimise injury by studying the sportsperson´s movement and motion.
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Science Show - 2008-11-08
Author: ABC Radio National
Sat, Nov 08, 2008
Science in the United States as Barack Obama is elected President
Excerpts from the Horizon television documentary The President´s Guide to Science, plus comments from Freeman Dyson and Paul Ehrlich.
The fat gene
In the past 10 years, people have become heavier. Carrying more weight causes disease later in life. The best advice is to eat less and run more. But achieving this is difficult. So work is underway to find a pill which controls a recently discovered gene which controls weight. Presently it is unknown how the gene controls body weight.
Bad Science - Ben Goldacre part 2
Ben Goldacre discusses stories from his book, Bad Science. He cites examples of the media overplaying stories which can scare the public, before data has been published in scientific and medical journals.
Diary of a maths olympiad team leader - part 1 of 3
Geoff Smith has led the United Kingdom´s team in the International Maths Olympiad since 2002. He gives insight into the organisation behind a maths olympiad and the challenges in running the competition.
Evolution and distribution of vertebrates in the southern hemisphere
A fossilised dolphin has been found in Antarctica. A new species of dolphin has been described. And there´s a new species of right whale. These are the only vertebrate fossils from Antarctica covering 40 million years. It poses the question, why are there no fossils of other vertebrates such as seals? Seals evolved in the northern hemisphere around 22 million years ago, but there most recent evidence in the southern hemisphere is at just 6 million years. Pat Quilty suggests perhaps there was no shallow water path for migration to the south until more recent times.
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Science Show - 2008-11-01
Author: ABC Radio National
Sat, Nov 01, 2008
Bad Science - Ben Goldacre part 1
Ben Goldacre discusses stories from his book, Bad Science. He cites examples of the media overplaying stories which can scare the public, before data has been published in scientific and medical journals.
Patenting fraud
Korean scientist Hwang Woo Suk was found to have submitted fraudulent research, claiming a series of remarkable breakthroughs in the field of stem cell research. Now he is applying for patents in Australia. Nicky Phillips reports.
Primate communication
Gillian Sebestyen-Forrester has developed a novel method of recording, coding and analysing behaviour in gorillas as they interact with their social partners and the environment. She has observed multidimensional behaviour as in humans; that is, there are many components making up their communication and behaviour, consisting of a range of signals.
Kew Botanic Gardens - approaching 250 years
Nigel Taylor describes the establishment of the Kew Botanic Gardens. The gardens began in 1759 and became a scientific institution in 1841. First it became a place for the identification of plants, the herbarium contains the largest collection of dried plants anywhere. Then in 1857 the gardens became the first centre for the study of the economic use of plants.
Orchids - now thought to date back to the dinosaurs
Many orchids mimic insects in their morphology and use pheromones to attract insects. Some orchids live underground. They parasitise fungi for their food. It was once thought orchids had evolved recently. But DNA evidence, linking orchids with grasses and palms, and recent pollen found in amber places the origins of orchids even earlier than the palms at the time of the dinosaurs.
Titan Arum or Carcass Flower blooms in Sydney
Sydney´s Royal Botanic Gardens has the largest and smelliest flower in the world, Amorphophallus titanum. The common name is Titan Arum or the Carcass Flower. The plant has a tuber which grows underground. When the tuber has the resources to grow a flower, the bud grows at 10 centimetres per day, reaching a height of 1.3 metres. The flower exudes an aroma similar to rotting flesh, which attracts the pollinating insects sweat bees and carrion beetles.
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- Published:
2002
- LearnOutLoud.com Product ID:
T007049
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