Episodes

Crown of Thorns Sea Star

Supercomputers for Sight, Waters of Mars, "Robot vs Star" wars

8 Oct 2015
We hear about how supercomputers are learning to see while understanding how we see, why water on Mars is kind of a big deal, and how a terminator robot is a key player in Star Wars on the Great Barrier Reef.
Hosts: Stu Burns; Claire Farrugia; Chris Lassig Guests: Juan Nunez-Iglesias
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A fireball or bolide seen over the Flinders Rangers, SA, in 2011 (photo by C m handler, via Wikimedia Commons)

Fireballs in the sky, Ig Nobel prize for unboiling an egg, and prunes against cancer

1 Oct 2015
Citizen scientists seeing Fireballs in the Sky, improbable research that makes you laugh and makes you think, and possible anti-cancer prunes.
Jay Ridgewell
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Homo naledi skeleton fragments

Cachexia breakthrough, new human ancestor, nano-scale biophotonics

24 Sep 2015
A potential breakthrough in cancer treatment; A newly discovered South African human ancestor; Discovering life at billionths of a metre.
Hosts: Stu Burns, Claire Farrugia, Manisha Bhardwaj Guests: Amelia Johnston; Andy Greentree
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A Great Tit (Parus major) trying to sing at the right pitch (Photo by Stefan Berndtsson, via Flickr)

Songbirds in the city, sugar in the diet, and serious problems in science

17 Sep 2015
Songbirds changing their tune in city noise, sugar shouldn't be singled out as the only dietary villain, and science's problem with replicating research results.
Alan Barclay
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Edison style bulbs are fashionable, but old fashioned

Science, people and animal welfare; Incandescent rage; Cane Toads II: Return of the Quolls

10 Sep 2015
How consumers interpet information about animal welfare; The shortcomings of fashionable incandescent light globes; More on Cane toads and how to stop them.
Hosts: Stu Burns, Claire Farrugia, Chris Lassig Guests: Emily Buddle; Heather Bray
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Look into the eyes of the toad—the cane toad, Bufo marinus (Photo by Sam Fraser-Smith, via Wikimedia Commons)

Cane toads, courtship and Quinn

3 Sep 2015
Find out how cane toads came to Australia as a failed biological control, hear some weird ways that animals use to attract their mates, and learn about Australian-born theoretical particle physicist, Helen Quinn.
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A 2 gram piece of aerogel holding up a 2.5 kg brick (image from NASA/JPL-Caltech)

Chatting with a science star and catching dust from stars with solid smoke

27 Aug 2015
We ask British scientist Maggie Aderin-Pocock why she loves space, and we find out how to catch stardust using aerogel, aka solid smoke.
Maggie Aderin-Pocock
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Robots in the RoboCup

Australian championship soccer robots; Music is as important as food; Who is the SciBabe?

20 Aug 2015
Sean Harris talks to us about Australia's victory in a world robot soccer competition, we talk about how our brains respond to music, and we meet Yvette d'Entremont, aka SciBabe to talk skepticism
Hosts: Stu Burns, Claire Farrugia, Manisha Bhardwaj Guests: Sean Harris, Yvette d'Entremont
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National Science Week: ignite your imagination

National Science Week, Year of Light and talking about curing cancer

13 Aug 2015
We round-up National Science Week events from around the country, look at the theme of the science of light, and ask will there ever be a cure for cancer?
Kate Sutherland
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Maremma dogs help guard wildlife

Amanda Bauer on becoming a star, Mystery sleeping sickness, Maremmas: guardian (dogs) of the galaxy (of wildlife)

6 Aug 2015
Amanda Bauer talks to us about how stars form and Space Jam in Science Week in Sydney; A mystery sleeping sickness strikes a town in Kazakhstan; Maremma dogs are guardians of the galaxy of wildlife in Warrnambool.
Hosts: Stu Burns; Claire Farrugia; Manisha Bhardwaj Guests: Amanda Bauer
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