For Science!: Recent Episodes
James Purser, Magdeline Lum and Maia Sauren chat each fortnight about the science stories of the previous fortnight and work out how they are going to affect "Real Life".
Sadly our original recording with Dr Katie Mack ended up as so much static due to a computer glitch, however Mags, Mel and James are back with another episode with topics ranging from the realities of a career in science, through fecal pills, nobel prizes and Killer whales that can talk to the Dolphins.
Fecal Pills
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/10/141011172138.htm
Killer whales learn to talk to dolphins
http://phys.org/news/2014-10-killer-whales-bottlenose-dolphins-cross-species.htm
Nobel Prizes
Physics - http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/2014/
Chemistry - http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/2014/
Medicine - http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/2014/
Science Careers
http://www.smh.com.au/technology/sci-tech/how-do-we-engage-young-people-in-science-20141017-1170vt.html
Mags Lunar Eclipse Shots
http://magdelinelum.com/lunar-eclipse-october-2014/
Explosm Comic
http://explosm.net/comics/3557/
It's National Science Week, so we thought we'd bring out another episode, because there is no such thing as too much science.
This episode we talk Ebola. What's happening, why is the media so bad with stuff like this and we ponder why Homeopaths without Borders isn't mucking in.
We also have a look at two stories that look at different aspects of diabetes, true motherly devotion from a cephelopod, sleeping in space and crayfish who can regrow brain cells from their blood.
New method of encasing insulin producing cells might solve rejection issue
http://bpod.mrc.ac.uk/archive/2014/8/11
Diabetes as a survival tactic
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn26008-grizzly-bears-become-diabetic-when-they-hibernate.html?cmpid=RSS%7CNSNS%7C2012-GLOBAL%7Conline-news#.U-NzrnV515Q
Octopus Mum spends 4 and half years tending her eggs
http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2014/07/31/4057741.htm
Getting to sleep in microgravity isn’t as easy as you might think
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn26029-sleep-tight-not-a-chance-if-youre-in-space.html?cmpid=RSS%7CNSNS%7C2012-GLOBAL%7Conline-news#.U-WRQHV53UY
Crayfish can regenerate nueral cells from their blood
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn26042-brain-regeneration-crayfish-turn-blood-into-neurons.html?cmpid=RSS%7CNSNS%7C2012-GLOBAL%7Conline-news#.U-oCKHV515Q
One day we'll be organised, promise!
This episode we talk about:
Rubber ducky shaped comets - http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2014/07/18/4048841.htm
The spread of tropical species as the oceans warm - http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2014/07/09/4041782.htm
Flapdoodle and the plight of the Redhead - http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/jul/10/redheads-die-out-extinction-ginger-gene-bad-science-red-hair
Someone left smallpox in an old samples fridge - http://www.theguardian.com/science/2014/jul/08/smallpox-vials-found-cardboard-box-maryland-laboratory
CSIRO is cutting funding to education resources - http://cpsu-csiro.org.au/2014/07/25/csiro-cuts-hit-the-classroom/
And for good measure here's the Act that gives the CSIRO its reason for existing - http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/saira1949279/s9.html
This episode finds the For Science! crew in a slightly less ranty frame of mind. This means of course that there are more science stories, and we even get philosophical at one point.
Stories covered:
- New bill would loosen restrictions on offering seriously ill patients untested procedures - http://www.theguardian.com/science/2014/jun/05/untested-treatments-could-be-used-on-seriously-ill-patients
- Chinas need for flat land leads to Mountain removal, and the problems that come with it - http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-27702401
- Funnell Web venom could help save the Bees - http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2014/06/04/4018609.htm
- MIT Group claims they can switch memories on and off - http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2014/06/02/4017055.htm
- Evolution in action - Hawaiian crickets go silent to escape parasitic fly - http://phenomena.nationalgeographic.com/2014/05/29/the-silence-of-the-crickets-the-silence-of-the-crickets/
- NASA announces funding for 12 "drawing-board" proposals, including a Submarine for Titan - http://www.universetoday.com/112416/titan-balloon-among-far-out-concepts-nasa-selects-for-funding/
As always our intro and outro music is Sudden Goodbye by Alex Beroza and can be found here http://ccmixter.org/files/AlexBeroza/43002
When we started this episode we were going to be talking a lot more science news than we ended up doing, all we can say is that the ranting is justified.
Stories covered this episode:
-
Where did Mel go
-
How did Mags make a mushroom cloud in her classroom
-
Science funding / Medical Research Fund
-
Group crowd funds the recovery of a historic probe: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/05/20/space_hackers_prepare_to_reactivate_antiquated_spacecraft/
-
Are we biased against single cell lifeforms? http://www.cell.com/trends/ecology-evolution/abstract/S0169-5347%2814%2900064-0
-
Drinkable sunscreen? Yeah no: http://www.theguardian.com/science/brain-flapping/2014/may/20/hard-to-swallow-the-worlds-first-drinkable-sunscreen
While Mel is swanning around western Europe, being all international scientist of mystery, ex regular and extremely welcome guest Maia has returned for an episode.
This fortnight we're talking about:
- Why it's so hard threading a needle (and what it means for our understanding of vision) - http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2014/04/30/3984980.htm
- Blood protien helps rejuvenate mice muscle and brains (also Gothic Horror inspired acts of science) - http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn25516-blood-protein-rejuvenates-brain-and-muscle-in-old-mice.html#.U2eABXJhU9k
- What James thinks is the coolest name for a dinosaur - http://australianageofdinosaurs.com/dino-australovenator.php
- Australian scientists help confirm the existance of a new element - http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-05-02/australian-scientists-help-add-new-element-to-periodic-table/5426942?WT.ac=statenews
- Zombie bacteria - http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2014/05/02/3996620.htm
- Why is it only the male bits get the research? - http://www.plosbiology.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pbio.1001851
Thanks again to Maia for stepping into the breach, it was fun and awesome as always.
Our intro and outro music is Sudden Goodbye by Alex Beroza and can be found here http://ccmixter.org/files/AlexBeroza/43002
A mixed bag of stories this episode. We cover some ground, starting with bird life in and around Chernobyl, insect sex, new advances in biological printing and finally ending up somewhere in orbit.
28th Anniversay of Chernobyl disaster shows some bird species adapting quite well to the higher levels of radiation - http://news.sciencemag.org/biology/2014/04/scienceshot-some-birds-thrive-chernobyls-radioactive-glow
UOQ Pitch drop experiment produces 9th drop since 1930 - http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn25441-longest-experiment-sees-pitch-drop-after-84year-wait.html#.U1C3XabdKak
But! The pitch broke during a beaker change, breaking the run of uninterrupted drops.
Cave insects where the female appears to have a penis (but doesn't really) - http://www.theverge.com/2014/4/17/5617766/scientists-discover-insect-with-female-penis
New vaginal canals have been grown/printed from patients own cells - http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn25399-engineered-vaginas-grown-in-women-for-the-first-time.html?utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=SOC&utm_campaign=twitter&cmpid=SOC%7CNSNS%7C2012-GLOBAL-twitter#.U0ce2nV522g
SpaceX finally launches, bringing a new space suit, supplies and a set of bacterial experiments - http://www.theguardian.com/science/2014/apr/18/spacex-nasa-launch-cargo-international-space-station
Oh, and they brought a set of legs up for Robonaut2, the International Space Stations resident robot helper - http://www.slashgear.com/international-space-stations-robotic-crew-member-gets-legs-14325152/
We have defeated the gremlins and finally managed to record episode 22, and what an episode it is.
We are joined by Doctor Alice Goreman to discuss a paper she wrote about the problem of preserving our orbital heritage, why we should be thinking about it, and how we might go about the task of preserving our history even as it orbits several thousand miles above our heads.
We also talk about the following stories and papers:
Botox as a treatment for Asthma: http://monash.edu/news/show/new-treatment-for-asthma-sufferers
Tasmanian Devil facial tumour disease evolves: http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2014/03/17/3955126.htm?WT.mc_id=science_twitterfeed_latest&utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter
Flight paths of birds around wind farms: http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0092462#pone-0092462-g002
Goats are cleverer than sheep: http://phys.org/news/2014-03-goats-clever-previously-thought.html
Also we have intro music! It's Sudden Goodbye by Alex Beroza which can be found here http://ccmixter.org/files/AlexBeroza/43002
In this episode of For Science!
Mags reveals the secret to excercise is the undead
Chickens tell us how dinosaurs walked - Paper / Video
Bacteria that "eats" electricity - Article
Five second rule - Article
Surgery in Space - Article
We're back!
It's been a while but James, Mags and Mel have returned for 2014.
Let's see, for this episode we're looking at:
- Why the Victorian Government withdrew funding for NICTA
- What's happening Space, including a promise from Mags to get closer to the SKA on her next trip to Perth
- Probiotic Sausages (with the probiotic bacteria sourced from baby poo)
- A fish that literally swallows swallows
- The coal fire at Morewell in Victoria
Oh and "How Things Work" is now an official segment. This episode is a musical number James found on youtube called Chromosome. You can find the original here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khBmRuFc_P4
Well episode 19 is finally here. Many apologies for the lateness, this real life thing keeps getting in the way.
Anyway, this episode finds Mel, Mags and James discussing the National Health and Medical Research Council Grants, what Mole Day means to chemists, how jelly's from space don't know up from down and gold in dem dar trees.
Oh, and we talk about World Vasectomy Day (warning you may find out more about James than you wanted to know).
Also, due to real life thing, How Things Work segment has been moved to episode 20.
It's been a busy few weeks since the last episode of For Science!
This episode Mags, Mel and James talk diesel and bees, water on mars (which Mags explains a whole lot better than James) and of course we talk about the Nobel Prizes.
Well it's been an interesting few weeks since the last episode of For Science! but we're slowly making our way towards episode 20.
For episode 17, Mel, Mags and James talk about people who's digestive systems act like distilleries, the results of the search for methane on mars and the excellent "Bohemian Gravity" (a little of which you will hear in the show).
Oh and Mags has a little rant about what it takes for effective engagement in schools.
To hear the rest of Bohemian Gravity, just click play below.
For Science! returns with Dr Mel, Mags and James exploring everything from bacterial immune systems through termite warning systems and how frogs are able to survive deep freeze.
We also talk about the passing of Professor John Mainstone, the curator of the famous Pitch Drop experiment at the University of Queensland and the sort of dedication that it takes to run an experiment for some 52 years. Here's the audio interview we mention during the episode:
http://blogs.abc.net.au/queensland/2013/03/worlds-longest-lab-experiment-about-to-drop-again.html
and here is the live feed of the experiment in question (you never know, you could catch a drop falling)
http://www.smp.uq.edu.au/content/pitch-drop-experiment
For Science! returns to the interwebs featuring James and Mags, once again joined by Dr Melanie Thomson to discuss some of the science news of the past few weeks.
For episode 15 we have a look at the recent artificial meat announcement, tracing human history via the Y chromosome (and what may in fact lie in store for the Y chromosome in the future) and we celebrate the first earth year for the Curiosity Rover.
We finally defeated the gremlins and managed to actually record episode 14 of For Science!
For this episode Mags and James were joined by Dr Mel Thomson from Deakin University. Dr Thomson is a micro-biologist who's currently involved with a project looking at the effectiveness of using maggots as a debridement treatment for a particularly nasty bacteria.
This episode we talk about:
Three Parent IVF Techniques
The ABC's Science Forum
Using sugar instead of radioactive dies to detect tumours under and MRI
Moths that vibrate their genitals to throw bats off their game
and the value of the recent Australian Acadamy of Science "Science Survey".
Well it's been a little while but we're back.
In this episode we talk Robotic Pets, Turtle embryos (smarter than you think), micro batteries and Fairy Wrens who learn.
We also introduce two new segments, Mags Rant where Magdeline sallies forth on things that make her passionate and Where's The Science At, where we try and keep you up to date with sciencey events coming up in the next couple of weeks.
Sadly, we also say goodbye to Maia.
For Science! returns to talking about the Science news in what turns out to be the second last episode featuring Maia (not sure what's going on? I blogged about it here)
This episode we tackle:
- Whether it's possible that actual Mammoth blood has been found in Russia: http://phys.org/news/2013-05-russian-scientists-rare-blood-mammoth.html
- How cockroaches are evolving to deal with the threats posed by common household baits: http://www.sciencemag.org/content/340/6135/972
- The ongoing discussion over whether the Archeopteryx is either a dinosaur like bird or bird like dinosaur: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-22695914
- Crowd funding science, this time it's an orbital telescope: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1458134548/arkyd-a-space-telescope-for-everyone-0
Also, I talk about a TED talk by Jack Horner, I've linked to it below. I would really recommend you go and watch it (after listening to this episode of course)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QVXdEOiCw8
Last episode we had a look at what it takes to Science. From the basic process, to the importance of statistics to whether the annecdote has a legitimate place within science.
This time round we decided to have a look at Schlock Science. Each of us has a look at what most bugs us about the world of crappy or psuedo science, whether it's dodgy "studies", Press Releases dressed up in lab coats or those who try to use scientific terminology to push their own ideological ends.
Fun :)
For this fortnights episode we've decided to go back to basics and explore exactly what it takes to Science.
I explain the basic process of science while Maia tackles stastics and Mags explores why anecdotal data still has a place in the scientific method, even if it's not where some people think it should be.
Another short one but a good one.
We look at how fruit fly larvae can survive a vacuum using a nano shield made from detergent an charged ions, talk about the latest "Biggest Optical Telescope Evah!" and ponder, are we all living in a simulation?
Show notes
Nano suits for microbes: http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2013/04/nano-suit-vacuum/?cid=co7211244
Are we living in a simulation: http://arxiv.org/abs/1210.1847
Giantest Optical Telescope (so far): http://www.newscientist.com/blogs/shortsharpscience/2013/04/thirty-meter-telescope.html
Episode 8 of For Science! has us on a bit of a life sciences bent (with a foray into robotics and electronics)
First up we discuss the news of a child in the US who appears to have been functionally cured of HIV
Then we have a look at the work being done by engineers at MIT to develop robotic locomotion with a difference (and there is a video you really should watch
Completing our look at things technical we talk about the latest in circuits that can be printed directly onto skin. (Note, if you don't know what Goatse is, DO NOT LOOK IT UP).
After that we have a look at Lake Vostok and whether the new bacteria could be something new, or just something we haven't noticed, and and we talk about the mounting evidence for ancient environments conducive to life on Mars.
Finally we talk about synthetic life, cloning from poo and a project that involved introducing human brain cells to mice that produced interesting results
For our second episode of 2013 we were sans Maia, however we did manage to cover some interesting stuff.
First up of course we had the amazing meteor over the Ural mountains in Russia. What has to be THE most video event of its kind certainly brought home to many of us that the Solar system may not be the empty void that we imagine.
NASA Page for the Ural Meteor: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/asteroids/news/asteroid20130215.html
Next we had a look at a couple of different sets of Science Awards. The first lot are those run by the Australian Acadamy of Science, the second are something new created by those kings of the tech world Mark Zuckerburg and Sergey Brin.
AAS Awards: http://www.science.org.au/awards/
Breakthrough Prize for Life Sciences: http://www.breakthroughprizeinlifesciences.org/
Finally we caught up with Upulie Divesekera about her new project "Real Scientists", a rotational twitter account that will be populated by Real Scientists describing their work, what their days are like and the cool things they get to do.
Twitter account: https://twitter.com/realscientists
Blog: http://realscientists.wordpress.com/
Here it is, the first episode for 2013.
I have to admit we did have to shake out a few cobwebs but I think we did alright. We cover a whole range of different topics from shark fetuses that can detect predators outside of their eggs to an awesome 16 year old from Hobart who built her own system for voice controlling a wheel chair.
We also talk about Maia's recent trip to New Zealand for the NZ Open Research Conference, and because we're talking Open Research we touch on the tragic case of Aaron Schwartz.
Show Notes:
Asteroids:
Heavens Above: excellent site for tracking various sky things. Will be able to tell you if you can see the Asteroid
NASA Asteroid Page
Maia in New Zealand:
BAACamp
NZ Open Research Conference 2013
ORCID
Sharks babies sense predators:
UWA Oceans Institute
Yaya Lu:
Voice activated wheelchair Page
Well, episode 5 is the last for the year and I think we've got a pretty decent rundown for you.
- HIV used to help attack cancer
- Turtles!
- Anti-Aromatics
- TURTLES!
- Did you know they think there are two higgs bosons?
Also here are a couple of links we promised in the show:
http://atheistuniverse.net/photo/fnal-esiegel?xg_source=activity - A bit of a key for looking beyond the Atomic structure (Electrons, Nuetrons and Protons)
and of course the excellent video produced by PHD Comics, explaining the Higgs itself.
From Maia, Magdeline and myself, thanks for listening and have a merry christmas (if you celebrate it) and a happy new year.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EtrOSf297sw
Episode 4 of For Science! brings us tales of the end of the world via Mayan Calendar mishaps (no, not really), water on mercury and did you know that zombies are actually quite common place?
We also talk about a proposed year long study of astronauts on the International Space Station and Maia lets us in on the science of induced magnetism and how it drives our power delivery networks.
Time got away from us last week, so we're a little late.
However to make up for it, we have an excellent episode for you featuring:
- Invisibility Cloaks
- Mags on Sharks
- Mind Controlled Robots
- Faster Interwebs for all
And more.
Don't forget you can comment here, or on our Facebook Page, Google+ Page or on the twitters
A little late and a bit longer than the last episode, here's episode 2 of For Science!
This week we're discussing How To Eat A Triceratops, Science Champions, Science funding and the Prime Ministers Science Awards.
Here are the videos from each of the PM's Science Award winners that we talk about:
Ken Freeman
Michael van der Ploeg
Anita Trenwith
For the first episode of For Science! We're going to dig through the winners of last weeks Nobel Prizes and try and explain what it was exactly that they won for, pay homage to the Oatmeal and the Tesla Museum project and explore the idea of Cyborg Cockroaches who can scurry into demolished buildings looking for victims to rescue.