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Last 20 Shows Science Show - 2010-02-06 Genes show human history
350,000 people have joined The Genographic Project where human DNA is analysed to determine its origin. The project demonstrates lineages and shows how human populations split, contracted and expanded over time.
Beagle voyage retraced
It was the Beagle which transported Charles Darwin around the world on his 5-year voyage allowing him to see the enormous variation of life forms which led to his theory of evolution by natural selection. Now having just celebrated 20 ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website
Science Show - 2010-01-30 The search for planets beyond our solar system
Jonathan Nally describes the astronomical projects searching for planets. So far, over 400 have been found. Are they just lumps of rock or clouds of gas, or do some support life?
Superstition
Why do we have superstitious beliefs? Some people would not accept organs which could save their life, if they knew they came from a murderer. Why not?! Our brains can play tricks on us and let us accept ideas which have no basis in fact. Bruce Hood explo ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website
Science Show - 2010-01-23 China on track for world's largest high speed rail network
In China high-speed rail is being taken up with such enthusiasm that in some areas it's making air travel obsolete. And the roll-out is so rapid China is soon expected to have the world's largest high speed rail network. But, as it prepares to export its trains some countries are accusing China of stealing their secrets. (report from AM 8th Jan 2010)
The future of air travel - Alan Joyce part 2
Qantas CEO Alan Joyce describes some ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website
Science Show - 2009-12-26 The Rap Guide to Evolution
Baba Brinkman is the Eminem of evolution: rapping brilliantly to rapturous audiences around the world on natural selection, sex and associated survival techniques. His science is vetted by experts, so this ex-tree planter from The Rockies in British Columbia gives a scintillating version of the Darwinian story. This is the performance Baba gave at the Darwin Festival in Cambridge England, July 2009.
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Science Show - 2010-01-02 The future is in our hands
50 years ago the population of the world was less than 3 billion. Now it´s more than double that number. The projection is 9 billion by 2050. Climate change provides a challenge in providing food for the entire world´s people. The current rate of extinctions is 1,000 times faster than what has occurred in the past. Biodiversity is being destroyed. Martin Rees says we´re in denial about some risks. Top of the list is climate change. Science, says Rees is the glo ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website
Science Show - 2010-01-09 David Attenborough - Titan Arum
David Attenborough describes Titan Arum, the plant with the largest flowering body in the world.
Richard Dawkins - Darwin´s road to the theory of evolution
Was Darwin the most revolutionary scientist ever? More so than Einstein, Newton and others? He destroyed the argument of his predecessors and changed the world view. Richard Dawkins describes a series of thought bridges which led to the theory of evolution, particularly natural selection.
HIV - evolutio ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website
Science Show - 2010-01-16 Daniel Dennett - why are we here?
10,000 years ago, the human population plus livestock and pets would have weighted less than 1% of biomass by weight. Today it is 98%. In 10,000 years we have overwhelmed the planet. We have done this because facilitated by our understanding. Daniel Dennett discusses our success as a species, and the evolution of culture and language, which have allowed us to dominate and now threaten the planet.
Is there a point of having males?
Can a bird´s beautiful pl ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website
Science Show - 2009-12-19 Oxford University´s Professor for the Public Understanding of Science
Marcus de Sautoy says mathematics is a basic tool and underlies all the sciences. He predicts mathematics will help unravel some of the complexities with the brain. He says understanding the brain and consciousness is one of the ultimate frontiers in science. His role involves explaining the scientific process to the public, including the understanding of probabilities associated with scientific ideas.
How to become an ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website
Science Show - 2009-12-12 The science of running an airline
Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce studied mathematics and physics. He explains how a background in science led him to aviation, and how maths and probabilities are the key in running an airline. He also describes Qantas´s approach to reducing carbon dioxide resulting from its operations.
Tanya Ha - pets, pests and problem plants
Tanya Ha describes the problems which arise when plants and animals are moved to areas far away from their natural habitat. Lant ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website
Science Show - 2009-12-05 Emails from East Anglia
Hundreds of emails between scientists at the University of East Anglia´s Climate Research Unit have been published. Do they question our understanding of climate? Fred Pearce investigated for New Scientist magazine.
Decline of birds in Victorian forests
Reports show birds are declining in national parks in Victoria. Two thirds of species have shown reduced numbers over 10 years. Reduced rainfall has resulted in less flowering in trees and fewer nest sites. Red Iron ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website
Science Show - 2009-11-28 Adelaide Institute develops new optical fibres
The institute has developed new kinds of optical fibres with nanoscale holes. These holes can suck up fluid and opens a new field of sensing. An application is in assessing the quality of aircraft fuel which is susceptible to degradation. Another is measuring wine quality in barrels. And there are applications in medicine.
The amazing behavior of octopuses and dolphins
Mark Norman has found an octopus in Indonesia which uses coconut shells as ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website
Science Show - 2009-11-21 Spacesuits for Mars
A possible future Mars habitat has been constructed in the desert in Utah. It contains rooms and workshops, as well as an airlock with simulation spacesuits. James Waldie designs spacesuits. Current suits are big body shaped balloons filled with gas from the Earth´s atmosphere. The new approach is to use a skinsuit. Pressurisation is attained by way of physical compression. It´s like thermal underwear. This kind of suit may be used on missions to Mars. But what happens ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website
Science Show - 2009-11-14 Chemistry improves brown coal
In the third part of our Coal: beyond burning series, Nicky Phillips talks to Len Humphries, the CEO of Ignite Energy Resources, about a chemical technique his company has developed that can improve the efficiency of brown coal by more than 30%.
Scientists at World Economic Forum meeting
In 2007 The World Economic Forum launched its Annual Meeting of the New Champions. The aim is for business leaders from developing economies to meet with those from developed ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website
Science Show - 2009-11-07 Catch up on Coal
In the second part of our series Coal: beyond burning, Nicky Phillips presents your responses to last week´s piece on alternative uses for coal. We also hear from Len Humphries, CEO of Ignite Energy and George Domazetis from La Trobe University about their ideas for the future.
Multisensory dining and driving
Professor Charles Spence from the Department of Experimental Psychology in Oxford explains why we should stimulate all the senses to maximise our dining experience ( ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website
Science Show - 2009-10-31 Coal: beyond burning
Australia, like many countries, has vast resources of coal, but what can we do with it if we don´t burn it?
Why burn coal?
Could our vast supplies of Australian coal be used other than for running power stations? How about a chemical or plastics industry, or as a fertiliser on the land? The Science Show will review the options and ask for your input on the possibilities; the Prime Minister´s prizes for science announced this week.
The Prime Minister's prizes for sci ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website
Science Show - 2009-10-24 Coastal erosion and king tides
Coastal erosion is a significant problem in Australia, as with many other nations, and it's set to get worse. Reinhard Flick is studying the problem at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in California. But he's also an expert on king tides. He says they can be predicted well into the future, which is pretty useful to know if you live on the coast.
Business tackles Copenhagen
How to deal with science-driven upheavals in board rooms around the world? Why n ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website
Science Show - 2009-10-17 Life on Mars
Scientists have being trying to find life on Mars for years. First they found water. Another glimpse of hope came when methane was detected, which scientists suggest could be produced by living microbes. Lewis Dartnell is studying the cosmic rays that beat down on Mars, to determine how far into the Martian surfaces scientists may have to dig to find life.
Planet formation
Sarah Maddison is studying how planets form. She´s looking at young planetary systems outside our own, w ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website
Science Show - 2009-10-10 Nobel prizes
This years Nobel prizes saw molecular biologist Dr Elizabeth Blackburn become Australia's first Nobel laureate. Blackburn, and her colleagues Carol Greider and Jack Szostak, were honoured for their work with telomeres and cell divison. The research has not only revolutionised our understanding of ageing, but holds great promise for cancer treatment. Nicky Phillips and Sarah Castor-Perry give a full report of the prizes.
Climate change and wine
Australia is already feeling the ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website
Science Show - 2009-10-03 Attitudes to climate change
Despite the science becoming clearer, a survey has shown up to about 20% of people are still sceptical about climate change; whether it exists, and if it does, whether human activities area related. These figures are from Britain. Scepticism is greater in the United States.
Solar thermal electricity
Sarah Castor-Perry presents an update on research into solar thermal electricity. Colin Duck describes a demonstration plant at the Liddell Power Station in NSW. Row ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website
Science Show - 2009-09-26 The beginnings of quantum computing
A quantum algorithm has been encoded on a chip for the first time. The approach is known as waveguide on chip. It was first proposed in 2001. Single photons of light are controlled and store information. Compared to an electron spin or a neutron spin, a photon doesn´t react with the environment and thus has very low noise. When used in computing, it increases the speed and power of the computer many times. The challenge has been in preserving the infor ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website
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