Twitter: @ABCscience (followed by 13 science writers)
Site: www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/scienceshow
247 episodes
2018 to present
Average episode: 51 minutes
Open in Apple Podcasts • RSS
Categories: Broadcast Radio Programs • Story-Style
Podcaster's summary: The Science Show gives Australians unique insights into the latest scientific research and debate, from the physics of cricket to prime ministerial biorhythms.
| Episodes |
| 2023-Mar-18 Academy calls for increased science funding, DNA used to nab wildlife smugglers, and worms reveal secrets of brains and memory. The Australian Academy of Science has called for a review of science funding in Australia. |
| 2023-Mar-11 Helping young children after burn injury, inside the minds of teens, and behind the scenes at London’s Natural History Museum In the final Strange Frontiers, Carl Smith takes us into the vault at one of the world’s greatest archives of natural history. |
| 2023-Mar-04 The Science Show If successful, ITER promises to provide abundant clean energy. |
| 2023-Feb-25 The Science Show Small unremarkable fish use light to detect and avoid predators. |
| 2023-Feb-18 Autonomous minibus and predicting the behaviour of pedestrians Carl Smith takes us to the Estonian capital Tallinn to ride an autonomous minibus. |
| 2023-Feb-11 Harry Butler honoured and how a scientist fell in love with a fossil Murdoch University's Harry Butler Institute honours the well-known warrior for the environment. |
| 2023-Feb-04 A tour of the antimatter factory and John Wheeler remembered Carl Smith takes us to the Antimatter factory. |
| 2023-Jan-28 Hope from COP27 and atmospheric research from Germany’s highest peak Hope from COP27 and atmospheric research from Germany’s highest peak |
| 2023-Jan-21 The surprising Huxley family, certainty, and climate prospects for 2023 From T. H. Huxley - ‘Darwin’s Bulldog’ – to author Aldous Huxley to Nobel Prize winner Andrew Huxley, a new book tells the tale of this remarkable scientific family. |
| 2023-Jan-14 The evolution of galaxies and chasing the big cosmological questions A cosmological Science Show and competition emerging for Haydn’s Creation! |
| 2023-Jan-07 Celebrating Gregor Mendel the father of genetics Following experiments with peas and other plants, Gregor Mendel proposed a theory of inheritance which became the basis of modern biology. |
| 2022-Dec-31 Celebrating Charles Todd and the overland telegraph The overland telegraph connecting Australia to the world was completed 150 years ago. It was built due to the dedication of a public servant, Charles Todd. |
| 2022-Dec-24 A portrait of Dame Miriam Rothschild She was a world expert on fleas. Despite being self-taught, she was awarded doctorates from Cambridge and Oxford. |
| 2022-Dec-17 Human impact on and response to changing climate By mid-century, human activity will have doubled atmospheric greenhouse gases compared to the pre-industrial level. |
| 2022-Dec-10 Smart cameras watch for anomalies, Prime Minister’s awards for top science teachers and DNA reveals the history of disease DNA analysis suggests tuberculosis may have jumped to humans from seals. |
| 2022-Dec-03 PM’s Prizes for Science, koalas, COP27 and Catherine the Great PM’s Prizes for Science, koalas, COP and Catherine the Great |
| 2022-Nov-26 Recovering aluminium from tailings, aluminium formate to absorb carbon dioxide from power station exhausts, and a Neanderthal family like us The Science Show gives Australians unique insights into the latest scientific research and debate. |
| 2022-Nov-19 Best Australian Science Writing winners and prospects for computing Subconsciously humans learn from their experiences. Giving this same information to computers is a big challenge. |
| 2022-Nov-12 New technology brings added value to museum collections More than 5 million specimens have been digitised at London's Natural History Museum. Just 75 million to go. It’s a slow journey, but the benefits will be immense. |
| 2022-Nov-05 How crows use deception, saving freshwater turtles and the history of horses Around 4,200 years ago, horses began accepting humans. Greger Larson describes the change in a species which changed the course of human history. |
| 2022-Oct-29 Storms changing our coasts, plastic in the ocean, and a call for geoengineering The Science Show presents unique insights into the latest scientific research and debate. |
| 2022-Oct-22 How carbon is our friend and unravelling the mystery of communication in plants The Science Show presents unique insights into the latest scientific research and debate. |
| 2022-Oct-15 Grid batteries made in Australia and pumped hydro using abandoned underground mines The Science Show presents unique insights into the latest scientific research and debate. |
| 2022-Oct-08 Nobel Prizes, climate extremes and how science can help save us The Science Show presents unique insights into the latest scientific research and debate. |
| 2022-Oct-01 Vanillin from plastic, battery trailers for EVs, and UK fossils rewriting the story of life The Science Show gives Australians unique insights into the latest scientific research and debate. |
| 2022-Sep-24 Cheap solar, materials to capture carbon dioxide and a cancer test based on breath Unique insights into the latest scientific research and debate, from the physics of cricket to pr... |
| 2022-Sep-17 UN Peacekeepers train with virtual reality, drones for the battlefield and the transformation of Newcastle Unique insights into the latest scientific research and debate, from the physics of cricket to pr... |
| 2022-Sep-10 Testing Einstein, designing a lunar rover and help for stretched emergency departments Unique insights into the latest scientific research and debate, from the physics of cricket to pr... |
| 2022-Sep-03 2022 Eureka science awards, new insights in the giant dinos and AI concerns Unique insights into the latest scientific research and debate, from the physics of cricket to pr... |
| 2022-Aug-27 Australia’s megafauna, new building materials, and dung beetles Unique insights into the latest scientific research and debate, from the physics of cricket to pr... |
| 2022-Aug-20 • 54 minutes The story of mammals, how they coexisted with dinosaurs for 225 million years and survived when dinos couldn’t |
| 2022-Aug-13 Trees – allowing native species to return in Scotland, clearing them away in the Amazon, and seeing how they work in Tasmania |
| 2022-Aug-06 • 54 minutes Vale James Lovelock James Lovelock died last week on his 103rd birthday. He was a Fellow of the Royal Society of London (FRS) mainly for his brilliant work on technology for analysing gases. His small device was the ‘breakthrough’ for spotting freons. It was a thousand times more powerful than anything else available in the 1950s. He travelled to Antarctica and was able to detect chlorofluorocarbon gases there. They were causing a hole to form in the protective ozone layer in the south. Lovelock is also famous for his Gaia Hyp... |
| 2022-Jul-30 • 54 minutes Best approach for removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere Climate change to bring mass migration | Adrian Smith leads the Royal Society | Exhibition shows the role of microbes in chocolate production | Aussie Stem Stars - Emma Johnston | Prosthetic device offers help for people with damaged or missing fingers | We need to fix this. Fast. |
| 2022-Jul-23 • 54 minutes Celebrating Charles Todd and the overland telegraph The Australian overland telegraph was a 3,200 km line connecting Port Augusta in South Australia to Darwin. It was completed in 1872 and allowed communication between Australia and the rest of the world. It was one of the great engineering feats of 19th-century Australia and was a significant milestone in Australia’s development. The line was built due to the determination of one man, a government employee, Charles Todd. As we celebrate 150 years since the line was completed, Sharon Carleton looks at the Ch... |
| 2022-Jul-16 • 54 minutes The physics of music - part 6 In the final part of his series on the connections between developments in physic and music, the late Ian Johnston, physicist from The University of Sydney, explores developments in the twentieth century. In physics, communications technology saw valves come, and go, replaced by transistors, then silicon chips, leading to increased capacity and miniaturisation. In music, accepted conventions of harmony came under attack and composers experimented with more freedom. Musical styles developed using new electro... |
| 2022-Jul-09 • 54 minutes The physics of music - part 5 In the nineteenth century western music moved from classicism to romanticism, and our knowledge of physics progressed in electricity, electromagnetism and the wave properties of sound. We also began to understand how the ear and brain work allowing us to perceive and appreciate music. |
| 2022-Jul-02 • 54 minutes The physics of music - part 4 We continue our series of programs about the connections between physics and music presented by the late Ian Johnston from The University of Sydney. |
| 2022-Jun-25 • 54 minutes Celebrating 200 years of honeybees in Australia The first European honey bees arrived in Australia on 20th May 1822. Four bee experts recount the effects on Australia's native bees, on honey production, on ecology and farming. And a new $2 coin is being released featuring bees, golden honeycomb and Eucalyptus flowers. |
| 2022-Jun-18 • 54 minutes Environmental laws fail future generations and the history of Antarctic exploration * Environmental laws for today, not tomorrow |
| 2022-Jun-11 • 54 minutes Cameras used to count feral cats, and how much of pain is in the mind * Hobart - Australian city of science | * New ways of thinking about pain | * Getting the cameras right to count feral cats | * Boab nuts used to reflect on archaeology |
| 2022-Jun-04 • 54 minutes Goodbye giant kelp – 95% lost in fifty years * Primary students present E=mc2 The Musical | * Giant strides in energy storage and plastic recycling | * Seaweeds – thousands of species many with untapped potential | * Giant kelp in massive drastic decline | * UV light reveals rare fossilised spiders | * Tasmania home to 2,499 species of beetles |
| 2022-May-28 • 54 minutes Parrots and humans – extreme species with shared behaviours and first image of the black hole at the centre of our galaxy * Black hole images allow theories to be tested | * Journals slow to act despite evidence of scientific fraud or misconduct | * Parrots and humans – extreme species with shared behaviours | * New technology brings new life to exhibits at Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery | * Vale Caroline Jones |
| 2022-May-21 • 54 minutes Where did the Universe come from? * Science needs to develop trust for links to grow | * Kids space adventure combines human fight for survival with planetary science | * Where did the universe come from? | * There’s more to geoscience than mining |
| 2022-May-14 • 54 minutes Musk promises brain implants for spinal injuries and AI and help for Australian sea lions * A call for more controls over possible brain manipulation and monitoring | * Global risks require new approach to governance | * Consumption linked to biodiversity and extinction risk | * Missouri Botanical Gardens moves its annual orchid show online | * Australian sea lions in an ongoing decline |
| 2022-May-07 • 54 minutes Young scientists forced abroad for work and the twelve experiments that helped make the modern world * Thankyou Australia and goodbye | * Lyrebird song a possible indication of population health | * Twelve experiments that changed our world – the story of how we came to understand the universe | * Science Media Centres – linking the media to scientists |
| 2022-Apr-30 • 54 minutes Celebrating Gregor Mendel the father of genetics Celebrating Gregor Mendel the father of genetics |
| 2022-Apr-23 • 54 minutes Wollongong transformed, secrets of monotremes revealed, and help for Tonga * University plays a key role as Wollongong transforms | * New ideas about evolution and spread of monotremes | * Space missions excite school students for STEM | * High anxiety remains after Tongan tsunami |
| 2022-Apr-16 • 54 minutes How our biggest threat is us * New idea explains the enormous heat of the Sun’s corona | * All environmental problems traced to immense human impact | * This teenager loves science | * Centre for the Digital Child studies impact of technology on children |
| 2022-Apr-09 • 54 minutes Carbon movie explores the misunderstood element which has allowed life to happen * Election hopes for science | * Carbon – the element with a nice voice | * Secondary science – more analysis, less rote learning, not so much time for history | * Catastrophe – higher risk than most people might think |
| 2022-Apr-02 • 54 minutes The end of astronauts? * The end of astronauts? | * The First Astronomers | * Kiama students' hopes for International Youth Science Forum | * Derek Denton – working and publishing science at age 97 |
| 2022-Mar-26 • 54 minutes Electric outboards making a splash and David Stewart celebrates 40 years recording bird calls * Soviet scientists locked up or killed for accepting Mendelian genetics | * E-boats bigger and stronger | * Birds – today’s link to dinosaurs | * David Stewart – 40 years recording bird calls |
| 2022-Mar-19 • 54 minutes The future of scientific collaborations in doubt following Russia's attack on Ukraine, and warnings of dire climate impacts made years ago. * Scientific collaborations in doubt following Russia's attack on Ukraine | * Warnings on climate and flooding seen in today’s massive property losses | * Parkinson's Disease – it’s like walking through honey | * New approach for those with OCD to cope with unwanted mental images | * Creswell Eastman discovers iodine deficiency disorder, then helps millions of children | * Sea stars and urchins move south with warmer waters changing ecosystems | * George Ivanoff helps us survive the supernatural |
| 2022-Mar-12 • 54 minutes Compelling novels highlight ecosystems under pressure and vale Richard Leakey Horridus to help answer questions about Triceratops and other dinos | Charlotte McConaghy’s compelling novels built on complex characters in a fast-changing natural world | Vale Richard Leakey |
| 2022-Mar-05 • 54 minutes We were warned of pandemic in 1994, and hydrogen for far north Queensland Artificial intelligence – promises and threats | Drone helps control invasive species on Norfolk Island | Triceratops comes to Melbourne | Hydrogen coming for Cape York communities | Pandemic – how we were warned |
| 2022-Feb-26 • 54 minutes How trees are gold – when alive Human population the driver of greenhouse emissions and all environmental wows | Meg Lowman - a voice for trees | Flying foxes crashing |
| 2022-Feb-19 • 54 minutes How tsunami have impacted Australia’s east coast and a new approach to limit the threat Politicians unfairly maligned – Robin Batterham | Risk of tsunami on east Australian coast | Submerged mats could dissipate energy of tsunami | Despite all we know, biodiversity loss is at an all-time high | WA to end logging in native forests |
| 2022-Feb-12 • 54 minutes Advice for scientists confronting doubters and the mysterious pulsing object in space Scientists: don’t feed the doubt machine | Mysterious object in our galaxy sends pulses every 18 minutes | Fred Watson – celebrating 25 years on ABC radio | IQ tests, genes and environment - views from 1984 and today |
| 2022-Feb-05 • 54 minutes Genes help us love nature, geothermal on the cusp, and vale E. O. Wilson Connection with nature linked to genes | Vale E. O. Wilson | Geothermal on the cusp in Australia? | Ancient Serbian settlement changes the view of early human society in Europe |
| 2022-Jan-29 • 54 minutes HG Wells – father of science fiction with hopes and fears for how science will shape our future He imagined the atomic bomb, he believed in a world government, he wrote books about science and science fiction and was the first popular communicator of scientific ideas. Today we commemorate the life and achievements of Herbert George Wells. (this program was first broadcast June 2016) |
| 2022-Jan-22 • 54 minutes University geology depts becoming smaller or closing Geology departments becoming smaller or closing | Whitley Awards celebrate 50 years | Norfolk Island – food bowl for Australia’s first European settlers |
| 2022-Jan-16 • 49 minutes Science Extra: Climate compromise, slime in the city and do fish feel pain? Do fish and crabs feel pain, what went down at COP26, and how might climate change dampen the spirits of homeowners in low-lying areas? Plus and environmental scientist explains his theory that the earth has a spirit and we meet a researcher with an unusual obsession with slime. |
| 2022-Jan-15 • 54 minutes Hedy Lemarr actress and inventor who helped develop the modern world Time to take kids more seriously | Norfolk Island once a convict hellhole | Hedy Lamarr - actress, inventor, amateur engineer |
| 2022-Jan-09 • 46 minutes Science Extra: The facts on fake news, 3D printed body parts and will Meta be better? What can we learn from fake news, going electric and formerly Facebook's fate. |
| 2022-Jan-08 • 54 minutes New fossil site in NSW and the first computer Rare new fossil site gets palaeontologists excited | The first computer – a product of Victorian England |
| 2022-Jan-02 • 49 minutes Science Extra: malaria vax breakthrough, surviving snake bite and, of course, COVID-19 A look back at 2021 – a new malaria vaccine and an Alzheimer’s drug get the thumbs up, COVID vax facts and nutritional myth busting. |
| 2022-Jan-01 • 53 minutes The physics of music - part 3 We continue Ian Johnston’s story of the parallel developments of physics and music. Some combinations of notes we find pleasing. Others less so. How is this explained by physics? |
| 2021-Dec-26 • 50 minutes Science Extra: Cosmic explosions, bits and bobs from the Big Bang and space rocks on Earth Why was Mars making news so often in 2021, what sent out mystery interstellar radio signals, and who, if anyone, won the billionaire space race? |
| 2021-Dec-25 • 53 minutes The physics of music - part 2 New thinking in the Renaissance led to a new understanding of physics and with it, a new musical scale and new instruments. Physics and music bloomed. |
| 2021-Dec-19 • 49 minutes Science extra: Quantum computing, lucid dreams and bin-flipping cockatoos How will quantum computing change our lives, why do lucid dreams matter and why do cockies flip bin lids? We have the answers. |
| 2021-Dec-18 • 54 minutes The physics of music - part 1 The Science Show presents the first of a three-part series on how physics and music were closely linked in their early development. The series was first heard in 1994 and is presented by physicist from Sydney University the late Ian Johnston. The first universities in Renaissance times offered four subjects - arithmetic, geometry astronomy and music and there were strong connections between each. In a surprising, enthralling and personal way, Ian tells the story of the development of culture and our changin... |
| 2021-Dec-11 • 54 minutes Three scientific gift ideas and prospects for 2030 Fears of new biosecurity threats | Alan Finkel’s vision for Australia in 2030 | Our chief scientist’s goals and hopes for science in 2030 | Job insecurity makes science unattractive | Cosmos Magazine - the science of everything | Corey Tutt – it started with a book about snakes | Carl Smith to Germany for six months journalism fellowship | Chennupati Jagadish elected 20th president of Australian Academy of Science |
| 2021-Dec-04 • 54 minutes Stunning capability, variety and beauty in the natural world Sharon Carleton is our guide as we marvel at species all around us and see the efforts of scientists to understand the natural world. |
| 2021-Nov-27 • 53 minutes Books for children about the origin of life and Einsteinian physics and L’Oréal awards for rechargeable batteries and balancing fish stocks with needs of human nutrition L’Oréal and UNESCO For Women in Science award for lithium battery research | L’Oréal and UNESCO For Women in Science award for research into nutrient value of reef fish | Children’s book considers the origin of life | Primary students see the big picture with Einsteinian physics | New approach for treating strep A throat infection without antibiotics | Understanding Machiavellian personalities | A Complete Guide to Native Orchids of Australia |
| 2021-Nov-20 • 53 minutes Always on? Or better sometimes off? The good and bad of smartphone technology The Science Brief - Hope for the Amazon and kids and their screens | Always On - the smartphone journey and the possibilities which await | Aussie STEM Stars - Alan Finkel | Aphasia therapy adapted for zoom | How snakes use sound in the environment and the cost of venom as a defence weapon |
| 2021-Nov-13 • 53 minutes How science has been used to justify horrid acts through history The Science Brief – community power takes off and fusion a step closer | How pregnancy shapes the brain – the lifelong effects of motherhood | The Science of Abolition | Mindfulness helps parents of children with behavioural problems | The Icepick Surgeon |
| 2021-Nov-06 • 54 minutes PM’s Science Prize, climate and Indigenous science 2021 Prime Minister’s Prize for Science winner – Eddie Holmes | The science brief | Student Bragg runners-up | IPCC processes questioned | Australia’s first scientists |
| 2021-Oct-30 • 54 minutes On a roll - Ceridwen Dovey wins Bragg Prize for Science Writing again The prize winners, the anthology, the history remembered. The Science Show this week is all Bragg. |
| 2021-Oct-23 • 54 minutes More hopes for Glasgow, more value from waste, and a new ship for Antarctic research World sleepwalking into disaster with lukewarm climate action | Information for families of children with chronic illnesses | The science brief | New approach for helping those addicted to methamphetamines | New waste sorter recovers 90% of waste previously dumped | Nuyina, the Australia’s new icebreaker, supply ship and floating laboratory arrives in Hobart | Aussie STEM Stars – John Long, fossil hunter | How exercise can improve your sight |
| 2021-Oct-16 • 54 minutes Birds, polar ice and hopes for Glasgow climate talks Crisis awaits if the world fails to act on climate | Should nuclear power be part of the energy transition? | The science brief | Identifying the risks of babies being born small | Monitoring ice north and south | Time to count birds in your backyard |
| 2021-Oct-09 • 54 minutes Prizes, prizes, prizes! Nobels, Earthshot and Eurekas 2021 Nobel Prizes for Medicine, Physics and Chemistry | Paul Ehrlich reflects after 50 years | Australian finalist for first Earthshot environmental prize 2021 | Different cultures, different maps part 2 | Eureka Science Prizes 2021 |
| 2021-Oct-02 • 54 minutes New ways to inspire young students about the world of science Avoiding a ghastly future | The science brief | New communications technology for astronomy and space missions | Einstein musical introduces students to physics through performance | Pen pal scientists inspire young students | Different cultures, different maps |
| 2021-Sep-25 • 54 minutes As melting ice threatens polar ecosystems hopes emerge that international investment law will help speed transition to clean energy The science brief | Hopes international investment law will help speed transition to clean energy | Science and the public good - mathematics | Cosmic Vertigo returns | Melting ice threatens polar ecosystems | Can computers reproduce human culture? |
| 2021-Sep-18 • 54 minutes Acacias a new weapon against climate change The science brief | Acacia - another climate solution in easy reach | Science and the public good - physics | Targeted heat used to treat brain cancer | Computer science born in Australia 70 years ago |
| 2021-Sep-11 • 54 minutes Musical palm cockatoos sing duets and more The science brief | Robots for e-waste | Science and the public good - chemistry | Palm cockatoos – the singing and drumming parrots on Australia’s northern tip | Weight training for general health and therapy | Citizen science boosts science literacy |
| 2021-Sep-04 • 54 minutes Authors combine science with popular characters and gripping story lines The science brief | Science and the public good | Astrid Lindgren’s Pippi Longstocking introduces young readers to science | Science the basis of LA Larkin’s crime-thrillers |
| 2021-Aug-28 • 54 minutes The Science Show celebrates 46 years with Douglas Adams, a pit full of snakes and a memory from the start The Science Show celebrates 46 years and recalls a warning given at the start | Remembering Douglas Adams | The fascinating world of snakes | The science brief |
| 2021-Aug-21 • 54 minutes Crazy ants, smart birds and an Aussie space mission How basic research can lead to unexpected breakthroughs | Carl’s world of science | Curtin University builds resupply craft for Space Station | Bird brains more complex than ever imagined | Yellow crazy ants threaten ecosystems and agriculture along Queensland coast |
| 2021-Aug-14 • 54 minutes Electrification coming for runabouts and vale Roger Short Electrification coming for runabouts | Slime moulds fascinate the young and old | Botanical Ark in far north Queensland | The reality of scientific research – 1-yr study blows out to 6yrs | Vale Roger Short |
| 2021-Aug-07 • 54 minutes The Science Show - Saturday, August 7 The Science Show gives Australians unique insights into the latest scientific research and debate, from the physics of cricket to prime ministerial biorhythms. |
| 2021-Aug-07 • 54 minutes Slime moulds, soil, Shackleton and snow Slime moulds – important forest dwellers that are neither plant, animal nor fungus | The story of soil | Shackleton’s Endurance – the extraordinary tale of endurance and unlikely survival | NZ getting serious about its snow |
| 2021-Jul-31 • 54 minutes Drilling beneath volcanoes, reducing the threat of tsunamis, and why the dodo is no more Drilling beneath volcanoes | Protection against tsunamis | Treasures from London’s Natural History Museum at Melbourne Museum to Jan 2022 | The demise of flightless birds | Message to a developing embryo | History of Manhattan, and continued push to return jaguars to southern US |
| 2021-Jul-24 • 54 minutes Mining minerals with plants and time to supercharge recycling Plants could be used to remediate polluted sites | Recycling brings benefits with low impact living | Civil society will bring a better world |
| 2021-Jul-17 • 54 minutes Solutions here now for the climate disaster Open access science leads to more citations | Climate change impacts WA biodiversity | Solutions for the emerging climate disaster |
| 2021-Jul-10 • 54 minutes Deadly heat hits North America, better steel, and solutions to climate change feature in Australian Museum exhibition The 1914 visit that changed Australia | Deadly high temperatures hit Canada and US northwest | New exhibition presents climate solutions | Lighter stronger steel for the construction industry | Archaeology could extend knowledge of the history of religion | Indigenous kids learn health, nutrition and how to cook for the family |
| 2021-Jul-03 • 54 minutes The simple solution to two big problems — trees Siberian cave reveals secrets of human evolutionary history. | Aussie tree book for young readers. | One solution for two big problems — trees. | Tribute to Edward de Bono. | Robert FitzRoy — Captain of the Beagle, Governor of NZ and a better scientist than Darwin? |
| 2021-Jun-26 • 54 minutes Spinifex, ticks and the important role of fathers in wild animals Safe cladding and plant-based foods among winners of Academy of Technology and Engineering awards | Soil microbes suspected to cause inner plant die-off in spinifex | Ticks offer microorganisms a free ride | Vale Edward de Bono | Wild animal fathers more than just sperm donors | Kangaroo Island was nearly French! |
| 2021-Jun-19 • 54 minutes Biased botanists, a new blue kangaroo paw and playing birds have bigger brains and longer lives Botanists biased towards pretty plants more than the uglies | Kings Park Botanic Garden Perth great for a stroll and does top-notch botanical and horticultural research | Play behaviour linked to brain mass and life span in a sample of Australian birds | Ancient tree-climbing marsupials reveal hints of past environments |
| 2021-Jun-12 • 54 minutes New ideas about plant conservation, the immense diversity of Ashmore Reef, and how ocean noise could threaten whales and dolphins The legacy of Andrei Sakharov and the state of Russian science today | High levels of ocean noise a possible threat to whales and dolphins | Race to map Ashmore Reef as aquatic worlds change fast with warming waters | New ideas challenge traditional views about plant conservation and restoration | Large scale art works take visitors on a journey of ecological awareness | Asteroid sample lands in South Australian desert |
| 2021-Jun-05 • 54 minutes Fears environmental laws to be weakened, burning practices threaten ecosystems and learning from Indigenous knowledge A call for strengthened environmental legislation | Regular forest burns reduce chances for endangered plants and animals, impact human health | Linking modern science with Indigenous knowledge to care for the land | Vale Ross Taylor | WA Shipwrecks Museum charts early European encounters with Australia | Forensic evidence playing an increasing role in criminal investigations |
| 2021-May-29 • 54 minutes Methane 120 times worse than carbon dioxide, plus the changing world for frogs, bees and human relationships Politicians need to see linkages in our world | Most Australian frogs intolerant of human modified habitats | Natural gas not a clean option | Coronavirus becomes music | How much artificial intelligence will affect our romantic lives | Pollinators and Pollination | Native bees of south-west Western Australia |
| 2021-May-22 • 54 minutes Alan Turing – thinker ahead of his time Alan Turing – thinker ahead of his time |
| 2021-May-15 • 54 minutes Professor Roger Short, reproductive biologist He is now over ninety, having done work on AIDS, on elephants, on population and condoms. We return to a feature interview from 2011 with Professor Roger Short in Melbourne. |
| 2021-May-08 • 54 minutes Botanical tales, tariffs for renewable energy and extracting fossils Proposed tariff a disincentive for household renewable energy | Extracting fossils from their rocky tombs | Peter Raven - Driven by Nature | Retired botanist becomes word doctor |
| 2021-May-01 • 54 minutes Full-on assault against natural ecosystems Conservation, what’s that? Natural ecosystems now being removed faster | Smart irrigation keeps Adelaide’s parks greener and cooler | Scientists petition to end political persecution in Russia | Russian science a shadow of its former self | Fungal art featured at the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney | Lockdown allows David Suzuki to reconnect with nature |
| 2021-Apr-24 • 54 minutes Suzuki on racism, Darwin on psychology and saving the pines on Norfolk Island. David Suzuki deplores racism, explores its roots and prevalence today | The Psychology of Charles Darwin | Aussie Stem Stars – Gisela Kaplan | The return of sea birds may save Norfolk Island’s iconic pines | Winery takes a low impact approach |
| 2021-Apr-17 • 54 minutes Seaweed a hope to capture carbon and help cool the planet Seaweed a strong hope for drawdown of atmospheric carbon | Festival reveals the beauty, wonder and potential of seaweed | Key indicators of planetary health getting worse faster | Do trade unions speak to scientists? | Climate change is f*%#ing terrifying. Has the media failed in telling the truth? | Saving the threatened plants and animals of Norfolk Island |
| 2021-Apr-10 • 54 minutes Adelaide car plant closes and becomes an innovation hub employing more people than before ANU plans to end neuroscience research | The arts, humanities and sciences dance together | Catastrophic scene as rainfall decreases on Norfolk Island | How to fix a brain in 5 minutes | Adelaide car factory becomes innovation precinct | A guide to finding, identifying, collecting and preparing mushrooms for consumption |
| 2021-Apr-03 • 54 minutes Restoring shellfish reefs and a helping hand for the green parrots of Norfolk Island Economic arguments help win funds to restore shellfish reefs | Life After Gravity - The story of Isaac Newton's decades in London | Overlooked astronomer Vera Rubin showed existence of dark matter | Overview effect offers reassurance in hard times | Green parrots make a comeback on Norfolk Island |
| 2021-Mar-27 • 54 minutes Ecological repair for Australian islands east and west Stem cells - a mix of promise and hype | Canberra doctor buys fish fossil site in central NSW | Native animals reintroduced on Dirk Hartog Island WA | Invasive animals removed, now vegetation being reintroduced on Phillip Island | Understanding internet trolls | Philosopher Michael Strevens charts how science began in The Knowledge Machine - How Irrationality Created Modern Science |
| 2021-Mar-20 • 54 minutes $2.4 billion proposal to commercialise science and the importance of infant gut bacteria $2.4 billion proposal to commercialise science | Gut bacteria in infants play a vital role for life-long health | Genetic study answers key questions about the pink cockatoo | Dung beetles. Without them, we’d be buried in it. | Microscopic animal demonstrates UV resistance |
| 2021-Mar-13 • 54 minutes Fossil fish site in central NSW now in safe hands and Manly festival celebrates beauty and importance of seaweed Less security than a barista for early career researchers in Australia | Fossil fish site in central NSW now in safe hands | A tribute to Japan’s father of seismology | Seaweed festival celebrates importance and joy of seaweed |
| 2021-Mar-06 • 54 minutes How Rosalind Franklin aided our pandemic response and attracting the world’s top researchers, despite COVID COVID pandemic an apt time to rewrite the significance of Rosalind Franklin | Iceberg introduces children to Antarctica | Scheme attracts the world’s top researchers to Australia | Changing language brings pain for some | The Botany of Gin |
| 2021-Feb-27 • 54 minutes Changing climate questions where and how we build close to forested areas, and investigating the top speed of sound New approach needed for urban settlements after apocalyptic bushfires | Plans for the Australian Space Agency | Sharing the overview effect | Investigating the upper limit to the speed of sound |
| 2021-Feb-20 • 54 minutes Fish moving polewards and 3D printing of body parts 3D printers now producing body parts | Fish moving polewards so they can breathe | What led to Greta? | Perovskites promise new ways of generating solar power | Ten Journeys on a Fragile Planet |
| 2021-Feb-13 • 54 minutes We’ve removed 90% of all large fish from the oceans. Just 10% to go. |
| 2021-Feb-06 • 54 minutes Consciousness amongst animals and the story of the dire wolf |
| 2021-Jan-30 • 54 minutes As mining causes roads to crack and houses to collapse, a Swedish city is moved |
| 2021-Jan-27 • 22 minutes Science Extra: The Moon is more fun than Venus Three missions to Mars, phosphine on Venus and water molecules on the Moon. ABC senior science reporter Genelle Weule looks back on the big space news of 2020, with science editor Jonathan Webb. |
| 2021-Jan-23 • 54 minutes Howard Florey - the Australian researcher who developed penicillin Serendipity, brilliance and hard work led to the development of penicillin, a drug that has saved billions of lives. |
| 2021-Jan-20 • 19 minutes Science Extra: What happened to the COVIDSafe app? What is QAnon and what’s it doing in Australia? What was behind the spread of misinformation during the Black Summer bushfires? And what went wrong with Australia’s ‘sunscreen’, COVIDSafe? Jonathan Webb speaks with the science unit's tech reporter James Purtill about 2020 in technology news. |
| 2021-Jan-16 • 54 minutes A portrait of Sir John Eccles - Australian pioneer of neuroscience EnviroTeens take young readers on fun adventures learning about the environment | A portrait of Sir John Eccles - Australian Nobel Laureate who devoted his life to unravelling the complexities of the human brain |
| 2021-Jan-13 • 21 minutes Science Extra: When your flatmate is Homo erectus What happened when three human species met in South Africa? What caused the biggest gravitational waves we’ve detected so far? Also, alligators on helium. That’s it. That’s the story. Science reporter Belinda Smith reviews her favourite stories from 2020 with science editor Jonathan Webb. |
| 2021-Jan-09 • 54 minutes A book for children about environmental change, and the discovery of mauve |
| 2021-Jan-06 • 17 minutes Science Extra: A mountain in the deep Could you survive for a month living off the land? And what’s the skyscraper-sized object found in the waters off Cape York? Also, everything you need to know about carbon accounting. Science editor Jonathan Webb speaks to environment reporter Nick Kilvert about his top stories from 2020. |
| 2021-Jan-02 • 54 minutes Writing science Beatrix Potter – author and amateur pioneer mycologist | Peering through the looking glass at Lewis Carroll | A tribute to Terry Pratchett | A nod to Dylan Thomas |
| 2020-Dec-30 • 18 minutes Science Extra: Inside a frantic year in health news What do we know about the origins of the coronavirus? How promising are these new vaccines? And what’s taken the wind out of the sails of one of the most promising treatments for Alzheimer’s disease? Health reporter Olivia Willis speaks with science editor Jonathan Webb about the big health stories of 2020. |
| 2020-Dec-26 • 54 minutes Two scientists, a man and a woman, who changed the course of history Portraits of two scientists who changed our view of the world - Rosalind Franklin whose photograph illustrated the double helix structure of DNA, and James Clerk Maxwell, who was up there with Newton and Einstein. He pioneered our understanding of the kinetic nature of gases, studied the rings of Saturn and described the importance of electromagnetism. |
| 2020-Dec-19 • 54 minutes A portrait of Dame Miriam Rothschild |
| 2020-Dec-12 • 54 minutes Would you take a ray gun to ringworm? Radiation used to treat benign conditions up to the 1960s has led to illness and death | Big push into nano medicine at The University of Sydney | Children’s book celebrates pioneer of surgical osteointegration | Australian trees growing all over the world | Similarities between COVID-19 and climate change | Space weather a risk for life | The fine line for the scientific illustrator |
| 2020-Dec-05 • 54 minutes After the AM, here comes the WAM The path towards reduced waste in Australia | New technology for recycling composite materials | Western Australian Museum opens after rebuild | New theories about human origins | Communicating science and health messages in Africa | How humans have changed natural environments |
| 2020-Nov-28 • 54 minutes Australian Museum reopens, a new monkey named and an emu tries to fly More screen time increases risk of myopia | Australian Museum Sydney opens following major transformation | Rare monkey finally named | NSW Premier’s Prize for battery research | NSW Premier’s Prize for research and leadership in medical biological science | Journey to Australia, then New Holland by Joseph Banks leads to the publication of hundreds of drawings of new plants and animals | Henry the Flying Emu |
| 2020-Nov-21 • 54 minutes The 21st century so far Twenty years of climate extremes | Barry Jones tracks changes since the 1980s | How debating helped in the transition years | The Carbon Club exposes those behind Australia’s toxic carbon politics |
| 2020-Nov-14 • 54 minutes The profound versus the preposterous - Life vs loony. What is life? | Revisiting the great Carlos hoax |
| 2020-Nov-07 • 54 minutes Three Prime Minister’s Science Prize winners |
| 2020-Oct-31 • 54 minutes The Prime Minister’s Science Prize Prime Minister’s Prize for Science awarded for discovery of gravitational waves. | Celebrating Ruby Payne-Scott and the birth of radio astronomy. |
| 2020-Oct-24 • 54 minutes Hope in Hell? Hope in Hell | Working towards bigger, better lithium batteries | Should scientists take a position in the US election? | The Human Body Survival Guide |
| 2020-Oct-17 • 54 minutes No more fish? Fish of the eastern Pacific | Wild fish catch easily replaced by aquaculture | Barramundi breeding restocks our tropical northern rivers | National Youth Science Forum boosts young people keen on science | Fixing the climate emergency must start now - Johan Rockström part 8, final |
| 2020-Oct-10 • 54 minutes The North Pole, gentle robots and the future of AI 2020 Nobel Prizes. Ten steps for best chance of climate stability - Johan Rockström part 7. Designing our AI future. New roles for robots. The Pilbara - test ground for NASA with school students keen to learn about their ancient land. |
| 2020-Oct-03 • 54 minutes Three exceptional women Lecture - Futures Past and Possible: Histories of and for Tomorrow |
| 2020-Sep-26 • 54 minutes Venus - another prompt for the regeneration of science? |
| 2020-Sep-19 • 54 minutes How to eliminate CO2 emissions from agriculture? The answer lies in the soil! US west coast ablaze. | The Amazon regulates the planet’s climate and we’re burning it - Johan Rockström part 4. | Soils can play a major role in storing carbon. | Conservation co-op provides connection to community and nature. | Meteorites bring information about the early solar system. |
| 2020-Sep-12 • 54 minutes Pipsqueak dinosaurs – How did they become top monsters? Urgent action required to steer clear of climate tipping points - Johan Rockström part 3. | Thermal bricks could assist transition to renewable energy. | Young people at risk from online gambling. | Dinosaurs - from pipsqueaks to monsters. | Children’s book features adventures with reptiles. |
| 2020-Sep-05 • 54 minutes Can you have a BBQ 40,000 years before people land? Stressed planet sending clear warning signs – Johan Rockström part 2. | The nudge which opened the door to mathematics. | Shells and blackened rocks on the Victorian coast dated to 40,000 years before first people believed to be in Australia. | STEM Superstar says go for it! | Patient Zero |
| 2020-Aug-29 • 54 minutes Lithium potential for Australia and time running out climate change action Window closing for action to stabilise the Earth’s climate. | Cleaner air delivers LA health and economic benefits. | Lithium processing a new opportunity for Australia. | Children’s book about surgeon Fiona Wood. | STEM Superstar prompts government probe on masks. | South Georgia Island once rat infested, becomes a rat-free bird sanctuary. |
| 2020-Aug-22 • 54 minutes New ideas about our food choices and how taste and pleasure have helped drive evolution What really controls our eating decisions? How our bodies tell us what to eat. Taste and pleasure of food offer a new way to understand evolution. |
| 2020-Aug-15 • 54 minutes Shall we join the quantum revolution? Scientists urged to keep waving the flag. UNSW launches new degree in quantum engineering. Startup building the infrastructure for quantum computing. Reducing the data, energy and emissions of big data computing. Designing the computers of tomorrow. Lasers support our modern way of life. |
| 2020-Aug-08 • 54 minutes Dr Dolittle turns 100 and the complex behaviour of birds Dr Dolittle turns 100, The Bird Way: a new look at how birds talk, work, play, parent and think and flies dance to lure their mate |
| 2020-Aug-01 • 54 minutes The seaweed revolution and keeping brains fit The stars that time forgot – at the edge of our galaxy. Protect your hippocampus with exercise, diet, socialising and sex. Rope-like filaments common to rouge brain proteins. Kinky proteins suspected cause for Alzheimer’s. Microalgae the basis for fuels, food and more. New seaweed processing plant opens in southern NSW. Singing frogs bid farewell to Mike Tyler. |
| 2020-Jul-25 • 54 minutes The history of Boeing and the future of passenger flight Basics of naming in biology, museum returns human remains to traditional communities, the history of Boeing and the future of passenger flight, space rockets being developed in Queensland. |
| 2020-Jul-18 • 54 minutes The Pilbara - used by ancient people and NASA, blown up by Rio Tinto Pilbara used by NASA to prepare for Mars missions. Pilbara Aboriginal site destroyed by Rio Tinto. Predicting earthquakes. Evolution of angiosperms. Mike Tyler reflects on Joseph Banks. |
| 2020-Jul-11 • 54 minutes The Frog Man remembered + global genomes |
| 2020-Jul-04 • 54 minutes Are physicists bonkers? |
| 2020-Jun-27 • 54 minutes Could there be a Goldilocks Universe? And how to save our seahorses |
| 2020-Jun-20 • 48 minutes The Science Show shares some of its favourite books From mathematics and mammoths to the woman who found out what stars are made of: Robyn Williams and Carl Smith talk about books with Eddie Woo, Sharon Giltrow, Zofia Witkowski-Blake, Craig Cormick, Danielle Clode and Chris Flynn. |
| 2020-Jun-13 • 54 minutes Vale the professor of everything |
| 2020-Jun-06 • 54 minutes Climate grief 3 - How comedians approach climate change |
| 2020-May-30 • 54 minutes Tiahni Adamson - first ever Indigenous Time at Sea Scholarship recipient and how hard it is to read faces. |
| 2020-May-23 • 54 minutes Fear for the Amazon, and a chance to compost yourself! The plunder and destruction of the vast Amazon forests have been so terrible, that by 2035, they will cease to be a sink for CO2. The burning was so bad last year that the holocaust featured on the cover of The Economist magazine. This week The Science Show receives its first report from Ignacio Amigo who lives in Manaus and writes for the journal Nature. |
| 2020-May-16 • 54 minutes Climate grief 2 - Singer-songwriter Missy Higgins Talk to our top creative people – writers, musicians, comedians even (especially them) and you find most are deeply concerned about the massive threats to environment. Last week we heard the concerns of marine scientist Ove Hoegh-Guldberg. This week one of Australia’s greatest young singers, Missy Higgins, tells Dr Jonica Newby how climate grief has been at the heart of her most recent songs. Don’t Look Down is a breathtaking example. Missy describes the emotions – and the science – that have inspired her. ... |
| 2020-May-09 • 54 minutes Climate grief This week professor Ove Hoegh-Guldberg from the University of Queensland, a world-renowned marine scientist and contributor to IPCC assessments, talks about the likely loss of the Great Barrier Reef. How does a determined, optimistic researcher keep going amid the upsets. | | WARNING: This episode contains language that may cause offence to some listeners. |
| 2020-May-02 • 54 minutes A tribute to Australian doctor Catherine Hamlin who dedicated her life to helping young African women damaged by traumatic births Catherine Hamlin was born in Sydney. She worked in Ethiopia pioneering medical treatment for young women damaged by unsuccessful childbirth. In 2000, Pauline Newman visited Catherine Hamlin and her famous hospital in Addis Ababa. Catherine Hamlin died in March 2020 at the age of 93. By way of tribute today we revisit Pauline’s program from nearly 20 years ago. |
| 2020-Apr-29 • 5 minutes PREVIEW RN Presents — Hot Mess: Why haven’t we fixed climate change? It has been just over three decades since warnings were first raised about global warming. The 20 hottest years on record have all occurred in the last quarter century. So why aren’t we serious about climate change? Richard Aedy goes looking for answers in a 4-part series on RN - Sunday mornings at 8am from 3rd May and podcast. |
| 2020-Apr-25 • 54 minutes Jane Goodall, Christof Koch and an app to save dollars How can Jane Goodall have hope for the future, especially for the animals she loves, when the news about extinctions is so bleak? As The Hope, a 2-hour film about Jane and her life, is launched this week by National Geographic Jane joins Robyn on The Science Show to discuss the film, her work and her hope. |
| 2020-Apr-18 • 54 minutes Three superstars – and one’s only 18! Patrick Webster was head boy at Albany Senior High and became deeply involved with the waters of SW Australia. Which led him to think about climate (yes, we are obsessed by the virus, but this is even bigger). Hear Patrick’s speech to a packed hall in Albany and realise there is hope. |
| 2020-Apr-11 • 54 minutes Asteroids chock full of water, multiverses, and our planet full of life – deep as you go! A large asteroid carrying plenty of water will be worth millions of dollars we’re told. But it’s not sloshing around. Instead, the water is carried in chemical form within the rocks themselves. Now Dr Katarina Miljkovic from Curtin University has analysed gases coming off asteroids when they are bombarded as they fly through space. She has found there will be enough water to support human explorers when they venture through the galaxy. |
| 2020-Apr-04 • 54 minutes A schoolgirl’s plea, a flying monster and kids on screens Despite shutdowns caused by that virus, we are gaining little benefit in emissions reduction. Rebecca Ford, age 16, who’s at The Senior High School in Albany WA tells The Science Show why she is so concerned and how much young people need our support. Yes, we are distracted, but climate change won’t go away and could make corona seem like a mere passing sniffle if we’re not careful. |
| 2020-Mar-28 • 54 minutes Fear! Should we be frightened? ...and survive? |
| 2020-Mar-21 • 54 minutes Why is it so cold in here? Besides the virus, what’s bothering people in offices and cabs around the world? Well, it’s freezing. Especially for women. Tom Chang at the University of Southern California did the tests and found there’s a marked drop in productivity if people are uncomfortable because the air-conditioning is berserk. He published his findings and was astounded to find there were millions of responses. Is there a gender difference? Do men in suits really not feel the freeze? Can we afford to waste the energy on unwanted ... |
| 2020-Mar-14 • 54 minutes The arts meet the sciences - and ads in the sky? White dwarfs reveal composition of gobbled planets | How light pollution impacts animals | Plan to create advertising messages in the sky using satellites | Tragedy of the commons now being played out in space | The arts and sciences dance together with inspiring results | Curiosity the cornerstone for artists and scientists |
| 2020-Mar-07 • 54 minutes Our superginormous black hole is hungry again |
| 2020-Feb-29 • 54 minutes The grid is wobbling – what to do? And here comes the WA Scientist of the Year, and he’s running! |
| 2020-Feb-22 • 54 minutes The USA, and Australian forests under extreme pressure |
| 2020-Feb-15 • 54 minutes A wire around the world |
| 2020-Feb-08 • 54 minutes The formula - the new science of success |
| 2020-Feb-01 • 54 minutes A journalist’s view of The Australian’s anti-science campaign, changes in energy and transport, and a boost for innovation. |
| 2020-Jan-25 • 54 minutes The Coastline – as vital as your skin. Keep it healthy or we die. |
| 2020-Jan-18 • 54 minutes How bees see, how fish change their sex and a poem on bushfires, climate, politics and society |
| 2020-Jan-16 • 17 minutes Science Extra: 2019 in space The first image of a black hole, Apollo 11 celebrations, and the successes and failures of 2019's satellite missions. Plus what to expect from the Mars-bound missions in 2020. |
| 2020-Jan-11 • 54 minutes Carl Zimmer explores the history of our understanding of heredity |
| 2020-Jan-09 • 16 minutes Science Extra: 2019 in environment Droughts, fires, and discussions around climate change intensified in 2019. A recap of the year in environment news, and a glimpse of what's to come in 2020. |
| 2020-Jan-04 • 54 minutes Melting ice and burning forests signs of a changing world 3. The importance of Antarctica for the Earth’s climate |
| 2020-Jan-02 • 18 minutes Science Extra: 2019 in science From quantum 'supremacy' to deep life, catch up on the big themes from a busy year of science. Plus will scientists build a brand new eukaryote in 2020? |
| 2019-Dec-28 • 54 minutes Identifying cholera and de-extinction - should we bring back extinct animals? |
| 2019-Dec-26 • 18 minutes Science Extra: 2019 in health Recapping the dangers of vaping and e-cigarettes, and the latest trials aimed at warding off Alzheimer's disease. Plus what's ahead in health news for 2020? |
| 2019-Dec-21 • 54 minutes The role of forensic science in criminal investigations This discussion from the World Science Festival in Brisbane explores the forensic techniques used to convict 21st century criminals and the issues presented for those in science and the law. |
| 2019-Dec-14 • 54 minutes Big themes for 2020 - Youth, identity, climate, AI and always, birds. * Zofia bids farewell to her school days | * Roots revives early memories of racial abuse for science writer Michael Brooks | * Bird Haven festival celebrates the joy of birds | * Move aside big banana and big prawn, here comes the big periodic table | * Is there life beyond carbon? | * Marilyn Renfree – Academy honours a lifetime of research | * The march of artificial Intelligence |
| 2019-Dec-07 • 54 minutes Teenagers design museum galleries |
| 2019-Nov-30 • 54 minutes Seaweed, sex and nano Nanotechnology brings new challenges, new solutions | Quantum computing promises new computing capabilities | Micro algae show potential to replace fossil fuel-based products | Heartbreak pain is like physical pain to the brain | Ode to Antarctica | PLC student Phoebe Adam honoured in 2019 Bragg Student Prize for Science Writing | Bragg Prize for Science Writing 2019 |
| 2019-Nov-23 • 54 minutes Uglies, parrots and Leonardo da Vinci Why climate change denial persists | Abbotsleigh student Arwyn Stone wins 2019 Bragg Student Prize for Science Writing | Ugly animals on parade in the Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Ugly Animals | Insurance policy for frogs in decline | Increasing the efficiency of silicon solar panels | Celebrating Leonardo da Vinci | Thinking Like a Parrot |
| 2019-Nov-16 • 21 minutes Dinos, Denisovans and tipping complexity Self-interest preventing progress on world problems | It wasn’t an instant goodnight for all when the asteroid hit | Emptying the dustbin to assemble the Iguanodontian tree | Opalised dinosaur to star in a film and a new museum | Tracing distribution of ancient humans | A new approach to treating pancreatic cancer | Ancient reefs reveal early history of life on Earth |
| 2019-Nov-09 • 54 minutes Where are the birds? And mould-breaking young scientists After 180 years, suddenly we know more about breasts | Magic mushroom compound psilocybin shows promise for treatment of anxiety and depression | How to build affection for city rivers | Insects feeling the heat of changing climate | Oxford encourages swifts with a tower of nesting boxes | Birds threatened by rapid climate change | Unnatural Selection explores and compares selective breeding with natural selection |
| 2019-Nov-02 • 54 minutes Is nuclear safe? Plus, a stroll through the science of secrets Gerry Thomas questions our fear of nuclear power | Could California save the Tarkine by leasing it? | The University of Newcastle looks at new uni model, new energy options | Electrolysis may help pull carbon dioxide from the atmosphere | Look at our beautiful website! You can trust us! | British grapes roasted by extreme heat | London’s Science Museum presents Top Secret: From ciphers to cyber security |
| 2019-Oct-26 • 54 minutes The cancer-causing addictive drug, fourth in line after caffeine, alcohol and nicotine, gets no research UNSW celebrates 70 years | Prime Minister’s Prizes for Innovators and Innovation 2019 | Prime Minister’s Prizes for Science Teaching in Primary and Secondary Schools 2019 | STEM careers extend throughout industry | Linking climate passion with education and careers | Betel quid - fourth most commonly consumed drug after caffeine, alcohol and nicotine, but this cancer-causing addiction gets no research |
| 2019-Oct-19 • 54 minutes Growing fish near old power stations Latrobe Valley aquifer could power new industries | New efficiencies coming for the mining industry | Eucs a new source of graphene | Prime Minister’s Prizes for Science 2019 | Should we communicate with ET? |
| 2019-Oct-12 • 54 minutes Transformed coal brings promise of new smart industries Nobel Prizes 2019 | PhD candidate investigates proteins and DNA in resistant breast cancer cells | Newcastle University helps city move from smokestacks to innovative industries | Transforming coal to a high value resource, not one that is burnt for 10c per | Warming England has mice on the move | Robots allow scientists a few more hours sleep | How physics inspires and consoles Tim Radford |
| 2019-Oct-05 • 54 minutes Meet the first female editor of Nature, and who are the orphans of Apollo? Nature celebrates 150 years | New missions bring new excitement for the Moon | The mystery and complexity of our sense of smell | Lignin a possible basis for new bioplastics | Polluting petrochemical solvent replaced by green biochemical alternative |
| 2019-Sep-28 • 54 minutes The Science Show is sent to Coventry UK’s Warwick University – collaborative projects and filling skills gaps | Alice Roberts – how to approach humanity’s huge challenges | High-res scans reveal dodo’s violent death | Autonomous vehicle for those sprawling campuses and shopping centres | How car batteries will change over time | Talking to young children helps with language development | Seed collection conserves genetic diversity of vegetables |
| 2019-Sep-21 • 54 minutes Where did the Moon come from? What can time-travelling seeds teach us about climate change? | Five schools across four continents look to the stars together | Under the stars: a new book introducing children to astrophysics | Where DID the Moon come from? | The Moon: A History for the Future |
| 2019-Sep-14 • 54 minutes The Magic of Mushrooms |
| 2019-Sep-07 • 54 minutes The Future of Australia's Space Industry Australia has a long history of space activities. But how will the newly formed Australian Space Agency be supporting future space industry and technology? |
| 2019-Aug-31 • 54 minutes Forty-Four Years Later! The first Science Show had a warning about fossil fuels - 44 years ago |
| 2019-Aug-24 • 54 minutes Let’s save the gorgeous pangolin! New tech to help trace pangolin poachers | Research and education a key part of Sydney’s Taronga Zoo | Celebrations for Riversleigh’s 25 years as a World Heritage site | 50 years of marriage celebrated - with a wasp | Ants - the gardeners of the forest | Australia’s insects disappearing before being described and named | Cameras the best way to observe animal behaviour | Our chemical homes |
| 2019-Aug-17 • 54 minutes Gravity, with Einstein Australia should adopt the British model of science advisors for each ministry says Peter Newman | Understanding gravity | Illustrating the universe | Resistant nerves could lead to treatment for neuro degenerative disease | Startups aim at efficiency and waste in food production | Improving photosynthesis to boost crop yields |
| 2019-Aug-10 • 54 minutes Hard questions and hydrogen Bees worldwide under serious threat | The Rescue Project presents stories of land repair | Reducing emissions won’t be enough to limit rising temperatures | Coordination required to build a hydrogen-based economy | Science should emulate sport in supporting women | Social influences can help problem gamblers | Tom Gleeson BSc back with another season of tough questions |
| 2019-Aug-03 • 54 minutes How did just five species of dinosaurs survive Armageddon 65 million years ago to give us 10,000 species of birds today? Concerns with funding shift for OECD science | Dinosaurs reveal further details of history of life on Earth | Field sound recordings show ecosystems changing fast | Thomas Harriot - forgotten Elizabethan scientist comes to life | The little extras needed to engage US humanities undergrads in biology basics |
| 2019-Jul-27 • 54 minutes Was Einstein right? |
| 2019-Jul-20 • 54 minutes Anyone fancy $315 billion? The voice of Apollo - how ABC science broadcast the Moon landing | Open source data the basis of research, democracy and scientifically-based decision making | Australia back of the pack in digital innovation | University of Tasmania focussed on local challenges, opportunities and community | University of Otago celebrates 150 years | Primary students lap up Einsteinian physics |
| 2019-Jul-13 • 54 minutes Bringing them back |
| 2019-Jul-06 • 54 minutes The library of life on Earth We've now described about 1.75 million species on our planet - but it's believed there are millions more that we haven't classified yet. |
| 2019-Jun-29 • 54 minutes Love, feelings, and flavour Lovers in the lab |
| 2019-Jun-22 • 54 minutes Taking tech into your own hands Building your own artificial Pancreas |
| 2019-Jun-15 • 58 minutes Wild things The first/last Danish wolf | Making Tasmanian devils less Tasmanian | How to control Australia's wild dogs | A world without humans |
| 2019-Jun-08 • 54 minutes Nine stories about our nine pints of blood Most people have a minimum of 9 pints of blood in their bodies. In her book Nine Pints, Rose George takes us on a journey with nine stories exploring the science of blood and our changing attitudes to blood in different cultures. We produce 2,000,000 new red blood cells each second. The cells have a lot of work to do. They carry oxygen to organs and tissues. They carry nutrients, heat and hormones. Blood transports waste products and where necessary, clots to stop the flow. It fights infections and foreign... |
| 2019-Jun-01 • 54 minutes Electric brains and ‘magic’ furniture Headset provides soundtrack for the vision impaired | Buzzing ball trains the brain with degraded proprioception | Magnetic brain stimulation trials for Multiple sclerosis | Adelaide hosts first Asian Physics Olympiad held in Australia | New wheat varieties for the changing climate | Amphibians threatened worldwide | Ecosystem services vital, though not always obvious |
| 2019-May-25 • 54 minutes Bees on fire! Tasmanian forest fires leave people feeling threatened | Prairie voles a model for human love and attachment | High drama in the lives of honey bees | The key role of insects in crop pollination | Response to damaged genes linked to Parkinson’s Disease | Secrets of those who bloom in their senior years revealed |
| 2019-May-18 • 54 minutes Open the door - or else! Sulawesi hit by rare supershear earthquake in Sep 2018 | Nuclear and renewables or nuclear or renewables? | Challenges for Alzheimer’s research | How Australia’s first regional university offers more | Pouched rats sniff for land mines and medical samples |
| 2019-May-11 • 54 minutes Fancy a brain diet? New evidence helps rewrite the human story | Mass migration of human populations predicted | ALP promises funding boost for science | How gut bacteria affect our brain | Who controls autonomous systems? | The amazing, bedazzling bird-of-paradise |
| 2019-May-04 • 54 minutes Frogs! Frogs! Frogs! Ode to the typewriter and vale poet Les Murray | Phone recordings provide status update for frogs | Spread of chytrid fungus linked to human transport | Hashtag era gives activism a face | Coalition promises for science | Judge finds scientist’s dismissal unlawful | Major changes in human history linked to geological forces |
| 2019-Apr-27 • 54 minutes Blood! Impacts of high-tide flooding on local economic activity | Mysteries of the bizarre ancient fish, the coelacanth | Life at extreme ocean depths | Vale biologist Sydney Brenner | Challenges for AI visual recognition | Nine amazing stories about blood |
| 2019-Apr-20 • 54 minutes The psychology of going to Mars New telescope to probe the formation and evolution of the universe | Building teams for missions to Mars |
| 2019-Apr-13 • 54 minutes A science-led election? Bill Shorten describes science under a Labor government | Australian hydrogen could power the world many times over | Antarctic coasts melted by warmer oceans | Slime moulds exhibit memory | New ideas about ridged teeth of large aquatic feeders | Deciphering the social behaviour of ants |
| 2019-Apr-06 • 54 minutes Scientists support worldwide moratorium on editing human embryos Budget provides science a nudge | Moratorium call on editing human embryos | Energy used to produce wasted food in US could power whole countries | Measuring the universe may lead to new physics, and new model of the universe | Worldwide bird sightings collated at eBird | Interactive experience for visitors at SF Exploratorium |
| 2019-Mar-30 • 54 minutes The making and breaking of memory President Trump heading for the far side of the Moon | Early prep for human missions to Mars | Lights affect migratory birds | NestWatch tracks breeding success of birds across the US | Where memories are held | New focussed approach to brain therapy | Miniaturisation and wifi bring hope for patients with epilepsy and vision impairment |
| 2019-Mar-23 • 54 minutes Is IQ fixed? How racial prejudice can easily appear in classrooms | The human race - a race of one | Henry Sutton an inspiration for students at Federation University | Project FeederWatch feeds birds, unites people, provides valuable data | Fairywren Project collates bird sightings to monitor changes in populations and range |
| 2019-Mar-16 • 54 minutes Stopping the plunge in achievement in STEM at school and university Understanding not memorization the key to learning maths | New approach to teaching hopes to improve retention in STEM | Carl Sagan inspires search for life beyond Earth | Elements of interest to Australia | Racial prejudice from teachers lessens student results |
| 2019-Mar-09 • 54 minutes HIV, Trump and David Baltimore New battery launched for life beyond lithium | Hunt for exoplanets continues after Kepler | David Baltimore - early work led to first HIV drugs | Happy 150th birthday to the Periodic Table |
| 2019-Mar-02 • 54 minutes Reports from the American Association for the Advancement of Science meeting in Washington DC Microorganisms produce more CO2 in a warming world | Drought, heat and fire leave massive tree graveyards on all continents | Biggest nuclear fusion experiment on schedule in southern France | The Bail Project helps low income people in NYC | Smithsonian Museum and Zoo records the natural world as it collides with human civilisation | Apprenticeship scheme leads to low Swiss unemployment | The third revolution in warfare after gun powder and nuclear weapons is on its way - autonomous weapons |
| 2019-Feb-23 • 54 minutes What is life? Investigating processes which control the expression of genes | New chemistry emulates nature | Climate politics – it’s short-term gain for some versus long-term well-being for all | The secret of life - explanation through new physics |
| 2019-Feb-16 • 54 minutes Coral spawning, and the hopes and hurdles of assisted evolution |
| 2019-Feb-09 • 54 minutes An ancient whale mystery hidden in the cliffs around Bells Beach |
| 2019-Feb-02 • 54 minutes The vital importance of public enterprise |
| 2019-Jan-26 • 54 minutes Holidays in space? |
| 2019-Jan-20 • 13 minutes Science Extra: You're not eating enough fruit and veg A look back at some big stories of human health from 2018. Why do scientists keep studying the same genes, why are Aussies still not eating enough fruit and veg, and what can we learn from the catastrophic 1918 flu pandemic? |
| 2019-Jan-19 • 54 minutes How young people view our scientific world – and our uncertain future |
| 2019-Jan-13 • 15 minutes Science Extra: What did we learn from social media in 2018? We discuss 2018 in tech news — from social media behaving badly to 'deep fake' videos and concerns about My Health Record. |
| 2019-Jan-12 • 54 minutes William Whewell - coined osmosis, conductivity, ion and scientist! |
| 2019-Jan-06 • 12 minutes Science Extra: Emergency departments leave mental health patients waiting We review the year in health: an investigation into out-of-pocket medical costs, mental health patients visiting the ED and changes to abortion laws. |
| 2019-Jan-05 • 54 minutes Frankenstein - It’s alive!!! |
| 2018-Dec-30 • 14 minutes Science Extra: Landings, launches and a solar probe 2018 was a big year in space. We look back at a mission to the Sun, a slew of mysterious radio bursts, and the ancient glimmer of the very first stars. |
| 2018-Dec-29 • 54 minutes The Willy Show A couple of weeks ago, The Science Show featured The Vagina Museum in Britain. Today, in the interest of genital balance and gonad diversity, we present The Willy Show. |
| 2018-Dec-23 • 13 minutes Science Extra: IPCC report warns Earth's climate is in serious trouble We review 2018 in environment news — going vegan for the environment, dire climate warnings from the UN, and the troubled life of the world's largest organism, the 'trembling giant'. |
| 2018-Dec-22 • 54 minutes Is birdsong music? |
| 2018-Dec-16 • 14 minutes Science Extra: An ancient jawbone reveals movements of modern humans Looking back at 2018 in science, we learn about our ancient ancestors, our planet's core and a really, really bad headache. |
| 2018-Dec-15 • 54 minutes The Vagina Museum is born The Vagina Museum | Superstars of STEM to encourage girls to take up STEM study | Santa Sabina produces prize-winning writers | Study of one equation leads to advanced imaging | Mining brings arsenic to the surface | Federation University Australia prepares students for jobs in renewable energy | The Quantum Astrologer’s Handbook |
| 2018-Dec-08 • 54 minutes Inventing TV in Australia in 1885 Australian inventor Henry Sutton remembered | The palm oil dilemma | Mental health services barely available in Indonesia | Biofabrication brings solutions for skulls, hearts, ears and more |
| 2018-Dec-01 • 54 minutes How to grow a new leg Bill Shorten promises funding boost for science | UN Climate Report warns current emissions reduction won’t keep warming under 2 degrees | New frog’s leg encouraging step towards human regenerative success | Animal poaching for traditional Chinese medicine threatens key species | Tim Flannery traces the natural history of Europe from the time of the dinosaurs |