Lost in Science

On this week's show we get lost in Science Fictio-mas, as the presenters look at some of the science behind the blockbuster Sci-Fi of the season to find out how it balances with the fiction. Claire Digs into Dune to find out if Sand Worms are possible on alien planets, Chris takes multiple looks at multiverses to see how likely it is any of us could be played by Toby Maguire and Stu takes a trip i...

This week on the show Stu unravels the mysteries of how painkillers work, and what we don't currently understand and their effect on the body. Also on the show Chris investigates the what we know about water chemistry, there is much more to it than meets and wets the eye!

This week, Claire finds out what we know, or more accurately don't know, about the new Omicron variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, with answers from epidemiologist Raina MacIntyre to some common questions about what it means for the COVID-19 pandemic; and then for a real scare, Stu introduces us to xenobots, manufactured organisms made from cells of the frog Xenopus laevis, which can move about and h...

Stu takes a look at NASA's collaborative DART throwing efforts to see how well they can protect our planet, while Chris tries to unravel the mystery of sleep - why do we do it, and why can we sometimes not?

This week on the show Chris explains the science behind some of the anti-vaccination arguments and worries out there right now relating to pregnancy and heart disease. Also on the show Claire gives a timely PSA about the paralysis tick, where they are, what their lifecycle is and why you may need to be more alert for them this year. 

This week, Claire reveals the surprising observation of parthenogenesis, aka 'virgin birth', in the endangered California condor (Gymnogyps californianus), and explains how this is possible, and why the chicks are male thanks to bird sex chromosomes being different from ours; and Stu dives into the alkaline water fad, why it won't help your health, and why the way a certain celebrity uses it makes...

This week on the show Chris catches up on the science award season, with the Prime Minister's Prize for Science winner Anthony Weiss, and his groundbreaking work genome sequencing the COVID-19 causing virus. Also on the show, Stu talks about some recently published research busting myths of how metabolism slows down as we age. 

Chris spills the beans on what makes coffee jump out of our cup when you are carrying it, one of the mysteries of physics that is helping inform robot design, and Claire talks to Linden Ashcroft abotu what is under discussion at the COP26 conference on climate change in Glasgow underway right now. 

Claire speaks to microbiologist Peter Timms from the University of the Sunshine Coast about clinical trials of a vaccine for chlamydia, which threatens Australia's already vulnerable koala populations; and Stu introduces us to UNESCO's World Science Day for Peace and Development, which takes place on 10 November every year.

Chris investigates a new X file as mysterious signals from the centre of the galaxy are detected in outback Australia, and Stu reopens a closed case, the mystery of the Atacama mummy. Not the origin of the tiny skeleton, but why some people won't accept the obvious answer. This week on Lost in Science!

This week on the show Claire speaks to researcher Tom Fairman about the huge effort to save Mountain Ash forests by reseeding thousands of hectares after the Black Summer bushfires.  Also on the show Chris talks us through the science behind the Nobel Prize for Physics, and how explaining chaos has huge implications for our understanding of climate change. 

This week, Claire speaks to oceanographer Christina Schallenberg about how smoke from the Black Summer bushfires led to an algal bloom bigger than Australia; and Stu explains how, contrary to colonialist assumptions, songbirds evolved in Australia and spread throughout the world, as revealed by their tastebuds.

This week on the show Chris takes a break from covid news to give us a history lesson on small pox and the similarities between vaccine hesitancy back then and now. And do you think a parrot is as smart as a primate? Stu talks about new research on a cockatoo that can make and use multiple different tools, including a spoon!

This week, Claire investigates the unlikely return from the brink of the Eastern Barred Bandicoot, an example of how sometimes going on the endangered list is a good thing, and Chris gives us a round up of his favourites from the annual Ig Nobel prizes for science that makes to laugh then makes you think. 

This week, Claire looks at the incredible mimicry powers of birds, including recently unearthed audio of a swearing musk duck (Biziura lobata). And Stu tells us about new research aiming to alleviate osteoarthritis in knees using cartilage from an unlikely source.

With these rolling lockdowns we have all been spending too much time on the internet! Stu digs deep into just how big and scary "Big Pharma" really is and why you might come across the use of this term when dealing with Covid-19 internet conspiracists. Speaking of conspiracists, Chris looks at the worrying trend for conspiracies theories to spread and why this type of thinking discredits scientist...

This week Chris remembers the life and work of American theoretical physicist Steven Weinberg who passed away recently. Famous among physicists but little known among the general public, he was widely regarded as the one of the greatest physicists of his time. Claire looks into another little known area of science, that of indigenous weeds. In a country the size of Australia, it's not unusual to f...

This week it's the COVID-testing episode, as Claire speakes to materials chemist Nicholas Kirkwood, whose lab normally researches better solar panels, but retooled in the pandemic to make magnetic nanoparticles for PCR tests; and with hayfever season on the way, Stu explains why you still need to get tested if you show any symptoms.

It's an invertebrate double creature feature! Chris brings us a creepy tale of giant centipedes that stalk and eat birds on Philip Island (not the Victorian Philip Island). And Stu chats about a very domestic spider we are all pretty familiar with, the Daddy Long Legs and the fascinating new research investigating the genes that give them their long legs. 

It's Science week It's science week It's science week.. It's National Science week, and Claire brings us a roundup of the events that most interested her form around the country, many of them accessible from your own computer, (check the website scienceweek.net.au for further details) and Chris reports on the contents of the latest IPCC report on the impacts of climate change and what is (and isn'...

Claire speaks to biologist Christopher O'Bryan about calculating the carbon emissions that feral pigs cause by disturbing the soil; and Stu explains why not to appeal to the authority of scientists stepping outside their domain of expertise, using the example of computer scientist Stephanie Seneff writing about glyphosate.

This week on the show Stu speaks to Gideon Meyerowitz Katz to revisit the use of Ivermectin to treat covid-19 and the dodgy scientific studies that skewed the data supporting it's recommended use. Also on the show, as a lot of the country is either in lockdown or coming out of lockdown we get the facts from Chris on new research looking at the health impact of lockdowns compared to the impact of t...

Part 2 of Claire's Dung Beetle interview, and Chris talks to Krystal Kostaglou from Deakin University about her research into Southern Masked Lapwings and their strange pre-hatching behaviour. 

In our all-BS episode, Claire presents part one of her two-part interview with Valerie Caron from the CSIRO about her research on dung beetles, including the native beetles that feed on marsupial poo and the search for beetles from overseas to tackle the dung of introduced species. And Chris gives a rundown on the legal case of physicist Peter Ridd, who was dismissed from James Cook University for...

This week on the show Stu talks us through the tech billionaires who, not unlike comic book supervillians, are trying as hard as they can to beat each other to space. Also on the show Claire speaks to PhD researcher Ebony Ciarrocci about her research investigating reproductive biology in the fat tailed dunnart, and her plan to figure out a way to develop IVF for marsupials.