Lagrange Point

Getting a prosthetic limb to feel natural and comfortable without spending a fortune is incredibly difficult. Plus the human body (and prosthetics) change over time. So how can you make a prosthetic better match it's user? We look at three stories of adaptive prosthetics and finding ways to make use of new technology to help improve lives. From building an elaborate treadmill contraption to hearin...

Our modern world relies on energy, and some of it produce a lot of carbon dioxide. How can we make everything from air travel to wearable tech be less carbon intensive? Is there a way to make jet fuel or power ships that is carbon neutral? Just how much energy do crypto currency burn up? What is the impact of all this Bitcoin speculation on the health of the planet? From Fitbits to smart watches a...

This week we dive into the complicated history of cells and try to figure out if you are still the same ship. How does a cell know what it wants to grow up to be? What helps it make the decision to be an optic nerve, a neuron or part of your jawbone? How old are all the cells in your body? Are they all the same age, and what does age even mean anyway? This week we dive into the complicated history...

There are many things we don't understand from the formation of our solar system. Why did Jupiter end up with weird asymmetrical groupings of asteroids around it? Is there a region of dust free space around the sun? If there is why can't we find it? What caused the beautiful rings of dust millions of kms wide around Venus and Mercury? Where did that dust come from? All these questions and more as...

Mathematics is not just something humans can perform. It's present across the universe and especially in nature. So can animals understand abstract mathematical concepts? Can we learn from the different complicated algorithms and mathematical models used by animals to improve the internet of things? What can social media help tell us about both human and animal tourists to nature reserves? Referen...

What connects Hippos, Algae and keeping the rivers of Africa healthy? What causes Lions to square-off against Porcupines? What is keeping the Narwhal population healthy despite it's genetic diversity? We look at the strange interconnection between species and how small changes in one ecosystem can destabilise a whole species. Hippos help keep the rivers and lakes of Africa healthy...through their...

Water is essential for life, but we need to take care of the complete water cycle. Treating waste water can help remove harmful pollutants from cosmetics and medication. Industrial processes and landfill can also make super salty water, that we need to clean before releasing. Without good water management then we can end up without water in times of drought, and in times of flood more water than w...

Medicine is often a race against time, to diagnose, to develop and to treat. This week we're looking at new research which speeds up the detection of Alzheimers in patients and provides a chance to test out potential treatments. We also find out how University of Sydney researchers may help deliver a quick antivenom to those stung by the deadly box jellyfish. Plus ways to turn leftover bits of jun...

Hunting for missing dark matter or gravitational waves involves incredibly precise measurements. Scientists are constantly developing new measurement techniques to try and find new sources of data and test theories. Whether it be staring at the space between Andromeda and the Milky Way to find primordial black holes, to looking in the remnants of a white dwarf using spectroscopy. Plus ways to make...

How can we keep our immune systems in fighting shape? What happens when our immune systems are responding well or are missing key genes? is there targeted gene therapies that can be used to help save lives of those most at risk from infection?  How does our body hunt down and stop Listeria in it's tracks? Plus undercooked wild game or pork can lead to parasitic infections, but how does the body fi...

Taking images of strange objects in space is incredibly complicated and requires both large telescopes, and even larger teams of scientists to pour over the data. Techniques, codes and algorithms to sift through that data to find the unusual patterns is an incredibly difficult and challenging task. However with it we can capture some incredible things whether it be images of black holes, to astero...

Bacteria are all around us and inside our guts too. Yet despite this there is still so much we do not know about them. We keep discovering new types, new species and then they change the game by blending into hosts and having new side effects. We look at how microbial infections disguise themselves to blend in, how fungal infections deactivate alarm systems, and just how many unknown bacteria ther...

Life has been around on earth for a long time, but there have been many extinction events that have wiped out large numbers of species. This week we find out how scientists peel back the layers of rock to uncover what caused these extinction events. Plus we find out about current extinction events and what we can learn from the past to protect species today. References: DePalma, Robert A.; Smit, J...

Trying to understand how the climate will change is difficult. For every big event like the break up of an ice shelf, there are thousands of little factors that play a role. Sometimes this little things turn into a torrent of a river, or a calm lake which can cause an entire continent to bend and flex. We find out about research into the Arctic Tundra and it's changing lakes which are one of the l...

We recap March Mamma Madness Round 1, and look at some latest science stories that relate. From what happens inside your brain when you smell a repulsive smell, to making the right call on fleeing or standing your ground. Plus we look at using archaeological techniques to help understand the history of animal tool use like with otters.  References: Ahmed A. M. Mohamed, Tom Retzke, Sudeshna Das Cha...

One of the futuristic technologies always touted is Hydrogen fuel cells. So why are they not everywhere? we look at the challenges in production,storage, and use of hydrogen from cars to factories. Plus we examine if our electricity grid will be able to cope with the drastic weather condition changes from climate change in the year 2100. References: Yinjun Xie, Peng Hu, Yehoshoa Ben-David, David M...

We preview 2019 March Mammal Madness, and find out about interesting animals from across the world. We look at ways to augment vision to help see in infra-red, and use singing mice to study human conversation. Plus we find out about balancing predators and prey. References: March Mammal Madness Yuqian Ma, Jin Bao, Yuanwei Zhang, Zhanjun Li, Xiangyu Zhou, Changlin Wan, Ling Huang, Yang Zhao, Gang H...

It's easy to think of the solar system as a static object that's always been there. But by studying asteroids, meteorites and moons we can piece together the often violent and dramatic history of our solar system. From Earth being bombarded by water bearing asteroids, to moons being broken apart and reformed around Neptune. We even follow up on some of the great work done by JAXA and the Hyabusa 2...

From the bottom of the ocean, to the earliest days of the earth, life has managed to not just survive but thrive. We look at several cases which change our understanding of the earliest life on earth and just what that might mean for understanding life on this planet and beyond. From moving life fossilised in mud, to using isotopes to study metabolism and discovering whole new methods of getting f...

The greatest pop hits can cross continents, but what about oceans? We all know whales make songs, but not only are they very complex, they can be covered, repeated and spread like a Number 1 summer hit across oceans to the far flung corners of the globe. Plus reaching the deepest depths of the ocean is tough for humans, but easy for whales. How do they accomplish these great feats? We also touch o...

The greatest pop hits can cross continents, but what about oceans? We all know whales make songs, but not only are they very complex, they can be covered, repeated and spread like a Number 1 summer hit across oceans to the far flung corners of the globe. Plus reaching the deepest depths of the ocean is tough for humans, but easy for whales. How do they accomplish these great feats? We also touch o...

Water is essential for life, but if its too cold it can cause havoc on infrastructure. If it's too hot there is not enough to go around. If it's too salty its not good for organic material, and if its saturated with CO2 its even more dangerous. So how do we keep water working for us as our climate changes and we have more droughts, more polar vortexes and more power plants? This week we find out a...

What happens when a star dies? We can investigate what is left behind at the scene of the crime to piece together the final moments of a star. Some become white dwarfs so cold and cool they crystallize with thick oxygen and carbon skins. Others collapse in on themselves becoming supernova in a catastrophic core collapse. But sometimes in complex binary systems there is an accomplice that pushes th...

A brain injury like a stroke or a neuro degenerative condition like Huntingdon's or Parkinson’s disease can be a long and arduous ordeal. It can be difficult to diagnose and there are no clear treatments, but scientists are working hard to solve it. We find out about the important role Glial cells play in supporting neurons and how things can go wrong if they are disrupted. We also find out about...

Space is filled with incredibly strange objects, from black holes to neutron stars. In the right conditions these strange stellar objects create incredibly powerful radio bursts which give radio astronomers a treasure trove of data. From the WOW! Signal to Pulsars we recap the history of strange space signals, and we look at the modern hunt for Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs) and how the CHIME observator...