Boiling Point

How do you signal “STAY AWAY”. Do you make a noise? Maybe show your teeth? Perhaps, yell? Have you every thought about wearing something bright? There is a rainbow of warning colours that animals present to fend of predators. On this episode of Boiling Point, Anastasia and new Boiling Point recruit Hannah, chat with Marilia [...] Read More... from Evading predators with colour

Australia’s coastal waters harbour more than 8,000 ship wrecks. But only a quarter of those have been found. Our guest is a maritime archaeologist and will take us on a dive into her watery world. How is maritime archaeology different from the land-based version? How do you preserve a shipwreck and how do you handle [...] Read More... from What does a maritime archeologist do?

Climate change has already caused some animal species to migrate and to seek new and more suitable habitat. But how do plants deal with climate change? They can’t just walk away and find a new place to live, can they? It turned out they can! Our guest is telling us all about migrations of plants [...] Read More... from How plants respond to climate change

One of the most iconic animals in Australia is the kangaroo. It’s on the Australian coat of arms and is one of the first animals most people think of when they think of Australia. Today we are going to take a closer look at one of the less-studied aspects of the kangaroos. Surprisingly, social aspects [...] Read More... from Nora and the kangaroos

Most people would have heard of Darwin finches, the birds that gave Darwin the idea for the theory of evolution. In this episode, we are taking a closer look at a group of species, that may look less spectacular. But they are evolution in the making. Blennies are fish that have started making their way [...] Read More... from Liz and the blennies

It’s green and it seems to be highly abundant. But this impression is treacherous. Sea grass is in decline worldwide. Not a big deal you might think but the truth is, it’s a huge problem, as seagrasses are essential ecosystem builders that numerous marine creatures depend on. Cat chats with UNSW Honours student Griff Brindley [...] Read More... from Griff and the importance of seagrass

Boiling Point host Cat chats with Charlotte Read. Charlotte has a degree in conservation and currently teaches children about wildlife and conservation at a zoo in Melbourne. Her interests in conservation are the human wildlife conflict, and in particular illegal wildlife trade. Since she is based in Melbourne, Cat talks to her to her via [...] Read More... from The sixth major extinction event an...

Did you know that sea stars can get sick, too? Dr Sarah Wahltinez researches the impacts of climate change on sea stars. Cat chats to her for the 2nd episode of the new podcast ‘Wildlife Health Talks’. Sarah is a PhD candidate at the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Florida but is [...] Read More... from Sarah and the sea stars

They are small, slimy and most people find them delicious. I am talking about oysters. Once the Sydney rock oyster inhabited large areas of Sydney Harbour. Those days are long gone which is pretty tragic. Rock oysters provide the habitat for a large number of other marine species. Our guest studies them all and will [...] Read More... from Rick and the Sydney rock oysters

Have you ever been to a tropical rainforest with its endless greenery and wildlife everywhere? Our guest has and she never really left. A part of her stayed and upon her return home to Germany she decided she needed to do something to protect these unique habitats and its biodiversity. So, she founded an NGO [...] Read More... from Hannah the jungle vet

Australia has many export hits including iron ore, coal and gold. Another important one that’s easily overlooked is high-quality education. Over 500,000 students from all over the world currently study in Australia. Medical science is particularly popular. What is it like to train as a doctor in a new country and a different culture without [...] Read More... from The adventure of becoming a docto...

How does one get into a career in science communication? Dr. Quill Darby is our making science fun expert today. Quill co-produces events like the Sydney Science Trail and Science Tent at Splendour in the Grass and also runs Junkyard Rascals, a tiny business based on discovery through play. Listen to the episode to find [...] Read More... from A career in science communication

During development all animals are vulnerable. So how does the experience one encounters while developing actually impact the adult life and can these effects be passed down to their grand-children? Can overstressing due to environmental change be detrimental to the survival of animal populations? Anastasia chats to post-doctoral research fellow Dr. Ondi Crino. Ondi studies [...] Read More... from...

From serious to funny. From science to comedy. From biomedical degree to producing, marketing, acting, writing, and stand-up? How do you go from a bachelor of science to a successful career in Comedy? Anastasia sits down with Writer, Comedian, Presenter, and Actor AJ Lamarque. AJ started with a Bachelor of Science in Biological and Biomedical [...] Read More... from From Science to Comedy to Marke...

Everyone old enough will remember the footage of confused ataxic cows that were not able to stand on their own anymore. The 1990s were the time of Mad Cow Disease, an illness caused by a misfolded protein, the prion. While mad cow disease in Europe is well under control by now, a similar illness is [...] Read More... from Chronic Wasting Disease – the slow death of deer

Reneweable energy can make a difference in todays changing climate. Moving from environmentally damaging energy sources to ones that use the environment for more sustainable energy sources is key. But how do we do this? In this weeks episode your hosts Chon and Anastasia will be chatting to Akasha Kaleem a PhD student at UNSW [...] Read More... from Solar Energy = Good Energy

This week on Boiling Point Science, Tim and Chantelle interview Associate Professor Patrick O’Connor from the University of Adelaide to discuss his recent article exploring the role varroa mite could play in managing feral honey bees, and help Australia’s environment Following the detection of varroa mites in sentinel hives in NSW, an emergency response is [...] Read More... from Varroa mite vs fe...

Academia is hard, no doubt about it. But there are things that are out of your control that can make that journey even harder. We’ve spoken on Boiling Point about 1st generation academics, struggles of university, whether to do a PhD, and so much more! Today let’s look at another perspective.   Today Anastasia is sitting [...] Read More... from How we can support women in STEM

The NSW government introduced shark nets to Sydney’s beaches in 1937. They promised to protect swimmers and surfers from shark attacks. But that’s not what shark nets do. In fact, they are a serious case of false labelling. They don’t protect people. Instead, they entangle and kill sharks and other marine species like dolphins, whales [...] Read More... from Shark nets kill – Help to ban shark net...

What can we learn from looking at poopy parasites? That is poops of wild animals. We ask our Ass Pro: Michelle Power! Michelle Power is an Associate Professor at Macquarie university, AND she’s a comedian. Listen in as Anastasia and Caitlin chat all things poop, feces, and guano in this weeks episode.   Find Michelle [...] Read More... from Poopy Parasites

46 percent of Australians experience a mental health disorder in their lives. One eighth of Australians are on anti-depressants. And 8 Australians take their own lives every day. You can tell, the mental health situation in this country is dire. However, you might have heard of a potential light at the end of the tunnel. [...] Read More... from Psychedelics – a new era in mental health treat...

Why do people choose to do a PhD? Is a PhD right for you? Is it best to go from Honours to PhD, without having done a masters? Listen to four different perspectives today and decide PhDo or PhDont? Welcome to Boiling Point. This week Anastasia is joined by three PhD students: Caitlin Creak, Jess [...] Read More... from PhDo or PhDont?

Darwin saw evolution through beetles. Our guest today sees evolution through blennies. But why are they leaving the water behind? Welcome to Boiling Point in this weeks episode our guest is Elizabeth Surovic, a PhD Candidate at UNSW. Elizabeth studies evolution in real time. Blennies, are little fish that are transforming to land right in [...] Read More... from Evolving out of Water

What happens when you’re stuck in the middle of nowhere for two years? Perhaps you awaken your passion for researching invasive parasites? Perhaps you discover a new species? This week’s episode is a show of adventure, mystery, surprise, and invasion. I, Anastasia, am sitting down with UNSW PhD Candidate Harry Eyck to chat about the [...] Read More... from A parasite in an invader

Many of us loved them as a kid and still secretly love them today. I am talking about dinosaurs. What’s much less known is how they were first discovered, what consequences this huge discovery had for science and how dinosaurs inspired the myth of dragons. Let’s go back in time to answer these questions. In [...] Read More... from How dinosaurs were first discovered