Lost in Science

This week on the show Chris investigates the recent change to the status of the koala. This now endangered national icon faces more threats than ever. What will it take to save the koala? Also on the show Stu uncovers some rotten truths behind one of Australia's most common supplements - fish oil, and why the research doesn't scale up on this one!

In our first episode for 2022, we catch on some amazing science from over the break. Claire brings us the full story of the first successful transplant into a human of a heart from a genetically modified pig, and Stu tells us how it's possible to get frogs to regrow amputated limbs, raising the possibility of humans also regenerating from damage.

This week on the summer series hear from Tom Fairman tell the story of how Mountain Ash has been reseeded into thousands of hectares after the black summer bushfires. Also on the show we revisit Stu's story explaining why some research about hum an cloning is not as it seems.

Our summer series continues with stories from the archive through 2021. This week Stu revisists the myth of sunscreen causing Vitamin D deficiency, Chris looks at new evidence in old finds relating to the role of women in ancient societies, and Claire poders the question of if she'd ratehr be a fish. 

Chris looks back on how the climate fared in 2021, and brings back two classic stories from the year: Claire speaks to biologist Christopher O'Bryan about the surprisingly high carbon emissions that feral pigs cause by disturbing the soil; and Stu looks at the impact of Elon Musk’s Starlink and other billionaires’ satellite networks, and how they’re contributing to concerns of increasing space jun...

This week on our summer series we revisit the tech billionaire space race, or is it the race to find the biggest ego? And did you know that the black summer bushfires of 2020 led to an algal bloom the size of Australia. We speak to oceanographer Christina Schallenberg about what her research shows about it and the ocean robots that helped discover it.

Another January edition of Lost in Science Summer Series where we revisit some stories from the past year. On this weeks' show, Chris investigates some research involving sex chromosomes and how one species is adapting to losing the Y chromosome that makes males of the species male. And Claire explains the science behind a bold project to reinvigorate the gene pool of an endangered species using c...

Chris looks back on some of his favourite stories of 2021, and we replay a couple of ornithological gems you may have missed: Claire tells us about the incredible mimickry abilities of birds, including a swearing musk duck that has to be heard to be believed; and Stu reveals how songbirds evolved in Australia and spread through the world, which we can tell by their taste for sweet things.

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...