Lost in Science

This week on Lost in Science, we’re all about good news! Join us for a feel-good episode as we explore some uplifting innovations. We’ll uncover tree bark microbes munching on methane, affordable e-waste metal recycling, and the incredible reboot of Voyager 1. Science bringing a dash of the positive to the news!

In this spine-tingling Lost in Science Fiction special, Catriona channels her inner Doc Brown to explore if harnessing lightning could actually be a viable renewable energy source—just like Back to the Future! Meanwhile, Chris dives into the biology of the iconic Xenomorphs from the Alien universe, dissecting what makes these terrifying creatures tick. Tune in for a Halloween episode that’s out of...

Some classic stories from our annual Lost in Science Fiction specials from years gone by. Chris and Stu talk Star Trek with popular culture researcher Andrew Lynch, Claire gets stuck into a hearty meal of Soylent Green, and Catriona wonders aloud why we still don't have hoverboards and flying cars

This week, Cat takes us through the science of puberty blockers, and how they can help young people sort out their gender identity; and Stu calls up the long list of research into the effects of smartphone use.

This week on Lost in Science, Claire chats with Dr. Matthew Snelson about how our diet affects gutmicrobiome health and the link with chronic diseases. And we dig into the archives with Chris to explore space junk—who's responsible for putting it up there, tracking it, and bringing it down.

Is it just Chris or are elections getting closer and closer of late? He spoke to psephologist Adrian Beaumont and was surprised by what he was told. And Stu has been looking at the moon and finding out there's more discoveries about the moon all the time, and not just regarding our local satellite(s). 

This week, Cat tells us what makes a moon, and how they can only orbit us temporarily like Earth’s latest mini-moon 2024 PT5; and Claire takes us underground and underwater as she speaks to palaeontologist Meg Walker about diving for megafauna fossils in South Australia’s limestone caves.

This week on Lost in Science, Chris investigates fresh research into the mysterious Wow! signal detected by the Big Ear radio telescope, and could it be evidence of a weird cosmic outburst? Meanwhile, Stu takes us on a journey through the sky—examining how microbes hitch a ride on atmospheric currents, traveling vast distances across the planet. How far can these tiny travelers go, and where do th...

How can a plant imitate the leaves of a plastic plant when it has no eyes, and no brain? How can a dead fish swim? Can animals breathe through their bums? These are the questions that have driven scientists and philosophers to insomnia and madness for centuries, but now, the Ignobel prizes has brought their answers to light. This week on Lost in Science

This week, Stu tells us about new research making animals invisible, or rather their tissue transparent, using a common food dye; and Cat tells us about how humpback whales make and use nets of bubbles as tools for hunting, and recently discovered secrets of their mating and birth. Zihao Ou et al. Achieving optical transparency in live animals with absorbing molecules. Science 385, eadm6869(2024)....

This week on Lost in Science, we're taking a trip back in time to revisit two fascinating stories! First up, Chris dives into the curious world of cat taste—exploring why our feline friends are such picky eaters and the evolutionary reasons behind their unique palate. Then, Claire catches up with Dr. Julie Old to chat about the incredible wombat and the groundbreaking citizen science project, WomS...

This week, Chris speaks to virologist Assoc. Prof. Kirsty Short from the University of Queensland about their new online calculator which estimates your risk of adverse COVID-19 outcomes and Long Covid; and Cat tells us about how skyglow blocks our view of the stars and First Nations' Sky Country, and why it should be possible to fix. COVID-19 Risk Calculator: https://corical.immunisationcoalition...

This week on the show, Claire dives into an innovative strategy to protect freshwater crocodiles from deadly cane toad poisoning by, surprisingly, giving them a taste of food poisoning first. Meanwhile, Stu explores groundbreaking research into cellular aging, shedding light on what really makes us age and how we might slow down the clock.

This week, Chris talks to astrobiologist David Flannery about the discovery by NASA’s Perseverance Rover of potential biosignatures in a rock on Mars, and what’s needed to verify it; and Cat examines the question of whether the swimming pool at the Paris Olympics was really slower to swim in.

Stu looks at some name changes in the botanical world that may not change everyone's world, but could have a positive impact for some. Claire talks to Ollie Jones about the true risk of some chemicals that get a lot of attention from the media, but may not be as threatening as they are made out to be. 

This week, Cat tells us about nanobodies, the smaller versions of antibodies that camelids like llamas and alpacas have, and how they could help combat HIV; and Chris clues us into the closest known black hole in our galaxy, and a much larger one thousands of times the mass of our Sun, hidden inside a star cluster. Jianliang Xu et al., Ultrapotent Broadly Neutralizing Human-llama Bispecific Antibo...

All we can do is step back in time. This week we go back to Claire's first ever story on the air about virgin births in the animal kingdom, and also listen back to Dr. Manisha Bhardwaj tell us about how bacteria may save bats from a dreaded fungal disease in her first story on the show. 

This week on Lost in Science, are you an early bird or a night owl? How does your sleep preference affect your body? Stu delves into the latest research on sleep, uncovering fascinating insights and practical tips. Meanwhile, Cat takes us on a cosmic journey, exploring the health challenges astronauts face in microgravity. From space illnesses to the science of sleep, tune in for an out-of-this-wo...

In our woolliest episode ever, Claire tells the tale of the woolly mammoth and new research on the last known individual, called Lonely Boy; and coincidentally Chris excavates a new study on the population dynamics of the woolly rhinoceros, and its extinction from climate change and human hunting. Dehasque et al. 2024. Temporal dynamics of woolly mammoth genome erosion prior to extinction. https:/...

Chris looks into a recent paper connecting cancer cases with tattoos to check the figures, while Stu talks to Dr. Adam Osth, Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of Melbourne about a recent study from Stanford which claims to show there is no continuum of brain function between genders. 

This week, Stu looks at the effectiveness or not of platelet-rich plasma for treating musculoskeletal injuries in sports medicine, and for so-called vampire facials in beauty treatment; and Chris digs into a new study on the physics of flight and the surprisingly simple formula for the frequency of flapping wings, which he then uses to calculate whether a human could fly by flapping their arms. Je...

Chris looks at how likely we are to find Dyson Spheres orbiting distant stars and Stu finds out whether plants can use complex molecules as nutrient sources

This week on the show, Claire delves into groundbreaking research showing orangutans self-medicating with pharmaceutically active plants, marking the first recorded instance of animals treating themselves this way. Meanwhile, Stu explores cannonball or artillery fungi, a type of fungus capable of shooting its spores over six meters, and discusses the havoc they can wreak on homeowners. Tune in for...

This week, Chris dives back into the murky world of research misconduct, to try to find out how much AI tools like ChatGPT are being used to write scientific papers, and how much of a problem it is; and Cat updates us on the search for planets orbiting other stars, including a pink, fluffy, fairy-floss planet. Andrew Gray 2024, ChatGPT "contamination": estimating the prevalence of LLMs in the scho...

Nothing is ever truly Lost in Science, we can always discover it again. This week Stu raids the archives of Lost in Science to find some stories from years gone by and presenters who have moved along. Chris talks about the oldest known fossils, Beth Askham talks about zombie bacteria and Stu talks bout the toughest substance known to animal kind, all stories from 2015!