Shirtloads of Science

The discovery of a planet beyond our solar system was rewarded with a share of the 2019 Nobel Physics Prize. Thousands more exoplanets have since been discovered but is there life out there? Rocket propulsion Scientist Dr Rachel Brachman and astro-chemist Dr Michael Malaska join Dr Karl to scope how and where to start looking for signs of life beyond Earth.  https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/scientist-...

2019's Nobel Physics prize was shared by three Astrophysicists: Jim Peebles for his Big Bang cosmology plus Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz for their discovery of exoplanets. To discover life out there, we need Astrobiologists. Rocket propulsion Scientist Dr Rachel Brachman and astro-chemist Dr Michael Malaska are turning their talents towards biology and the search for extra-terrestrial life.

 Polio, smallpox, measles, whooping cough - the list goes on.  Vaccination has saved more human lives than other treatments. Dr David gives Dr Karl the facts on our biggest medical miracle - training our immune system to fight deadly invaders.

Dr Karl embraces Sand Talk. The first Australians have been exchanging complex concepts this way for 60,000 years. Climate Change and the nature of Time can both be discussed (in Sand Talk).Tyson Yunkaporta and Dr Karl share traditional wisdom and science. https://www.bookdepository.com/Sand-Talk-How-Indigenous-Thinking-Can-Save-World-Tyson-Yunkaporta/9781925773996

July 2019 marked 50 years since the Apollo moon landing. Days later, Chris Kraft, a visionary behind Mission Control and Nasa's first flight director died aged 95. Dr Karl talks with Matt Abbott - a flight director for 40 shuttle missions. Matt worked on the ISS Robotic arm and is now fine-tuning mission control for the upcoming Orion missions - returning to the moon and beyond. @Aquarius_Flight

Silicosis is a deadly lung condition. It is an occupational disease traditionally associated with stone masons and miners. Today new generations are at risk. From workers on infrastructure to home handy-persons cutting concrete, fine particles of silica can be inhaled without the right protection. Kate Cole tells Dr Karl how to stay safe.

Digging big holes is dangerous work. Silicosis is a cumulative and sometimes fatal disease resulting from breathing in certain types of dust from broken rocks. Kate Cole is Occupational Health and Hygiene Manager for the new Sydney Metro. She talks with Dr Karl about the history and science of dust diseases.  

Romans used Red Dog sacrifices but could not stop it. Decades ago Science slowed the red fungi with new strains of cereal crops. Food security is back in the headlines and the battle is not over according to Professor Robert Park. Winds continue to spread deadly spores that kill the wheat crops we rely on. robert.park@sydney.edu.au    

Dr Karl and Dr Sim work through a Diet that balances the needs of farmers, ecologists and your body to find a natural balance. The diet (published in the Lancet) is meant to challenge us towards a sustainable and healthy future.

Dr Karl talks with University of Sydney researcher Marilena Demayo about the complex process of identifying and unravelling autism. @MMDeMayo

Research is showing that "Happy" meals are real. Not only do you feel better at the dinner table, those  feelings are long lasting. Also you can amplify the good effects by how you dine. Spoiler Alert - fast food is not the answer. http://healthyeatingquiz.com.au/

How to make Graphene at home, how to visualise a Black Hole and the accidental Car Key immobiliser. Doctors Karl, Alice and Jessica with the latest.  

It's 20 years since our first modern Global Coral Bleaching event. Now they are regular, harder and faster. A deadly trio of climate change conditions are killing corals. Dr Emma Camp, a Marine Bio-geochemist, is at Ground Zero on Australia's Great Barrier Reef. She might have discovered some micro-biological interactions that could throw corals a lifeline.  @emmafcamp https://emmafcamp.com/

Statistics are essential today. They are complicated and easy to misinterpret. Clearly communicated results can make a world of difference to new ideas. Dr Emi and Dr Karl discuss smart ways to reveal your data. http://soapboxscience.org/soapbox-science-2019-sydney/

41 recent Diets have been ranked by US Health professionals. Dr Nick Fuller takes Dr Karl through the top and bottom of the chart. Is there a new Number One this year ?  Will it be the 5/2, Keto, Dash or Mind ? Before you start your next diet, listen to this Podcast.  Twitter: @drnickfuller Website: www.intervalweightloss.com.au   

Dr Gavin Scherer tells Dr Karl of an Environmental catastrophe that engulfed a brand new Australian suburb. How did it happen? What did it take to fix? A blow by blow account of what it takes to undo decades of bad choices.  http://bit.ly/2JZqXmi

The PFAS family of chemicals were Jet-Age wonders. Now some of them are biohazards that can cause cancer in high concentrations. PFAS are proving very hard to contain and break down. Dr Gavin Scherer has the job of finding them and making them safe. https://www.aecom.com/au/pfas/ https://www.epa.nsw.gov.au/

Dr Kyra Sim treats takes Dr Karl through The benefits of exercise - after eating. @kyrasim

How we are training computers to look and see like us, how young Danish Citizen Scientists discovered new bacteria and the Benjamin Franklin effect - no kites or thunderstorms involved. Dr Alice Motion, Dr Jessica Supernova (aka Bloom) and Dr Karl return.

Tongue to tail, our bodies need this more than ever. The science is absolute - hearts, brains, bodies, guts - this works. It's affordable, tasty and we all need more of it. Bananas, popocorn and high cocoa dark cholocate ? Professor Claire and Dr Karl both have upped their fiber intake. http://healthyeatingquiz.com.au/   

Geology reveals deep history. For recent history , 1 to 2 million years, glaciology has answers. The bubbles buried in ice in Antarctica are like a time machine for our atmosphere. Earth's Ice Ages are out of kilter and we need to know why. Dr Karl and Dr Tas van Ommen talk about the next 4 Antarctic summers of drilling required to discover what is really going on.

We are officially in an interglacial period - between ice ages. Dr Karl talks with Australian Glaciologist Dr Tas van Ommen about the times when Ice sheets were a kilometre thick. What caused them and how long did they last. Understanding earth's history is our best chance for anticipating its future.

In the 60's the Green Revolution promised to feed the world. It succeeded with huge productivity gains, new products and profits. Now we are discovering a legacy. Plus More than 40% of this species are declining and a third are endangered. Plus does you body smell different while watching certain movies. Dr Alice Motion and Dr Karl discuss.

Did you know the atmospheric layer that shields us can also clean dirty water ? Meet 3 MegaKennies. Scientists who know about ozone and how to use it.  Australia's largest music festival site produces a Megalitre of waste per day for a few weeks each year. They have a plant that ticks all the environmental boxes. Dr Jake O'Brien, Ben Kele and Guy Scott explain.   https://researchers.uq.edu.au/rese...

As the Christian world marks almost 2,000 years of Easter, Dr Karl searches for million-year-old air bubbles. The Chief Scientist for the Australian Antarctic Division, Dr Gwen Fenton, outlines why it will take 4 antarctic summers to drill for air that will answer fundamental questions about Climate Change, p lus Krill and the fish that Dr Karl stopped eating. http://www.antarctica.gov.au/