Podcast Episodes

The debate over who should be in the genus Homo, and the trailblazing botanical illustrators, Harriet and Helena Scott

Plus hope for corals, and the story of a museum thief who liked butterflies.

2 months, 1 week ago

Lab Notes: The 'Hail Mary' effort to rescue a telescope

Right now, a high-stakes mission is underway to save NASA's Swift telescope before it falls back to Earth.

There's just one problem… the rescue satell…

2 months, 2 weeks ago

How nematodes love smelly feet, plants that trap insects, Australians at CERN and vale Peter Raven

* The attraction of smelly feet * Plants that trap insects* Pollen grains reveal Australia's first flowering plants* Vale botanist Peter Raven* Austr…

2 months, 2 weeks ago

Lab Notes: How do flowers know when to bloom?

The last days of winter are here and already you may be seeing flowers blooming around you. Why is that? How do flowers know when to bloom, and is it…

2 months, 3 weeks ago

Dark Matter search from inner Melbourne, Gelion update, Bach and maths and vale Bill Oddie

* Mathematics as the basis of western musical harmony and how J. S. Bach loved numbers* Victoria's first dark matter detector fires up* Hurdles for n…

2 months, 3 weeks ago

Lab Notes: In an era of AI hacking, how safe is the census?

It's census time, which means lots of us are about to submit personal information via the Internet.

Whether it's the ABS or your favourite online shop…

2 months, 3 weeks ago

Looking inside cells, and how seals hear so well underwater

* Fluorescent sensors bring cell contents to life* Plotting the Oceans: Stories of Powerful Maps and Their Makers* Animal senses that work as well in…

3 months ago

Lab Notes: What will we see in a 10-year movie of the universe?

The longest survey of our southern skies — The Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) — has just begun from the Vera Rubin Observatory in the Chilean…

3 months ago

Pioneers past and present, and fiddling with life brings a heavy caution

* Celebrating Charles Todd, father of the overland telegraph* Diverse background ideal for leader in pioneering science* Mirror life risks catastroph…

3 months, 1 week ago

Lab Notes: How do we predict the snow season?

This year has been one of the worst starts to the snow season since records began. And it's a trend that researchers say will only continue in the ye…

3 months, 1 week ago