Science On Top
The Australian Podcast putting Science on Top of the agenda

The most comprehensive infrared search of our skies has found no trace of "Planet X", the mythical giant planet on the edge of our solar system.

The troublesome Western Corn Rootworm is developing a resistance to the genetically modified corn designed to thwart it.

British archaeologists have found what they say is the world's oldest complete example of a human being with metastatic cancer.

Tracing human migration across the pacific 3,000 years ago is tricky, but tracing the chickens they brought with them might be a better method.

Climate For Change is a exciting grass-roots activism movement starting up in Melbourne, Australia. Katerina Gaita joins us to explain what they're doing and how you can be part of it.

Direct download: SoT_0140.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 9:49am AEDT

Last Monday, astronomers announced what has been described as "the biggest thing since dark energy" - detection of gravitational waves from the afterglow of the big bang. We got astronomer Dr. Alan Duffy from Swinburne University on to tell us what that means, and what it says about the very early stages of our Universe.

Direct download: SoT_Special_013.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 1:46pm AEDT

More controversy over stress-induced stem cells, as co-authors call for the retractions of the papers.

An aluminium suit could enable divers to travel to depths of 305 meters, move around and collect samples.

A giant virus has been discovered in 30,000 year old Siberian permafrost. It's big and it eats amoebas.

An Australian team is working on a project to clear space junk with a powerful ground-based laser.

A study of how men and women perceive each other's mathematics skills suggests that both men and women unconsciously - and wrongly - believe women are 'bad' at maths.

Direct download: SoT_0139.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 4:57pm AEDT

More studies finding no evidence of 'wind turbine syndrome', plus a discussion on dealing with climate change deniers.

Could enough wind turbines reduce the force of hurricanes? Maybe, but it would need A LOT of turbines.

In 2011 a 6 - 9 million year old whale graveyard was discovered at Cerro Ballena (Whale Hill) in Chile. But with time running out, researchers turned to a digital method of preserving the environmental context in 3D.

A thin, stretchy, electric membrane moulded to a patient's heart could be the next stage in health monitoring.

Direct download: SoT_0138.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:29am AEDT

Vaccines might not need to be kept cold to the extent previously thought. This could make vaccinations in third world countries cheaper and easier.

The oldest crystal on Earth has been dated and found to be 4.4 billion years old. This means the Earth had developed a crust very early on, perhaps only a few hundred million years after formation.

What's the best way to count whale populations? It could be from space.

To learn about how humans and dogs process sounds and emotions, researchers had to train dogs to lie still in an fMRI machine. Which is amazingly cute.

The fourth new species of an Australian marsupial with bizarre sexual behaviour has been discovered. These rodent-like animals actually disintegrate during their marathon sex-fests.

Direct download: SoT_0137.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:22am AEDT

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