Sat, 24 November 2018
Hosts: Ed Brown, Penny Dumsday, Lucas Randall 00:01:10 When a newborn baby smiles, there's always some spoilsport ready to tell you it's not a genuine smile, it's just a reflex. But new research finds that infant smiles are a lot more complex than that. 00:07:34 For the first time, astronomers have observed the clumps of gas orbiting the supermassive black hole in the center of our galaxy using four large telescopes linked together. The observations are in extremely high detail and reveal super hot flares or "magnetic thunderstorms" orbiting the black hole at nearly a third of the speed of light. 00:16:31 Scientific debate has erupted over a set of cone-like formations in Greenland. One popular school of thought is that they're the oldest fossils ever found, and the other is that they're just rocks.
To help us make the show, please consider donating on Patreon.
This episode contains traces of CBC News Now host Heather Hiscox talking with Dominic Valitis about a big science auction. |
Thu, 15 November 2018
Hosts: Ed Brown, Penny Dumsday, Lucas Randall 00:01:11 It's an old computer trick, but a gyroscope on the Hubble Space Telescope has been fixed - with a shake and a reboot. 00:08:22 The tiny worms in dung beetle brood sacks - which are sexually transmitted - are beneficial for the beetle larvae. 00:14:33 Polychlorinated biphenyls - better known as PCBs - are industrial chemicals that have been banned in most countries for decades. But their legacy remains and has dramatic consequences for orcas and other marine mammals. 00:23:38 Humpback whales go quiet, and sometimes even silent, when large boats are around. 00:24:37 Why do male gorillas seem to enjoy babysitting so much? One possibility is that females choose good carers to mate with.
To help us make the show, please consider donating on Patreon.
This episode contains traces of Michael J. Fox talking to Alan Alda on the Clear and Vivid podcast. |
Tue, 6 November 2018
Hosts: Ed Brown, Penny Dumsday, Lucas Randall, Dr. Pamela Gay 00:00:58 What happens when octopuses are given ecstasy? They get... cuddly. 00:07:23 Gene Roddenberry got it right, there IS a planet orbiting the star 40 Eridani. That's where the Star Trek creator said the planet Vulcan would be, homeworld of the pointy-eared logicians. 00:10:23 The Japanese space agency, JAXA, has had a spacecraft orbiting the asteroid Ryugu since the end of June this year. It has now deployed three of its four rovers onto the 1km wide near Earth object. 00:17:00 The failure of a gyroscope onboard the Hubble Space Telescope was a concern for NASA engineers, who scrambled to resurrect a backup gyro. It also raised questions about the future of the telescope, and the its ever-postponed successor the James Webb Space Telescope. 00:33:09 Questions from the audience.
This episode was recorded in front of a live audience at the Kathleen Syme Library and Community Centre in Carlton, Melbourne. Dr. Pamela Gay is astronomer, podcaster, and artist. She is the co-host of the AstronomyCast podcast and the Director of Technology and Citizen Science at the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. She is also the principal investigator of CosmoQuest.org. This episode contains traces of NASA's video detailing all the things that could go wrong with the upcoming InSight Mars landing. |
Sat, 6 October 2018
Hosts: Ed Brown, Jo Benhamu, Kirsten Banks. 00:03:03 Wiradjuri astronomer Kirsten Banks tells us all about Aboriginal astronomy - from emu eggs to moon halos. 00:13:20 The conventional wisdom that taking a low dose of aspirin every day can improve health and delay dementia in the elderly is unfounded for most people, according to the largest and most comprehensive clinical trial conducted in Australia. 00:25:44 Many infections in humans of antibiotic-resistant bacteria have been traced to the unnecessary use of antibiotics in puppies as 'preventatives'.
Become a Patreon and help us out! Come see Dr. Pamela Gay and the Science on Top team in Melbourne on 10 October 2018! Get your tickets to the Australian Skeptics National Convention!
This episode contains traces of an adorable caller to Dr. Karl's Triple J radio show. |
Wed, 3 October 2018
Hosts: Ed Brown, Penny Dumsday, Peter Miller, Ross Balch. The Ig Nobel Prizes honour achievements that first make us laugh, then make us think. We take a look at this year’s winners: from rollercoaster medicine to Voodoo in the workplace! You can watch the award ceremony here. 00:03:13 MEDICINE PRIZE went to two Americans, Marc Mitchell and David Wartinger, for using roller coaster rides to try to hasten the passage of kidney stones. 00:09:41 ANTHROPOLOGY PRIZE went to an international team for collecting evidence, in a zoo, that chimpanzees imitate humans about as often, and about as well, as humans imitate chimpanzees. 00:15:14 BIOLOGY PRIZE was awarded to an international team of eight scientists for demonstrating that wine experts can reliably identify, by smell, the presence of a single fly in a glass of wine. 00:21:07 CHEMISTRY PRIZE was given to three researchers from Portugal for measuring the degree to which human saliva is a good cleaning agent for dirty surfaces. 00:25:04 MEDICAL EDUCATION PRIZE went to Akira Horiuchi from Japan, for the medical report "Colonoscopy in the Sitting Position: Lessons Learned From Self-Colonoscopy.". 00:29:42 LITERATURE PRIZE was awarded to four researchers from the University of Queensland for documenting that most people who use complicated products do not read the instruction manual. 00:34:29 NUTRITION PRIZE was won by James Cole, for calculating that the caloric intake from a human-cannibalism diet is significantly lower than the caloric intake from most other traditional meat diets. 00:38:59 PEACE PRIZE went to a team of scientists from SPAIN and COLOMBIA, for measuring the frequency, motivation, and effects of shouting and cursing while driving an automobile. 00:43:43 REPRODUCTIVE MEDICINE PRIZE was given to three urologists for using postage stamps to test whether the male sexual organ is functioning properly — as described in their study "Nocturnal Penile Tumescence Monitoring With Stamps". 00:47:42 ECONOMICS PRIZE went to a team from CANADA, CHINA, SINGAPORE, and USA for investigating whether it is effective for employees to use Voodoo dolls to retaliate against abusive bosses.
Become a Patreon and help us out! Come see Dr. Pamela Gay and the Science on Top team in Melbourne on 10 October 2018! Get your tickets to the Australian Skeptics National Convention! |
Wed, 26 September 2018
Hosts: Ed Brown, Penny Dumsday, Lucas Randall 00:02:34 Archaeologists working in the Blombos Cave in South Africa have discovered what could be the world's oldest drawing - from 73,000 years ago. 00:10:40 Surfers have long believed that nearby dolphins are a good sign that there are no sharks around. But new research suggests that's not the case, as attacks on dolphins have increased in line with rising ocean temperatures. 00:19:33 The mirror test is an attempt to measure self-awareness in non-human animals. Now the Cleaner Wrasse has become the first fish ever to pass.
Become a Patreon and help us out! Come see Dr. Pamela Gay and the Science on Top team in Melbourne on 10 October 2018! Get your tickets to the Australian Skeptics National Convention!
This episode contains traces of Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson commenting on the dangers of smoking weed in space. |
Wed, 19 September 2018
Hosts: Ed Brown, Penny Dumsday, Lucas Randall 00:02:22 The exciting family of planets less than 40 light years from Earth could each have 250 times more water than Earth, according to a new study. 00:11:09 Not just a meat-eater, the bonnethead shark is the first species of shark to be determined omnivorous. 00:17:49 Someone drilled a hole on the International Space Station. Was it sabotage? Space madness? We don't yet know. 00:26:35 As the planet-wide dust storm settles, the Opportunity rover has just 45 days to phone home before NASA gives up on it.
Become a Patreon and help us out! Come see Dr. Pamela Gay and the Science on Top team in Melbourne on 10 October 2018! Get your tickets to the Australian Skeptics National Convention!
This episode contains traces of Harrison Ford addressing the Global Climate Action Summit in San Francisco. |
Thu, 13 September 2018
Hosts: Ed Brown, Penny Dumsday, Lucas Randall, Dr. Carolyn de Graaf 00:03:09 A large study has identified 35 genes that can influence you take up marijuana use. The study also also found links between those genes and other drug dependencies, as well as ADHD, autism and depression. 00:13:31 Scientists at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health has found that microorganisms in colder climates darken themselves to capture more heat and improve their chances for survival. 00:18:45 String Theory, the theoretical framework of cosmology, could permit trillions of trillions different universes. But one problem with it, according to a controversial new paper, is that it doesn't allow a universe like ours. 00:29:09 Archaeologists found a few broken jars in a 3,500 year old Egyptian tomb. Their contents were analysed, revealing an ancient love affair with one of life's true miracles: cheese.
Become a Patreon and help us out! Come see Dr. Pamela Gay and the Science on Top team in Melbourne on 10 October 2018! Get your tickets to the Australian Skeptics National Convention!
Dr Carolyn de Graaf is a geneticist from the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute.
This episode contains traces of Samoan Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele criticising climate change deniers. |
Fri, 31 August 2018
Dr Morgan Cable is a planetary scientist and astrobiologist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Her work is primarily focussed on developing technologies and instruments for spacecraft searching for organic molecules and biomarkers in our solar system. She was the Assistant Project Science Systems Engineer for the Cassini Mission, and is currently working on numerous projects to Europa and Enceladus. Ed and Lucas caught up with Dr. Cable to discuss the exploration of the Saturn system, the Jupiter system, Mars, Iceland and the search for life. Dr. Cable's Twitter handle is @starsarecalling. For more information about the projects we talked about, see NASA's pages for Cassini, Europa Lander, Mars 2020, and Wikipedia's Enceladus Life Finder page. |
Tue, 21 August 2018
Hosts: Ed Brown, Penny Dumsday, Lucas Randall 00:00:56 We're hosting Dr. Pamela Gay for a talk, Q&A session and live show in Melbourne on Wednesday 10 October! Tickets $20 from scienceontop.com/live All proceeds go to the non-profit Astronomical Society of the Pacific. 00:02:06 A study finds that smaller dogs lift their legs higher when they pee. Could they be lying, and trying to fool other dogs? 00:09:30 After a delayed first attempt, NASA's Parker Solar Probe has been successfully launched on a course for the Sun. This will be the fastest spacecraft ever made, and will get up close and personal with our nearest star. For more on solar research, listen to our interview from last year with Professor Lucie Green. 00:20:21 Geologists have been studying tiny grains found in a Russian meteorite. They've found a new mineral, that they call uakitite, which has never before been found on Earth.
This episode contains traces of National Party of Australia deputy leader Bridget McKenzie daring to say "the C-word". |
|
Science On Top (general)
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
