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". |
Sun, 12 August 2018
Hosts: Ed Brown, Penny Dumsday, Lucas Randall, Alayna Hansen. 00:00:58 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 and all proceeds go to the non-profit Astronomical Society of the Pacific. 00:02:23 The government of Sierra Leone has announced the discovery of a new species of Ebola virus. Fortunately there's no indication that it's spread to humans yet, but that could be just a matter of time. 00:10:23 Hurricanes Irma and Maria wreaked havoc on the Caribbean, causing extensive damage and hundreds of deaths. But it did provide a rare opportunity for a team to study how natural disasters affect the evolution of some small tree-dwelling lizards. 00:16:52 Researchers are insisting that the hybrid cross of a melon-headed whale and a rough-toothed dolphin that was discovered in Hawaii is not a "wolphin". So of course, everyone's calling it a "wolphin". 00:23:08 For the first time physicists at the Large Hadron Collider have accelerated atoms at near the speed of light. Usually the LHC fires sub-atomic protons and atomic nuclei, so this is a big step up and could herald a new branch of particle physics exploration.
This episode contains traces of astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson talking with Melissa Francis about the newly announced Space Force on Fox Business.
Alayna Hansen is a journalism student and freelance science writer. Check out her application for BBC Presenter Search on her YouTube Channel. |
Sun, 5 August 2018
Hosts: Ed Brown, Penny Dumsday, Professor Jonti Horner, Sarah de Garis 00:01:22 The longest lunar eclipse in 18 years gave viewers in much of the world a stunning spectacle - a blood red moon. 00:03:08 Radar data from the Mars Express probe has revealed a large lake of liquid water beneath the red planet's surface. 00:14:49 CRISPR is a defence mechanism used by bacteria against viruses. And it's pretty good - but it has one major weakness that viruses exploit. 00:22:22 Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University and Yale University have now made a significant breakthrough - by using gene editing to treat a genetic condition in utero. In mice. 00:30:15 Dr Jurgen Otto loves peacock spiders - a lot. And his passion has let him on a journey through southern Western Australia in search of a tiny (but cute) spider he saw 23 years ago. Check out his site: Peacockspider.org
This episode contains traces of Journalist Simone Boyce discussing the lunar eclipse with Dr. Jackie Faherty and Hanneke Weitering on NBC's "Space is Awesome" live stream. |
Fri, 27 July 2018
Hosts: Ed Brown, Lucas Randall, Dr. Carolyn de Graaf 00:01:04 It was one of the most incredible news stories of the year - the rescue of twelve kids and their soccer coach from the flooded Thai cave. Made even more remarkable that they all returned in relatively good health - especially considering all the diseases and illnesses they were at risk of catching. 00:10:48 Whether it's Ebola, Hendra, SARS, or rabies; bats are often blamed for the spread of viruses. But is that fair? Are bats more likely to host diseases that spread to humans? 00:17:34 While hunting for Planet Nine, astronomers accidentally discovered 12 new moons around Jupiter. One of them is on a collision course! 00:28:54 Scientists Australia have developed a blood test which, in a recent trial, was successful in detecting melanomas in 81.5% of cases.
Carolyn de Graaf is a geneticist from the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute.
This episode contains traces of astronaut Scott Kelly describing the creepiest thing he encountered on the ISS. |
Sun, 15 July 2018
Hosts: Ed Brown, Lucas Randall, Daniel Midgely 00:01:18 Billed as having "mastered sign language", Koko The Gorilla has passed away. But was she all she was cracked up to be?
00:29:43 An international team has discovered a galaxy unlike any other. Smaller than the Milky Way, the mysterious galaxy appears to have very little dark matter - possibly none at all. 00:41:00 Artificial Intelligence is becoming increasingly ubiquitous in our lives. But a Wall Street Journal report finds that many of the big tech companies are using humans where computer bots fall short.
This episode contains traces of a report about Koko's death on CBC News.
Daniel Midgley is a linguist at the University of Western Australia and presenter on the weekly podcast and radio show Talk the Talk. |
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