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

2017 was a big year for science. Gravitational waves were detected four times, it was the end of Cassini's mission, and lady dragonflies faked their own deaths to avoid sex. And we talked about all these stories and more on Science on Top. But not everything goes to plan, and this year was no exception! We had all sorts of Skype troubles, we forgot things, we were interrupted by dogs and phones... lots went wrong! But instead of losing the hilarious moments of chaos, we've saved them all for our traditional end of year bloopers episode. All the rants, the tangents, the swearing and the brain farts all put together for one long blooper reel! There's even an entire story that was cut from the regular show that we've included out of the kindness of our hearts.

You must download or play the bloopers episode from our site: http://scienceontop.com/bloopers17 or on YouTube or Soundcloud!

Direct download: Bloopers_2017_announce.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:58am AEDT

 

Hosts: Ed Brown, Penny Dumsday, Lucas Randall

00:01:08 Six reasons why the latest gravitational wave discovery is huge

00:07:36 Scientists solve Roman concrete puzzle

00:11:01 A look back at Cassini's incredible mission to Saturn before its final plunge into the planet

00:14:09 The first results from the Juno mission

00:17:40 A Dinosaur So Well Preserved, It Looks Like a Statue

00:20:47 We created a song that makes babies happy

00:23:33 A Thorny Debate in Plate Tectonics May Finally Be Resolved

00:25:50 Why Female Dragonflies Go to Extreme Lengths to Avoid Sex

Plus we interviewed some great people this year:

Direct download: SoT_0285.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:43pm AEDT

Hosts: Ed Brown, Penny Dumsday, Lucas Randall

00:01:07 Antarctica is littered with volcanoes, and while there hasn't been a major eruption in 8,000 years, there are signs that there might be one coming.

00:12:48 Rock art in Saudi Arabia dates back thousands of years, and possibly features the oldest images of dogs.

00:17:53 The "Cat's Brain" long barrow in Wiltshire, near Stonehenge dates back to around 3,800BC. It's recent excavation offers new insights into Britain's neolithic civilisation.We were reminded of our fascinating discussion earlier this year with Dr. Lynne Kelly.

00:22:32 When a star goes supernova it usually appears to us as a very bright star that hangs around for maybe 3 or 4 months. But a newly analysed supernova stuck around for more than 2 years, getting brighter and dimmer throughout that period.

00:32:34 Researchers in West Australia have discovered and identified eight new species of spinifex grass, and one of them tastes like salt and vinegar chips!

 

This episode contains traces of "Come to Australia" by the Scared Weird Little Guys.

Direct download: SoT_0284.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 9:30pm AEDT

Hosts: Ed Brown, Dr. Shayne Joseph, Penny Dumsday.

00:01:03 Stromatolites - rocky mounds made of bacterial colonies - have been around for at least 3.5 billion years. But the rise of multicellular life wiped them out except for in a few salty marine locations. Now researchers have discovered some in a remote freshwater wetland in Tasmania.

00:06:51 You wouldn't think it would matter if you were injured in the daytime or at night - but it does. Wounds inflicted during the day can heal nearly twice as fast.

00:11:14 What if the meteor that wiped out the dinosaurs had struck the Earth somewhere different? It may be that if it had impacted nearly anywhere else on the planet the dinosaurs may have survived.

00:16:14 The fungus that invades ants and controls them while it kills them is pretty horrific. But it's even worse than we thought - the ants are aware and conscious the whole time, while their limbs are being controlled by the fungus!

 

This episode contains traces of Virtual Field Trips' explanation on how stromatolites got their name.

Direct download: SoT_0283.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:53pm AEDT

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