Great Moments In Science

Vaccine Victory Via Chickens

22 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

What can chickens teach us about the way out of a pandemic?

Chlorophyll Water — part 2

15 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Chlorophyll water has re-emerged as a darling of the wellness world - but does it stand up to the hype?

Chlorophyll Water - part 1

08 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Chlorophyll water has re-emerged as a darling of the wellness world - but does it stand up to the hype?

Sleep update

01 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

It's not a good plan to skimp on sleep. A regular seven to nine hours a night puts you in a better position to live longer, and better.

Development of vaccines

25 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Vaccines are not a new invention. One of the very first effective vaccinations against disease came from China about 1,500 years ago - and was widely...

Animal navigation

18 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Today’s technology has given us an avalanche of information about how, and where, animals travel. We have radar, motion-activated cameras, drones, ...

Elements of you

11 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Our modern periodic table has 118 known chemical elements. About 94 of them occur naturally and the rest were manufactured by us. An element is a pur...

First known computer, Pt 3

04 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Dr Karl still has more to tell us about the first known computer - this week it's Part 3. After its discovery it took a little while to clean up - an...

First known computer, Pt 2

27 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Going deeper into the Antikythera Mechanism - a box with 30 bronze gears inside connected to three dials outside. It predicted the movements of a bun...

First known computer, Pt 1

20 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We tend to think of computers as being a fairly recent invention. But the world’s oldest known computer is actually a few thousand years old. It’...

Staring into empty space

13 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Gazing off into empty space or being the target of a ‘stare bear’, it can happen to us all. Staring into the middle distance can be relaxing and ...

Virus 104

06 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The last few episodes have considered the difference between a virus and a bacterium; wondered whether a virus is alive or not; and looked at our dis...

Virus 103

30 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This COVID-19 pandemic is the first one for 102 years. In 1918-1920 we had an influenza pandemic, which we now refer to as the Spanish Flu. Back then...

Virus 102

23 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Bacteria and viruses both have the genetic code needed to make babies but only a bacterium has all the biological machinery to make another bacterium...

Virus 101

16 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

2020 will be remembered as the Year of the Virus – the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. By early 2021 the COVID virus had truly left its mark o...

Value of human life

09 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Trying to talk about the dollar value of a human life really sounds like cold hard economics. Knowing how the calculations are done is chilling. But ...

Bulldust asymmetry

02 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Fake News has been around for thousands of years. You’ve probably heard of Nero, who was accused of playing the fiddle while Rome burned. But nowad...

Smell, part 2

23 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

More on how under-rated our sense of smell is – and how loss of smell can be an early indicator of COVID-19. In your DNA many of the genes associat...

Smell, part 1

16 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We see our human sense of smell as woefully inadequate compared to other animals – but awareness of our sense of smell has become more of a hot top...

How to measure a building

09 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In a classic scientific 'urban myth' a physics student is asked to measure the height of a building using a barometer. In 2020 French and Italian phy...

Universe in a lifetime

02 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Modern, pre-COVID, travel means it’s possible to trip around the world quite quickly. What if we had a super-advanced future rocket technology that...

The worst plane of WW2

26 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

During World War II a curious aircraft was built by the German air force. Its purpose was to combat Allied bombers, but not everything went to plan. ...

BP's Carbon Campaign

19 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Why would the fossil fuel company BP promote the idea of reducing our individual 'carbon footprint'?

Migrating Species

12 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Climate change has begun displacing species, but just how many are on the move?

Carrington Event

05 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

What was the mysterious Carrington Event of 1859? And why did it affect telegraph systems?

Palaeolithic Dieting

29 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Is it true that our bodies would prefer the 'Paleo diet'?

Ribbon Curling

22 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

What twisted trickery causes ribbons to curl?

Hot Dog Eating

15 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

What's the maximum number of hot dogs someone could eat in 10 minutes?

Dust

08 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Where does the world's dust come from? And how does it constantly fill up our homes!?

Carbon Footprints

01 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Are discussions about your individual 'carbon footprint' really a distraction, shifting blame onto everyday citizens?

Future Hamburgers

24 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Would you eat a hamburger patty that was grown in a lab? What about fake meat that looks and tastes just like the real thing?

Tea Bag Saves Space Station

17 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

A cuppa tea can be a life-saver - sometimes, literally!

Parking, science-style

10 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Understanding thyself, and taking the middle path, can lead to a much faster and calmer parking experience

The a-b-c of hepatitis - part 2

03 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Could we really rid the world of Hepatitis C?

The a-b-c of hepatitis - part 1

27 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Hepatitis C is one sneaky little disease, caused by an equally sneaky virus.

Beetroot wee and spag bol stains

20 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

What is it with red food and stains? So many things!

The 'tail' of the missing anus

13 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Regrowing your tail is one thing - but what if you lose more than your tail in the first place?

When copper meets COVID

06 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Copper is like kryptonite to COVID-19.

For black holes, matter doesn't size

29 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

They can be superemassive, but black holes still have no size.

Dead fish can swim

22 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Why you should always read back copies of the Journal of Fluid Mechanics.

Pterodactyl take-off

15 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

That's not a dinosaur - it's a flying catapult!

Fish boot camp

08 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Why are scientists exercising fish ... with a coffee plunger?

The case of the disappearing bum - part 2

01 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This creature has the only known case of an 'on-demand anus'

The case of the disappearing bum - part 1

25 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The anus is highlight of animal evolution - but it's still full of surprises.

Spider intelligence

17 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

They've got brains smaller than a pinhead, but spiders can count!

Holy electric flying spiders!

10 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Arachnophobes beware - flying B-grade horror spiders ahoy!

Putting Einstein to the test - part 2

03 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The short story: he passed the test. Again.

Putting Einstein to the test - part one

25 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

There are very few places weird enough to test out Einstein's General Theory of Relativity.

The perfect coffee

18 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

At last - the real secret to the perfect espresso!

Australian bushfires - part 3

11 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

A lot of players had a role in our horrific 2019/2020 bushfire season. Luckily, El Nino was not one of them.

Australian bushfires - part 2

04 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Are these bushfires really unprecedented and related to global warming?

Australian bushfires - part 1

28 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The science behind our cataclysmic bushfire season

NASA's space pen

21 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The truth behind NASA's 'billion dollar' space pen.

The flat earth myth myth

14 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Medieval people thought the world was flat right? Wrong.

Atomic gecko

07 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Spiderman has got nothing on geckos when it comes to sticking to walls.

Why do we sleep?

31 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

What our brains do when we clock off for the night...

5G hysteria is coming: part 2

24 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

If mobile phones don't cause cancer, why did two US studies show they do?

5G hysteria is coming ...

17 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

5G promises incredibly fast download speeds - but what about those cancer rumours?

Coffee naps

10 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Coffee or a nap? Actually, both.

Are you a mozzie magnet?

02 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

If you're pregnant, a bloke or a beer drinker, you're a prime target for mosquitos.

How do planes really fly?

26 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

If you're bursting to shout "Bernoulli!", think again ... Also, CONGRATULATIONS to Dr Karl from all of us at ABC Science! http://ab.co/2raH8Wj

Ultraprocessed foods

19 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Obesity has been on the rise since the mid-seventies. As have ultraprocessed foods. Co-inky-dink?

Is a vegan diet healthy?

12 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Can you be truly healthy on a diet that excludes both meat and dairy?

Bacteria of champions

05 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

It's not just their ability to run 42 kilometres that separates marathon runners from the rest of us. They've got a secret energy source in their gut...

What happens when you get winded?

29 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Have you ever been winded? You suddenly lose the ability to do something you've done 15 times each minute of your life. But why?

Knife in the dishwasher - part two

22 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

At last - the answer to the burning question in kitchens the world over: does the dishwasher blunt your sharp knife?

Knife in the dishwasher: part one

15 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Have you heard that you shouldn't put your sharp stainless steel kitchen knives in the dishwasher because they might go blunt?

The end of the internal combustion engine?

08 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Combustion engines are marvels of engineering and power, but will they feature in the cars of the future?

The not-so-boring billion

01 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

We all go through slow patches - but the Earth went through a famous boring phase that lasted one billion years. Or did it ...

And the Ig Nobel prizes go to ...

24 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

A new year, and a new crop of research to make us laugh and then make us think.

Red sky at night... sailors' delight?

17 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Could a glowing red sunset really foretell the next morning's weather?

Jargon moving forwards

10 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Jargon has way more uses than just playing Buzzword Bingo. It's a popular item in the propaganda and social toolkits.

DJ bats double the Doppler

03 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Thanks to some fuzzy-looking photos, bat echolocation just got more amazing.

Diseases stink!

27 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Joy Milne has a superpower. She can smell Parkinson's disease - years before it's diagnosed.

Dead brains revived!

20 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Tabloids love using 'Frankenstein' in headlines about science research. But this time, they weren't completely wrong.

Mirror Universe: part two

13 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

A nine second difference between physics experiments could have big implications. A whole universe worth of them!

Mirror Universe: part 1

06 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

As if our regular universe isn't crazy enough - there might be a completely different 'mirror' universe lurking amongst us!

Running out of sand: part two

30 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The future of sand is ... recycled plastic?

Running out of sand, part one

23 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

How could something as common as sand possibly be running low?

Marco Polo and spaghetti: part two

16 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

There's plenty of evidence that Marco Polo didn't introduce pasta from China. So where did that myth start?

Marco Polo and spaghetti: part one

09 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

We all know that Marco Polo brought spaghetti to the western world from his travels in China. Or did he?

Tobacco denialism: part two

02 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

A meeting in 1953 created the formula for a smokescreen that's still playing out today. And it's gone way beyond tobacco.

Tobacco denialism: part one

25 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

When the science is certain, how do you push a product that kills? Ask Big PR.

Our solar system is weird

18 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

With our planets spread far and wide - and no super-sized Earths - we're nothing like the other solar systems we've found.

5G hysteria is coming: part 2

11 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

If mobile phones don't cause cancer, why did two US studies show they do?

5G hysteria is coming ...

04 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

5G promises incredibly fast download speeds - but what about those cancer rumours?

Where gold comes from: part two

28 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

When it comes to making gold, alchemists never stood a chance. For that magic you need cataclysmic collisions, dying megastars and black holes.

Where gold comes from: part one

21 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Gold can come from jewellery shops, bank heists, Mints and mines. But where is gold made?

Balloon popping

14 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

When a balloon pops, sometimes it leaves lots of small fragments of rubber, and sometimes it leaves just a couple of larger pieces. What's going on?...

Say cheese

07 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Hard, soft, smelly or blue - there's a cheese for every occasion. But is it time to rethink our relationship with this delicious dairy product?

Easter and the Equinox

30 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Easter Sunday can fall in March or April, but the date is definitely not random.

Washing clothes: part two

23 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Clothing is made of threads, which are made of smaller-still fibres. And that's where the dirt hides.

Washing clothes: part one

16 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Until recently, scientists couldn't work out how a washing machine actually lifted the dirt out of clothes.

Vaping, e-cigarettes, and big tobacco

09 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Tobacco has done bad things for public health — but what about e-cigarettes?

Rogue planets: part two

02 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Planets going rogue and abandoning their star to wander the galactic hood could actually be pretty common.

Rogue planets: part one

26 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Rogue planets drift freely through our galaxy, rather than orbiting around a star — and researchers estimate there could be billions in the Milky W...

Barcode invention: part two

19 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Barcodes look deceptively simple, but it took 25 years - and two episodes of Great Moments in Science! - to get from that lightbulb moment on a beach...

Barcode invention: part one

12 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The story of the barcode has everything - from gangsters to newborns and a whole lot of sand.

Holy Hole Phobia!

05 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

If that image is creeping you out, you could have trypophobia.

Seashell Ocean Sound

26 Feb 2019

Contributed by Lukas

When you pick up a seashell and hold it to your ear, why can you hear the sound of the ocean?