The Science Show

Climate forces change to traditional lifestyles in PNG

03 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Failing crops and dwindling water supply are forcing change to the traditional lifestyles of PNG highlanders.

The Science Show’s Top 100 Australian Scientists

27 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

People know their sports stars, and their rock stars. Why don’t they know the stars of science who have helped shape our world? The Science Show’...

Science Extra: Aspects of psychology: ADHD diagnosis explosion—and singing to babies

20 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Aspects of mental health and psychology.Diagnoses of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) doubled over the past year, and the cost of doin...

H. G. Wells – father of science fiction

20 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

He imagined the atomic bomb, believed in a world government, wrote books about science and science fiction and was the first popular communicator of ...

Science Extra: falling antimatter, chimps, Beethoven's hair, Jupiter, and that telescope

13 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Clearly, there's no such thing as too much AI, you can't escape it; and we can't ignore avian 'flu, or 2023 being the hottest year on record; But, me...

Portrait of Isaac Newton

13 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

He developed laws of motion, gravitation and mathematical calculus. But with his genius came myths and legends. Sharon Carleton presents a portrait o...

Science Extra: One semaglutide please

06 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

If there’s one medication that’s got everyone talking it’s the antidiabetic medication semaglutide. The drug is often better known by one of it...

What to do when science doesn’t cut through

06 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Tim Flannery and Robyn Williams discuss how to communicate in a world of denialism, disinformation, and deep fakes.

Science Extra: The rise of the thinking machines

30 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The hottest tech story in 2023 has been the rise of artificial intelligence. ChatGPT burst onto the scene and became the fastest-growing internet app...

The Anglo-Australian Telescope – approaching 50 years

30 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Robyn Williams visited the telescope site prior to its completion in 1974. In 2014 he returned as astronomers celebrated 40 years.

Science Extra: It's gettin' hot in here

23 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

It’s been a big year for environment news: records broken, a new El Nino, and dire forecasts for a hot summer.In this bonus episode, we’re diving...

The bigger Australian story - Odyssey down under

23 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Historian Tom Griffiths says a new kind of history is called for in the year of the Voice referendum. He wrote his essay Odyssey down under for Insid...

Transitions

16 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

At the age of 87, award-winning scientist, environmentalist and broadcaster David Suzuki has stepped down as host of CBC TV’s The Nature of Things...

The Future Is Now

09 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Carbon dioxide emissions continue to rise. Antarctic ice shelves melt and the Amazon burns. Bob McDonald says the future is now.

2FC now Radio National celebrates 100 years

05 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We revisit a bold new Sunday night program in 1975, and coverage of the Apollo missions.

The Bragg Prize for Science Writing, and we remember Sir Clarence Lovejoy

02 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Nicky Phillips has won this year’s Bragg Prize for Science Writing.

25 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

They were close to extinction. Now seashorses in Sydney Harbour may have survived.

Getting your rocks off

18 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Landscape may be an important unrecognised contributor to climate change.

Ultrasound moves immune cells and triggers their response and more Prime Ministers Prizes for Science

11 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The Science Show gives Australians unique insights into the latest scientific research and debate.

Maths is here, it's there, it’s everywhere

04 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Mathematics is a key tool in every scientific discipline

Australia may join world coalition of collaborative research

28 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Life Scientist award for work on microbes and their role in regulating climate plus Varroa mites – a positive for native bees?

Prime Minister’s Prize for Science and new insights into the benefits of social interaction

21 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Michelle Simmons had received The Prime Minister's Science Prize for her work on quantum electronics.

Lockdown behaviour, vaccines for new variants, and evidence for coronavirus source

14 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The Science Show gives Australians unique insights into the latest scientific research and debate.

Here come the superstars

07 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Nobel Prizes, Covid good luck and Mars Rover's link to QUT

Why do textbooks leave out so many scientists with one thing in common?

30 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Researchers have found school curriculums are missing the contributions of female scientists. Why is it so important we know the people behind the di...

What counting trees tells us about the health of the planet

23 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Mathematicians and their models might just be the world's most inconspicuous climate heroes.

A battle between consciousness theories, and harnessing resources from thin air

16 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

What happens when two theories are pitted against one another? Are we any closer to knowing where consciousness arises?

Sir John Eccles and the invaluable work of his daughter Rose

09 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This Australian father-daughter duo played a huge part in the science and philosophy instrumental in the mind-brain problem.

Sir John Eccles, one of the big brains in neuroscience

02 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Sharon Carleton takes a look at his decades of work in this 2003 feature, coinciding with this year's Eccles Institute seminar at ANU.

Cyber hygiene, deep sea parasites and what weeds can teach us about cancer

26 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

All the science underway to protect our health, our environment... and our smartphones?

Big ideas at Beaker Street Festival

19 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Some of the science on display at this year's Hobart-wide celebration of the big, small and occasionally glowy.

What can we learn from five minutes of silence?

12 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Sometimes we all need to sit in silence ... but is there ever really silence? Take a seat and let your ears provide the answer.

The Oppenheimer who influenced our modern science centres

05 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The Exploratorium in San Francisco opened in 1969, and went on to inspire our own science centres in Australia.

Pioneering particles, time-travelling molecules and outer space poets

29 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Scientists are harnessing the very small to explore very big things — from faults in massive structures to time reversal at the molecular level.

There's no age limit to science

22 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

From a teenage enthusiast to a 100-year-old Nobel Prize winner, The Science Show explores the agelessness of wonder.

Protecting habitats and the creatures that dwell within

15 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Climate change is already having far-reaching consequences, for our forests, our oceans and ourselves.

Torres Strait VR, taming CERN's magnets and Fiji's fight against varroa mite

08 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Testing magnets for CERN'S Large Hadron Collider is a high-stakes job, with serious consequences.

Where science can lead: An isolated island, the slimy forest floor, and centre stage for stand-up

01 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Come along for a midnight hunt at a secluded resort, and a dawn boat trip to the speck of land where Hollywood Blockbuster Castaway was filmed.

Communities team up with scientists to tackle flooding

24 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Meet two groups — one in Scotland, the other in the US state of Georgia — using science against floodwaters.

Helping marine life thrive — from Fiji to Goondiwindi

17 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Tag along for a trip out to sea to meet a woman from the Solomon Islands who is tracking this looming danger in the Pacific Ocean.

Come inside the vault preserving Pacific plants for future generations

10 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Carl Smith takes a trip to the Pacific to catch up with scientists working to conserve the region's biodiversity.

The surprising past — and promising future of women in science

03 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

A woman was among Australia's first three science graduates. But it's still far from a level playing field.

The botanist behind Dame Edna's favourite flower, and the virtuous side of weeds

27 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

There's a scientific story behind Dame Edna's famous Gladioli, and it involves one of Australia's top botanists.

Nearer the Gods: The enduring legacy of Isaac Newton

20 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

He's one of the most famous scientists ever. But who was Isaac Newton, really? Sharon Carleton presents a portrait like no other about the myths sur...

Unravelling the mysterious workings of the epigenome — and the universe

13 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Dark matter is assumed to be responsible for holding the universe together. So where is it?

Celebrating David Attenborough on his 97th birthday

06 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Reflecting on Sir David Attenborough's decades-long contribution to our understanding of the natural world.

A lab for seas and winds, measuring carbon dioxide and monitoring animal ecology

29 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Dave Keeling started measuring carbon dioxide in 1958, Dave’s son Ralph continues his father’s work today.

Astronomers watch as black hole pulls dust cloud apart

22 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

And bee venom shows promise treating a range of cancers.

Beaming energy to Earth from space

15 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

And one hundred years ago, a scientific expedition in Australia showed Einstein was right.

Technology helps scientists discover new species

08 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

As pressure on the natural world increases, new technology is bringing fast results as scientists monitor fauna and flora and identify new species.

Bees communicate intricate information with their dance and Moon mission to map water

01 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

By performing their waggle dance, bees communicate information about direction, distance and quality of a food source.

World’s biggest coal port could become the world’s biggest hydrogen port. And Vale Will Steffen

25 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

And soft tissues can be fossilised. They help piece together the history of life on Earth.

Academy calls for increased science funding, DNA used to nab wildlife smugglers, and worms reveal secrets of brains and memory.

18 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The Australian Academy of Science has called for a review of science funding in Australia.

Helping young children after burn injury, inside the minds of teens, and behind the scenes at London’s Natural History Museum

11 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of Strange Frontiers, Carl Smith takes us into the vault at one of the world’s greatest archives of natural history.

Visit the world’s biggest fission reactor under construction in France and discover the wonders of algae

04 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

If successful, ITER promises to provide abundant clean energy.

The value of seagrasses, fish with remarkable powers and how parasites threaten aquatic life

25 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Small unremarkable fish use light to detect and avoid predators.

Autonomous minibus and predicting the behaviour of pedestrians

18 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Carl Smith takes us to the Estonian capital Tallinn to ride an autonomous minibus.

Harry Butler honoured and how a scientist fell in love with a fossil

11 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Murdoch University's Harry Butler Institute honours the well-known warrior for the environment.

A tour of the antimatter factory and John Wheeler remembered

04 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Carl Smith takes us to the Antimatter factory.

Hope from COP27 and atmospheric research from Germany’s highest peak

28 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Hope from COP27 and atmospheric research from Germany’s highest peak

The surprising Huxley family, certainty, and climate prospects for 2023

21 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

From T. H. Huxley - ‘Darwin’s Bulldog’ – to author Aldous Huxley to Nobel Prize winner Andrew Huxley, a new book tells the tale of this remar...

The evolution of galaxies and chasing the big cosmological questions

14 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

A cosmological Science Show and competition emerging for Haydn’s Creation!

Celebrating Gregor Mendel the father of genetics

07 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Following experiments with peas and other plants, Gregor Mendel proposed a theory of inheritance which became the basis of modern biology.

Celebrating Charles Todd and the overland telegraph

31 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The overland telegraph connecting Australia to the world was completed 150 years ago. It was built due to the dedication of a public servant, Charles...

A portrait of Dame Miriam Rothschild

24 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

She was a world expert on fleas. Despite being self-taught, she was awarded doctorates from Cambridge and Oxford.

Human impact on and response to changing climate

17 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

By mid-century, human activity will have doubled atmospheric greenhouse gases compared to the pre-industrial level.

Smart cameras watch for anomalies, Prime Minister’s awards for top science teachers and DNA reveals the history of disease

10 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

DNA analysis suggests tuberculosis may have jumped to humans from seals.

PM’s Prizes for Science, koalas, COP27 and Catherine the Great

03 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

PM’s Prizes for Science, koalas, COP and Catherine the Great

Recovering aluminium from tailings, aluminium formate to absorb carbon dioxide from power station exhausts, and a Neanderthal family like us

26 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The Science Show gives Australians unique insights into the latest scientific research and debate.

Best Australian Science Writing winners and prospects for computing

19 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Subconsciously humans learn from their experiences. Giving this same information to computers is a big challenge.

New technology brings added value to museum collections

12 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

More than 5 million specimens have been digitised at London's Natural History Museum. Just 75 million to go. It’s a slow journey, but the benefits ...

How crows use deception, saving freshwater turtles and the history of horses

05 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Around 4,200 years ago, horses began accepting humans. Greger Larson describes the change in a species which changed the course of human history.

Storms changing our coasts, plastic in the ocean, and a call for geoengineering

29 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The Science Show presents unique insights into the latest scientific research and debate.

How carbon is our friend and unravelling the mystery of communication in plants

22 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The Science Show presents unique insights into the latest scientific research and debate.

Grid batteries made in Australia and pumped hydro using abandoned underground mines

15 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The Science Show presents unique insights into the latest scientific research and debate.

Nobel Prizes, climate extremes and how science can help save us

08 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The Science Show presents unique insights into the latest scientific research and debate.

Vanillin from plastic, battery trailers for EVs, and UK fossils rewriting the story of life

01 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The Science Show gives Australians unique insights into the latest scientific research and debate.