Stay ConnectedDr Karl’s a curious optimist. Join him as he explores the latest developments in science with leading researchers and communicators.
And remember, it’s never too late for a happy childhood.
Series Producer: Isabelle Benton
Technical Producer: Maya Cook
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Natural Nukes - Dr Karl explains how the earth created a nuclear reactor billions of years before we figured out how. Extreme gravity, relativistic rotation speeds and could-have-been alien lighthouses - almost Dr Jessica explains the strange science of the Pulsar. Plus Dr Alice on things that shouldn't go boom - the Lithium-ion batteries that power all our devices.
From the age of six, Xiuhtezcatl has been out to improve our world. He worked locally to get pesticides out of parks, coal ash contained, and fracking moratoriums. He has addressed the General Assembly at the United Nations in New York. He is currently a plaintiff in a youth-led lawsuit against the US federal government for their failure to protect the atmosphere for future generations.
On a brief visit to Australia he talks with Dr. Karl on how to achieve meaningful change as a youth activist.
Dr Alice is talking about Ayahusca a South American hallucinogen that may help depression and other mental disorders, nearly Doctor Jessica exploring number stations and the secret messages that haven't stopped despite the end of the Cold War and Dr Karl on whether the silk handkerchief in your top pocket will stop bullets.
Imagine cooling down 2,300 km of Barrier Reef along the Australian coast using renewable energy. Mind-blowing, right? Dr Brian Von Herzen has such a plan. It's part of a bigger picture that he calls Marine Permaculture - using nature to restore habitat in the oceans. It is a project he has been working towards for over a decade including demonstrations off Hawaii. Dr Karl discussed Dr Brian's vision in Queensland earlier this year. The audio quality varies as it was recorded on location.
Dinosaur Love - What drove them to sex ? Dr. Alice reports that there may be hints in a distant relative. Test Tube Meat ? The cost of manufactured protein will come down says Almost Dr. Jessica. Plus Dr. Karl on Animal Families. They can have kids from different fathers in the same litter. They're not twins. What are they and Why?
Imagine laying a sheet of smart film on a masterpiece like "Starry Starry Night". Without contaminating the surface, you can lift off chemical signatures. Discover what paint Van Gogh used, what drugs he might have been taking and even if he was suffering from a recognisable disease. Dr Alice has the story plus Dr Karl on the growing rubbish dump above our heads and (almost) Dr Jessica on those one-off intergalactic tweets called FRBs - what are they ?
Bacteria are more like submarines than fish. They have propellors and motors. This is one of the extraordinary discoveries that Sydney researcher Dr Matt Baker has been part of. In fact he has gone deeper and is looking inside the different motors bacteria species have. What powers these micro machines ? How they are made ? His stories of life at a micron level are almost beyond belief.
What discovery deserves to be the biggest of the 2016? We say Gravitational Waves and the LIGO team. Einstein said they were theoretically possible a hundred years ago and this story is so big it'll is worth two podcasts. Welcome once again Professor Geraint Lewis from the School of Physics at Sydney University.
LIGO - Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory was the detector. It has found the most elusive of all cosmic vibrations. One hundred years ago Einstein said they were possible - so mind-bending he changed his opinion twice. A mathematician in the WWI trenches confirmed their theoretical existence and then ... Well this story is so big it'll take two podcasts.
Welcome to our Shirtloads "Gravitational Wave Special Part One" and the Associate Head for Research at the School of Physics, Sydney University, Professor Geraint Lewis. Dark energy, gravitational lensing, galactic cannibalism - our Shirtloads of Science" guest eats them for breakfast.
Searching for other habitable planets, looking for medicines inside deadly poisons and pushing poverty (and wealth) to the limit. A Shirtloads Planet Earth 2017 health check.
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