Over the summer period I’ll be talking science with Julian Morrow on ABC Radio National, every Friday at around 8:15 am.
Last Friday we talked about arsenic eating organisms, Danish vodka foot spas, turkey and alcohol, and sleeping beauties.
You can download or stream the audio from the ABC Radio National website.
A busy week for me as I had to fill in some blanks in the schedule. One story was on genes relating to menarche (onset of female puberty) and the other was traces of oxygen found on Saturn’s moon Rhea.
I’m a bit late in putting this up, but during the federal election campign I wrote two stories on the Labor and Coalition science policies.
Both were similar in their approach, which guaranteed funding for science communication, a commitment to international scientific collaboration and support for the CSIRO.
The Greens were critical of both policies for failing to mention research into renewable technologies, while the Australian Academy of Science and the Federdation of Scientific and Technological Societies lamented the lack of any increase in funding for research.
Even though the election has been run and ‘won’, you’ll find links to both articles below.
Exposure to chemicals used in the manufacture of non-stick surfaces has been linked to an increased rate of thyroid disease.
But experts warn more research is needed to confirm whether the chemicals are the cause of the increased rate.
Read more at ABC News website.
Engineers who invented a bra that converts into a gas mask and Irish police officers who mistakenly wrote tickets to ‘Driver’s Licence’ have lead the IgNobel prizes for 2009.
I spoke to Jennifer Byrne from ABC702 about the awards.
Read more on ABC Science Online.
