Podcasts by Great Moments In Science
Further podcasts by ABC Radio
Podcast on the topic Naturwissenschaften
All episodes
Ivermectin and COVID—Part 2 of 2 from 2022-04-19T11:30
The drug ivermectin is really good for treating worms; unfortunately it was falsely promoted as a COVID cure due to data errors, drug trial anomalies, or insufficient publication review.
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Ivermectin and COVID from 2022-04-12T11:30
There are many cases of drugs being repurposed once a new aspect of them is discovered—their new use is often very beneficial. One such drug is ivermectin. It works well against various parasitic i...
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The swing of bowling from 2022-04-05T11:30
Ball games were happening 3,500 years ago, and ever since then we’ve bounced and batted in all sorts of fun ways. We're especially interested in the mechanics of a ball curving as it travels throug...
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Antarctic fiery flush from 2022-03-29T11:30
At Australia's Antarctic base they do lots of cool science stuff, and aim to create as little waste as possible—including the toilets. There's actually a toilet known as the 'Fire Breathing Dragon'...
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Wood for the future from 2022-03-22T11:30
Wood has a loads of potential—from it we can make semi-conductors, batteries, steel, concrete, even plastics. It does need a lot of processing but we already do that with materials like steel, glas...
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Sydney smallpox epidemic from 2022-03-15T11:30
We're now quite familiar with terms like 'herd immunity' and 'epidemic', and that when separate groups of people—with separate germs—meet for the very first time, things can turn out badly. If you ...
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Worm blobs from 2022-03-08T11:30
When digging the compost pile into the garden, Dr Karl noticed a ball of entangled shape-shifting worms. You might think 'yuck'—but there's a 'wow' factor because some animal groupings can generate...
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Black holes bared from 2022-03-01T11:30
The final piece about why the 100 million or so black holes in our Milky Way galaxy are missing.
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Black hole buddies from 2022-02-22T11:30
More on the almost-emptiness that is black holes. Because they're invisible, they're difficult to find—but sometimes get discovered because they give off X-rays.
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Black hole basics from 2022-02-15T11:30:02
Even though it sounds totally crazy, astronomers are very confident that black holes exist. Our galazy is really old, it should carry at least 100 million black holes but we’ve found only a couple ...
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Fartology 101—common scents from 2022-02-08T11:30
There's really no 'genteel' way to say it, this week we're... passing wind. But even though it's totally natural, it can be embarrassing.
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COVID-19—the petering pandemic from 2022-02-01T11:30
It used to be thought that a pathogen (or germ) and its host develop in a 'mutually benign relationship'—this was called the 'Law of Declining Virulence'. If the common cold killed us there would b...
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Power steering kills steering from 2022-01-25T11:30
Power steering on a car involves various rods of steel moving relative to one another. How the rods connect is why mechanics are dealing with an unexpected problem.
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The colour of bird poo from 2021-12-07T11:30
Bird poo is usually coloured white—because of the way birds excrete excess nitrogen. But the poo can sometimes be a different colour—because of their diet. Creatures have evolved three main ways of...
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What to know about sunscreens from 2021-11-30T11:30
Australia is very sunny, and because of that it's a skin cancer hotspot. UV light triggers skin cancer but sunscreen blocks UV light—so is it better to apply more? Not really—and do not mix your su...
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How the earth is round from 2021-11-23T11:30
Even in this day and age there are people who think that the earth is flat. The educated people of ancient Greece - about two and a half thousand years ago - had already figured out that the Earth ...
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More about the body when free diving from 2021-11-16T11:30
When diving to very great depths the body has mechanisms to cope - on the way down, and then back to the surface.
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The body and free diving from 2021-11-09T11:30
Free diving has a current world record of around 214 m straight down—that's greater than the height of 50-storey building. For thousands of years free divers would collect salvage from shipwrecks ...
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Probiotics and Pre-biotics from 2021-11-02T11:30
The benefits of natural foods have always been a big deal. And there really is a tiny nugget of truth in the proclamations—but it's been greatly hyped
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Longest powered flight from 2021-10-26T11:30
We’ve been flying planes with engines for over a century, so have a guess at the record for the longest duration of powered flight - more than two months! And it was set more than half a century ago.
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Infertility and COVID-19 vaccines Part 2 from 2021-10-19T11:30
Further intel on a mistruth being spread by social media - that COVID-19 vaccines can cause both male and female infertility. With males, the COVID disease can cause infertility, the COVID vaccines...
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Infertility and COVID-19 vaccines Part 1 from 2021-10-12T11:30
We have several pretty good COVID-19 vaccines. They have enormously reduced the risks against getting sick, or dying from COVID. So why are people saying “no” to COVID vaccines? It seems the main ...
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Hidden Figures: the extraordinary women in science from 2021-10-05T11:30
Science is meant to be about data and logic, and yet that doesn't always stop it from being discriminatory. Women in science don't always get the recognition they deserve, but they have made extrao...
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How equal is an equinox? from 2021-09-28T11:30
If an equinox is truly equal, it should fall on a day when there's just as much darkness as there is daylight. But that's not always exactly the case, so what's going on?
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Cosmic cannibalism from 2021-09-21T11:30
What happens when two stars eat each other to death? And does one get the last laugh in this tale of cosmic cannibalism?
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Reaction Faster Than Action from 2021-09-14T11:30
Ever wondered how in Western gunfights, the person who is first to draw their gun is the first to get shot? It turns out that under threat, our muscles work faster than normal.
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Metabolism Mysteries from 2021-09-07T11:30
Our long-held beliefs about metabolism - you know that thing supposedly responsible for making you put on weight with age - might be wrong.
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Wing Walking: a sport not for the faint-hearted from 2021-08-31T11:30
For most of us, travelling by plane means boarding and buckling in. But Wing Walkers don't stop there - they venture outside of the plane too.
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Our Sixth Sense: the Sick Sense from 2021-08-24T11:30
Can you tell someone is sick just by looking at them? It turns out many of us can.
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The Muon Magnetic Anomaly: The Land of the Unknown Unknowns from 2021-08-17T11:30
There are mysteries all around us, but here's one that might just be the next Big Breakthrough of Physics! The Muon Magnetic Anomaly.
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Muon Mystery Part 2: The'Jewel of Physics'becomes a duel with physics from 2021-08-10T11:30
There are mysteries all around us, but here's one that might just be the next Big Breakthrough of Physics! The Muon Magnetic Anomaly.
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The Muon Magnetic Anomaly: A Quantum Mystery! from 2021-08-03T11:30
There are mysteries all around us, but here's one that might just be the next Big Breakthrough of Physics! The Muon Magnetic Anomaly.
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The Dirt On Food from 2021-07-27T11:30
Is it true that Big Agriculture has totally ruined our soil, and used up practically all of its goodness, so there’s barely any nutrition left in our food? Well, no - but like all good myths, there...
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Collagen Pt 2: a complex and wonderous protein from 2021-07-20T11:30
There's a lot of claims out there about the benefits of taking collagen supplements. Last week we spoke about the structure of collagen and what it does in the body. So what happens when you eat or...
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Collagen Pt 1: can you really eat or drink your way to smoother skin? from 2021-07-13T11:30
One thing that we are quite confident about is that collagen is part-and-parcel of having healthy and glowing skin. But what about the claim that if you eat or drink it, the molecules will magicall...
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What happens when a black hole eats a neutron star? from 2021-07-06T11:30
Astronomers have measured something amazing – a black hole eating a neutron star. In fact, they found this happening twice in just 10 days. We have found dozens of black holes smashing into each o...
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The Mighty Water Bear from 2021-06-29T11:30
What creature has survived five mass extinctions, can do just as well in space as on earth, withstand temperatures as hot and cold as you can imagine and perform show-stopping feats of survival? Th...
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Vaccine Victory Via Chickens from 2021-06-22T11:30
What can chickens teach us about the way out of a pandemic?
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Chlorophyll Water — part 2 from 2021-06-15T12:30
Chlorophyll water has re-emerged as a darling of the wellness world - but does it stand up to the hype?
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Chlorophyll Water - part 1 from 2021-06-08T11:30:33
Chlorophyll water has re-emerged as a darling of the wellness world - but does it stand up to the hype?
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Sleep update from 2021-06-01T11:30
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.
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Development of vaccines from 2021-05-25T11:30
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 used there to combat Smallpox.
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Animal navigation from 2021-05-18T11:30
Today’s technology has given us an avalanche of information about how, and where, animals travel. We have radar, motion-activated cameras, drones, DNA sequencing, as well as battery-powered geo-loc...
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Elements of you from 2021-05-11T11:30
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 pure substance made of atoms that have the same num...
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First known computer, Pt 3 from 2021-05-04T11:30
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 - and for the conservators to see what was on the in...
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First known computer, Pt 2 from 2021-04-27T11:30
Going deeper into the Antikythera Mechanism - a box with 30 bronze gears inside connected to three dials outside. It predicted the movements of a bunch of astronomical data. But let's start with ec...
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First known computer, Pt 1 from 2021-04-20T11:29:39
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’s called the Antikythera Mechanism
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Staring into empty space from 2021-04-13T11:30
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 head-clearing, but fixing our eyes on nothing at all...
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Value of human life from 2021-03-09T11:30
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 human life does have a value. Bizarrely, trying ...
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Bulldust asymmetry from 2021-03-02T11:30
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 nowadays, the word gets around a lot faster. Thanks to ...
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Smell, part 2 from 2021-02-23T11:30
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 associated with smell are located right next to a big bunc...
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Smell, part 1 from 2021-02-16T11:30
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 topic recently with the COVID-19 pandemic. A signific...
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How to measure a building from 2021-02-09T11:30
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 physicists wrote a paper called 61 Ways To Measure ...
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Universe in a lifetime from 2021-02-02T11:30
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 could keep us accelerating at 1G. You could trave...
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The worst plane of WW2 from 2021-01-26T11:30
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. What sounded like a ‘good idea at the time’ beca...
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BP's Carbon Campaign from 2021-01-19T11:30:47
Why would the fossil fuel company BP promote the idea of reducing our individual 'carbon footprint'?
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Migrating Species from 2021-01-12T11:30:08
Climate change has begun displacing species, but just how many are on the move?
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Carrington Event from 2021-01-05T11:30:47
What was the mysterious Carrington Event of 1859? And why did it affect telegraph systems?
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Palaeolithic Dieting from 2020-12-29T11:30:24
Is it true that our bodies would prefer the 'Paleo diet'?
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Hot Dog Eating from 2020-12-15T11:30:15
What's the maximum number of hot dogs someone could eat in 10 minutes?
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Carbon Footprints from 2020-12-01T11:30:45
Are discussions about your individual 'carbon footprint' really a distraction, shifting blame onto everyday citizens?
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Future Hamburgers from 2020-11-24T11:30:51
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?
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Tea Bag Saves Space Station from 2020-11-17T11:30:43
A cuppa tea can be a life-saver - sometimes, literally!
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Parking, science-style from 2020-11-10T11:30:53
Understanding thyself, and taking the middle path, can lead to a much faster and calmer parking experience
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The a-b-c of hepatitis - part 2 from 2020-11-03T11:31:49
Could we really rid the world of Hepatitis C?
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The a-b-c of hepatitis - part 1 from 2020-10-27T13:15:12
Hepatitis C is one sneaky little disease, caused by an equally sneaky virus.
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Beetroot wee and spag bol stains from 2020-10-20T11:45:16
What is it with red food and stains? So many things!
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The'tail'of the missing anus from 2020-10-13T12:22:23
Regrowing your tail is one thing - but what if you lose more than your tail in the first place?
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For black holes, matter doesn't size from 2020-09-29T11:49:43
They can be superemassive, but black holes still have no size.
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Dead fish can swim from 2020-09-22T11:14:38
Why you should always read back copies of the Journal of Fluid Mechanics.
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Pterodactyl take-off from 2020-09-15T11:49:43
That's not a dinosaur - it's a flying catapult!
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Fish boot camp from 2020-09-08T12:04:02
Why are scientists exercising fish ... with a coffee plunger?
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The case of the disappearing bum - part 2 from 2020-09-01T12:58:02
This creature has the only known case of an 'on-demand anus'
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The case of the disappearing bum - part 1 from 2020-08-25T12:38:33
The anus is highlight of animal evolution - but it's still full of surprises.
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Spider intelligence from 2020-03-17T11:07:23
They've got brains smaller than a pinhead, but spiders can count!
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Holy electric flying spiders! from 2020-03-10T11:44:03
Arachnophobes beware - flying B-grade horror spiders ahoy!
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Putting Einstein to the test - part 2 from 2020-03-03T11:20:32
The short story: he passed the test. Again.
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Putting Einstein to the test - part one from 2020-02-25T11:23:11
There are very few places weird enough to test out Einstein's General Theory of Relativity.
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The perfect coffee from 2020-02-18T11:14:49
At last - the real secret to the perfect espresso!
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Australian bushfires - part 3 from 2020-02-11T11:57:56
A lot of players had a role in our horrific 2019/2020 bushfire season. Luckily, El Nino was not one of them.
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Australian bushfires - part 2 from 2020-02-04T11:19:28
Are these bushfires really unprecedented and related to global warming?
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Australian bushfires - part 1 from 2020-01-28T11:22:42
The science behind our cataclysmic bushfire season
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The flat earth myth myth from 2020-01-14T11:40:59
Medieval people thought the world was flat right? Wrong.
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Atomic gecko from 2020-01-07T11:11:21
Spiderman has got nothing on geckos when it comes to sticking to walls.
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Why do we sleep? from 2019-12-31T11:30:26
What our brains do when we clock off for the night...
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Are you a mozzie magnet? from 2019-12-03T10:47:58
If you're pregnant, a bloke or a beer drinker, you're a prime target for mosquitos.
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How do planes really fly? from 2019-11-26T11:17:58
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
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Ultraprocessed foods from 2019-11-19T11:30:20
Obesity has been on the rise since the mid-seventies. As have ultraprocessed foods. Co-inky-dink?
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Is a vegan diet healthy? from 2019-11-12T11:28:09
Can you be truly healthy on a diet that excludes both meat and dairy?
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Bacteria of champions from 2019-11-05T11:30:33
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.
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What happens when you get winded? from 2019-10-29T11:30:45
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?
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Knife in the dishwasher - part two from 2019-10-22T11:37:19
At last - the answer to the burning question in kitchens the world over: does the dishwasher blunt your sharp knife?
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Knife in the dishwasher: part one from 2019-10-15T11:30
Have you heard that you shouldn't put your sharp stainless steel kitchen knives in the dishwasher because they might go blunt?
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The end of the internal combustion engine? from 2019-10-08T11:30
Combustion engines are marvels of engineering and power, but will they feature in the cars of the future?
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The not-so-boring billion from 2019-10-01T11:30:15
We all go through slow patches - but the Earth went through a famous boring phase that lasted one billion years. Or did it ...
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And the Ig Nobel prizes go to ... from 2019-09-24T11:30:08
A new year, and a new crop of research to make us laugh and then make us think.
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Red sky at night... sailors'delight? from 2019-09-17T11:30:04
Could a glowing red sunset really foretell the next morning's weather?
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Jargon moving forwards from 2019-09-10T11:19:16
Jargon has way more uses than just playing Buzzword Bingo. It's a popular item in the propaganda and social toolkits.
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DJ bats double the Doppler from 2019-09-03T11:30:03
Thanks to some fuzzy-looking photos, bat echolocation just got more amazing.
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Diseases stink! from 2019-08-27T11:30:58
Joy Milne has a superpower. She can smell Parkinson's disease - years before it's diagnosed.
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Dead brains revived! from 2019-08-20T11:20:40
Tabloids love using 'Frankenstein' in headlines about science research. But this time, they weren't completely wrong.
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Mirror Universe: part two from 2019-08-13T11:30
A nine second difference between physics experiments could have big implications. A whole universe worth of them!
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Mirror Universe: part 1 from 2019-08-06T11:30:25
As if our regular universe isn't crazy enough - there might be a completely different 'mirror' universe lurking amongst us!
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Running out of sand: part two from 2019-07-30T11:30
The future of sand is ... recycled plastic?
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Running out of sand, part one from 2019-07-23T11:30:02
How could something as common as sand possibly be running low?
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Marco Polo and spaghetti: part two from 2019-07-16T11:30
There's plenty of evidence that Marco Polo didn't introduce pasta from China. So where did that myth start?
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Marco Polo and spaghetti: part one from 2019-07-09T11:30
We all know that Marco Polo brought spaghetti to the western world from his travels in China. Or did he?
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Tobacco denialism: part two from 2019-07-02T11:30:29
A meeting in 1953 created the formula for a smokescreen that's still playing out today. And it's gone way beyond tobacco.
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Tobacco denialism: part one from 2019-06-25T11:30
When the science is certain, how do you push a product that kills? Ask Big PR.
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Our solar system is weird from 2019-06-18T11:30:34
With our planets spread far and wide - and no super-sized Earths - we're nothing like the other solar systems we've found.
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5G hysteria is coming: part 2 from 2019-06-11T11:15:06
If mobile phones don't cause cancer, why did two US studies show they do?
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5G hysteria is coming ... from 2019-06-04T11:30:27
5G promises incredibly fast download speeds - but what about those cancer rumours?
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Where gold comes from: part two from 2019-05-28T11:30
When it comes to making gold, alchemists never stood a chance. For that magic you need cataclysmic collisions, dying megastars and black holes.
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Where gold comes from: part one from 2019-05-21T11:30:10
Gold can come from jewellery shops, bank heists, Mints and mines. But where is gold made?
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Balloon popping from 2019-05-14T11:30:47
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?
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Say cheese from 2019-05-07T11:05:34
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?
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Easter and the Equinox from 2019-04-30T11:15:48
Easter Sunday can fall in March or April, but the date is definitely not random.
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Washing clothes: part two from 2019-04-23T11:30
Clothing is made of threads, which are made of smaller-still fibres. And that's where the dirt hides.
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Washing clothes: part one from 2019-04-16T11:30
Until recently, scientists couldn't work out how a washing machine actually lifted the dirt out of clothes.
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Vaping, e-cigarettes, and big tobacco from 2019-04-09T11:30:11
Tobacco has done bad things for public health — but what about e-cigarettes?
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Rogue planets: part two from 2019-04-02T11:09:26
Planets going rogue and abandoning their star to wander the galactic hood could actually be pretty common.
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Rogue planets: part one from 2019-03-26T11:30:33
Rogue planets drift freely through our galaxy, rather than orbiting around a star — and researchers estimate there could be billions in the Milky Way alone.
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Barcode invention: part two from 2019-03-19T11:24:48
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 to the first barcode and scanner at a checkout.
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Barcode invention: part one from 2019-03-12T11:03:16
The story of the barcode has everything - from gangsters to newborns and a whole lot of sand.
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Holy Hole Phobia! from 2019-03-05T11:30
If that image is creeping you out, you could have trypophobia.
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Seashell Ocean Sound from 2019-02-26T11:30:25
When you pick up a seashell and hold it to your ear, why can you hear the sound of the ocean?
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Brain freeze from 2019-02-19T11:30
Why do some people get headaches from eating ice-cream or drinking something very cold
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Our planetary neighbourhood from 2019-02-05T11:30
Everybody needs good planetary neighbours. But who is our closest?
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Left face attractiveness from 2019-01-29T11:30:28
Want to look good? Put your left face forward.
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Mobile phones and empathy from 2019-01-22T11:30:10
Is a mobile phone getting in the way of your relationship?
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Fast food and your brain from 2019-01-15T11:30:25
Are you aware of all the crafty tricks fast food retailers use to keep you coming back for more?
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Fork'n'food from 2019-01-08T11:30:47
Would using a larger fork lead to you eating more food, less food, or just the same amount?
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Hiccups cure: part two from 2019-01-01T11:30:39
A hiccup cure that really works — if you're brave enough.
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Mass of a proton: part two from 2018-12-18T11:30:32
How can relativity and quantum mechanics create mass in a tiny particle?
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Mass of a proton: part one from 2018-12-11T11:30:49
The Universe is made of atoms — but what are atoms made of?
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Cube-shaped wombat poo from 2018-12-04T11:30:26
Have we finally figured out how wombats make cube-shaped poo!?
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Do fish drink water? from 2018-11-27T11:30:35
The answer to this question is a little surprising, not least because it involves wee.
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Black hole in the Milky Way: part two from 2018-11-20T11:30:33
Astronomers have seen stars and superhot gas flying in orbits that bring them very close to the supermassive black hole in the middle of our galaxy — and this has taught us a huge amount about the ...
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Black hole in the Milky Way: part one from 2018-11-13T12:30:38
Black holes have no size, but have a huge mass — and there's an enormous one right in the middle of our galaxy.
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Geotagged photos from 2018-11-06T11:30:33
Are you accidentally sharing your precise location, whenever you upload a photo?
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Measure Earth from 2018-10-30T11:30:27
Reckon you could measure the circumference of the Earth using just a stick and some basic geometry?
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Cigarettes radioactive from 2018-10-23T11:30:49
You've probably heard cigarettes are bad for you — but did you know tobacco contains radioactive material?
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Alkaline diets from 2018-10-16T11:30
It's said that the 'alkaline diet' can help you lose weight, and fight off cancer — but it looks like these claims don't stand up.
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Kiss the Sun: part two from 2018-10-09T11:30:58
After hearing about the Parker Solar Probe's mission to the Sun, now Dr Karl is taking a closer look at how it'll survive this fiery journey.
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Kiss the Sun: part one from 2018-10-02T11:30:05
There's still a lot we don't know about the burning ball of gas that sustains life on Earth — but the Parker Solar Probe could help.
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How to snap spaghetti: part two from 2018-09-25T11:00
For some snapping spaghetti is sacrilege — but for others it’s science.
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How to snap spaghetti: part one from 2018-09-18T11:00
From spaghetti strands to trees to nanotubes — we need to know about the physics of rod-like structures.
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Snooping microphones in your home? from 2018-09-11T11:00
Many of us have microphones in our homes, attached to smart phones and personal assistant devices.
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The faults in our bodies from 2018-09-04T11:00
Our bodies are a marvel of sophisticated engineering — almost without exception.
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Mapping DNA to save lives from 2018-08-28T11:00
DNA can help us work out family trees, catch bad guys ... and now as a tool in emergency medicine.
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The loneliest ATM from 2018-08-21T11:00
Hint: the loneliest ATM is in a very, very cold place.
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Do ships have an effect on sea level? from 2018-08-14T11:30
Plunking yourself into a bath fairly full with water makes the water level rise — and overflow. What about ships and the ocean?
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Goldfish memory from 2018-08-07T11:30
The poor old goldfish has be slandered for far too long.
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Are vitamins always good for you? from 2018-07-31T11:30:46
Having more vitamins will make you healthier... right?
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Daddy long legs from 2018-07-17T11:30:14
Fact or fiction: Daddy-long-legs are the most poisonous spiders in the world?
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Anaesthetic bomb from 2018-07-10T11:30
Could a villain or hero knock out a room full of enemies with a so-called 'anaesthetic bomb'?
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Humans vs volcanoes from 2018-07-03T11:30
Which would win*: humans or volcanoes? (*In a fight over carbon emissions)
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The dunes of Pluto from 2018-06-26T11:30:12
Yup, there are dunes on Pluto — and in other parts of our Solar System.
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A1 vs A2 milk from 2018-06-19T11:30
Is it worth paying more for A2 milk? What's the evidence that it might be better for you?
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Cockroach milk from 2018-06-12T11:30
Is "cockroach milk" the next "superfood"? Do cockroaches even make milk!?
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Sightseeing from Orbit from 2018-06-05T11:30
Can an astronaut really see the Great Wall of China from space?
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Road trip to future travel from 2018-05-29T11:00
130 years ago one woman went on the first road trip and made history. Is it time for another change in transportation?
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Gunpowder vs sandwich from 2018-05-22T11:00
Which do you think packs more punch — gunpowder or a sandwich?
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Why are whales so big? from 2018-05-15T11:30
Whales are the giants of the marine realm, and we've only recently discovered why they're so huge.
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Trees have senses too from 2018-05-08T11:30
How do trees face an incoming threat if they can't move, see, or hear?
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The Wood Wide Web from 2018-05-01T12:00
They may not be able to walk, but trees do talk — at least to each other.
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Trees are made from air from 2018-04-24T11:30
Trees are solid and dense. However, they're made from air. Wait, what?
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Coal's hidden health cost from 2018-04-17T11:30
Sulphur dioxide pollution from coal-fired power stations can have bad health effects — but who picks up the bill, and could power stations be doing more?
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Speaking in tongues from 2018-04-10T11:30
Imagine waking up one day and speaking with a different accent — with no control over it! Thanks to a very rare syndrome, this can actually happen.
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The hummingbird: a furnace with feathers from 2018-04-03T11:30
Hummingbirds have a suite of incredible and unique features. However, one of their most important traits can lead to an early death.
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Aboriginal stories accurate from 2018-03-27T11:30
For thousands of years, Australian Aboriginal people have accurately passed down information from one generation to the next using oral traditions.
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Phone porting and identity theft from 2018-03-20T11:30
Are you doing everything you can to stop thieves from stealing your identity and 'porting' your phone number?
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Fat is a beautiful organ from 2018-03-13T11:30
There's currently a battle against the bulge — but is fighting fat really the healthiest path?
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Doomsday seed vaults from 2018-03-06T11:30
You may have heard of the Doomsday Vault — but scientists have gone even further to save the world's most important seed stocks.
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Arsonist birds from 2018-02-27T11:30
Birds have been known to use all sorts of tools — but surely they wouldn't be using fire?
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Dark matter from 2018-02-20T11:30
About 95% of the mass in the universe seems to be missing — what's going on!?
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A truck that's faster than the internet? from 2018-02-13T11:30
If you want to transport data quickly, could a truck be the best option?
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Tennis grunting from 2018-02-06T11:30
Is there any evidence that grunting in a tennis match will improve your game?
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Asteroid belt 2 from 2018-01-09T11:30
Just how many asteroid belts are there in the solar system?
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Carrots&Night Vision from 2017-12-26T11:30
Do carrots really help you see in the dark? Or is it just a trick to get kids eating more veg?
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Mpemba effect from 2017-12-19T11:30
If you want to freeze some water, you might want to heat it up first.
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Why is it easier to'erase'a magnetic hotel card than a credit card? from 2017-12-12T11:30
Surely all magnetic swipe cards are the same?
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Predicting earthquakes from 2017-11-28T11:30
Are scientists getting closer to being able to predict when massive earthquakes will strike?
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Mitochondria - Fiery Powerhouses from 2017-11-21T11:30
How do mitochondria convert food into fuel that our cells can use?
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Why we tell lies from 2017-11-14T11:00
There's a lot we still don't know about what's going on in the brain of a liar.
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Min Min lights from 2017-11-07T11:30
There are floating, fuzzy orbs of light in Western Queensland - what are they?
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Insectageddon from 2017-10-31T09:30
Flying insects seem to be disappearing from the sky — in big numbers.
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Killer cats from 2017-10-24T09:30
Your cute pet kitty cat may seem harmless — but Felis catus is also an efficient, highly flexible predator.
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Why the sky is blue. For reals from 2017-10-17T09:57:31
For such a common question, this took a lot of answering.
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The origin of spaghetti from 2017-10-10T09:54:32
An upturned bowl of 4000 year old noodles is the key to pasta evolution.
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Can we detect lies? from 2017-10-03T09:30
Despite what TV says, can you trust a Lie Detector?
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Four leaf clovers not so lucky from 2017-09-26T10:47:55
Are four leafed clovers really that rare?
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Dissing the dishwasher from 2017-09-19T10:45:44
Are dishwashers better than people when it comes to water, energy and cleaning?
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Death by chocolate from 2017-09-05T10:39:39
Obviously chocolate is good for us - but what about for our pets?
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Life after decapitation from 2017-08-22T11:37:20
When the guillotine was introduced, the French became very curious about how long a body-less head could survive.
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SOFIA: Holy flying telescope - part 2 from 2017-08-15T11:27:48
What the Doctor saw when he flew in this baby, and the crazy engineering that let it happen.
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Holy flying telescopes, part 1 from 2017-08-08T11:18:53
You'd have to be crazy - or an astronomer - to get on board a plane with a jumbo-sized hole in it.
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Cane toads used for pregnancy test from 2017-08-01T11:46:06
Cane toads - like mice and rabbits before them - were used for human pregnancy tests.
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Why spiders don't go commando from 2017-07-25T11:57:45
Spiders dropping down on their silk thread never get caught twisting in the breeze, like abseiling commandos do. Because ... chemistry.
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Bird brains - dense, not dumb from 2017-07-18T11:51:42
Some birds, especially parrots, songbirds and the entire crow family, are surprisingly intelligent - and not just compared to other birds.
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Of mice, marijuana, memory and men from 2017-07-11T12:00:45
A recent study found that low dose THC from cannibas improved memory in older mice.
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Ocean ridge secrets from 2017-06-27T11:40
The ocean ridge is the biggest mountain range on Earth. And it could hold the secret to where life began.
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Childhood amnesia from 2017-06-20T11:03:30
No matter how memorable your childhood is, you probably won't actually remember it.
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Can you beat the pokies? (Part 2) from 2017-06-13T12:00
How did Russian gamblers cheat US casinos out of millions of dollars? Dr Karl explains their scam - and the Australian connection.
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Can you beat the pokies? (Part 1) from 2017-06-06T12:21:29
Poker machines are built to only pay back about 10 cents for every dollar you put in. But thanks to Putin and maths, it's possible to win.
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Artificial uterus from 2017-05-30T12:00
An artificial uterus has been trialled for lambs, but why do we need one in the first place?
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Minus-calorie celery claim leaves food for thought from 2017-05-23T09:00
Celery is low in kilojoules but it's the energy it takes us to chew and digest that pushes us into negative calories.
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Why we yawn from 2017-05-16T09:00
Yawning has all kinds of strange links to different aspects of human experience.
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Animal poo times from 2017-05-09T10:05
Headlines don't get much punchier than "All mammals poop in 12 seconds ...".
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Ponytail physics from 2017-05-02T12:00
There's a lot of maths - and a bit of astronomy - behind the sideways swing of a ponytail.
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The real cost of air pollution from 2017-04-26T12:00
It kills millions, and it costs trillions. Air pollution is killer number 5
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Cannibalism from 2017-04-18T12:00
Compared to other animals of the same size, humans just aren't that nutritious. Is that the only thing holding cannibalism back?
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Pregnancy while pregnant from 2017-04-11T09:00
Can a woman get pregnant, when she is already pregnant? In other words, can she have two foetuses in her uterus, at different stages of development?
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Cleaning up space junk from 2017-04-04T09:00
The amount of junk in orbit is always increasing but cleaning it up is also essential for our future space operations, but it’s not going to be easy.
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How much space junk is out there? from 2017-03-28T11:00
Space junk includes old satellites, spent rocket stages, dust from solid rocket motors and even coolant from obsolete Russian nuclear-powered satellites. But just how much is up there?
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How the Nobel Prize medals were hidden from the Nazis from 2017-03-21T11:00
The gold in a Nobel Prize medal is dense enough to make a big impression when you try to take it through an airport X-ray scanner. It's also very resistant to being dissolved—but that didn't stop o...
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What we know about misophonia, the'hatred of sounds' from 2017-03-14T12:00
A condition called misophonia — where people adversely react to particular sounds, often with feelings of rage, terror, fear and panic — was first identified 20 years ago, but is only now starting ...
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Paying service to the human lip from 2017-03-07T09:00
They can seal tight, suck, blow, whistle, hold and kiss. With hundreds of muscles and multiple layers of cells, the human lip serves a much greater role than we give them credit for.
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Is air conditioning sexist? from 2017-02-28T12:00
For 50 years air conditioning in commercial buildings has been set using the Standard 55 guidelines. But many workplaces aren't staffed solely with 40-year-old men dressed in 60s business suits, an...
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How humankind has changed our planet from 2017-02-21T12:00
From the formation of Earth until now, many factors have contributed to its changing state. But humankind has been a major contributor in a relatively very small period of time, as Dr Karl Kruszeln...
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Could we capture and store energy from lightning? from 2017-02-14T10:30:06
Could lightning be used to power the planet instead of fossil fuels? Karl Kruszelnicki finds out.
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The power of lightning from 2017-02-07T12:00
It take a unique series of weather factors to create the awesome power of lightning but when it 'strikes' it comes to earth with 1000 times more energy that a household electrical system and with m...
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Why we need a leap second added to our clocks from 2017-01-31T12:00
As New Year's Eve ticked over to 2017, scientists added an extra second to atomic clocks to compensate for the Earth's variable rotation. But there are pros and cons to doing this, as Dr Karl Krusz...
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What if the Earth stopped spinning? from 2017-01-17T15:00
We know that the rotation of the Earth is gradually slowing down. But what would happen if God, the devil or aliens suddenly and completely stopped our planet from rotating on its axis of spin? Luc...
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The collective intelligence of animals from 2016-12-20T10:00
There are many reasons animals of the same species congregate in groups. The collective intelligence of a flock helps protect and save energy, keep them on track when migrating and share food disco...
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It's complicated: the sex life of coral from 2016-12-13T12:00
Being stuck in one spot, waiting for the full moon to pass and the perfect temperature to arrive, and your choice of mate left to the tide: when you're coral, reproduction is mind-boggling complica...
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A brief history of coral from 2016-12-06T12:00
Coral polyps appear totally helpless at first. So how do they manage to survive, breed and form giant structures like the Great Barrier Reef?
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The earworm you can't get out of your head from 2016-11-29T12:00
If you've ever had a song stuck in your head you'll know it's annoying. But as Dr Karl Kruszelnicki explains, it might be an evolutionary way of keeping us alert to attack or stay focused during re...
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That new book smell from 2016-11-22T12:00
Books, new and old, have a particular smell but what we call that 'new book smell' isn't always the same from book to book and even publisher to pu...
Life on Saturn's moon Enceladus from 2016-11-15T12:00
When the ancients looked to the stars and wondered if they were alone, they probably never imagined the possibility that Saturn's tiny moon Encelad...
The 2016 Nobel prizes for Physics and Chemistry from 2016-11-08T11:00
This year's Nobel Prizes saw scientists recognised for their work on unusual states of matter and the world's smallest machines. Dr Karl Kruszelnic...
The strange science of autophagy or 'self-cannibalisation' from 2016-11-01T12:00
The 2016 Nobel Prize in Medicine or Physiology was awarded for research into autophagy. The word literally means 'self-eating', and it refers to th...
Overcoming chronic lateness from 2016-10-25T12:00
Are you a perfectionist, a crisis maker, a defier or a dreamer?Dr Karl Kruszelnicki discovers the four kinds of personalities that are especially p...