Shirtloads Of Science

Firestorms attacked Australia's Capital City in 2003. Four people died. Dr Karl meets Prof Jason Sharples. His analysis has altered the world's understanding of fire. In certain conditions fires jump, dance and then go their own way . https://www.unsw.adfa.edu.au/our-people/associate-professor-jason-sharples https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Navier%E2%80%93Stokes_equations https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5H1eVy6O3Fo https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2003_Canberra_bushfire

The discovery of a planet beyond our solar system was rewarded with a share of the 2019 Nobel Physics Prize. Thousands more exoplanets have since been discovered but is there life out there? Rocket propulsion Scientist Dr Rachel Brachman and astro-chemist Dr Michael Malaska join Dr Karl to scope how and where to start looking for signs of life beyond Earth.  https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/scientist-for-a-day/home/ https://eyes.nasa.gov/ https://projectpanoptes.org/ @WATSONpstar

2019's Nobel Physics prize was shared by three Astrophysicists: Jim Peebles for his Big Bang cosmology plus Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz for their discovery of exoplanets. To discover life out there, we need Astrobiologists. Rocket propulsion Scientist Dr Rachel Brachman and astro-chemist Dr Michael Malaska are turning their talents towards biology and the search for extra-terrestrial life.

 Polio, smallpox, measles, whooping cough - the list goes on.  Vaccination has saved more human lives than other treatments. Dr David gives Dr Karl the facts on our biggest medical miracle - training our immune system to fight deadly invaders.

Dr Karl embraces Sand Talk. The first Australians have been exchanging complex concepts this way for 60,000 years. Climate Change and the nature of Time can both be discussed (in Sand Talk).Tyson Yunkaporta and Dr Karl share traditional wisdom and science. https://www.bookdepository.com/Sand-Talk-How-Indigenous-Thinking-Can-Save-World-Tyson-Yunkaporta/9781925773996

July 2019 marked 50 years since the Apollo moon landing. Days later, Chris Kraft, a visionary behind Mission Control and Nasa's first flight director died aged 95. Dr Karl talks with Matt Abbott - a flight director for 40 shuttle missions. Matt worked on the ISS Robotic arm and is now fine-tuning mission control for the upcoming Orion missions - returning to the moon and beyond. @Aquarius_Flight

Silicosis is a deadly lung condition. It is an occupational disease traditionally associated with stone masons and miners. Today new generations are at risk. From workers on infrastructure to home handy-persons cutting concrete, fine particles of silica can be inhaled without the right protection. Kate Cole tells Dr Karl how to stay safe.

Digging big holes is dangerous work. Silicosis is a cumulative and sometimes fatal disease resulting from breathing in certain types of dust from broken rocks. Kate Cole is Occupational Health and Hygiene Manager for the new Sydney Metro. She talks with Dr Karl about the history and science of dust diseases.  

Romans used Red Dog sacrifices but could not stop it. Decades ago Science slowed the red fungi with new strains of cereal crops. Food security is back in the headlines and the battle is not over according to Professor Robert Park. Winds continue to spread deadly spores that kill the wheat crops we rely on. robert.park@sydney.edu.au   

Dr Karl and Dr Sim work through a Diet that balances the needs of farmers, ecologists and your body to find a natural balance. The diet (published in the Lancet) is meant to challenge us towards a sustainable and healthy future.

Dr Karl talks with University of Sydney researcher Marilena Demayo about the complex process of identifying and unravelling autism. @MMDeMayo

How to make Graphene at home, how to visualise a Black Hole and the accidental Car Key immobiliser. Doctors Karl, Alice and Jessica with the latest.  

It's 20 years since our first modern Global Coral Bleaching event. Now they are regular, harder and faster. A deadly trio of climate change conditions are killing corals. Dr Emma Camp, a Marine Bio-geochemist, is at Ground Zero on Australia's Great Barrier Reef. She might have discovered some micro-biological interactions that could throw corals a lifeline.  @emmafcamp https://emmafcamp.com/

Statistics are essential today.They are complicated and easy to misinterpret. Clearly communicated results can make a world of difference to new ideas. Dr Emi and Dr Karl discuss smart ways to reveal your data. http://soapboxscience.org/soapbox-science-2019-sydney/

41 recent Diets have been ranked by US Health professionals. Dr Nick Fuller takes Dr Karl through the top and bottom of the chart. Is there a new Number One this year ?  Will it be the 5/2, Keto, Dash or Mind ? Before you start your next diet, listen to this Podcast.  Twitter: @drnickfuller Website: www.intervalweightloss.com.au   

Dr Gavin Scherer tells Dr Karl of an Environmental catastrophe that engulfed a brand new Australian suburb. How did it happen? What did it take to fix? A blow by blow account of what it takes to undo decades of bad choices.  http://bit.ly/2JZqXmi

The PFAS family of chemicals were Jet-Age wonders. Now some of them are biohazards that can cause cancer in high concentrations. PFAS are proving very hard to contain and break down. Dr Gavin Scherer has the job of finding them and making them safe. https://www.aecom.com/au/pfas/ https://www.epa.nsw.gov.au/

Dr Kyra Sim treats takes Dr Karl through The benefits of exercise - after eating. @kyrasim

How we are training computers to look and see like us, how young Danish Citizen Scientists discovered new bacteria and the Benjamin Franklin effect - no kites or thunderstorms involved. Dr Alice Motion, Dr Jessica Supernova (aka Bloom) and Dr Karl return.

Tongue to tail, our bodies need this more than ever. The science is absolute - hearts, brains, bodies, guts - this works. It's affordable, tasty and we all need more of it. Bananas, popocorn and high cocoa dark cholocate ? Professor Claire and Dr Karl both have upped their fiber intake. http://healthyeatingquiz.com.au/