Vaguely Accurate - Science

**Warning – This episode suffered some minor audio issues. The quality has dropped but is still worth a listen. We apologise to Clare and to you all for the inconvenience. ** Today we take a look into a field of Allied Health which is commonly misunderstood and not well characterised within the public. Clare Andrews, a recent honours graduate in speech pathology, joins us on the show to talk about the work of a 'Speechy' and of her research.   Her research focus is on the experiences of migrants who stutter and the impact migration can have upon their vocal fluency. She tells us some stories about these migrates and how they have adapted to cope with a speech disability in a new environment. Let us know what you think of the show and get in contact with your feedback. Do you have any questions about speech pathology or any of the material we covered? Do you happen to have your own experiences with stuttering and wish to share with us? We want to hear from you guys. Find us on social media or via our webs

Mark Zammit is an atomic physicist currently working on the Tokamak, an experiment aimed to become the world's first nuclear fusion reactor to provide a net power output. Mark graduated from Curtin University, Perth, with a PhD in Physics and with the 'ExxonMobil Student Scientist of the Year Award'. Mark conducted his PhD on Collision Theory - The modelled probability of electron and positron collisions from simple molecules. This may be an abstract subject for some but the applications for his research are imperative for medical and fusion technological advancement.  In this episode we will discuss marks research, explore his current project and learn a little about the field of atomic physics. If you would like to read more about his work, check out this article:  http://www.lanl.gov/discover/news-release-archive/2016/June/06.28-model-predicts-chemical-reactions.php  For more things science, visit our website: www.vaguelyaccurate.com 

In this episode of 'Vaguely Accurate - Science' we meet Brooke Richards, a conservation zoologist from Western Australia. Brooke has recently completed her honours thesis at UWA, investigating the impact, importance and effectiveness of environmental offset policy. A particular focus was placed upon the Carnaby Cockatoo, an endemic species to WA. Her research explores how this species responds to environmental disturbances from development, loss or damage to habitats and how effective conservation policy is at mitigating these impacts.

It is our 4th episode of Vaguely Accurate and we have an exceptional speaker on the show. Chris Mauri, from Murdoch University, is a Sociologist PhD candidate looking into the differences between the expectations and experiences of aspiring academics – A PhD on PhD's. In this slight longer episode, we will find out what exactly sociology is, how it has influenced our lives and society, and what is can do for us in the future. We will also learn about the structure of the tertiary education industry (university) and how our expectations of further study may differentiate from our real experiences. Let us know what you think of this episode and any of the subjects we speak about.

In this episode of Vaguely Accurate we will dive into a lesser known field of science - Sleep Science. Our guest co-host for the show, Tom Walton, has completed his thesis on the structure of sleep (AKA Sleep Architecture) at the 'University of Western Australia'. Join us as we learn about the structure of human sleep, current research and possibly the worst disease to get! Let us know your thoughts on this episode on Facebook or Twitter.

An interview with Chloe Bootë - A molecular coral biologist from the UK moving over to Australia, James Cook University. We discuss the importance of coral, the significance it has on marine life and the global threats coral reefs face. If you want to learn what exactly coral is and how we can protect it, this will be a great episode for you. Let us know your thoughts on this episode on Facebook or Twitter. Check out this article from our webpage for more: http://vaguelyaccurate.com/articles/learning-about-coral-at-coral-bay-western-australia

The first episode of Vaguely Accurate - Science. We meet with an ecology PhD student from Curtin University, Ashleigh Wolfe, and discuss the urbanisation of reptiles in Western Australia. We learn about Bobtail lizards and snakes, the behavioural psychology of people towards these animals and whether snake repellents work. This is a fascinating and strong episode to start the series.  Check out this article from our webpage for more: http://vaguelyaccurate.com/articles/shinglebacks-snakes-ticks-a-field-trip