Lost in Science

Was Soundgarden on the money when they predicted black hole suns? Can Coke fix an upset stomach? Join Stu, Chris and Linden to find out on this week's episode of Lost in Science.

This week Linden interviews two guests who have undertaken grand adventures in the name of research. Science communicator and trainer Emma Donnelly followed her fascination with the science of champagne all the way to France, while climate scientist and communicator Kate Bongiovanni undertook an expedition to Indonesia to uncover the regions most vulnerable to sea level rise. You can learn more about Emma's work at Culinary Science, and read about Kate's Indonesian work on the UN Global Pulse Medium page.

Stu catches up with research scientist Associate Professor Claire von Mollendorf from the Murdoch Children's Research Centre to find out about ongoing research into the effectiveness and protection offered by COVID-19 vaccination programs in Australia and in less developed nations.

Chris discusses the latest insights from 3I-Atlas, the interstellar comet that has been careening through our solar system. Linden chats to Dr Kathryn Gurner, a clinical research embryologist from Melbourne IVF, about a recent pilot study exploring a non-invasive way to check for abnormalities in embryos.

Linden explores the science behind reading on a screen vs reading on paper, while Stu discusses "organic" chemicals found in space, including a recent discovery of a type of sugar. Screens and sugar: this week's episode is a toddler's dream!

Stu talks to Dr. Sapphire McMullan-Fisher from the University of New England school of environmental and rural science about the weird world of Australian fungi which is also the topic of a book called Fungi for Land which she has co-authored with Roz Hart a fungi expert from Western Australia

This week, Chris checks out the sensation of human-made SpudCells, which are not exactly alive but can do many of the things living cells can, as announced recently in press releases rather than peer review; and Stu checks in on carbon capture and storage for removing greenhouse gases from the atmosphere, and how it’s unlikely to deliver on its promise.

This week, Stu investigates whether there’s any science behind the use of pickle juice for muscle cramps, as observed in use in the World Cup; while Chris reveals some recent research by physicists on how Venus flytraps are able to snap shut so quickly.

Another step back in time to an earlier iteration of the show where former hosts present a range of stories on biodiversity and strange animal discoveries.

This week on Lost in Science, Chris gets stuck into the science of quicksand, exploring how this famous movie menace is actually a fascinating non-Newtonian fluid. Meanwhile, Claire investigates surprising new research into DEET, the world's most popular insect repellent, revealing that mosquitoes may be able to learn to associate it with a tasty meal, and even become attracted to it.

In honour of our home stations 3CR's 50th anniversary we are delving deep into the archives for a show full of former presenter's stories

Linden chats to Ben Francischelli about the birth and life of Prehistoric Bayside, a museum in Melbourne's southeast dedicated to marine fossils found in the area. In this extended chat, Ben explores how his career has led to building his own museum collection, what that involves, and the incredible fossils you can find in Melbourne's blue backyard.

Stu catches up with Dr. John Wentworth from the Royal Melbourne Hospital to talk about Type1Screen, a nationwide project aiming to identify people at risk of developing Type 1 diabetes in order to develop treatments to prevent progression of the illness. See https://type1screen.org/ for more details

This week on Lost in Science, Stu explores new research into how animals perceive time differently — and how that perception is tied to the pace of their lives. Why does a fly seem to react in slow motion compared to us, and what does that reveal about survival, metabolism and evolution?Also on the show, we celebrate the 100th birthday of David Attenborough by taking a tour through some of the remarkable creatures that scientists have named in his honour — from geckos and spiders to ancient fossils and deep-sea wonders.

Chris follows the trail of research trying to answer the question of why sharp things in nature like teeth and stingers all have a similar shape, and whether it’s due to evolution or physics; and Linden latches onto leaches, how they’re still used in medicine but are also inspiring robots and weather prediction.

Linden chats to Dr Mia Cobb, Chaser Innovation and John McKenzie Research Fellow at The University of Melbourne. Mia shares her career journey that led her to be a canine welfare researcher. Dogs do so much for us, but how can we use science to make sure we are giving them their best lives?

While people talk about the weather in speculative terms, it's interesting to note that chimps may do the same, but they also share some darker human traits we may not be so proud of. And Stu finds that (of course) not everything natural is safe or good, exploring the natural (but extinct) nuclear reactors of Gabon.

This week, Stu looks into the accuracy of AI as a medical search tool, and finds that published studies give mixed results; and Chris expands on last year's Ig Nobel Prizes to find out more about the physics of a perfect pasta sauce, and the role of emulsifiers.

Claire and Linden talk all things Artemis II this week, with a special focus on how Australia is contributing to the program. We congratulate amateur astronomers from southeastern Queensland for their recent award, and explore how you can take part in international Citizen Science Month. To find a project for you, check out SciStarter, the Australian Citizen Science Association, or Zooniverse.

This week on Lost in Science, Claire dives into something very close to home — pregnancy — unpacking fascinating new research showing how both first and second pregnancies can reshape the brain for the long term, and what those changes might actually mean for how we think, feel and parent.Plus, it’s school holidays, and Linden’s in the kitchen cooking up some hands-on science with a true unsung hero of the veggie world… the humble cabbage.

This week we go from fossils to fossil fuels, as Chris looks into the misclassification of the Dimetrodon and wonders why they didn't get bigger via giant spiders, and Stu drills down into the realities of Australia's oil reserves, and why our supply isn't what some people think it is.

This week, Chris checks out a study showing carbon dioxide levels in human blood rising with greenhouse gas emissions, and contemplates the health effects; and Linden unearths a Taiwanese study that crafted artificial dinosaur eggs to determine whether the oviraptor Heyuannia sat on their nest to incubate them.

This week on Lost in Science, Claire chats with veterinary parasitologist Professor Shokoofeh Shamsi about the recent spate of shark encounters and why we still don’t fully understand animal behaviour in these moments. From parasites to changing ocean environments, it turns out there’s a whole ecosystem of missing pieces—and a growing call for deeper research to help us make sense of it all.Meanwhile, Linden takes us back tens of thousands of years to explore groundbreaking discoveries of the oldest known rock art in Sulawesi, Indonesia. What does this ancient artwork reveal about the human journey, cultural development, and the deep histories connected to First Nations Australians?

Stu looks into the scientific origin of a famous album cover and how it reveals the legacy of a pioneering female astrophysicist, and Chris looks into the strange story of a tiny insect bite that can lead to anaphylaxis of a carnivorous kind.

For our International Women's Day Special, Linden and Claire talk statistics around how to Balance the Scales for women in STEM in Australia. We also hear from women in STEM from across Australia about what International Women's Day means to them.

This week, Linden talks to atmospheric chemist Rob Ryan about the effect on coral of changes in the air over the Great Barrier Reef; and Stu updates us on some recent findings on parasites, including a self-experiment from a researcher’s encounter with a sand flea (Tunga penetrans).

This week on Lost in Science, Claire dives headfirst into the evolutionary echidna-and-egg conundrum: which came first — the placental mammal or the mammalian egg of our humble monotreme cousins? Then Stu explores fascinating new research into how artificial intelligence might help bring people back from conspiracy theories — not by arguing louder, but by engaging directly with the evidence that convinced them in the first place. Can AI help untangle deeply held beliefs?

How can skiiers and ice skaters go so fast? It turns out, we're still not sure! And what ingredients are needed to see the northern or southern lights? Find out with Chris and Linden on this week's episode of Lost in Science. Additional show notes:To receive alerts from the Bureau of Meteorology's Space Weather Service, head to their Space Weather Service mailing list page.

Welcome back the team for a new year, and Stu talks to Professor Tim Stinear from the Doherty institute and Director of the WHO collaborative centre on Buruli ulcer about a project tracking the prevalence of the ulcer using environmental surveillance to assess presence and provenance of the bacteria.

Continuing our January tradition of playing highlights from the past year, Chris responds to media reports of possible over-diagnosis and over-medication of ADHD by looking at the data and current research and best practice; meanwhile Claire gets her teeth into a new, large longitudinal study that showed water fluoridation did not harm cognition or IQ.

This week Linden revisits two conversations from 2025 with champions of conservation: Professor Euan Ritchie from Deakin University and Clancy "The Bee Man" Lester. Euan and Linden discuss the 'de-extinction' of the dire wolf that was reported back in April 2025, and Clancy recounts his experiences exploring the Amazon looking for some insects to rival Australia's amazing creepy crawlies.

Our summer series continues this week with an interview with Ted Vanderfeen, a scientist who works on space faring robotics to help explore strange new worlds.

While we take a break we are revisiting some of our favourite stories and interviews in our summer series. This week we revisit the interview with Young Australian of the Year Dr Katrina Wruck, a groundbreaking green chemist working to break down harmful "forever chemicals." As the first Torres Strait Islander to receive an Australian of the Year award in any category, Dr Wruck shares her journey, the science behind her research and how she is working to improve environmental and health outcomes in remote Indigenous communities.

Is it 2026 already? We farewell the year just gone, by remembering famous scientists who died in 2025, plus Chris tests our memory with his annual quiz of unforgettable science stories.

In this Christmas episode (our last for 2025!) the team looks at some Christmas adjacent science. Chris brings us up to date with the latest on our interstellar visitor 3I Atlas (spoiler, it's not aliens), Claire turns up the heat on the real reason Christmas cookies taste so good (hint: it's science) and Stu bags up some realities of the neuroscience of Holiday sales and how to avoid spending too much.

This week Linden interviews Tammy Lee, PhD student at UWA in Perth who was crowned the winner of FameLab International in Switzerland in November. This means Australia is officially home to the world's best science communicator! Tammy talks through her research, as well as the process of taking part in one of the world's oldest science communication competitions. Watch the FameLab International final on the FameLab YouTube channel, see the Australian final at the channel of the Foundation for the WA Museum, and follow Tammy on Instagram, @testtubetammy.

This week on Lost in Science, in the lead-up to Christmas — and before our official festive special — we’re diving into the archives to revisit two of our all-time favourite holiday stories. Cat crunches the numbers on Santa’s impossibly busy Christmas Eve, using maths and physics to reveal just how many children he visits (and how he might just pull it off). Then Stu takes us on a botanical adventure through the science of Christmas trees, exploring what makes them smell, sparkle and survive the season.

Linden and Chris talk about the funding cuts to Australian science, and Claire chats with A/Prof Jochen Kaempf from Flinders University about the algal bloom that continues off the South Australian coast.

This week, Stu lets us into the secret world of moss, how they're different to other plants, and how they're so hardy they can even survive on the outside of spacecraft; and Claire gets her teeth into a new, large longitudinal study that showed water fluoridation did not harm cognition or IQ. Maeng, Chang-hyun et al., Extreme environmental tolerance and space survivability of the moss, Physcomitrium patens. iScience, Volume 0, Issue 0, 113827 (2025). DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2025.113827 John Robert Warren et al., Childhood fluoride exposure and cognition across the life course. Sci. Adv. 11, eadz0757 (2025). DOI:10.1126/sciadv.adz0757

Chris and Linden talk through the Prime Minister's Science prize, awarded in early November, and Linden chats with Dr. Grace Sethanant, and earthquake expert, about her work on Australia's weird earthquakes.

This week on Lost in Science Stu checks in on the cutting edge of CRISPR — the revolutionary gene-editing technology promising to change how we treat diseases. Is it living up to the hype? And as we head into the holiday season, Chris is getting practical with physics, applying maths and motion to the age-old problem of how to pack your bag efficiently.

Revisiting some past stories from episodes of Lost in Science Fiction, we look at the science contained in (and the science inspired by) Star Wars, 2001: a Space Odyssey, and Ad Astra

This week the team explore the science behind some science fiction classics. How strong would a tornado have to be to suck up the shark from Jaws? Would murderous robots in the future really be human-like? And what is the best science fiction movie, according to quantum physicists?

This week, Linden reveals a new study into predicting the tipping points when mathematicians have a sudden “ah-ha!” moment when working on a blackboard; and Claire stuns us all with research that found a single ant was able to lay eggs for two different species.S. Tabatabaeian, A. O’bi, D. Landy, & T. Marghetis, An information-theoretic foreshadowing of mathematicians’ sudden insights, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 122 (35) e2502791122, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2502791122 (2025).Juvé, Y., Lutrat, C., Ha, A. et al. One mother for two species via obligate cross-species cloning in ants. Nature 646, 372–377 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-09425-w

This week we pay tribute to the science winners at this year's Nobel prizes, though possibly not as much fun as the Ignobels from last week, they will definitely get people thinking (and solving problems) if not laughing as much about the research.

This week on Lost in Science, we dive into the delightfully weird world of the Ig Nobel Prizes — awards that celebrate research which first makes you laugh, then makes you think. From testing whether babies prefer garlicky milk, to exploring the science of perfect pasta, and discovering if a few drinks can improve your foreign language skills, we’re unwrapping the year’s most curious and clever discoveries.

In this week's episode we welcome two more students from the University of Melbourne's Science Communication program. Carola explores her own family history through the story of Mendel's peas, while Lucy spills the tea on how the world's scientists rejected the idea of the Anthropocene as a geological era.

A recent study suggests elephants have nicknames for each other. Find out more with Jessica on this week's episode. Photo by Nam Anh on Unsplash In this week's episode we welcome two students from the University of Melbourne's Science Communication program. Jessica and Niqi discuss the amazing communication styles of elephants, and try to quash bad news stories about ravens from around the world.

Stu talks to Ted Vanderfeen, a Palawa man from Peerapper lands in Northern Tasmania who has shifted his sights to space exploration. He tells us about his work in the US at the NASA jet propulsion laboratory through the Australian National Indigenous Space Academy and his current work on mechatronics with CSIRO.

This week, Chris speaks to climate scientist Michael E. Mann and vaccinologist Peter Hotez about how their common challenges with denialism and anti-science influences led to writing their new book, Science Under Siege: How to fight the five most powerful forces that threaten our world.