PODCAST · science
The Mr Science Show
by Marc West
Your weekly prescription of popular science in a social context. Check out www.mrscienceshow.com for more info.
Episodes
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Ep 164: The Pod - Flesh eating sea lice
I have started a new podcast called The Pod - I'd love you to have a listen and tell me what you think! Mr Science Show is not gone though, it will continue to exist and I will continue to put up material. The Pod is about ocean swimming - there is more to ocean swimming than swimming in the…
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Birthday maths
A few weeks back, I had a great chat about birthday mathematics with Glynn Greensmith on the It's Just Not Cricket show on ABC Radio. It was great! We discussed how when you are born in the year influences your latter life, some counter-intuitive probabilities regarding shared birthdays, a bit of...
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Ep 162: Pulsating Pulses
2016 is the International Year of Pulses, which aims to heighten public awareness of the nutritional benefits of pulses as part of sustainable food production aimed towards food security and nutrition. I spoke to Daniel Tam from the University of Sydney's Faculty of Agriculture and Environment...
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Ep 161: 2016 Pulses and Pulsars
Happy 2016! This week, I spoke on ABC Radio Central West about some of the science we can expect in 2016: 2016 is the International Year of Pulses, which aims to heighten public awareness of the nutritional benefits of pulses as part of sustainable food production aimed towards food security and...
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Ep 160: 2015 The year of light
2015 was a magnificent year for physics. Not only was it the International Year of Light and light-based technologies, it was an outstanding year of astronomical achievement, culminating with the magnificent New Horizons photos of Pluto. It was also 100 years since the Theory of General…
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Ep 159: Wedding cost, marriage success and cats
From a recent chat with ABC Central West, this week we talk: The correlation between wedding / engagement ring cost, and marriage longevity Does your cat really love you?
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Ep 157: Food science with ABC Radio
Every month I chat with ABC Central West and the science topics of the day, and this week we chatted food, in particular: Consumption of spicy foods may lead to a lower risk of death (and a little about correlation and causation - I really should do some more correlations of the week) Brain...
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Ep 157: Where to now for Cold Fusion?
Do you remember Cold Fusion? Remember when electrochemists Martin Fleischmann and Stanley Pons claimed to have achieved nuclear fusion in a bottle on a table in their lab in Utah? That was so 80s! Cold Fusion was quickly debunked and, apart from its appearance in a 1997 Val Kilmer Movie (The...
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Ep 156: Science for kids - home-made lava-lamp
This Christmas break, I have been mucking around with science experiments for my kids. Here is the first of a few easy experiments you can try at home. The following video shows you how to make a home-made lava lamp. It is very simple - grab a cup (or bottle or vase or flask), fill it about a…
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Ep 155: Fact or Fiction with ANSTO
The Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation undertakes research and development in nuclear science and technology. This has wide application including nuclear medicine, atmospheric monitoring, materials engineering, neutron scattering and climate change research. ANSTO is also very...
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Ep 154: Blogging, podcasting, royal jelly and using chocolate to determine the speed of light
Over the Easter break, I spoke with Lish Fejer on ABC 666 Canberra on her Experimentarium segment. We spoke on various things to do with science blogging and podcasting, and matters Easter related including: Royal Jelly (the Royals were in town, a great link if ever I've seen one), Determining…
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Ep 153: Complex Network Analysis in Cricket
Complex network analysis is an area of network science and part of graph theory that can be used to rank things, one of the most famous examples of which is the Google PageRank algorithm. But it can also be applied to sport. Cricket is a sport in which it is difficult to rank teams (there are…
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Ep 152: Spiderman Part 2
In part 2 of the Spiderman series, Dr Boob looks at the amazing properties of spider silk and how Peter Parker might harness various technologies to appropriately use it. It's the final show from Dr Boob for a while and we will miss him greatly! But he's not disappearing completely - show him you...
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Ep 151: Spiderman Part 1
This is our last Science of superheroes for a while so we thought we'd look at one of the big guys. Over two episodes, Dr Boob examines Spiderman and in episode one, he specifically looks at how to manipulate Peter Parker's DNA using a virus to transport engineered DNA into his cells. It is by...
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Ep 150: Bryan Gaensler at 20 years of the Sydney University Science Talented Student Program
I recently attended the 20 year anniversary of the Sydney University Faculty of Science Talented Student Program. That was an intimidating event! The evening was hosted by Adam Spencer and featured an in-conversation with Professor Bryan Gaensler, Dave Sadler (Bryan's former mathematics high…
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Ep 149: Zombies Part 2
In the second of a two part series on zombies, this week we go deeper in the dark world of the undead. In part one we managed, through a combination of drugs, to create zombie-like creatures who were sluggish and largely brain-dead. This week we have a shot at recreating the zombies of films such...
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Ep 148: Zombies Part 1
Zombies have been fodder for science fiction books and movies for years, but could we actually create one in the lab? And why indeed would you want to do this? Surely the whole "eating brains" concept would mean that making one is probably not in your best interests. This week on the podcast, Dr...
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Ep 146: Time Travel and Movies Part 1
We still exist! This week we're inhabiting the nexus of science, pop culture and science fiction. The topic of discussion is Time Travel and how it is portrayed in the movies. There's a little bit of philosophy, a little bit of physics, a dash of the paranormal, and a lot of Dr Boob, who is once...
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Ep 145: Teleportation
Is teleportation possible in the real world, or only in the world of science fiction? In this very special episode, Dr Boob takes the reigns and leads us on a journey through teleportation, whether or not physics allows it and even if it does, can we technologically achieve it? What are the...
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Ep 144: Two-up - an ANZAC tradition
It's an Australian tradition on ANZAC Day to take yourself down to your local pub and play Two-up - an Aussie gambling game in which you toss two coins in the air and bet on the outcome. In this edition I have a chat to Chris Coleman of ABC Riverina about the maths behind two-up. For a longer…
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Ep 143: TedxSydney - Bryan Gaensler
TED is a US based not-for-profit enterprise devoted to the propagation of Ideas Worth Spreading. TED started out in 1984 as a conference bringing together people from three worlds: Technology, Entertainment and Design. TedxSydney was a Sydney-based TED event, bringing people together to share a...
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Ep 142: Beyond Zero Emissions
Beyond Zero Emissions is a not-for-profit, volunteer run organisation whose core goal is to develop blueprints for the implementation of climate change solutions. In partnership with the University of Melbourne's Energy Research Institute, BZE are undertaking the Zero Carbon Australia 2020…
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Ep 141: Science of Superheroes - Harry Potter
And we're back! It's been a while, but finally it's time for another podcast, so we've made it a long one. Take this episode on a long train ride or car trip, as Dr Boob and I explore the science of the spells of Harry Potter. Attempting to find scientific and engineering solutions to Harry…
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Ep 140: The Redback Spider invasion of New Zealand
Research published in Biological Invasions shows that Australian redback spiders are invading New Zealand and could become established in many urban areas around major ports. The paper, The invasive Australian redback spider, Latrodectus hasseltii Thorell 1870 (Araneae: Theridiidae): current and...
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Ep 139: Christmas special - Santa, sport and out-takes
It's scarcely believable that another Christmas has rolled around! I hope that 2010 has been a wonderful year for you. In this year's Christmas podcast, I've compiled some of my favourite segments from the last few years. First up, I chat to Bianca Nogrady, who assembled a crack team of health...
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Ep 138: The health benefits of breakfast
A world first study conducted by Menzies Research Institute Tasmania has shown that skipping breakfast over a long period of time may increase your risk of heart disease and diabetes. The study, Skipping breakfast: longitudinal associations with cardiometabolic risk factors in the Childhood...
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Ep 137: Can your environment change your DNA?
Did you know that worker bees and queen bees have exactly the same DNA? Although they look and behave differently, at birth they have the same genome. Young queen larvae are fed a diet of Royal Jelly, a substance secreted by the worker bees which includes B-complex vitamins, proteins, sugars and...
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Ep 136: Sexual Selection
It's about time we put out a new podcast! In this edition, I chat to Associate Professor Robert Brooks, Director at the Evolution and Ecology Research Centre, UNSW about sexual selection. Charles Darwin described sexual selection as "struggle between the individuals of one sex, generally the…
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Ep 135: Why do I sneeze at the Sun?
Do you sneeze at the Sun? I do. My brother does. Both my parents do. In fact, we are a family of Photic Sneeze sufferers. The Photic Sneeze Reflex (PSR), also known rather ridiculously as Autosomal Dominant Compelling Helioophthalmic Outburst (ACHOO) Syndrome (how long do you think it took...
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Ep 134: Climate Change Vox Pops in Paddington
With climate change seemingly falling off the agenda of Australia's major political parties in the lead-up to the 2010 federal election, I wanted to see whether this inaction reflected the views of the community. I headed down to Paddington Markets, on Oxford St in Paddington, Sydney for some vox...
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Ep 133: Senator Bob Brown on Science Policy for the 2010 Australian Election
In the tradition of UK newspapers, this blog/podcast has decided to throw its (rather small) weight behind a political party at each Australian federal election. And this time around, the decision is easy. The 2010 Australian federal election is the most vision-less election in which I have had…
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Ep 132: Science of Superheroes - The Hulk
The science of superheroes is taking a green and nasty turn this week as we discuss the largest superhero of them all, The Hulk. Join myself and our regular superhero expert Dr Boob as we delve into the science of how we might realise The Hulk in the lab. It was one of the more entertaining...
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Ep 131: The Science of Sport at Altitude
Professor Chris Gore, head of Physiology at the Australian Institute of Sport, has had over 20 years experience in the science of sport at altitude, including the study of the physiological effects of altitude on the body and designing altitude training regimes for athletes. The effects of…
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Ep 130: Using Twitter to predict the future
Ever wondered what good Twitter actually does? Personally, I love it, but really, is it anything but noise? One of the pipe dreams for online social media is the ability to track opinions and interests in real time. In their paper Predicting the Future With Social Media, Sitaram Asur and Bernardo...
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Ep 129: The domestication of the dog and the Australian dingo
The Australian dingo and the New Guinea Singing Dog may be the world's oldest dog breeds. The study, Genome-wide SNP and haplotype analyses reveal a rich history underlying dog domestication, which was published in Nature and is a major genetic study into the domestication of the dog, was a...
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Ep 128: Another demotion for Pluto?
Is Pluto is set to become an also-ran in the astronomical world? Already demoted from the exalted planet club, Pluto could be joined by up to 50 other objects in the ever-expanding "dwarf planet" club if the new definitions of dwarf planet, recently proposed by Australian scientists Charles...
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Ep 127: Conditioning quolls against cane toads
The cane toad in Australia is a text book example of a feral species. As an introduced species, it has no natural predators and out-competes native animals for food and habitat. Things are made worse by the fact that cane toads are highly poisonous - so poisonous that they can kill animals as…
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Ep 126: Science of Superheroes - Doc Ock
Continuing with our recurring segment The Science of Superheroes, this week we're tackling the mechanically-blessed supervillain Doc Ock, from Marvel Comics. And joining me once again for a journey through superhero scholarship is Dr Boob. Dr. Otto Gunther Octavius is a scientist who designed a…
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The Sailors' (syphilis detecting) Handshake
It may be an apocryphal tale, but here's an interesting story about how sailors of yore determined if a potential suitor had syphilis. As demonstrated by Victoria Bond and myself, Victoria is feeling my right elbow whilst shaking my hand. The epitrochlear lymph nodes in the elbow get swollen with...
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Bonus Video: Why I never became an actor....
This video is not particularly sciencey - but is bonus material for my lovely iPhone app subscribers. The vid from 1995 aptly portrays why I followed science and I never went into acting. We made this video about the crime fighters Brad and VD when in Year 11. Those involved have ended up being...
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Ep 124: Liberals, atheists, intelligence, cocaine deaths and temperature
Liberals, atheists, intelligence, cocaine deaths and the temperature? What do these things have in common? The answer? Correlation of the Week of course. This podcast concerns our two most recent Correlations of the Week: Liberals and Atheists Are More Intelligent; Cocaine overdoses and the Weather.
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Ep 123: Remote Medicine
Wadeye is a remote town in Australia's Northern Territory. It has a population of roughly 2500 people, 2200 of whom are Indigenous Australians, and as such is one of Australia's largest indigenous communities. The town is over 200 km southwest of Darwin, and during the wet season the only way in...
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Ep 122: Science of Superheroes - Wolverine (Part 2)
This is the second part of our series on the science of Wolverine - specifically, how can we create Wolverine in the lab? Join Dr Boob and myself as we journey through Wolverine's characteristics and how they may be recreated in a human. Read more on Wolverine in part 1 of this series.…
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Ep 121: Science of Superheroes - Wolverine (Part 1)
Wolverine is probably the best known of the X-Men. Commonly known as Logan, Wolverine is a mutant who has animal-keen senses, super bodily strength, retracting claws, and the ability to almost instantly heal himself from injury. And thanks to some evil scientists, he has the near indestructible...
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Ep 120: Correlation of the week, housework and sex
There's nothing quite like pulling on the rubber gloves, splashing each other with dirty dish-water and then reaching for the vacuum cleaner with the adjustable nozzle to get you in mood for love. The first Correlation of the Week for 2010 is awarded to Constance Gager, from Montclair State...
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Ep 119: Alien Vox Pop and (re)introducing The Beer Drinking Scientists
The Beer Drinking Scientists are back! It's been two and a half years since our last episode, but Darren Osborne, editor of ABC Science Online, and I have got back together over a beer in Sydney to chat about the pressing scientific issues of the day - in this case, alien life. We chat about the...
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Bonus Audio - The Beer Drinking Scientists are back
The Beer Drinking Scientists are back! It’s been two and a half years since our last episode, but Darren Osborne and Marc West have got back together over a beer in Sydney to chat about the pressing scientific issues of the day - in this case, alien life. As you have downloaded the Mr Science...
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Ep 118: Astrobiology and the search for extraterrestrial life
Astrobiology is a fascinating and complex field of science. It is the study of the origin, evolution, distribution, and future of life in the universe, and is a relatively new field of science incorporating astronomy, biology, geology, palaeontology, physics, mathematics and other disciplines. It...
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Bonus Episode - The Beer Drinking Scientists take on Climate Change
October 15 is Blog Action Day 2009 and this year's topic is Climate Change. The idea is to raise awareness of the topic, so I thought I'd get in on the act - it is still October 15 in some parts of the world... Climate Change is arguably our most pressing human concern. If you are interested in...
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does The Mr Science Show have?
The Mr Science Show currently has 165 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is The Mr Science Show about?
Your weekly prescription of popular science in a social context. Check out www.mrscienceshow.com for more info.
How often does The Mr Science Show release new episodes?
The Mr Science Show publishes regularly with 165 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
Where can I listen to The Mr Science Show?
You can listen to The Mr Science Show on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts The Mr Science Show?
The Mr Science Show is created and hosted by Marc West.
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