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Dear Science

The Tuesday Wire's weekly dive into the wide world of science.

Featuring a rotating cast of smart people including Chemist Professor Allan Blackman and Physicist Dr Cushla McGoverin. 

Thanks to MOTAT, the museum inspiring the innovators of tomorrow.

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Dear Science: The underwhelming nutrition of cannibalism, the latest snake oil scam & the surprising history of chemical weapons

 Dear Science: The underwhelming nutrition of cannibalism, the latest snake oil scam & the surprising history of chemical weapons Dear Science: The underwhelming nutrition of cannibalism, the latest snake oil scam & the surprising history of chemical weapons, 31 MB
Wed 12 Apr 2017

To match the dark and depressing weather this Wednesday, AUT’s Allan Blackman has a series of grisly & disturbing stories for Adam & Ximena. He talks through some research that looks at how prehistoric cannibalism wasn’t actually a very nutritious practice, and he also looks at ‘Te Kiri Gold’, which is the latest snake oil cancer cure desperate cancer sufferers are being scammed into buying. Finally, in light of last week’s chemical attack in Syria, he touches on the history and uses of chemical weapons, which goes back a lot earlier in history than commonly thought.

Dear Science: Butter vs margarine, graphene water filtration & lying down on the job

 Dear Science: Butter vs marginie, graphene water filtration & lying down on the job Dear Science: Butter vs marginie, graphene water filtration & lying down on the job, 11.77 MB
Wed 5 Apr 2017

AUT’s Allan Blackman joins us again live in the studio for Dear Science. Today he talks to Adam about how butter may not be the bad guy after all, a promising development in development in salt water filtration, and how volunteers for the France’s Space Medical Institute are lying down on the job, and getting paid 16,000 Euros for it. 

Dear Science: Reversing the aging process, the world’s first artificial sun & a racist professor

 Dear Science: Reversing the aging process, the world’s first artificial sun & a racist professor Dear Science: Reversing the aging process, the world’s first artificial sun & a racist professor, 39.87 MB
Wed 29 Mar 2017

AUT’s Allan Blackman joins us again live in the studio for Dear Science. Today he talks to Ximena about how scientists have found a way to reverse the ageing process, how scientists in Germany have switched on the world’s largest “artificial Sun” for the first time, and also about how the University of Melbourne has removed the name of a controversial professor from one of its buildings on campus.

Dear Science: Hidden meth, reaching absolute zero, and replicating the infamous Milgram Experiment

 Dear Science: Hidden meth, reaching absolute zero, and replicating the infamous Milgram Experiment Dear Science: Hidden meth, reaching absolute zero, and replicating the infamous Milgram Experiment, 32.59 MB
Thu 23 Mar 2017

AUT’s Allan Blackman joins us again live in the studio for Dear Science. This week, he talks to Ximena about how police have uncovered a new way that methamphetamine is being smuggled into New Zealand, new discoveries in finding the maximum speed of cooling, and also news that researchers in Poland have replicated the infamous Milgram Experiment, where a shockingly high number of participants were found willing to electrocute an innocent person.  

 

Dear Science: Late scientists & controversial vaccination policies

 Dear Science: Late scientists & controversial vaccination policies Dear Science: Late scientists & controversial vaccination policies, 30.31 MB
Wed 15 Mar 2017

AUT’s Allan Blackman joins us again live in the studio for Dear Science. He talks to Ximena about George Olah, a great chemist who passed away this week, and also about rocket scientist Bill Pickering, who died on this day 13 years ago. Allan also touches on a touchy subject, namely how it came out this week that Australia is considering banning unvaccinated children from childcare centres and preschools.

Dear Science: Piss in pools, psychic nonsense, and an overreaction to an alleged mercury ‘reaction’

Dear Science: Piss in pools, psychic nonsense, and an overreaction to an alleged mercury ‘reaction’ Dear Science: Piss in pools, psychic nonsense, and an overreaction to an alleged mercury ‘reaction’ , 35.04 MB
Wed 8 Mar 2017

This week on Dear Science, we have AUT’s Allan Blackman joining us to talk about some of the latest in science news. He talks to Ximena about a new test in Canada that reveals how much urine is really in public pools, a false alarm to evacuate a Hastings school earlier this week, and also about the tragic return of New Zealand prime time television show, Sensing Murder.

 

Dear Science: Deadly chemicals, exoplanet discoveries and dodgy chicken sandwiches

 Dear Science: Deadly chemicals, exoplanet discoveries and dodgy chicken sandwiches Dear Science: Deadly chemicals, exoplanet discoveries and dodgy chicken sandwiches, 14.82 MB
Wed 1 Mar 2017

AUT’s Allan Blackman returns this week for Dear Science. He talks to Ximena about the lethal chemical that was used to kill North Korean leader’s estranged brother, NASA’s recent discovery of seven Earth-sized worlds orbiting a nearby star, and also about a new Canadian investigation that’s found Subway “chicken” contains an alarming low amount of, well, actual chicken.

Dear Science: A posthumous Grammy, helium discoveries and a clarification about uranium

 Dear Science: A posthumous Grammy, helium discoveries and a clarification about uranium Dear Science: A posthumous Grammy, helium discoveries and a clarification about uranium, 54.87 MB
Wed 22 Feb 2017

AUT's Allan Blackman joins us again for Dear Science this week. He chats to Ximena about how the man who invented stereo has received a posthumous Grammy award; how Trump's recent comments about uranium sparked a global conversation about the element; and finally about how scientists have just discovered that helium can actually form compounds. 

Dear Science: Why is earth such a great place to live?

 Dear Science: Why is earth such a great place to live? Dear Science: Why is earth such a great place to live?, 28.08 MB
Wed 8 Feb 2017

Today on Dear Science, AUT’s Professor Steve Pointing is back with us after his summer break. This week, Steve chats to Ximena about the perfect mixture of components that exist - water, oxygen, the atmosphere & proximity to the sun - which make life viable on planet Earth. 

Dear Science: Experiments gone wrong, killer bees and metallic hydrogen

 Dear Science: Experiments gone wrong, killer bees and metallic hydrogen Dear Science: Experiments gone wrong, killer bees and metallic hydrogen, 36.05 MB
Wed 1 Feb 2017

AUT's Allan Blackman joins The Wire again for another week. This week, he talks about a botched lab experiment at a UK university, where two students were given a dose of caffeine equivalent to 300 cups of coffee; a surprise animal that tops the list of the most deadly venomous creatures in Australia; and also about how scientists in the US have managed to create the first piece of solid metallic hydrogen.