Science Updates is a weekly email alert about recent online science coverage and upcoming TV and radio science programs from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC)
==== NEW ON ABC SCIENCE ONLINE ==== http://www.abc.net.au/science ====
ACE DAY JOBS - Geologist
As a kid, Matt Cupper always brought home rocks, animal skeletons and birds' nests, and spent many family holidays in spectacular geological regions like the Flinders Ranges in South Australia. These days as a fully fledged geoscientist he gets to discover new fossil locations and types of past life that nobody knew existed.
http://www.abc.net.au/acedayjobs/cooljobs/profiles/s2094685.htm
SCIENCE PODCASTS
If it's science and it was on the radio, chances are you can download it as a podcast! You can browse or subscribe to science on everything from Radio National to triple j right here:
http://www.abc.net.au/science/programs/podcast.htm
==== TOP NEWS STORIES FROM NEWS IN SCIENCE =====
BABIES SIZE YOU UP IN AN INSTANT (News in Science 22/11/07)
Babies warm to people who help others but shy away from bullies, a new study shows.
http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2007/11/22/2097713.htm?site=science&topic=latest
EMBRYONIC STEM CELLS WITHOUT EMBRYOS (Health & Medical, 21/11/07)
Two teams of researchers have transformed ordinary human skin cells into batches of cells that look and act like embryonic stem cells without using cloning technology and without making embryos.
http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2007/11/21/2096756.htm?site=science&topic=health
TERMITES GUT REACTION SET FOR BIOFUELS (Environment & Nature, 22/11/07)
The back-end of a termite is an odd place to look to solve the world's energy crisis but scientists believe the insects' guts may hold the key to better and cheaper biofuels.
http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2007/11/22/2097855.htm?site=science&topic=enviro
ASTRONOMERS DRIVEN TO END OF EARTH (Space & Astronomy, 21/11/07)
An unmanned observatory will begin an 8000 kilometre journey to Antarctica this weekend where it will help test whether the white continent is the best place on earth for stargazing.
http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2007/11/21/2095990.htm?site=science&topic=space
JADE EARRINGS OPEN DOOR ON ANCIENT TRADE (Ancient Worlds, 20/11/07)
Taiwan was at the centre of a one of the most extensive sea-based trade networks in the prehistoric world, new research shows.
http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2007/11/20/2095026.htm?site=science&topic=ancient
SUDOKO MAY SAVE US FROM SPAM (Innovation & Technology, 19/11/07)
Tricky mathematical puzzles like Sudoku could be the next weapon in the fight against spam, an Australian computer scientist suggests.
http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2007/11/19/2094677.htm?site=science&topic=tech
MORE NEWS IN SCIENCE - updated daily
http://www.abc.net.au/science/news/
==== IN THE SKY THIS WEEK ====
The First Moon is Sunday November 25. The astounding Comet 17/P Holmes has faded substantially but is still visible - in northern Australia you can see it with the naked eye as a fuzzy star-like object. It will appear very low above the northern horizon between midnight-1 am (AEST), and the best places for viewing the comet are QLD, NT, NSW and northern WA. On the planetary front, Jupiter is seen as the brightest object above the western evening sky just after twilight, and red Mars is the brightest object in the northern morning sky. On Tuesday November 27 the waxing Moon is just below Mars. Saturn and brilliant white Venus can be easily seen above the eastern horizon in the early twilight.
http://home.mira.net/~reynella/skywatch/ssky.htm
==== ABC HEALTH & WELLBEING == http://www.abc.net.au/health/ =====
THE PULSE: Blood and popcorn
Gory films and TV programs are pulling in audiences. But violence on the screen can have lasting effects, especially on kids and adolescents.
http://www.abc.net.au/health/thepulse/stories/2007/11/22/2097850.htm
Health Updates provides the latest ABC Health information online. You can join at: http://www.abc.net.au/health/subscribe/
==== NEW RADIO AND TV SCIENCE TRANSCRIPTS NOW ONLINE ====
PROFESSOR DAVID KAROLY (Catalyst: 15/11/2007)
http://www.abc.net.au/catalyst/stories/s2091117.htm
ETHICAL ROW AFTER SCIENTISTS CLONE ADULT MONKEY EMBRYOS (Lateline: 15/11/2007)
http://www.abc.net.au/lateline/content/2007/s2092434.htm
MICHAEL KELLY (In Conversation: 15/11/2007)
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/inconversation/stories/2007/2082955.htm
CATALYST: CARBON BIGFOOT (Catalyst: 15/11/2007)
http://www.abc.net.au/catalyst/stories/s2092087.htm
THE CONSUMERS' GUIDE TO CARBON CONSCIOUS SHOPPING (Catalyst: 15/11/2007)
http://www.abc.net.au/catalyst/stories/s2091104.htm
DNA - NOT ALWAYS A DOUBLE HELIX (Science Show: 17/11/2007)
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/scienceshow/stories/2007/2093383.htm
SCIENTIFIC RACISM (Science Show: 17/11/2007)
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/scienceshow/stories/2007/2093359.htm
ENDOMETRIOSIS (Science Show: 17/11/2007)
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/scienceshow/stories/2007/2093337.htm
===== COMING UP - ABC RADIO ===========
http://www.abc.net.au/science/programs/
Podcasts and downloads
http://www.abc.net.au/science/programs/podcast.htm
SCIENCE SHOW - Meet the Mighty Max
Saturday 24 November, 12.05pm & Monday 26 November, 7.05pm RN
He was one of the scientific giants of the twentieth century, though tiny in stature. He actually helped invent a new field of research: molecular biology, giving us genetic engineering and designer drugs. The team he headed gained at least 13 Nobel Prizes - more than most entire nations. He was Jewish by birth yet arrested as an enemy alien. During World War Two they made him work on an aircraft carrier made of ice. The story of Max Perutz is astonishing as well as inspiring. Georgina Ferry, author of a new biography of Perutz, tells the compelling tale.
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/scienceshow/
ALL IN THE MIND - Brain Surgery on the airwaves!
Saturday 24 November, 1.05pm, & Monday 26 November, 1.05pm RN
Don your gown and mask, and prepare yourself. Natasha Mitchell takes you into the operating theatre of leading neurosurgeon Professor Jeffrey Rosenfeld at the Alfred Hospital, and inside the head of Kia, his patient, as she has an arteriovenous malformation extracted from her frontal lobes. A repeat chance to catch this rare audio phonic insight into a craft of impressive dexterity, patience and courage. On next week's show, 11 months after the surgery, we meet Kia again for an update on life post-op. Surviving major brain surgery has been the easy bit!
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/allinthemind/
THE PHILOSOPHER'S ZONE - Considering consideration
Saturday 24 November, 1.30pm, & Monday 26 November, 1.35pm RN
Do you hold doors open for others? Then you're being considerate. Do you let your mobile phone ring during movies? Then you're being inconsiderate. This week we analyse a form of conduct that seems trivial, but helps to keep civilised society together.
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/philosopherszone/default.htm
OCKHAM'S RAZOR - Vitamin D
Sunday 25 November, 8.45am RN
Endocrinologist Dr Jenny Gunton is concerned that 1 in 10 normal healthy people are unaware that they have a Vitamin D deficiency - mainly because they work indoors and use sunscreen when outdoors, effectively blocking their production of this vitamin. She is also investigating a possible link between low Vitamin D levels and diabetes.
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/ockhamsrazor/
INNOVATIONS
Sunday 25 November (0830hrs UT), Monday 26 November (1330 & 1705hrs UT), Wednesday 28 November (0430hrs UT), Radio Australia
The solar heating and cooling system that allows your building to breathe; making the world's perfect kilogram and, celebrating fifteen years of restoring sight around the world.
http://www.abc.net.au/ra/innovations/
BIG IDEAS - Boyer Lectures 2007: Restoring the Senses, by Prof. Graeme Clark, (lecture 3 of 6)
Sunday 25 November, 5pm & Saturday 1 December, 7pm
In today's lecture, Pushing Back a Frontier in Medicine, Professor Clark discusses the scientific, financial and personal challenges faced when undertaking groundbreaking research.
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/bigideas/
HEALTH REPORT - Alternative cancer treatment in hospitals
Monday 26 November, 8.30am and 8.05pm RN
Should you be entitled to alternative medicine as part of cancer treatment in a major hospital? It's almost standard now in leading American hospitals. Find out why on this week's Health Report.
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/healthreport/
SCIENCE TALKBACK - Bernie Hobbs
Thursdays 11am, triple j
ABC Science Online's own Bernie Hobbs is keeping Dr Karl's seat warm for the rest of the year, so call in with your curliest science questions - and answers! - every Thursday from 11am to noon.
http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/zan/
IN CONVERSATION - Walking through Antarctica and the Southern Ocean
Thursday 29 November, 7.35pm RN
The ice is certainly cold - touch it and see - and the fish swim above your head. But this stroll through the freezing continent and its surrounding seas won't get you wet. Andy Baird is our guide as we look at a thrilling new display at the Tasmanian Museum in Hobart. It is one of the exhibitions setting the scene for Polar Year, just begun.
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/inconversation/
==== COMING UP - ABC TV ===========
http://www.abc.net.au/science/programs/
TAKE ON TECHNOLOGY - Food Technology (For kids)
Friday 23 November, 10:00am
Monster puppets, Dodly and Flyn, take a fascinating look at designing technology to meet particular needs. This 12-part series adopts an investigative approach to help children recognise and understand the use of technology around them.
AUSTRALIA EYE OF THE STORM - Southern Exposure
Friday 23 November 11:05am
Explores the four seasons in a year in southern Australia and how they are affected by the dramatic massing and shrinking of the polar ice-cap.
FORCE OF NATURE - Rescue at 19,000 Feet
Saturday 24 November 1pm
Stories that reveal the raw power of nature testing our primal fears.
BINDI THE JUNGLE GIRL - Crocodilians (For kids)
Sunday 25 November, 6:55am
From her tree-house perched high in the jungle, Bindi Irwin will take us to every corner of the globe, to meet cute to not-so-cute animals and learn how all animals need to be protected.
http://abc.net.au/children/bindi/
THE HUMAN MIND AND HOW TO MAKE THE MOST OF IT - Making Friends
Monday 26 November, 11:30pm
We discover what happens when you 'click' with someone, the truth behind a smile and how to spot the giveaway clues that the mind sends out when someone likes you.
SURFING SCIENTIST ON ROLLERCOASTER (For kids)
Tuesday 27 November, between 5-6pm
Catch Ruben Meerman each Tuesday afternoon as he gives Rollercoaster's host Elliot a dose of science. Apparently you can teach young hosts old tricks.
http://www.abc.net.au/rollercoaster/
THE NEW INVENTORS - 2007 Grand Final
Wednesday 28 November, 8pm
The five finalists are locked in, but which one will be named The New Inventors 2007 Invention of the Year, and win the amazing swag of prizes from IP Australia, CSIRO, AusIndustry and Austrade? The competition is tough - a safer motobike helmet, a retake on the chainsaw, a new system for treating sewage, an automatic alert for problem hearts, and a coupling that's got engineers going gaga - and the judges are even tougher. Don't miss the action in this year's inventors' Night of Nights.
http://www.abc.net.au/tv/newinventors/
==== COMING UP ON ABC2 - ABC DIGITAL TV ================
http://www.abc.net.au/tv/abc2/
CATALYST - Friday 5:30pm, Wednesday 8pm
THE NEW INVENTORS - Saturday 6pm, Thursday 8:30pm
BREAKING THE ICE - Thursday 5pm
TREKS IN A WILD WORLD - Thursday 5:30pm
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