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 ====
SCRIBBLY GUM - Treetop boomers
Think 'kangaroo' and the image that comes to mind is a big red boomer bounding effortlessly across the dusty interior. But in Far North Queensland and Papua New Guinea, you have to look up to see kangaroos, writes Rachel Sullivan.
http://www.abc.net.au/science/scribblygum/december2007/
ACE DAY JOBS - Dietitian
Daniel Thomson became interested in diet when he was struck down with glandular fever in high school. Now as a fully qualified dietitian, he helps people recover from illness and surgery. He assesses their needs and provides them with specific diet plans and advice to suit their health condition.
http://www.abc.net.au/acedayjobs/cooljobs/profiles/s2116464.htm
==== TOP NEWS STORIES FROM NEWS IN SCIENCE =====
MILKY WAY DOUBLE HALOES SPIN BOTH WAYS (News in Science 13/12/07)
The halo of stars surrounding the Milky Way is made up of two different parts that spin in opposite directions, according to an international team of astronomers.
http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2007/12/13/2116913.htm
NEED YOUR SLEEP? STAY OUT OF HOSPITAL (Health & Medical, 11/12/07)
Intensive care units are so noisy and disruptive that patients cannot get the restorative sleep they need to heal, according to a new report.
http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2007/12/11/2115708.htm
LOLLY FLAVOURS KILL PLANT PESTS (Environment & Nature, 12/12/07)
Banana and mint are the two unlikely candidates for the next generation of novel insecticides, scientists say.
http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2007/12/12/2114525.htm
ASTRONOMERS DELIGHT IN RED SKY AT NIGHT (Space & Astronomy, 12/12/07)
Stunning pictures of nebulae have been captured as part of the first optical digital survey of the northern section of the Milky Way.
http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2007/12/12/2115450.htm
HUMANS EVOLVING FASTER THAN THOUGHT (Ancient Worlds, 11/12/07)
Human evolution has been moving at breakneck speed in the past several thousand years, far from plodding along as some scientists had thought, researchers say.
http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2007/12/11/2115575.htm
NANOPARTICLES RELEASE DRUGS ON DEMAND (Innovation & Technology, 12/12/07)
A specially designed nanoparticle fixed with a tiny magnet and a piece of DNA will free its drug cargo on demand when zapped with an electromagnetic field, scientists say.
http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2007/12/12/2116604.htm
MORE NEWS IN SCIENCE - updated daily
http://www.abc.net.au/science/news/
==== IN THE SKY THIS WEEK ====
The First Quarter Moon is Monday December 17. The early evening sky is now devoid of bright planets. Red Mars rises around 10:00 am, and can be seen as the brightest object above the north-eastern horizon at midnight. On Friday and Saturday morning Mars and the Geminid meteor shower can be seen together - the best time is around 3:00am local daylight saving time Saturday 15 December. The meteors will appear to come from just under Mars, but looking anywhere to the north-east one should see a meteor every one or two minutes, shooting near the beautiful Pleiades cluster, or up past Orion's belt. If you wait long enough, Saturn and brilliant white Venus will rise above the eastern horizon for the perfect finish to a night of meteor watching.
http://home.mira.net/~reynella/skywatch/ssky.htm
==== ABC HEALTH & WELLBEING == http://www.abc.net.au/health/ =====
THE PULSE: How to avoid cancer
Scientists from nine universities in four countries have identified the lifestyle risk factors for cancer. Read them and live.
http://www.abc.net.au/health/thepulse/stories/2007/12/13/2117657.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 ====
ROBIN BATTERHAM (In Conversation: 06/12/2007)
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/inconversation/stories/2007/2102442.htm
COMPUTERS ADVANCING FOR BETTER VOICE RECOGNITION (PM: 07/12/2007)
http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2007/s2113240.htm
HUMAN RIGHTS AND PSYCHIATRY (PART 1 OF 2): SHOULD DOCTORS BE INVOLVED IN INTERROGATION OR TORTURE? (All In The Mind: 08/12/2007)
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/allinthemind/stories/2007/2108907.htm
SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR IN POSSUMS (Science Show: 08/12/2007)
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/scienceshow/stories/2007/2113043.htm
ASSOCIATIVE MEMORY AS A STIMULUS AFFECTING DRUG-TAKING AND OTHER BEHAVIOUR (Science Show: 08/12/2007)
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/scienceshow/stories/2007/2113055.htm
THE CANON - A WHIRLIGIG TOUR OF THE BEAUTIFUL BASICS OF SCIENCE (Science Show: 08/12/2007)
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/scienceshow/stories/2007/2113038.htm
TASMANIA'S UN-NAMED LICHENS (Science Show: 08/12/2007)
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/scienceshow/stories/2007/2113026.htm
MESOTHELIOMA DIARY (Science Show: 08/12/2007)
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/scienceshow/stories/2007/2108986.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 - It's already happening
Saturday 15 December, 12.05pm & Monday 17 December, 7.05pm RN
This week the journal Science has a cover story based on a paper by international researchers including Professor Ove Hugh-Guldberg (University of Queensland) warning that the impact of global warming gases is already apparent in the oceans. Details are embargoed until Friday but will be elaborated on the Science Show on Saturday. We shall also hear how fisheries have been devastated around the world as recorded by Professor Callum Roberts of York University (UK) in his new book. But lobsters are bouncing back, especially in Tasmanian waters.
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/scienceshow/
ALL IN THE MIND - Human Rights and psychiatry (Part 2 of 2): Who speaks for the incarcerated and chained?
Saturday 15 December, 1.05pm, & Monday 17 December, 1.05pm RN
Chained in a concrete cell, involuntarily medicated, and isolated. Leading psychiatrist Vikram Patel has amassed a series of shocking photos from asylum settings around the globe - some taken by 'inmates'. He's challenging his own profession to take action. And, the new Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Will it make a difference? In an historic process, self-identified "psychiatric survivors" have been closely involved in its development.
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/allinthemind/
THE PHILOSOPHER'S ZONE - The music of Hades
Saturday 15 December, 1.30pm, & Monday 17 December, 1.35pm RN
Claudio Monteverdi's 'l'Orfeo' isn't the first opera, but it is the first great opera. Today, we celebrate its four-hundredth birthday by talking to a philosopher who's also a musician (or a musician who's also a philosopher) about the ideas underlining the work and about the philosophy of musical performance.
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/philosopherszone/default.htm
OCKHAM'S RAZOR - The science of bodysurfing
Sunday 16 December, 8.45am RN
Surf Life Saving Australia is celebrating its centenary this year so Emeritus Professor of Mathematics at Bond University Neville de Mestre, who is currently the Australian and World Masters surf race champion, delves into the scientific aspects of bodysurfing. The thrills of catching an ocean wave just as it is about to break and riding it to shore is exhilarating but there are also many dangers for the unwary.
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/ockhamsrazor/
INNOVATIONS
Sunday 16 December (0830hrs UT), Monday 17 December (1330 & 1705hrs UT), Wednesday 19 December (0430hrs UT), Radio Australia
An online quiz that calculates a woman's risk of breast cancer; could a study on swarming locusts shed light on the obesity epidemic? And a new take on an old idea builds a global business.
http://www.abc.net.au/ra/innovations/
HEALTH REPORT - Treatment for acute low back pain
Monday 17 December, 8.30am and 8.05pm RN
Researchers in Sydney investigated treatment options for acute low back pain. They looked at non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, spinal manipulative therapy or both to find out what would result in faster recovery for patients. The present guidelines for acute low back pain recommend that GPs give advice and paracetamol as the first line of treatment. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and spinal manipulative therapy are recommended as second-line options for patients who have slow recovery.
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/healthreport/
IN CONVERSATION - Paul Ehrlich Part Two
Thursday 20 December, 7.35pm RN
The second half of Paul Ehrlich's coruscating address to the Ecological Society of Australia meeting in Perth. Why does Australia lead the world in ecological science? What does he think of George Bush and John Howard? Why does President Bush ask how "our oil got under THEIR sand?"
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/inconversation/
==== COMING UP - ABC TV ===========
http://www.abc.net.au/science/programs/
BINDI THE JUNGLE GIRL - Snake in the Grass (For kids)
Sunday 16 December, 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/
SURFING SCIENTIST ON ROLLERCOASTER (For kids)
Tuesday 11 December, 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/
DRAGONS ALIVE! - Ruling Reptiles
Tuesday 18 December, 8:35pm
Explores the incredible skills of today's reptiles which have been some of the most adaptable and successful creatures on earth. Evolved from ancestors that watched grazing herds of dinosaurs, this incredible species is the ultimate evolution success story.
==== COMING UP ON ABC2 - ABC DIGITAL TV ================
http://www.abc.net.au/tv/abc2/
THE NEW INVENTORS - Saturday 6pm
NAKED SCIENCE - Thursday 8am
TREKS IN A WILD WORLD - Thursday 5:30pm
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