Science Updates is a weekly email alert from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC)
==SUMMER FLOOD AND STORM PHOTOS WANTED ==
Did you home town get hit by one of the many summer storms? Were you stranded on holidays because of flooding? Got some great photos of the experience? Send us your pics and we'll put the best ones in our online photo gallery.
http://www.abc.net.au/science/scribblygum/yourphotos/submit.htm
== TOP STORIES FROM NEWS IN SCIENCE == http://www.abc.net.au/science/news/
EXPERTS WARN OF CANNABIS CANCER EPIDEMIC
Smoking a joint is equivalent to 20 cigarettes in terms of lung cancer risk, say researchers, warning of an "epidemic" of lung cancers linked to cannabis.
http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2008/01/30/2150087.htm
MIDDLE AGE IS TRULY DEPRESSING, SAYS STUDY
A global study on happiness shows middle age is truly miserable, although an Australian researcher says this is not necessarily so.
http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2008/01/30/2149965.htm
PERSONALITY-BREAST CANCER LINK DEBUNKED
The idea that a woman's personality traits can make her more prone to breast cancer appears nothing more than a myth, say Dutch researchers
http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2008/01/30/2150284.htm
THICK CLOUDS CAST SHADOWS OVER MARS
Martian clouds are thick enough to cast dense shadows on the ground below and have a noticeable effect on the planet's ground temperature, say researchers.
http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2008/01/30/2150360.htm
== IN THE SKY THIS WEEK == http://home.mira.net/~reynella/skywatch/ssky.htm
The New Moon is Thursday February 7. There is a lot of action in the eastern morning sky. Between the 31st and Feb 2nd Venus and Jupiter come very close, and are closest on Saturday Feb 2. The morning of Saturday Feb 2, between 2-3 am, is when the waning Moon passes in front of the bright star Antares, so Saturday is a good day to rise early. The line up is joined by the crescent Moon on Monday 4 Feb and Tuesday Feb 5, making a fantastic sight. On Thursday Feb 7 there is a partial solar eclipse at around 1:30 pm. It is best seen in the eastern states, and only about 20-30% of the Sun is covered. NEVER look at the Sun with unprotected eyes, as severe eye damage may occur, use safe solar projection techniques instead. Comets Holmes can be seen with binoculars near the star Algol and comet Tuttle can be seen with binoculars not far from the star achenar. Both look like fuzzy dots.
== ABC HEALTH & WELLBEING == http://www.abc.net.au/health/
FEATURE: HELPING KIDS COPE WITH STRESS
The kids are going back to school, which for some of them will be stressful. But rather than being a cause of anxiety, many primary schools are leading the way in teaching kids to deal with life's ups and downs. And the experts say that when schools and parents work together, even sensitive kids can learn to bounce back.
http://www.abc.net.au/health/features/stories/2008/01/29/2148045.htm
== TRANSCRIPTS NOW ONLINE
SHARA BAILEY (In Conversation: 24/01/2008)
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/inconversation/stories/2008/2138910.htm
THE NEUROBIOLOGY OF SUICIDE (All In The Mind: 26/01/2008)
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/allinthemind/stories/2008/2096877.htm
HOT AND COLD ECHIDNAS (Science Show: 26/01/2008)
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/scienceshow/stories/2008/2146816.htm
BALANCING NATURE: AUSTRALIA (Science Show: 26/01/2008)
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/scienceshow/stories/2008/2121571.htm
WIPING OUT AUSTRALIAN SPECIES (Science Show: 26/01/2008)
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/scienceshow/stories/2008/2145445.htm
TROPICAL GLACIERS AND GLOBAL WARMING (Science Show: 26/01/2008)
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/scienceshow/stories/2008/2145406.htm
== COMING UP ON ABC RADIO == http://www.abc.net.au/science/programs/
SCIENCE SHOW - Balancing Nature - Part 2 Vietnam
Saturday 2 February, 12.05pm & Monday 4 February, 7.05pm RN
Lynne Malcolm visits the remote mountainous jungles of the Annamites in the heart of Vietnam. Aside from recent discoveries of new orchids, butterflies, and snakes several new mammal species have been discovered such as the antelope-like saola , the large antlered muntjac and several doucs or 5 coloured monkeys. Yet this population of threatened species is at risk from illegal logging, hunting and conflicting development as the country pushes to become a civilised society by 2020. We hear how local forest communities are working with the Forest Protection Department and NGOs to sustainably manage forest resources.
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/scienceshow/
ALL IN THE MIND - The psychological power of forgiveness in South Africa
Saturday 2 February, 1.05pm, & Monday 4 February, 1.05pm RN
Psychologist Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela was on South Africa's historic Truth and Reconciliation Commission, chairing many of its torturous public hearings about apartheid era atrocities. In an unprecedented dialogue she met with one of apartheid's most abhorrent killers, in jail, to explore forgiveness, psychological redemption and the symbolic language of trauma. She joins Natasha Mitchell in a feature interview.
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/allinthemind/
THE PHILOSOPHER'S ZONE - The emergence of science
Saturday 2 February, 1.30pm, & Monday 4 February, 1.35pm RN
In the twenty-first century, science doesn't just explain the world: it dominates the world. Religion, art, human relationships, history - we expect them all to be explained in scientific terms. How did science acquire this dominance over our way of thinking? Today, in the first episode of a two-part special, we examine the rise of science in the western mind.
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/philosopherszone/default.htm
OCKHAM'S RAZOR - Is the book dead?
Sunday 3 February, 8.45am RN
Many people have predicted the death of the book as we know it as text will be stored in digital form for us to carry around and download at whim. Sydney textbook and general science writer Peter Macinnis, having just published another book says, no. He used technology to help him research and create it but maintains the printed page is still a very important tool in schools and absolutely essential for teaching reading and writing skills.
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/ockhamsrazor/
INNOVATIONS
Sunday 3 February (0830hrs UT), Monday 4 February (1330 & 1705hrs UT), Wednesday 6 February (0430hrs UT), Radio Australia
A helmet designed to reduce motorcycle fatalities and injuries; a device that changes the way we use media and, we meet one of Australia's most celebrated medical scientists and humanitarians.
http://www.abc.net.au/ra/innovations/
HEALTH REPORT - The knee files - part one
Monday 4 February, 8.30am and 8.05pm RN
This week on The Health Report part one of two special reports on your knees and the most common form of arthritis, osteoarthritis. Are you worried that your exercise program is hurting your knees? Ever wondered what happens to knees that have run 150,000 kilometres? In program one of this series we sort the myths from the evidence about what causes knee arthritis and which of the common treatments really work. There's all the information you need to know about the effects of lifestyle factors and the latest drug treatments.
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/healthreport/
IN CONVERSATION - Don's possums
Thursday 7 February, 7.35pm RN
Professor of Zoology Don Bradshaw is now retired but continues his lifelong study of the thumb sized Honey Possum - the tiny native marsupial which depends entirely on the nectar of specific wildflowers of Western Australia. As he explains to Lynne Malcolm at his field site in Scott National Park, his passion, beyond the possum is to protect the unique Western Australian habitats which support some of the most biodiverse natural life on the planet.
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/inconversation/
== HIGHLIGHTS ON ABC TV == http://www.abc.net.au/science/programs/
KILLER ICE
Tuesday 5 February, 8.30pm
This documentary investigates the varied ways in which ice creates problems - and spawns disaster. It takes us into icy realms to survey the splendours and unlocks the mysteries of ice, and tells stories of ice's destructive and sometimes deadly nature.
NEW INVENTORS - Returns!
Wednesday 6 February, 8pm
ABC TV's highly popular The New Inventors returns for a fifth spectacular season of uncovering the brightest ideas from new and young Australian inventors
http://www.abc.net.au/tv/newinventors/
SLEEK GEEKS - Water
Thursday 7 February, 8pm
Karl and Adam look at the fundamental nature of ice and how it's unusual properties enabled life to begin. More important still is discovering the best way to keep beer cool in an esky and savouring the exotic delights of Adam's urine and bathwater
http://www.abc.net.au/science/sleekgeeks/
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