Science Updates is a weekly email alert from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC)
== SCRIBBLY GUM: ORCHIDS: NATURE'S SEXY SIRENS ==
It's spring and many of Australia's native orchids, the most diverse, spectacular and cunning group of flowering plants, are unfurling their astonishing array of insect lures. Here's how to find them, and why you should join their fan club.
http://abcmail.net.au/t/263715/686964/5258/0/
== DR KARL: ROYAL JELLY BUZZ UN-BEE-LIEVABLE ==
On the shelf next to the snake oil, you may have spotted something that is said to do wonders for your wellbeing. But, Dr Karl thinks it's all some kind of sting. http://abcmail.net.au/t/263715/686964/5248/0/
== SURFING SCIENTIST: ROTOCOPTERS ==
Show your students how to make their own rotocopter from balloons, plastic cups and sticky tape. This lesson can be part of a unit on flight or used as a great motivating activity to foster positive attitudes.
http://abcmail.net.au/t/263715/686964/5259/0/
== TOP STORIES FROM NEWS IN SCIENCE == http://abcmail.net.au/t/263715/686964/1759/0/
QUIET CARS GIVE FALSE SENSE OF SECURITY
Cars designed to be quieter on the inside could be tricking us into thinking we're driving slower than we really are, say Australian researchers.
http://abcmail.net.au/t/263715/686964/5260/0/
FOSSIL REEF FOUND IN AUSSIE OUTBACK
Australian scientists have discovered an ancient reef that may push back the evolution of the earliest animals by 80 million years.
http://abcmail.net.au/t/263715/686964/5261/0/
'EVEL KNIEVEL' ROOSTERS ARE CHICK MAGNETS
A male's actions in the face of danger are the key to his sexual success ... at least as far as chickens are concerned, an Australian scientist says.
http://abcmail.net.au/t/263715/686964/5262/0/
ULYSSES FINDS SUN BECOMING LESS BLUSTERY
New data from a solar-orbiting probe has found the sun's winds are less blustery than they used to be, and may provide new insights into earth's nearest star.
http://abcmail.net.au/t/263715/686964/5263/0/
== IN THE SKY THIS WEEK ==
The New Moon is Monday 29 September. Venus is easily seen high in the early evening sky. Mercury and dimmer Mars form a triangle with the bright star Spica. On Saturday 27 September Mars, Mercury and Spica form a line. After this Mercury rapidly heads to the horizon and becomes dimmer. On Tuesday 30 September the thin crescent Moon is near Mercury. On Thursday 2 October the crescent Moon is near Venus. Jupiter is the brightest object above the eastern horizon in the evening, and its moons look great in binoculars. Comet A1 McNaught can be seen in binoculars in the constellation of Libra.
http://abcmail.net.au/t/263715/686964/1764/0/
== STARSTUFF PODCAST: SPACE SHUTTLE PAIR PREPARES FOR LAUNCH ==
Stuart Gary reports: 'Atlantis' and 'Endeavour' get ready for lift-off; why the Large Hadron Collider shut down; and the first Chinese space walk nears.
http://abcmail.net.au/t/263715/686964/4567/0/
== ABC HEALTH & WELLBEING == http://abcmail.net.au/t/263715/686964/1765/0/
== THE PULSE: COCONUT: GOOD FAT OR BAD? ==
Mixed messages abound about coconut and health. Is it a fatty treat, to be eaten with care? Or a miracle food, as some websites claim?
http://abcmail.net.au/t/263715/686964/5221/0/
== TRANSCRIPTS NOW ONLINE ==
POLAR DINOSAURS (Catalyst: 18/09/2008)
http://abcmail.net.au/t/263715/686964/5264/0/
SAND DWELLERS (Catalyst: 18/09/2008)
http://abcmail.net.au/t/263715/686964/5265/0/
PREDICTING ALZHEIMER'S (Catalyst: 18/09/2008)
http://abcmail.net.au/t/263715/686964/5266/0/
CAROLYN LIGHTWING (In Conversation: 18/09/2008)
http://abcmail.net.au/t/263715/686964/5267/0/
MEMORIES OF THE BEATLES (Science Show: 20/09/2008)
http://abcmail.net.au/t/263715/686964/5268/0/
PRIORITIES FOR SCIENCE IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY (Science Show: 20/09/2008)
http://abcmail.net.au/t/263715/686964/5269/0/
TWIN TOWERS TOPPLED BY WEAKENED STEEL COLUMNS (Science Show: 20/09/2008)
http://abcmail.net.au/t/263715/686964/5270/0/
BIRDS OF PREY (Science Show: 20/09/2008)
http://abcmail.net.au/t/263715/686964/5271/0/
GIANT SPIDER CRAWLS OVER LIVERPOOL (Science Show: 20/09/2008)
http://abcmail.net.au/t/263715/686964/5272/0/
THE NEXT 50 YEARS (Science Show: 20/09/2008)
http://abcmail.net.au/t/263715/686964/5273/0/
CALL FOR SCIENTISTS TO FOCUS ON BIG PROBLEMS (Science Show: 20/09/2008)
http://abcmail.net.au/t/263715/686964/5274/0/
CHIMPS CONSOL EACH OTHER AFTER FIGHTING (Science Show: 20/09/2008)
http://abcmail.net.au/t/263715/686964/5275/0/
PART 2 OF 2 - THE POWER OF PLASTICITY (All In The Mind:20/09/2008)
http://abcmail.net.au/t/263715/686964/5254/0/
== COMING UP ON ABC RADIO == http://abcmail.net.au/t/263715/686964/1773/0/
THE SCIENCE SHOW - Magic numbers
Saturday 27 September, 12.05pm & Monday 29 September, 7.05pm RN
What happens when you teach school kids to do magic tricks? Psychologist Richard Wiseman has done this and discovered it works wonders for class discipline, self-esteem and skeptical thinking. Meanwhile Dr Brian Butterworth and his colleagues from the University of Melbourne have found that Aboriginal kids can count - even though their language has no words for numbers. How do they do it?
http://abcmail.net.au/t/263715/686964/902/0/
ALL IN THE MIND - Skeptics on skeptical thinking
Saturday 27 September, 1.05pm & Monday 29 September, 1.05pm RN
Nobody likes being told their most cherished beliefs are based on myth and misconception, but the global skeptics' movement does just that. In the classroom and beyond All in the Mind excavates the nature of the skeptical enquiry with magician The Amazing Randi, Mythbuster's Adam Savage and other enquiring minds.
http://abcmail.net.au/t/263715/686964/903/0/
THE PHILOSOPHER'S ZONE - "It's alive!"
Saturday 27 September, 1.30pm & Monday 29 September, 1.35pm RN
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is more than just the story of a man bolting together his own creature from bits of pre-loved human beings; it's a serious examination of the science and philosophy of its day. This week, we look at the ideas behind the book and how a new enthusiasm for electricity and the spirit world animated the young author's work.
http://abcmail.net.au/t/263715/686964/904/0/
OCKHAM'S RAZOR - What is at the bottom of Sydney Harbour and why might it matter?
Sunday 28 September, 8.45am RN
Environmental scientist and Director of Geochemical Assessments in Sydney Dr Stuart Taylor investigated what is really at the bottom of Sydney Harbour. He discovered that 21 million tonnes of contaminated estuarine sediment lies on the harbour bottom mainly consisting of copper, lead and zinc; and that 80 per cent of this has been contributed by humans in a geologically brief period since European settlement. Remediation is proposed at a number of sites but will cost a great deal of money.
http://abcmail.net.au/t/263715/686964/910/0/
INNOVATIONS
Sunday 28 September (0830hrs UT), Monday 29 September (1330 & 1705hrs UT), Wednesday 1 October (0430hrs UT), Radio Australia
A portable machine that safely crushes fluorescent lights; a new drug that could bring an end to kidney dialysis; we meet the discount king and, how a foreign focus gives an edge to a dairy company.
http://abcmail.net.au/t/263715/686964/1775/0/
THE HEALTH REPORT - Mental health of truck drivers
Monday 29 September, 8.30am & 8.05pm RN
A report released in early September reveals the serious stresses and health problems suffered by Australia's truck drivers. The findings of the Health Survey of the New South Wales Transport Industry have major implications for road safety throughout Australia.
http://abcmail.net.au/t/263715/686964/920/0/
IN CONVERSATION - Lord Jesus
Thursday 2 October, 7.35pm RN
Will the famous and delightful hedgerow birds of England survive? One expert says it's touch and go. Professor John Krebs (Lord Krebs) is one of Britain's leading environmentalists. He began as an ornithologist at Oxford, studied the behaviour of birds and then became leader of instrumentalities determining policy on environment and food. Now he heads Jesus College, Oxford and speaks on scientific matters in the House of Lords. He discusses his illustrious career - and those missing birds.
http://abcmail.net.au/t/263715/686964/1468/0/
== HIGHLIGHTS ON ABC TV == http://abcmail.net.au/t/263715/686964/1773/0/
CATALYST
ABC1, 8:00pm Thursday, 2 October 2008
The science of happiness - is our happiness hard wired or can we control it?; the Earth was once a giant frozen snow ball; and a world surf champion calculates the best body wave.
http://abcmail.net.au/t/263715/686964/4511/0/
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