Science Updates is a weekly email alert from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC)
== ASK AN EXPERT: WHY HAVEN'T THERE BEEN MANY BIG DINOSAURS FOUND IN AUSTRALIA? ==
Australia may have been a slow starter in the dinosaur discovery stakes, but that doesn't mean the big finds aren't out there.
http://abcmail.net.au/t/422357/686964/8277/0/
FROM THE VAULT: AUSSIE DINOSAURS QUIZ
Can you tell a Muttaburrasaurus and Austrosaurus apart? Take our quiz to find out how much you really know about dinosaurs Down Under.
http://abcmail.net.au/t/422357/686964/5396/0/
== DR KARL: FROG PHOBIA UNFOUNDED ==
Frogs can croak all night and hide in your shoes. But Dr Karl says the old story that they can give you warts is just an ugly fairytale.
http://abcmail.net.au/t/422357/686964/8278/0/
Follow Dr Karl on Twitter: http://abcmail.net.au/t/422357/686964/7715/0/
== CATCHMENT DETOX WINS AN AIMIA ==
Catchment Detox was the winner of the Best Science, Health or Environment Award at this year's Australian Interactive Media Industry Association Awards. If you haven't taken up the challenge to manage a river catchment so that you have a healthy economy and a healthy environment play the game now.
http://abcmail.net.au/t/422357/686964/8279/0/
== TOP STORIES FROM NEWS IN SCIENCE == http://abcmail.net.au/t/422357/686964/1759/0/
PROSTATE STUDIES GIVE CONFLICTING RESULTS
Two large studies looking at the benefits of a common screening test for prostate cancer produced conflicting results about whether it saves lives.
http://abcmail.net.au/t/422357/686964/8245/0/
SOUTH AMERICA NEEDS ELEPHANTS: ECOLOGIST
In what sounds like a page from a Michael Crichton novel, an Australian ecologist has called for the introduction of elephants into South America and the creation of Pleistocene parks across the world.
http://abcmail.net.au/t/422357/686964/8280/0/
EARLY OCEANS HAD OXYGEN-LOVING LIFE
Simple, photosynthesising life forms created an excess of oxygen in the oceans 700 million years earlier than previous estimates suggest, an international team of geologists claim.
http://abcmail.net.au/t/422357/686964/8281/0/
RED FLOWERS HOLD NASTY SURPRISE
An Australian native plant is using chemical warfare to prevent its bright red flowers being eaten, according to a new study.
http://abcmail.net.au/t/422357/686964/8282/0/
== IN THE SKY THIS WEEK ==
The last quarter Moon is Thursday March 19. Earth is at autumnal equinox on Friday March 20, when the day and night are of equal length. Saturn is visible the entire night and can be easily seen as the second brightest object above the north-eastern horizon. It is about a third of the way between the bright stars Regulus and Spica, just under the star beta Leonis. Saturn is now just past opposition, but this is still a very good time to view this ringed world in a telescope. If you don't have a telescope, see if a friend has one, or go to your local planetarium or astronomical society's open nights. Saturn's rings are edge on, which will not occur again for another 14 years. In the morning Jupiter dominates the early twilight, with Mars below it. On the morning of Monday March 23 the crescent moon will be very close to Jupiter.
http://abcmail.net.au/t/422357/686964/1764/0/
== STARSTUFF PODCAST: ORBITAL DEBRIS ENDANGERS ALPHA ==
Space junk threatens astronauts aboard the International Space Station; the planet hunting Kepler space telescope begins its mission; and North Korea set to launch 'scientific' missile.
http://abcmail.net.au/t/422357/686964/4567/0/
== ABC HEALTH & WELLBEING == http://abcmail.net.au/t/422357/686964/1765/0/
== THE PULSE: TWO DRINKS A DAY ==
The new NHMRC safe drinking guidelines limit alcohol intake to two drinks a day, for men and women. It's not wowserism, but an accurate reflection of the risks, says the NHMRC.
http://abcmail.net.au/t/422357/686964/8242/0/
== CATAPULT == http://abcmail.net.au/t/422357/686964/2337/0/
== YOUNG GUNS: PAYDAY ==
Jovanka Ucukalo makes sure there are no slips in your pay. Listen to her story to discover how she's made a business checking her clients don't get underpaid.
http://abcmail.net.au/t/422357/686964/8283/0/
== TRANSCRIPTS NOW ONLINE ==
LIFE ON THE OCEAN WAVES (Future Tense: 12/03/2009)
http://abcmail.net.au/t/422357/686964/8284/0/
SCHOOL OF EVERYTHING (Future Tense: 12/03/2009)
http://abcmail.net.au/t/422357/686964/8285/0/
PUBLIC INCLUSION AND NEW TECHNOLOGIES (Future Tense: 12/03/2009)
http://abcmail.net.au/t/422357/686964/8286/0/
WATER RECYCLING (Catalyst: 12/03/2009)
http://abcmail.net.au/t/422357/686964/8287/0/
VITAMIN D (Catalyst: 12/03/2009)
http://abcmail.net.au/t/422357/686964/8272/0/
ROB HARCOURT (Catalyst: 12/03/2009)
http://abcmail.net.au/t/422357/686964/8288/0/
ANCIENT BRAINS: RARE FINDS AND PAST LIVES (All In The Mind: 14/03/2009)
http://abcmail.net.au/t/422357/686964/8289/0/
AIR POLLUTION REDUCES RAINFALL (Science Show: 14/03/2009)
http://abcmail.net.au/t/422357/686964/8290/0/
FLIGHT CELEBRATES SOUTH POLE CENTENARY (Science Show: 14/03/2009)
http://abcmail.net.au/t/422357/686964/8291/0/
SYNCHROTRON REVEALS ANCIENT FISH BRAIN (Science Show: 14/03/2009)
http://abcmail.net.au/t/422357/686964/8292/0/
RESEARCH FUNDING IN AUSTRALIA (Science Show: 14/03/2009)
http://abcmail.net.au/t/422357/686964/8293/0/
TESTING PHOENIX AND EARLY RESULTS FROM MARS (Science Show: 14/03/2009)
http://abcmail.net.au/t/422357/686964/8294/0/
SETTLEMENT ON MARS (Science Show: 14/03/2009)
http://abcmail.net.au/t/422357/686964/8295/0/
CONROY'S CLEAN FEED (Background Briefing: 15/03/2009)
http://abcmail.net.au/t/422357/686964/8296/0/
THE MANHATTAN PROJECT FOR CLIMATE CHANGE (Ockham's Razor: 15/03/2009)
http://abcmail.net.au/t/422357/686964/8297/0/
GENETIC RESEARCH (Health Report: 16/03/2009)
http://abcmail.net.au/t/422357/686964/8270/0/
JENNIE BRAND-MILLER (Talking Heads: 16/03/2009)
http://abcmail.net.au/t/422357/686964/8298/0/
== COMING UP ON ABC RADIO == http://abcmail.net.au/t/422357/686964/1773/0/
THE SCIENCE SHOW - Nanobots for cancer
Saturday 21 March, 12.05pm & Monday 23 March, 7.05pm RN
Load your microscopic robot with drugs, send it into the blood stream to seek out a tumour – then zap! These tiny robots have proved their worth in mice, next stop: people, according to Professor Michael Sailor, who has just published his results in Nature Materials. And the same technique works in the eyes of those facing blindness through macular degeneration - the nanobot can carry enough drug for long-term treatment saving the patient discomforting injections. But what happens to these nanomachines when they have done their job?
http://abcmail.net.au/t/422357/686964/902/0/
ALL IN THE MIND - Doctoring with Darwinian medicine
Saturday 21 March, 1.05pm & Monday 23 March, 1.05pm RN
Look in your doctor's kitbag, and you'll probably find a stethoscope, a thermometer and a first aid kit. But what about a copy of Charles Darwin's Origin of Species too? 'Darwinian medicine' asks why do we get sick, and why didn't the body evolve better? Psychiatrist Randolph Nesse argues physicians ignore evolutionary theories at the peril of their patients.
http://abcmail.net.au/t/422357/686964/903/0/
OCKHAM'S RAZOR - A Darwin tourist
Sunday 22 March, 8.45am RN
Charles Darwin had his 200th birthday on February 12 and Professor Karl Flessa from the Department of Geosciences at the University of Arizona, made the pilgrimage to Shrewsbury, the village where Darwin was born, to attend his birthday party. Today we have an entertaining tale about Darwin's early life, and how his birthplace celebrated his achievements.
http://abcmail.net.au/t/422357/686964/910/0/
THE HEALTH REPORT - Post-traumatic stress disorder and the military
Monday 23 March, 8.30am & 8.05pm RN
Post-traumatic stress disorder was once known as shell shock and sufferers were often dismissed as being cowards. In recent times PTSD has been recognised as a treatable clinical disorder and research on the topic has intensified. There have been recent ongoing studies of how certain types of brain damage seem to prevent PTSD. Studies have also looked into formal diagnostic requirements for the disorder and the possible role of genetic factors. The latest research is into possible biological indicators of a person's resilience in combat.
http://abcmail.net.au/t/422357/686964/920/0/
FUTURE TENSE - Keeping Australia safe
Thursday 19 March, 8.30am & Friday 20 March, 12.30am RN
This week Future Tense talks to Chris Anderson, editor-in-chief of 'Wired' magazine, about his upcoming book on 'freeconomics' and to Jeff Jarvis, the author of 'What Would Google Do?'.
http://abcmail.net.au/t/422357/686964/7172/0/
== HIGHLIGHTS ON ABC TV ==
THE NEW INVENTORS
ABC1, 8:00pm Wednesday, 25 March 2009 & ABC2, 4:30pm Friday, 27 March 2009
Professor Fiona Wood joins The New Inventors' judging panel and has to decide the winner from tractor-driven hedge clippers that can take down a tree; plastic that can tell you how fresh your food is; and a cricket bat that can helps you hit further.
http://abcmail.net.au/t/422357/686964/1151/0/
CATALYST
ABC1, 8:00pm Thursday, 26 March 2009 & ABC2, 5:30pm Friday, 27 March 2009
Risky business - how too much testosterone helped bring down the world economy; Beijing's National Aquatic Centre is built with bubbles; and one man's mission to make scientific tools available to all.
http://abcmail.net.au/t/422357/686964/834/0/
THE RE-INVENTORS - SURVIVAL SUIT
ABC2, 6:35pm Tuesday, 24 March 2009
Follow Matt Hunter and Jeremy MacPherson as they dig up original patent designs from history's lost inventions and build them, test them and try to make them work. From a 1930s snow annihilator to a Chinese dragon rocket more than 600 years old to a solar-powered crematorium, the pair takes us through the strange, frustrating and entertaining world of invention. This week, they build a floatation suit designed in 1916 to help save the lives of sailors and passengers who perished in great numbers when sea migration across the Atlantic was at its peak and ship accidents were more common.
http://abcmail.net.au/t/422357/686964/8299/0/
EXTREME RESCUE - THE BRIGHTON BOMBING
ABC2, 9:30pm Wednesday, 25 March 2009
At 2:54 am on the 12th October 1984, as British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher worked quietly in a traditionally built hotel in Brighton, a seaside town on the English coast and whilst her entire cabinet and all senior members of her ruling Conservative Party slept or partied during the last night of a successful conference week, a bomb exploded in the bathroom of Room 629. Using high quality drama reconstruction, archive footage and interviews with firemen and bomb victims, we will bring to life the amazing rescues of these high profile VIPs.
http://abcmail.net.au/t/422357/686964/8300/0/
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