It's stronger than gravity, thought to make up 75 per cent of the universe and we have no idea how it works. So how are astronomers hoping to crack what's been dubbed the deepest mystery in physics?
http://abcmail.net.au/t/435167/686964/8588/0/
Read more: LINK BETWEEN UNIVERSE'S DARK SIDES EXPOSED (News in Science: 02/04/2009)
Astronomers believe they may have found a link between two mysterious phenomena that make up the universe - dark matter and dark energy.
http://abcmail.net.au/t/435167/686964/8591/0/
== DR KARL: UNSTABLE TABLE DOESN'T HAVE LEG TO STAND ON ==
We all trembled with dread when they fired up the Large Hadron Collider. But Dr Karl says that the brainy folk behind the LHC are already putting the world to rights.
http://abcmail.net.au/t/435167/686964/8587/0/
Follow Dr Karl on Twitter: http://abcmail.net.au/t/435167/686964/7715/0/
== TOP STORIES FROM NEWS IN SCIENCE == http://abcmail.net.au/t/435167/686964/1759/0/
ACTION VIDEO GAMES SHARPEN VISION
Slaying hordes of bad guys in fast-paced video games improves vision, a US study has found.
http://abcmail.net.au/t/435167/686964/8561/0/
NATIVE ANT MAY STOP TOAD IN ITS TRACKS
A ferocious native ant may help save wilderness areas in northern Australia after ecologists discovered it is an effective killer of the feral cane toad.
http://abcmail.net.au/t/435167/686964/8589/0/
SAUROPOD DINOS KEPT A LEVEL HEAD: EXPERT
Long-necked sauropod dinosaurs would have to have used far too much energy to hold their neck upright to browse tall trees, says an Australian evolutionary biologist.
http://abcmail.net.au/t/435167/686964/8590/0/
GOLD NANOSPHERES SEAR CANCER CELLS
Gold nanospheres that bake tumours to death by attracting the heat of low-powered lasers have been developed by scientists in California.
http://abcmail.net.au/t/435167/686964/8551/0/
== IN THE SKY THIS WEEK ==
The first quarter Moon is Friday April 3. On Saturday April 4 the Moon is near the beautiful Beehive cluster. 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's rings are edge on, which will not occur again for another 14 years. Jupiter dominates the early morning, with Mars below it. Jupiter's moons are readily visible in a small telescope if you are an early morning riser. Venus reappears in the morning twilight. If you have a flat level eastern horizon you can see Venus as a dramatic crescent in small telescopes or good quality, strong binoculars.
The International Year of Astronomy's 100 hours of Astronomy event runs from April 2 to April 5. This is an excellent time to dust off your old binoculars or telescope and look at the sky. Your local planetarium and astronomical society will be holding presentations and public viewing nights for this event. The Moon and Saturn will be excellent viewing.
http://abcmail.net.au/t/435167/686964/1764/0/
== STARSTUFF PODCAST: SATURN SHOWS OFF POLAR AURORA ==
Discovery docks with the International Space Station high above Western Australia; Europe set to study Earth's gravity; and the Cassini orbiter finds another Saturn moon.
http://abcmail.net.au/t/435167/686964/4567/0/
== ABC HEALTH & WELLBEING == http://abcmail.net.au/t/435167/686964/1765/0/
== THE PULSE: HOW SAFE IS AIR TRAVEL? ==
Longer flights, bigger aircraft and fewer stopovers increase the health risks of long-haul flights, say US researchers.
http://abcmail.net.au/t/435167/686964/8547/0/
== CATAPULT == http://abcmail.net.au/t/435167/686964/2337/0/
== YOUNG GUNS: SAFER UNDERWEAR ==
Dan Murray's underpants guarantee safer sex for all. Listen to his story to find out how he became a business owner at 18.
http://abcmail.net.au/t/435167/686964/8574/0/
== TRANSCRIPTS NOW ONLINE ==
FUTURE MODELS FOR BUSINESS (Future Tense: 26/03/2009)
http://abcmail.net.au/t/435167/686964/8592/0/
DISHONOURABLE NON-MEMBERS (Future Tense: 26/03/2009)
http://abcmail.net.au/t/435167/686964/8593/0/
RISKY BUSINESS (Catalyst: 26/03/2009)
http://abcmail.net.au/t/435167/686964/8594/0/
BUBBLE ENGINEERING (Catalyst: 26/03/2009)
http://abcmail.net.au/t/435167/686964/8595/0/
RICHARD JEFFERSON (Catalyst: 26/03/2009)
http://abcmail.net.au/t/435167/686964/8596/0/
THE MODERN TEENAGER - MYTH OR MARVEL? (All In The Mind: 28/03/2009)
http://abcmail.net.au/t/435167/686964/8582/0/
MAGELLANIC PENGUINS SWIM FURTHER FOR FOOD (Science Show: 28/03/2009)
http://abcmail.net.au/t/435167/686964/8597/0/
SELF-CLEANING GLASS (Science Show: 28/03/2009)
http://abcmail.net.au/t/435167/686964/8598/0/
STROMATOLITES AND PHOSPHORUS (Science Show: 28/03/2009)
http://abcmail.net.au/t/435167/686964/8599/0/
NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS OF THE NEVADA HIGH DESERT (Science Show: 28/03/2009)
http://abcmail.net.au/t/435167/686964/8600/0/
HOW BONES REACT TO MECHANICAL ACTIVITY (Science Show: 28/03/2009)
http://abcmail.net.au/t/435167/686964/8581/0/
PLUMAGE DETERMINES SEX OF OFFSPRING IN GOULDIAN FINCHES (Science Show: 28/03/2009)
http://abcmail.net.au/t/435167/686964/8601/0/
LOST EXPLORERS (Ockham's Razor: 29/03/2009)
http://abcmail.net.au/t/435167/686964/8602/0/
SLEEP AND THE HEART (Health Report: 30/03/2009)
http://abcmail.net.au/t/435167/686964/8549/0/
ATHEROSCLEROTIC DISEASE (Health Report: 30/03/2009)
http://abcmail.net.au/t/435167/686964/8579/0/
THE LATEST ON GENETIC RESEARCH AND DIABETES (Health Report: 30/03/2009)
http://abcmail.net.au/t/435167/686964/8580/0/
== COMING UP ON ABC RADIO == http://abcmail.net.au/t/435167/686964/1773/0/
THE NATIONAL INTEREST - Women in science
Friday 3 April, 6pm (WA 3pm, Qld 5pm) & Sunday 5 April, 12pm RN
Peter Mares talks to the two most powerful women in Australian science: new CSIRO chief Dr Megan Clark and new Chief Scientist, Professor Penny Sackett.
http://abcmail.net.au/t/435167/686964/1134/0/
THE SCIENCE SHOW - Can Vitamin C really cure cancer?
Saturday 4 April, 12.05pm & Monday 6 April, 7.05pm RN
The idea that Vitamin C can fight cancers has been around for decades. Linus Pauling risked his reputation promoting the proposition in the 1970s. But now, a team at the University of Otago in Christchurch, New Zealand, believe they have found the mechanism. Tumours that would otherwise fade away are able to linger and grow in the absence of ascorbic acid. Dr Margreet Vissers says they have found the transcription factor involved and think they know how it relates to the vitamin. What's more, cancers treated with Vitamin C do die. The question now is how to get at the tumours within the body.
http://abcmail.net.au/t/435167/686964/902/0/
ALL IN THE MIND - Thomas Szasz speaks
Saturday 4 April, 1.05pm & Monday 6 April, 1.05pm RN
In 1961 maverick psychiatrist and libertarian Professor Thomas Szasz published his controversial and influential epic, The Myth of Mental Illness. In it he argued that mental illness is a fiction and a medical metaphor. Half a century later he maintains we live in a therapeutic state – a 'pharmacracy' where psychiatry is synonymous with coercion. On the eve of his 89th birthday he joins Natasha Mitchell in conversation about his contentious legacy.
http://abcmail.net.au/t/435167/686964/903/0/
LINGUA FRANCA - Allow me to stutter
Saturday 4 April, 3.45pm & Thursday 9 April, 3.45pm RN
Imagine ordering a dish from the menu just because you can say it, when you'd really rather have something else. That's the effect that a stutter may have on a person's behaviour.
http://abcmail.net.au/t/435167/686964/1705/0/
OCKHAM'S RAZOR - The Koala
Sunday 5 April, 8.45am RN
We've all seen that wonderful photograph of a koala accepting a bottle of water from a firefighter during the recent bushfires in Victoria. Today Dr Ann Moyal, Australian science historian from the ACT, tells us about the perils the koala has faced in the past. Throughout the 19th century it was slaughtered for its fur and more than 2 million koala pelts were exported from Australia. Only in recent years have koala management problems been seriously addressed.
http://abcmail.net.au/t/435167/686964/910/0/
THE HEALTH REPORT - Evidence-based medicine
Monday 6 April, 8.30am & 8.05pm RN
Professor Victor Montori from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, in the US, talks with Norman Swan about his research into evidence-based medicine. Montori is particularly interested in how knowledge is produced and taken up in medical practice.
http://abcmail.net.au/t/435167/686964/920/0/
INNOVATIONS
Sunday 5 April (0830hrs UT), Monday 6 April (1330 & 1705hrs UT), Wednesday 8 April (0430hrs UT), Radio Australia
Cricket goes hi-tech in an attempt to crack down on illegal bowling actions; we check out submersibles that monitor the world's oceans; and we meet the young gun who created a one-stop shop for charitable gifts.
http://abcmail.net.au/t/435167/686964/1775/0/
FUTURE TENSE - The 'Singularity University'
Thursday 9 April, 8.30am & Friday 10 April, 12.30am RN
This week we'll be looking at the concept of the 'Singularity University', a university whose mission is to develop 'advancing technologies', and an update on nanotechnology safety issues.
http://abcmail.net.au/t/435167/686964/7172/0/
== HIGHLIGHTS ON ABC TV ==
CATALYST
ABC1, 8:00pm Thursday, 9 April 2009 & ABC2, 5:30pm Friday, 10 April 2009
Fossils in China and Melbourne reveal evolution's missing links; Is it really possible to bring a mammoth back from the dead?; and Darwin's theory of evolution - inspiration for three prominent Australian scientists.
http://abcmail.net.au/t/435167/686964/834/0/
MEDICINE MEN GO WILD - WORLD OF PAIN
ABC2, 8:30pm Wednesday, 8 April 2009
In this episode intrepid twin doctors, Chris and Xand van Tulleken, travel to Malaysia, Nepal and India to find out whether it is possible to conquer pain using only the mind. First stop is Kuala Lumpur where the doctors are intrigued by the devotees' ability to endure the extreme pain of facial piercing by entering a blissful trance, and try it out for themselves. In Nepal, they explore the region's ancient Tibetan medical system that does not include any medicines to deal with pain. From there they travel to India to meet some atheist guru-busters who show how to cope with the pain of being suspended by hooks inserted into the skin of their backs using only the power of their mind - without religious faith. Chris gives it a go.
http://abcmail.net.au/t/435167/686964/8585/0/
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