Subject: ABC Science Updates: How does flu travel around the world?
ABC Science Updates, 30 April 2009
Science Updates is a weekly email alert from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC)
== SCRIBBLY GUM: RAINFOREST FRUIT POWER ==
With the onset of autumn, many Australian plants are slowing their growth. But rainforests are still a hive of activity, with many native plants bearing fruit as the temperatures cool.
http://abcmail.net.au/t/459319/686964/9165/0/
== QUIZ: AUSTRALIAN MEGAFAUNA ==
If you think salt water crocodiles are scary, then check these beasties out. Once upon a time, these creatures lived right on your doorstep. But how much do you know about Australia's megafauna?
http://abcmail.net.au/t/459319/686964/9160/0/
COMING UP: FOOTPRINTS IN ASH (Catalyst 30/04/2009)
Watch Catalyst 8pm tonight on ABC1 as Dr Paul Willis travels across the country and back in time to test his skills in animal tracking, and reveals the largest collection of megafaunal footprints yet discovered in Australia.
http://abcmail.net.au/t/459319/686964/834/0/
== CLASSIC DR KARL: FLU FLARE-UPS A MIGRATING MENACE ==
Newer and sometimes more vigorous strains of the flu invariably find their way around the world, often 'jumping' from animals to people. Dr Karl focuses his microscope on these virulent viruses for answers.
http://abcmail.net.au/t/459319/686964/9166/0/
See photos from Dr Karl's trek through Spain and follow his progress on Twitter: http://abcmail.net.au/t/459319/686964/9081/0/
== SEE THE WINNERS OF CATALYST'S NATIONAL LADYBIRD SURVEY ==
All good things have to come to an end, even Catalyst's national ladybird survey. The results are stunning with over 2,300 entries from across Australia, and even overseas! Catalyst wishes to thank everyone who participated in this survey, especially the younger budding naturalists amongst you, of whom there are many. According to CSIRO'S Ann Hastings "It was like having thousands of pairs of eyes all over Australia", which makes each one of your submission an invaluable contribution to science.
http://abcmail.net.au/t/459319/686964/9167/0/
== TOP STORIES FROM NEWS IN SCIENCE == http://abcmail.net.au/t/459319/686964/1759/0/
PET BOTTLES POTENTIAL HEALTH HAZARD
Water bottles made from PET plastic leach compounds that mimic the hormone oestrogen raising questions about their safety, say German researchers.
http://abcmail.net.au/t/459319/686964/9147/0/
SOLAR WIND GIVES ASTEROIDS A TANNING
Asteroids become redder the longer they stay out in the sun, a finding that could help determine our planetary origins, say US and European researchers.
http://abcmail.net.au/t/459319/686964/9168/0/
AUSSIE LIZARD ROLLS OVER TO AVOID SEX
Females of an Australian species of lizard rely on testosterone for a most unusual method of keeping amorous males off their back, researchers have found.
http://abcmail.net.au/t/459319/686964/9169/0/
RESEARCHERS FIND GRAIN'S MEMORY GENE
Plants use a genetic memory to recognise when it is spring and can even count the number of cold days, Australian plant scientists have revealed.
http://abcmail.net.au/t/459319/686964/9170/0/
== IN THE SKY THIS WEEK ==
The first quarter Moon is Saturday May 2. On Friday May 1 the waxing Moon is close to the Beehive Cluster. The keen-eyed, who have a clear, level western horizon can see Mercury just peeking over the horizon at twilight. 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 quarter of the way between the bright stars Regulus and Spica. On Tuesday May 5 the waxing Moon is close to Saturn. Saturn's rings will be edge on, this will not occur again for 14 years. The morning sky has the brightest planets with Jupiter being outshone by Venus. If you're an early morning riser with a small telescope, Jupiter's moons are readily visible and Venus is an obvious crescent. Mara is visible below to Venus and they will draw further apart during the week.
http://abcmail.net.au/t/459319/686964/1764/0/
== STARSTUFF PODCAST: AUSSIE PLASMA THRUSTER TO LIFT OFF ==
First light for the planet hunting Kepler space telescope; smallest exoplanet detected so far; and ANU's plasma thruster engine gets the go-ahead for first spacecraft test flight.
http://abcmail.net.au/t/459319/686964/4567/0/
== ABC HEALTH & WELLBEING == http://abcmail.net.au/t/459319/686964/1765/0/
== FACT BUSTER: WILL A FACE MASK PROTECT ME FROM SWINE FLU?==
We've all seen the pictures of Mexican commuters wearing face masks to protect them from that country's outbreak of deadly swine flu. But is there any evidence the masks actually work?
http://abcmail.net.au/t/459319/686964/9139/0/
== CATAPULT == http://abcmail.net.au/t/459319/686964/2337/0/
== YOUNG GUNS: EATING OUT MADE EASY==
Dean McEvoy has created an easy online reservation system for restaurants. Listen to his story to find out more about how this innovative system works.
http://abcmail.net.au/t/459319/686964/9171/0/
== TRANSCRIPTS NOW ONLINE ==
NEWS OF THE FUTURE (Future Tense: 23/04/2009)
http://abcmail.net.au/t/459319/686964/9172/0/
HEART VALVE (Catalyst: 23/04/2009)
http://abcmail.net.au/t/459319/686964/9156/0/
SOLAR PRINTS (Catalyst: 23/04/2009)
http://abcmail.net.au/t/459319/686964/9173/0/
VERY LARGE TELESCOPE (Catalyst: 23/04/2009)
http://abcmail.net.au/t/459319/686964/9174/0/
COMEDY AND THE PSYCHE (All In The Mind: 25/04/2009)
http://abcmail.net.au/t/459319/686964/9175/0/
MANUFACTURE AND EXPORT OF GENERIC DRUGS FROM AUSTRALIA - COMPANY AWAITS GOVT APPROVAL (Science Show: 25/04/2009)
http://abcmail.net.au/t/459319/686964/9176/0/
SCIENTIFIC EDUCATION AND RESEARCH IN CHINA (Science Show: 25/04/2009)
http://abcmail.net.au/t/459319/686964/9177/0/
BEETLES - TAXONOMY IN TATTERS (Science Show: 25/04/2009)
http://abcmail.net.au/t/459319/686964/9178/0/
GEORGE FRIDERIC HANDEL - DID LEAD POISONING AFFECT HIS MUSIC? (Science Show: 25/04/2009)
http://abcmail.net.au/t/459319/686964/9179/0/
COMPUTER TRAINED TO DESCRIBE MUSIC (Science Show: 25/04/2009)
http://abcmail.net.au/t/459319/686964/9180/0/
FAREWELL J.G.BALLARD AND JOHN MADDOX (Science Show: 25/04/2009)
http://abcmail.net.au/t/459319/686964/9181/0/
PELICAN STORIES FOR THE FUTURE (Ockham's Razor: 26/04/2009)
http://abcmail.net.au/t/459319/686964/9182/0/
FLU RESEARCH (Health Report: 27/04/2009)
http://abcmail.net.au/t/459319/686964/9140/0/
== COMING UP ON ABC RADIO ==
THE SCIENCE SHOW - A cure for diabetes 2?
Saturday 2 May, 12.05pm & Monday 4 May, 7.05pm RN
Could a straight forward, commonly practised surgical procedure cure mature-onset diabetes, a disease now in epidemic proportions in some communities? Richard Stubbs, Professor of Surgery at the University of Otago in Wellington, is convinced it could. He's done over 150 operations which he claims have done the trick. Even mice have responded in experiments performed in America. Also, how mercury from coal burning power stations is poisoning hundreds of thousands of children with mercury: a nerve toxin.
http://abcmail.net.au/t/459319/686964/902/0/
ALL IN THE MIND - Spirit child
Saturday 2 May, 1.05pm & Monday 4 May, 1.05pm RN
An unusual behaviour, an enlarged head, a limp, or a superb musical talent - ability, disability or difference? In Northern Ghana, disabled children labelled as evil 'Spirit Children' are killed.
http://abcmail.net.au/t/459319/686964/903/0/
THE PHILOSOPHER'S ZONE- The philosophy of the quantum spook
Saturday 2 May, 1.30pm & Monday 4 May 1.35pm RN
Does physics offer us a fuzzy picture of a clear reality or a clear picture of a fuzzy reality? In 1947, Max Born a great physicist and the grandfather of Olivia Newton-John - told Einstein that he couldn't accept quantum theory because it involved 'spooky actions at a distance'. But does having quantum theory without the spooks mean believing in time travel?
http://abcmail.net.au/t/459319/686964/904/0/
OCKHAM'S RAZOR - Smallpox in Sydney - 1789
Sunday 3 May, 8.45am RN
Historian Craig Mear talks today about one of Australian history's greatest mysteries - an outbreak of smallpox in the Indigenous population living around Sydney Harbour. There are two competing theories on how this came about, the most popular being that the British brought it with them stored in bottles or on contaminated clothing. The mystery is did the First Fleet deliberately release smallpox into the Aboriginal community of Sydney in 1789 wiping out Sydney's Aboriginal population?
http://abcmail.net.au/t/459319/686964/910/0/
INNOVATIONS
Sunday 3 May (0830hrs UT), Monday 4 May (1330 & 1705hrs UT), Wednesday 6 May (0430hrs UT), Radio Australia
Youthful vision to be returned with novel fluid lens technology; trouble in Indonesia's cocoa plantations eased with new pest resistant crops; and turning travelling into a business with an online tour guide booking service.
http://abcmail.net.au/t/459319/686964/1775/0/
THE HEALTH REPORT - Lifestyle changes
Monday 4 May, 8.30am & 8.05pm RN
This week on the Health Report, new research from the University of Cambridge in the UK, which shows the benefits of simple lifestyle changes on measurable increases in life expectancy.
http://abcmail.net.au/t/459319/686964/920/0/
REAR VISION - Spanish flu
Wednesday 6 May, 8.30am & Sunday 10 May 1.30pm RN
We look back at the 1918-19 influenza pandemic. Commonly known as the Spanish flu, it spread to nearly every part of the world, killing around 50 million people.
http://abcmail.net.au/t/459319/686964/913/0/
FUTURE TENSE - An Australian plasma engine
Thursday 7 May, 8.30am & Friday 8 May, 12.30am RN
On our next program we'll be looking at a state of the art tunnelling factory and find out about a new Australian plasma engine.
http://abcmail.net.au/t/459319/686964/7172/0/
== HIGHLIGHTS ON ABC TV ==
THE NEW INVENTORS
ABC1, 8.00pm Wednesday, 6 May 2009
Featuring new ideas on how to keep your horse warm after training, how to stop your children forgetting what to pack for school, and a safe and secure way for motorbike enthusiasts to transport their bikes.
http://abcmail.net.au/t/459319/686964/1151/0/
CATALYST
ABC1, 8:00pm Thursday, 7 May 2009 & ABC2, 5:30pm Friday, 8 May 2009
Catalyst investigates space storms and how we can predict the next big one; why do locusts swarm?; and controlling the rise in rabbit numbers.
http://abcmail.net.au/t/459319/686964/834/0/
BEYOND BOUNDARIES- ACROSS THE ANDES
ABC2, 8:30pm Wednesday, 6 May 2009
A team of 10 young disabled people test their strength and spirit to the limit with a 400km trek across the snow-capped Andes over four weeks. With a variety of walking difficulties, speech and hearing impairment and manual dexterity problems, they must negotiate the treacherous Napo River, the main tributary of the mighty Amazon, to get across the mountains to the Pacific Ocean..
http://abcmail.net.au/t/459319/686964/9183/0/
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