Science Updates is a weekly email alert from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC)
== SCRIBBLY GUM: ABOVE THE SNOWLINE ==
With snow blanketing Australia's alpine regions it's time for the hardy plants and animals that live there to employ some ingenious tricks to make the most of the cold conditions.
http://abcmail.net.au/t/561680/686964/10919/0/
== LAST CHANCE TO ENTER OUR REFLECTIONS ON THE MOON PHOTO COMPETITION ==
It's been nearly forty years since humans first walked on the moon. Send us your photos reflecting on this auspicious anniversary and you could win a $100 ABC Shop gift voucher! But hurry as entries close 5pm AEST Friday, July 10.
http://abcmail.net.au/t/561680/686964/10119/0/
== HOT TAG OF THE WEEK: ANIMAL BEHAVIOUR ==
Do monkeys understand human language more than we realise? What makes a desirable junglefowl? And what species of fish sunbakes on rocks to warm up? Read all about it on our animal behaviour tag page.
http://abcmail.net.au/t/561680/686964/10920/0/
== WATCH CATALYST AND VOTE IN THE EUREKA PRIZES PEOPLE'S CHOICE AWARD ==
Catalyst are profiling each of the six finalists in the Eureka Prizes People's Choice Award on tonight's program. Each of these real-life scientists are doing amazing work. Watch the show and then go online to vote for your favourite.
http://abcmail.net.au/t/561680/686964/834/0/
== DR KARL: EQUINOX EGG-BALANCING TALE CRACKS OPEN ==
Could it be true that on one special day of the year an egg can stand upright on its end without wobbling away? Dr Karl has been trying to crack the case.
http://abcmail.net.au/t/561680/686964/10918/0/
Follow Dr Karl on Twitter: http://abcmail.net.au/t/561680/686964/10121/0/
== DR KARL ON TRIPLEJ: DR KARL PONDERS WITH THE PUBLIC ON TRIPLEJ ==
Do springs get affected by tides? Why is it colder just before dawn? Sound in air races sound travelling via an electric cable, and sunburn faces off against osteoporosis.
http://abcmail.net.au/t/561680/686964/10750/0/
== TOP STORIES FROM NEWS IN SCIENCE == http://abcmail.net.au/t/561680/686964/1759/0/
AUSSIE TWEAK UNITES FRACTAL LAWS
Australian researchers have found a way to unite two laws of physics, which will lead to more reliable predictions of everything from disease spread to internet traffic.
http://abcmail.net.au/t/561680/686964/10889/0/
HUMAN SPERM CREATED FROM STEM CELLS
A team of British scientists claim to have created human sperm using embryonic stem cells, in a medical first that they say will lead to a better understanding of fertility.
http://abcmail.net.au/t/561680/686964/10890/0/
DINOSAURS GOT BIG BY TAKING IT EASY
Some dinosaurs grew larger than today's elephants because they ate more and used less energy, says a US scientist.
http://abcmail.net.au/t/561680/686964/10921/0/
COSTA RICA: THE 'HAPPIEST AND GREENEST'
Costa Rica is the happiest place on earth, and one of the most environmentally friendly, according to a new survey by a British non-governmental group.
http://abcmail.net.au/t/561680/686964/10922/0/
== IN THE SKY THIS WEEK ==
The last quarter Moon is Wednesday July 15. Saturn is visible in the early evening and can be easily seen as the second brightest object above the north-western horizon. It is about a quarter of the way between the bright stars Regulus and Spica. On Friday July 10 the waning Moon is not far from Jupiter. Jupiter can be seen just above the horizon before 10pm local time but is still best seen in the morning with the other bright planets, Venus and Mars. Mars is just above the beautiful Pleiades cluster, and Venus is close to the A-shaped Hyades cluster. On the morning of Monday July 13 Venus is close to bright red Aldebaran in the Hyades, forming a second 'eye' in the head of Taurus the Bull. If you are an early morning riser with a small telescope or binoculars Jupiter's moons are readily visible, and Venus is in its 'waxing Moon' phase.
http://abcmail.net.au/t/561680/686964/1764/0/
== STARSTUFF PODCAST: NEW SPACE RACE ENTRANT AS INDONESIA LAUNCHES ROCKET ==
Indonesia joins the space race; reviewing theories on black hole evolution; and Ulysses signs off after an 18 year voyage around the Sun.
http://abcmail.net.au/t/561680/686964/4567/0/
== ABC HEALTH & WELLBEING == http://abcmail.net.au/t/561680/686964/1765/0/
== THE PULSE: ARE BOYS GETTING THE MESSAGE ON GOOD HEALTH? ==
Ensuring boys know how to look after their physical and mental wellbeing is an important step towards improving men's health in the long term.
http://abcmail.net.au/t/561680/686964/10880/0/
== TRANSCRIPTS NOW ONLINE ==
THE WONG AND FIELDING CLIMATE DEBATE: AN ASSESSMENT (Counterpoint: 29/06/2009)
http://abcmail.net.au/t/561680/686964/10923/0/
THE TRIBE HAS SPOKEN... (Future Tense: 02/07/2009)
http://abcmail.net.au/t/561680/686964/10924/0/
MODERN LEADERSHIP AND COMMUNITY (Future Tense: 02/07/2009)
http://abcmail.net.au/t/561680/686964/10925/0/
AUGMENTED REALITY (Future Tense: 02/07/2009)
http://abcmail.net.au/t/561680/686964/10926/0/
UNIVERSAL FLU VACCINE (Catalyst: 02/07/2009)
http://abcmail.net.au/t/561680/686964/10927/0/
PROFESSOR PENNY SACKETT (Catalyst: 02/07/2009)
http://abcmail.net.au/t/561680/686964/10928/0/
ECO FARMING (Catalyst: 02/07/2009)
http://abcmail.net.au/t/561680/686964/10929/0/
THE LIFE OF GALAXIES (Science Show: 04/07/2009)
http://abcmail.net.au/t/561680/686964/10930/0/
THE POSSIBILITY OF LIFE BEYOND EARTH (Science Show: 04/07/2009)
http://abcmail.net.au/t/561680/686964/10931/0/
SIMULATING THE LIFE AND DEATH OF GALAXIES (Science Show: 04/07/2009)
http://abcmail.net.au/t/561680/686964/10932/0/
THE CHAMBERLEN FAMILY - BARBER/SURGEONS (Ockham's Razor: 05/07/2009)
http://abcmail.net.au/t/561680/686964/10933/0/
ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE AND DEMENTIA (Health Report: 06/07/2009)
http://abcmail.net.au/t/561680/686964/10909/0/
== COMING UP ON ABC RADIO ==
THE SCIENCE SHOW - 40 years since Apollo
Saturday 11 July, 12.05pm & Monday 13 July, 7.05pm RN
It's forty years since man walked on the moon. We relive the event and hear about the Australian involvement in the Apollo missions, both in designing experiments and relaying the signals back to mission control. As this is the International Year of Astronomy we also have a rundown of events from all over Australia.
http://abcmail.net.au/t/561680/686964/902/0/
ALL IN THE MIND - The Mind of the Composer Part 2 – Maurice Ravel
Saturday 11 July, 1.05pm & Monday 13 July, 1.05pm RN
Acclaimed doctor and broadcaster Lord Robert Winston investigates the composer Maurice Ravel's final years, when he was plagued with a cruel form of dementia. Can the disease be heard in two of his best loved works, The Concerto for Left Hand and Bolero, as some neurological studies suggest?
http://abcmail.net.au/t/561680/686964/903/0/
OCKHAM'S RAZOR - It's not our fault we're fat
Sunday 12 July, 8.45am RN
Author of Sweet Poison David Gillespie discusses the effect of fructose on our bodies. In the early part of the 19th century sugar-based foods were starting to sneak into our diets; by the 1960s sugar was everywhere and everything that contains sugar contains fructose. Our livers are very efficient organs in converting fructose to fat so before you finish that glass of apple juice the fructose in the first mouthful will be circulating as fat in your bloodstream.
http://abcmail.net.au/t/561680/686964/910/0/
BACKGROUND BRIEFING - Expanding mental illness
Sunday 12 July, 9am & Tuesday 14 July, 7pm RN
Over the decades psychiatrists are finding and re-defining more of the constellation of emotions, reactions, and ups and down of life as mental illness. No surprise, there are pills to make everyone fit the normal template, even some for shyness.
http://abcmail.net.au/t/561680/686964/911/0/
BIG IDEAS - The Reith Lectures 2009 - Genetics and Morality
Sunday 12 July, 5pm RN
Professor Michael Sandel considers how we should use our ever-increasing scientific knowledge. How far should we go in using genetic technologies to manipulate muscles, moods and gender?
http://abcmail.net.au/t/561680/686964/917/0/
THE HEALTH REPORT - New psychiatry research
Monday 13 July, 8.30am RN
The recent edition of the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry has published a number of interesting and relevant research articles. Amongst the topics covered in this program are the perceived need for mental health care in Australia, the state of the nation's mental health, and suicidal thoughts and behaviours among Australian adults.
http://abcmail.net.au/t/561680/686964/920/0/
FUTURE TENSE - The attention economy
Thursday 16 July, 8.30am & Friday 17 July, 12.30am RN
We look at the so-called 'attention economy'. In an age when information has become an abundant commodity what are the implications for us as consumers? Could attention become one of the key economic drivers in the coming decades?
http://abcmail.net.au/t/561680/686964/7172/0/
INNOVATIONS
Sunday 12 July (0830hrs UT), Monday 13 July (1330 & 1705hrs UT), Wednesday 15 July (0430hrs UT), Radio Australia
Scientists use stem cells to cure sight loss; a way to probe the ocean depths while staying high and dry; and as the debate over an emissions trading scheme for Australia hots up, we take a look at the role of biochar.
http://abcmail.net.au/t/561680/686964/1775/0/
== HIGHLIGHTS ON ABC TV ==
NATURE'S GREAT EVENTS: THE GREAT FLOOD
ABC1, 7:30pm, Sunday, 12 July 2009
In the intense heat of the northern Kalahari, at the peak of the dry season when water is scarce, herds of elephants trek towards a life-saving event, while prides of lions and marooned hippos fight to survive around the last remaining waterholes. Their fortunes change dramatically with the annual flooding of Botswana's Okavango Delta, turning thousands of desert miles into a maze of lagoons, islands and swamps.
http://abcmail.net.au/t/561680/686964/10934/0/
THE NEW INVENTORS
ABC1, 8:00pm Wednesday, 15 July 2009 & ABC2, 4:30pm Friday 17 July 2009
Featuring new ideas on how to increase security for online shopping and banking; dry dock your boat without it ever leaving the water; and preventing people from falling through manholes on construction sites.
http://abcmail.net.au/t/561680/686964/1151/0/
CATALYST
ABC1, 8:00pm Thursday, 16 July 2009 & ABC2, 5:30pm Friday, 17 July 2009
On 16th July 1969, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins blasted off in their spacecraft Apollo 11. Four days later Neil Armstrong took his first 'small step' on the surface of the moon and a 'great leap' for mankind. In this special episode Catalyst looks back at one of humanity's greatest achievements and discovers why the moon remains so scientifically significant.
http://abcmail.net.au/t/561680/686964/834/0/
FERAL PERIL
ABC1, 8:30pm Thursday, 16 July 2009
Tasmania is one of the world's last great wildlife havens but its struggling native species are under threat from a feral fox invasion. Or are they? There's some nasty business going down in Australia's island state. A feral intruder is on the loose. He's cunning, deadly and a master of stealth, so expert at flying under the radar that some believe he doesn't even exist. And the name of the villain is Vulpes Vulpes, the European Red Fox.
http://abcmail.net.au/t/561680/686964/10935/0/
BEN'S ZOO
ABC2, 8:00pm Wednesday, 15 July 2009
The race is on as the government inspector is about to arrive and Tony's maintenance team are working around the clock. If they fail the inspection all their efforts to save the park will have failed.
http://abcmail.net.au/t/561680/686964/10936/0/
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