The Science Show - Full Program Podcast

Southern right whales (Eubalaena australis) were named by whalers because their high oil content made them the "right" ones to kill. In the decades since whaling was banned, southern right numbers increased — but a new study shows that population growth stalled, and might've dropped a bit, despite current numbers still far below what they were in pre-whaling times. So what's going on with the southern rights?

David Walker at UCLA says he can halt aging in fruit flies. Can the same concepts be applied to humans? And three tertiary students describe their combination of science and artistic pursuits.

Cobras, taipans, black mambas — Tim Friede's been intentionally bitten more than 200 times by some of the most venomous snakes on Earth. And he survived, mostly because years of self-injecting venom let him develop immunity to them. (Please do not try this yourself!) Now his blood's been used to make a broad-spectrum antivenom that researchers say may protect against nearly 20 deadly snakes. But this is not how antivenom is usually made. So how are snake antivenoms produced, and where are we with a "universal" version?

The Science Show gives Australians unique insights into the latest scientific research and debate.

Hate getting needles? You're in good company — one in five people in Australia have needle fear.

Sharks have survived 500 million years while mass extinctions have wiped out other species. Now, sharks are under threat.

Somewhere out past Mars in the early hours of Easter Monday, a space probe called Lucy whizzed by an asteroid named Donaldjohanson. Lucy then sent back images showing Donaldjohanson is about five kilometres wide and shaped like a peanut. It's one of a handful of asteroids on Lucy's 12-year itinerary. So what does the billion-dollar mission hope to achieve?

Palaeontology helps reveal why some animals are in desperate need of help while others thrive.

Gout Gout is fast becoming the face of Australian athletics, regularly clocking blisteringly quick times over 100- and 200-metre sprints. And he's only 17. Many think the best is yet to come. So what is it about Gout that makes him such an impressive sprinter at such a young age?

A protein in the immune system, DECTIN-1 - primarily responsible for defending the body against fungal infections, has been found to control the severity of autoimmune diseases such as irritable bowel disease (IBS), type 1 diabetes, eczema, and other chronic disorders.

We've been hearing a lot about a certain proposal to get nuclear power up and running in Australia, but little's been said about what happens when plants reach the end of their life. Decommissioning a single nuclear power plant can cost hundreds of millions of dollars and take decades. So what's involved, and why is the process so long and expensive?

Soils are too often neglected but caring for them brings many benefits for plant nutrition, human health and a boost for the farm economy.

Hearts, kidneys and now livers — over the past couple of years, surgeons have taken all these from gene-edited pigs and put them in people.

Nick Rowley reviews out progress towards net zero carbon emissions, Jared Diamond proposes mining the sea floor, and California’s legacy of Albert Einstein.

As far as planets go, they don't get much more iconic than Saturn. A huge golden ball encircled by gigantic rings. But those distinctive rings — the very things that give Saturn its pizzazz — have seemingly disappeared. So what’s going on, and when will they be back?

Lord Howe Island may appear an island paradise, but its ecology has been under intense pressure from invasive species such as rats and pigs. Now birds are being found with stomachs full of plastic.

They might be the epitome of cool, but Formula 1 race car drivers can get hot — really hot. An F1 cockpit can heat up to 60 degrees Celsius, and this affects cognition — the last thing you want when you're fanging around a track at 300kph. This year, a new rule was introduced to give F1 drivers a bit of relief from that heat … which is just one of the risks of F1 racing. Because we often hear about the performance of the cars in the race, but what about the humans behind the wheel?

80% of diseases are impacted by environment or lifestyle described as your exposome. Thomas Hartung expects information from studying the exposome will bring benefits on par with those brought by studying the human genome.

For women who get bacterial vaginosis or BV, a common condition that can cause a fishy-smelling discharge, many will get it again (and again). Why some people were prone to recurrent BV was a mystery … until now. Australian researchers have shown that BV-related bugs can be sexually transmitted, and treating male partners significantly cuts recurrence rates.

America’s top research institutions face an uncertain future.