The Science Show - Separate stories podcast

When you think of leaders in the space sector, big hitters like NASA and private companies like SpaceX spring to mind.But since the very beginning of the Space Age, Australia has played a role in the space flight industry.And this year, an Australian company tried to launch a rocket from Australian soil.So why is Australia building and launching rockets at all, especially when so many nations are already miles ahead?You can binge more episodes of the Lab Notes podcast with science journalist and presenter Belinda Smith on the ABC Listen app (Australia). You'll find episodes on animal behaviour, human health, space exploration and so much more.

As The Science Show celebrates 50 years, we remember John Clarke's contributions to early Science Shows and point to a film just released looking at John's life, produced by his daughter Lorin.

Reactions in birds' eyes where proteins respond to the Earth's magnetic field may provide information for birds in flight.

Author Zoe Kean explores humans' place in the web of life uncovering evolutionary mysteries which carry the potential to offer humans a better life.

Report presents simple solutions to reduce food waste in hospitals and aged care facilities.

One in four Australians get hay fever, and as the planet warms, our seasonal sneezes and sniffles are tipped to get much, much worse. 

Every now and again, dozens or even hundreds of perfectly healthy looking whales strand themselves on a beach. Scientists have a few theories on why they do this. 

There are many examples in nature where sneaky behaviour wins over size, brutishness, or the best display. Other reproductive behaviours as seen in some spiders include self-sacrifice.

Anthropologist Anna-Zoë Herr explores how hope is not just a feeling, but a practice that helps us stay connected to what matters in uncertain times.

Sara Russell explains the latest theory of how complex molecules were formed in the outer reaches of the Solar System and made their way to planets in the inner Solar System including Earth.

Spring in the US brings distress to some. Which plants are the cause?

Short-form video rewards us quickly. Are we now unable to concentrate on anything longer?

Fresh Australian dietary guidelines are due next year, and they'll likely focus on the health of the planet as well as people.

Lynelle Johnson describes the benefits of electric powered outboard motors over petrol engines for watercraft.

Frog ID allow people to submit recordings of frogs. It has been running for 7 years and collected more than 1.3 million calls. Thirteen new species have been discovered.

In Birdsong of Tomorrow, Nathan takes a playful and heartfelt look at our rapidly changing environment and how birds use song to attract potential mates, to protect their territory, to warn and to teach.

This week a meteorite went through a roof in the USA and proved to be older than our 4.5 billion-year-old planet. Sara Russell describes how these precious relics are tracked and retrieved.

Targeting small atomic groups around genes shows promise in the treatment of genetic blood diseases.

Meat ants don't sound like the most endearing Australian animals. These purple-red insects are super territorial, swarming and biting anything that threatens their nest. But it turns out they're not just aggressive, flesh-tearing fighters. They're also farmers, architects, and — best of all — cane toad exterminators. 

Sara Russell leads a team interested in the formation of the Solar System and the formation and evolution of moons of the terrestrial planets.

Former editor Tim Mendham comments and give a history of scepticism in modern Australia.

Harris hawks are used at sporting events and major tourist sites such as Venice to keep pigeons away.

Cuts are widespread across US science and research impacting climate monitoring. Understanding how climate is changing is vital if we are to have any hope in reducing our impact and preparing for a changing world.

Peter Bernhardt takes us back in time to the trial as told by Brenda Wineapple in her book Keeping the Faith – God, Democracy and the trial that riveted a nation.

It's impossible to escape microplastics. They're in our food and water, and the air around us is teeming with them.So considering they're all around us, how can we minimise our exposure to tiny plastic fragments without resorting to living in a cave?

In this 50th year of The Science Show we celebrate yet another of the program's idols and regular guests, science writer Tim Radford.

Zac Picker is searching for physical impacts of dark matter as evidence of its existence. 

Music is being used at Melbourne's Royal Children's Hospital to bring serenity and a sense of calm to patients, family, and medical staff.

With no flood plain, river water in Passau can rise high and quickly threatening people and property. And when the water rises, students in the university town come together for swift community action.

Matthew England is studying global changes in ocean heat and circulation. The AMOC - the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation is showing signs of slowing, and as it does, impacts are being felt across the globe.

It feels like you can't go a week without hearing about some new quantum technology which promises to change our lives for the better. But quantum mechanics is already well and truly present in our daily life — and you don't even have to be a physicist to be using it. 

Peter Rose has been editor of Australian Book Review for 24 years. As he retires, a scientific writing fellowship at ABR has been launched.

Shelby Traynor traces the birth and irresistible growth of the quantum revolution.

The Blue Planet Prize is presented by the Asahi Glass Foundation of Japan for outstanding achievement in helping provide solutions to global environmental problems.

Animals play crucial roles in ecosystems and are being lost to fire on a massive scale. Resse Halter reports on Canada's wildfires.

If you've given birth to three daughters, what are the odds that your next child will also be a girl?One in two, right? Well … maybe not.The odds of having a fourth girl could be a fair bit higher than 50 per cent, according to a new study into families with single-sex sets of siblings.

The Nullarbor barred bandicoot (Perameles papillon) was identified as a new species in 2018, despite being extinct for nearly a century. Until recently, all scientists had of the bandicoots were a handful of museum specimens and one black and white glass slide. Now two photographs of the species have been discovered at the University of Melbourne, revealing details about how the animals looked when they were alive. 

Electric scooter, humidicrib, fax machine, Olympic scoreboard — versions of all these inventions (and hundreds more) were created by a pair of brothers, Donald and Edward Both, in their South Australian workshop from the 1930s. 

A wave energy generator trial has been running at Albany on WA's south coast. Researchers say these offshore devices, if scaled up, could be a useful source of renewable power. 

We know that the warming world is devastating ecosystems, but it's not always because organisms are struggling. This is especially the case in the ocean, where different seaweed species can have very different reactions to changing conditions. 

A huge net, weighed down by heavy chains, swiftly sweeps across the ocean floor, scooping up everything in its path. This type of fishing, called bottom trawling, was illuminated in a new documentary, Ocean with David Attenborough. Bottom trawling is known for indiscriminately gathering all sorts of marine species, as well as damaging the sea floor. But with the practice producing around a quarter of the world's wild-caught seafood, are there ways to make it more sustainable? 

Getting blasted by a bolt from the heavens usually spells the end for trees, but some species not only survive these strikes, they thrive.