Up and Atom

Why are opossums immune to snake bites? And what's the deal with tasting stuff? Dr Alice Williamson joined Ruby Miles to answer some of these pressing questions.

Dr Alice Williamson came into the studio to tell us about dinosaur dandruff and the asteroid that wiped them out.

Dr. Alice Williamson joined us to confirm our greatest fear (hand driers are spraying poop onto our fingers), and to teach us about green blooded lizards.

Dr Alice Williamson joined Ruby to talk all things brains. We learned that Google DeepMind has developed an internal satnav (all by itself?!), and about Neanderthal brains that are being grown in petri dishes.

Dr. Alice Williamson has finally returned so we can bask in her sciencey glory. It's not all good news though. We talked flesh eating ulcers, and the people who search the sea floor for medicine.

Dr. Alice Williamson is still out of sorts, so Tom Gordon joined us to talk protein caps on DNA and special plastic.

Dr. Alice Williamson is recovering, so our backup scientist Tom Gordon swooped in to save the day. He told us all about a spacecraft on the hunt for alien planets, and tiny robots who can fix your cells from the inside.

We're cursed! Dr Alice Williamson tripped over some loose science on the floor and needed to call in from home. Luckily we still got our knowledge fix, learning about laser beam tweezers and their impact on quantum computers.

Dr Alice Williamson returns to the studio to talk wasp drumming and seriously killer whales.

Tom Gordon joined us for a second week to talk the physics of ball tampering and meat grown in petri dishes.

Dr. Alice Williamson is taking the week off, so Ruby was joined by Tom Gordon, who talked Pi Day, the speed of galaxy's rotations, and batteries that run on water.

Dr. Alice Williamson joined Ruby to talk (potentially) Alzheimers curing light, and how polar bear fur can make bunnies invisible.

Dr. Alice Williamson is joined by Chemistry PhD candidate Kate Leslie for this International Women's Day special to talk fluorescent dye in cells and the end of cervical cancer.

Dr Alice Williamson is making science cool again with this chilly Winter Olympics Special. She talks plastic ice and quintuple spins on Up For It with Ruby Miles.

Dr Alice Williamson joined Ruby today, and we learned that magpies in larger groups are smarter, ecologists are planting prairies in our cities, and that somewhere out there is the loneliest frog in the world. http://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2018-02-08/australian-magpie-brain-power-boosted-by-group-size/9401674 https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2018/02/vacant-lot-ecological-experiments/552746/ http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-43004367

Dr Alice Williamson discussed Australian of the Year, quantum physicist Michelle Simmons, and talked jogging apps revealing secret US army bases. http://theconversation.com/award-to-michelle-simmons-reflects-strategic-importance-of-quantum-physics-for-australia-90759https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jan/28/fitness-tracking-app-gives-away-location-of-secret-us-army-bases

Dr Alice Williamson joins Ruby once again to talk bacteria that make gold nuggets, and how gamblers 600 years ago decided to make dice fair.

Dr Alice Williamson joined Ruby this morning to talk fire starting birds and a machine the size of a pill that could change diagnostic medicine as we know it.

Lucy Smith is officially wrapping up her time as host of Up For It, making way for a new presenter in 2018 after an incredible two years behind the mic. On her final edition of Up and Atom, Dr Alice Williamson quite literally put her to the test, submitting Lucy to her first science quiz since high school while recapping the biggest science stories covered on Up and Atom over the past year. Questions ranged from why Western Australians were asked to collect as many cane toads as possible, to who was awarded the 2017 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, and when the first-ever sighting of a gravitational wave event using conventional telescopes was. While Lucy may be moving on, Dr Alice will be back with more science in 2018.

Dr Alice Williamson brought in some amazing science news this week about early earthquake detection that measures fluctuations in gravity signals, as well as the lowdown on some research that might just disprove the existence of the abominable snowman.

Dr Alice Williamson joined Lucy to share some personal memories sparked by specific smells, because one of our science stories this morning is about the research being done to categorise, measure, and quantify smells. They also talked about the 'daversity' problem in Australian science that sees men being given far more grants than women. Research shows these men are also mostly only working with other men, which makes it even tougher for women in science. Also, most of them are called Dave.

Lucy quizzed Dr Alice Williamson today on some pest control news out of New Zealand, where scientists and conservationists are examining the potential for the use of gene editing techniques like CRISPR to eradicate rats and other invasive species from the country. They also looked internally at the mechanics of the human brain, after revelations that our brain processes sound in an alternating way, reminiscient of strobes.

Our globe-trotting scientist Dr Alice Williamson is back in the country once more, and she dropped by the studio to give Lucy the low down on two amazing new pieces of science news. Scientists have managed to grown a genetically modified replacement skin for a 7 year old boy in Syria, and a reversible material is being developed that'll keep you warm one way, and cool if you turn it inside out.

Dr Alice Williamson joins us again in the FBi Studio to bring us all the news of exciting developments in the world of chemistry and the Nobel prize for Chemistry's impacts. We also found out the origin of athletes biting their gold medals, gold's properties and uses.

Tom Gordon joins Lucy Smith for Up and Atom! this week to bring us exciting news on Australia's space embassy. One small step for man, one giant leap for all Aussie kind! We also discussed the 'pee-search' suggesting boys are better than girls at physics as they learn from a young age to pee standing up.

Bill Nye is going to save the world, but can he save Australia too? Joined by Dr Alice Williamson, Bill shares with us how Australia is a corner stone in scientific discoveries. Listen in and get inspired!

Dr Alice Williamson joins Lucy Smith, bringing us all the latest in gene-editing research of wheat and gluten. Big news for coeliacs and those of us who are gluten intolerant! Cake for all!

Dr Alice Williamson joined Lucy Smith over the phone today to bring us gigantic updates on tiny robots. These molecular robotic advancements may seem straight out of a Sci-Fi story but they could mean huge news for us.

Filling in for Dr Alice Williamson this week was Dr Bish Marzook, who shared with us two stories from the Ig Noble Prize: Cats - solid or liquid? and the best way to save yourself from a coffee spilling catastrophe. We also got an update on some Sawfish wearing fit bits in WA.

Celebrating FBi Radio's 14th birthday, Up and Atom was all old-school science news this week! Alice and Lucy talked about a bunch of the most interesting breakthroughs and events of 2003 - revelations in dark matter, the Columbia Space Shuttle disaster, and the first time embryonic stem cells were turned into eggs. Oh, and the introduction of camera phones and iTunes!

Dr Alice Williamson is riding the Sydney Science Festival wave at the moment, and she had a couple of huge stories for Lucy this morning. Scientists have worked out how and why goldfish are using alcohol to survive icy winters (yes, really), and thanks to some big advances in gene editing, we may be one step closer to transplanting pig organs into humans and saving thousands of lives.

With the Sydney Science Festival and National Science Week upon us, Dr Alice Williamson filled Lucy in on some amazing research from two women killing it in Australian science. Professor Shari Forbes is a forensic chemist and professor at UTS, and she's the lead researcher and coordinator of Australia's first body farm, where she's studing human decomposition and capturing the smell of death. She's presenting a keynote called Cracking the World of Forensics for the Sydney Science Festival.  Masters student and Kamilaroi woman Karlie Noon is the first Indigenous person on the East coast of Australia to attain degrees in mathematics and physics. She's currently studying a joint Masters of Astronomy and Astrophysics (Advanced), and on top of that is doing research into weather predictions used by Indigenous Australians with Indigenous astronomer, Duane Hamacher. In particular, she's been looking at moon haloes, how they've been used for centuries to predict storms, and how modern science backs it all up. She's giving a keynote address at Indigenous Sciences: A Second Symposium... of Sorts.

Back in Sydney and fully recovered from Splendour in the Grass, Dr Alice Williamson brought some hot science goss to the studio this morning, with the news that some incredibly interesting signs of life have been discovered on Titan, one of Saturn's many moons. She also told Lucy all about the surprising uses for slug slime, which has inspired some potentially lifesaving medical glue.

Lucy was sick this morning, so Ted Dwyer filled in, and he and Alice talked all about how scientists have managed to store a piece of video within a section of DNA. Sticking with incredible achievements, they also discussed the amazing impact of Maryam Mirzakhani, an Iranian mathematician who passed away a few days ago at just 40 years of age. She was a ground-breaking mathematician who was the first woman to ever win the prestigious Fields Medal - maths’ Nobel Prize equivalent.

Frog’s legs for brekky? Not quite, but Alice and Lucy did talk all about the amazing new finding that frogs may have been the first lifeforms on Earth to have developed kneecaps. It’s early days for the research, but as it develops it may have an interesting impact on our theory of evolution! Going back to the realm of humans though, Alice and Lucy also looked at the news that an antibiotic used to treat a rare, deadly lung disease could actually be a lifesaver for adults with severe asthma.

It turns out that musos are kinda attractive in the bird world too, you guys! Lucy and Alice broke down the habits of cockatoos this morning on Up and Atom, more specifically, their talent for drumming and how that helps them attract a mate. Keeping the bird theme going, they also looked into why the heck eggs are shaped the way they are. Eggcellent.

Meow! Alice and Lucy got catty on Up and Atom this morning, looking into how the domesticated cat managed to spread itself to every corner of the globe, and in particular where the tabby cat got its markings. They also moved to the backseat to talk about driverless cars, and how they're actually struggling to get them to work down under because of the bizarre way that kangaroos move (and their propensity for causing car accidents).

Sorry, but is it cool if we talk science for a sec? Alice had a hot tip for Lucy this morning that apologising a lot may have actually have a stack of benefits for your health and for the way you're perceived - so if you feel like you maybe you apologise a little too much, chill out! They also looked across the ditch at the potential discovery of the location of the long-lost eighth natural wonder of the world, the pink and white steps of Lake Rotomahana.

Alice joined Lucy once again to explain why our emotions go haywire when we have a sneaky pash with someone, and that the human race might be much older than we thought thanks to a new discovery in Morocco.

Alice Williamson couldn't make it this week, so University of Sydney Science Communicator Tom Gordon joined Lucy in the studio to discuss the politics of climate change (given Trump's decision to pull the USA out of the Paris Agreement), and the revolutionary new ideas in our theory of gravity - gravitational waves.

Lucy was a little under the weather today, so The Bridge's Lachlan Wyllie jumped behind the mic to fill in. Lachlan and Alice looked into game theory, more specifically, the idea that maybe you should be starting to charge your mates for the privilege of borrowing your stuff. They also talked about the implications of an exciting new experiment involving space sperm - scientists have successfully bred mice from freeze-dried sperm kept on board the International Space Station for about nine months. #interstellarsteak

Lucy and Alice talked about global doomsday prep this morning after the news that the Arctic stronghold designed to protect a massive stockpile of the world's seeds and ensure humanity's food supply forever was flooded with melted permafrost. Keeping things focused on keeping the human race alive, they also talked fertitlity, because a recent study has shown that an old-school method of flushing out fallopian tubes with poppy seed oil can actually boost fertility by getting rid of blockages that stop eggs moving into the uterus.