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To raise awareness of insects as a nutritious and sustainable protein source, food science researcher Ruchita Kavle is adding them to ice cream. At the recent International Science Festival in Dunedin, Ruchita presented ice cream made with cricket powder from Auckland company Eat Crawlers and locusts from Otago Locusts.
The New Zealand International Science Festival kicks off one week from today and one of this year's marquee events is the Sci Fight Science Comedy Debate.
Scifest director Jerome Cousins previews this year's festival of almost 100 events This show was broadcast on OAR 105.4FM Dunedin - oar.org.nz
Dare to know! Between 1-10 November 2022 Berlin has turned into the worldwide capital of scientific exchange and collaboration, with a diverse programme of more than 200 in-person and online events. Every year we can feel that heartbeat of the festival on the campus - Museum für Naturkunde Berlin - which creates the space for “lively debates, controversial discussions, fruitful conversations and enriching encounters”. This time we had a chance to be part of this huge event and prepare for you a nice insight into the international scientific community. Let's have a look and give yourself a tour guided by Martyna Dziakowicz
INTROThis week we're talking about finding the fountain of youth, sending nudes into space and listening to black holes. Also, Richard Dawkins on what we should tell the aliens, and Douglas Murray chats with Sam Harris and Michael Shermer.1. Finding the Fountain Of YouthIt's hard to accept that you're ageing. Just look at Madonna's recent Instagram and TikTok escapades.While plastic surgery and smoking blunts may make her APPEAR younger, as we know, ageing comes from the inside- it is the accumulation of molecular and cellular damage over time.Most people just accept that ageing is a part of nature, but more and more scientists, in particular, our mate David Sinclair, are showing that ageing can, and SHOULD, be avoided.In a recent talk led by Brian Greene at the World Science Festival, David explains that ageing is like scratches on a CD. The song data is still there- it's just not able to be read due to damage. Buff out the scratches and the sound will play well just like before.Ok, maybe that's putting it a bit simply, so make sure you go and watch the video for yourself.Also, check out David's book Lifespan at the link in our bio, where you can also grab tickets to see the string theorist and founder of the World Science Festival, Professor Brian Greene, live in conversation!2. Space nudesTwo words: SPACE NUDES.You heard right, NASA plans to beam an image of two humans waving in their birthday suits into space, in the hope that this could attract the attention of extraterrestrials.Along with the Adam & Eve cartoon, there will be a drawing of the DNA double helix, and an image of an object falling, depicting Earth's gravity.The images will come with an invitation to respond, all written in binary code, which the scientists think might be a universal language understood by all intelligent life forms.The message will also include information about Earth's location, which has some people worried. What about if the aliens are hostile and use this info to damage Earth?To be fair, this isn't the first time we've sent images of nude humans into space- the Pioneer plaques sent in 1972 and 1973 also had some naked folk. Granted, it was the 70s, and pretty much everyone was naked all the time!I wanna know, if you had to explain Earth to aliens in just three images, what would they be? Let us know in the comments.3. Richard Dawkins newsCalling all Richard Dawkins fans: we've got two pieces of new content you can't miss.First up, Dawko recently opened the International Science Festival in Gothenburg, Sweden. He gave a fascinating speech called “What Shall We Tell the Aliens?”.Don't get it twisted, Dawko doesn't believe we are going to meet aliens, but he does make another bold claim: he says that if aliens DO exist, he believes they will also be a product of Darwinian selection. How wild is that!?Secondly, don't miss an excerpt from his latest book, Flights of Fancy, published in Quillette last week. In it he talks about why many animals shed their wings.For example, did you know that worker ants can sprout wings, but don't? And that ant and termite queens bite off their wings after mating?And what about flightless birds such as penguins, what's the point of having wings if you can't fly!?Evolution can explain why, but you'll have to read the article to find out.Don't forget we're running our Evolutionary Biology course again at Think Inc. Academy, sign up for the waitlist at the link in our bio.4. Douglas Murray newsDouglas Murray has been a very busy man! His latest book The War on The West: How to Prevail in the Age of Unreason was JUST published a few weeks ago.In his book, Douglas argues that the West is self-cannibalising! We are so critical of our own “sins”, but don't criticise the sins of other societies.This latest book follows on from The Madness of Crowds and The Strange Death of Europe, which we have a SIGNED copy of in our shop.Before you get your hands on a copy, you can listen to Douglas speak on the Michael Shermer Show. Michael describes Douglas as the Christopher Hitchens of our time!It's true that Douglas, just like Hitch, is a fiery social and political commentator who isn't afraid of diving head first into the “culture war” debate.Douglas also went on the Making Sense podcast with our mate Sam Harris- it's also worth a listen.5. Black hole soundsDon't listen to this if you get freaked out easily.This ghostly howl is what it sounds like when x-ray light bounces around inside a black hole.Despite the name, black holes actually emit some light, and it's all thanks to their diet.They gobble up matter around them, usually gas and dust from orbiting stars, and a bit like a sparkly fart, they emit x-ray light that makes a sound.Yeah- you know that thing about space being silent? That's a myth! Just because space is a vacuum, it doesn't mean there's no sound.Actually, galaxy clusters are full of gas that provides a medium for sound waves to travel along.These recent sound waves were picked up by NASA's Chandra X-Ray in the Perseus black hole. Scientists from MIT ran the data through a tool called the Reverberation Machine- which is also a great name for a psychedelic rock band!The machine spat out this creepy tune, which the scientists resynthesized to make it audible for the human ear. We can't wait to see what other remixes they release!Keen to learn more about black holes? Sign up to our Cosmology course with Professor Alan Duffy at the link in our bio!OUTROThat's all for this week- I hope you learned something cool! Make sure you sign up to our newsletter for specials on our upcoming shows and Think Inc. Academy courses- Just head to the link in our bio.Until next time, take care.
NZ International Science FestivalAlex Wilson and Abby Howells preview the Big Science Show and Bang!
Festival Director Dan Hendra previews this year's festival ahead of the launch of the full programme
NZ International Science festival - Tamlyn Somerford from NZ Marine Science Centre introduces a range of Dunedin seaside walks as part of the Nano Edition on NZISF
In today’s episode, I talk to one of my College professors and recent Fulbright U.S. Scholar Grant recipient Dr. Nora Madison. Dr. Madison, or Nora as I’m allowed to call her has a PhD in Communication, Culture & Media from Drexel University and has presented her research around the world, including an invited talk at Sweden’s International Science Festival in 2013. In 2015 she was invited to the White House to participate in a policy briefing focused on the cultural and material needs of the American bisexual community as a part of the White House's LGBT initiative under the Obama administration.Nora is currently working on a new book called Everyday Activism: Technologies of Resistance together with co-author and husband Mathias Klang, and is scheduled for publication in June 2020. She is obviously very smart, and I was lucky to get some time to discuss some things I’ve been pondering on lately.We talk about our dependency on technology, social media, and entertainment. We discuss Neil Postman’s famous and somewhat controversial book, “Amusing Ourselves to Death. But don’t worry, having read the book is definitely not a requirement for listening to this conversation. The book is a couple of years old and is about television’s negative effects on public discourse, but a lot of the same arguments can be extended to social media, technology, and its effect on society today. We also discuss social media companies’ presence in our lives and their role in shaping public discourse, fake news, how we can be more media literate and much more. This was a very interesting conversation and I know you’ll think so too.If you want to reach out to Nora or read any of her research check out her website, noramadison.net.Don’t forget to rate, comment, and share this podcast with your family and friends. With enough support, I’ll hopefully never have to start looking for a real job. Thank you so much for listening and I hope you enjoy this talk with Dr. Nora Madison.
Humans seem programmed to appreciate beauty - whether that’s an attractive face, a glorious sunset, or a stirring piece of music. Of course, our individual tastes are all different, and culture plays a huge part too - but why are we so struck by whatever it is we find beautiful? What is that pleasurable sensation we get when we see or hear something we like? And has the ability to appreciate beauty given us any evolutionary advantages? In a special edition of CrowdScience from the International Science Festival in Gothenburg, Sweden, we are joined by a panel of experts to explore how far science can explain the mystery of beauty. We look to biology, the brain, art and mathematics, to see how patterns, rhythms and symmetry contribute to our experience of beauty. And we ask whether machines can recognise or ‘appreciate’ beauty – and to what extent artificial intelligence is starting to confuse or influence what we think of as beautiful. Presenter: Marnie Chesterton Producer: Cathy Edwards Photo: A peacock. Credit: Getty Images/bobbieo
A humanoid robot called Nao and tiny bristlebot robots charmed kids at the International Science Festival in Dunedin, and using pyrolosis to make biofuels from sawdust.
A humanoid robot called Nao, and swarms of bio-inspired little robots that behave like social insects, wowed crowds at Dunedin's International Science Festival.
A humanoid robot called Nao, and swarms of bio-inspired little robots that behave like social insects, wowed crowds at Dunedin's International Science Festival.
A humanoid robot called Nao and tiny bristlebot robots charmed kids at the International Science Festival in Dunedin, and using pyrolosis to make biofuels from sawdust.
Dan Hendra (on the 2018 New Zealand International Science Festival) Interview by Chris Armstrong on Radio One 91fm Dunedin
Dan Hendra (on the 2018 New Zealand International Science Festival) Interview by Chris Armstrong on Radio One 91fm Dunedin
On Wednesday, April 12, 2017, Transmission Podcast hosted a live show in Edinburgh, Scotland as part of the Edinburgh international Science Festival in the theatre at the National Museum of Scotland. We spoke with returning guests Doctors Beth Biller, Duncan Forgan, Pippa Goldschmidt, and new guest William Taylor, who is also based at the Royal Observatory at the University of Edinburgh. The Edinburgh International Science Festival, founded in 1989, is an educational charity that aims to inspire people of all ages and backgrounds to discover the world around them. The two-week festival gives audiences amazing experiences through a diverse programme of innovative events.We offer our special Thanks to Amanda Tyndall, the Creative Director of the festival for inviting us to take part.
Year-6 students Ava Beens and Eilish Cassidy take part in the 2016 International Science Festival in Dunedin, and give a 2-minute speech on what inspires them about science.
Year-6 students Ava Beens and Eilish Cassidy take part in the 2016 International Science Festival in Dunedin, and give a 2-minute speech on what inspires them about science.
As part of the 2016 International Science Festival in Dunedin, teenager Corey Symon was gifted a 3D-printed bionic arm by Limbitless Solutions.
As part of the 2016 International Science Festival in Dunedin, teenager Corey Symon was gifted a 3D-printed bionic arm by Limbitless Solutions.
As part of the 2012 International Science Festival the University of Otago shows you the excitement of science at their expo.This took place in hte Link, in early July 2012
As part of the 2012 International Science Festival the University of Otago shows you the excitement of science at their expo.This took place in hte Link, in early July 2012
What is life in space really like? Take an exclusive look inside a space shuttle, experience life on a space station. Current NASA astronaut Stephanie Wilson mission specialist is a veteran of three space flights totalling 42 days in orbit. She’ll be reflecting on the technical accomplishments of her career to date and the colourful details of life in space. Talk given as part of the International Science Festival 2012 on the 4th of July.
What is life in space really like? Take an exclusive look inside a space shuttle, experience life on a space station. Current NASA astronaut Stephanie Wilson mission specialist is a veteran of three space flights totalling 42 days in orbit. She’ll be reflecting on the technical accomplishments of her career to date and the colourful details of life in space. Talk given as part of the International Science Festival 2012 on the 4th of July.
Dr Katie Stopher tells us about infidelity in red deer and Dr Ben Longdon explains how viruses jump between hosts. We hear about the work of the University Press Office with Catriona Kelly and get some laughs with Bright Club Edinburgh.
Paul sharp sheds new light on the origins of the Malaria parasite, Patrick Walsh explains whats what we can learn from observing nest building in weaver birds, and we talk to the producer of the Nature Medicine podcast, who some listeners might just recognise.
Judy Allen sheds new light on Inflammation, BioPOD visits the Edinburgh International Science Festival, and Dan Nussey tells of his research trip to St Kilda in Science on the Road. Plus Biology World News Round Up, and PHD in the pub.
As part of the 2010 International Science Festival the University of Otago shows you the excitement of science at their expo – let “Otago Feed your Mind”.