Shirtloads of Science

Two decades in and the 21st century being swarmed by digital services - both wanted and unwanted. Dr Karl discusses how we've got here - and where we're going with AI expert, Dean Blumenstein from UTS Sydney. When deep neural networks have lifetimes of human learning inside, Are we heading towards a safer space ?

Meet Rebecca Whittle, an Australian Teenage Gold medallist in the 2018 Science Olympics. Rebecca was part of a four-member team representing us at the International Earth Science Olympiad. While sports dominate media, it is brain power that will provide for our future. Discover more and the games set for Adelaide in 2019. asi.edu.au amt.edu.au https://www.facebook.com/AustralianScienceOlympiads

An aspiring space diplomat tries to determine space law using the Antarctic Treaty. Both were set in the Cold War but the times have changed. Compare and contrast with Dr Karl and Annie.

Is the ultimate cleaning compound a human byproduct ? What if Evolution was part of an experiment ? Can a Virus kill Bacteria ? Plus Dr Karl reports on his recent visit to Mongolia.

Dr Karl & Dr Alice bring you some of 2018's remarkable innovations. A process that transformed manufacturing and surgery, the "Deborah" Number and why a team of researchers went to a Post Office to investigate Male Erectile Disfunction. https://twitter.com/DoctorKarl

7% of the listeners to this podcast will be affected by attacks of lower back pain. For both men and women it is a debilitating condition. Worse still, some prescriptions result in death. Professor Chris Maher challenged orthodoxy in a 2018 Lancet article with a set of treatment guidelines. Dr Karl helps decode the article for you. https://www.nps.org.au/ http://sydney.edu.au/medicine/people/academics/profiles/christopher.maher.php

You are qualified and experienced. An invitation comes to speak at an international conference. Your research questions 30+ years of practice. Which path do you choose ? You know most of your audience will walk away disappointed. If you're Prof Chris Maher you follow both the Scientific Method and Hippocratic Oath. Is it evidence based ? Is it subject to independent testing ? Does the practice harm patients ? That day Ergonometrists walked away unhappy but it was a victory for patients in pain. Dr Karl and Prof Chris Maher discuss the day ergonomics took a dive. http://sydney.edu.au/medicine/people/academics/profiles/christopher.maher.php

Obesity, Diabetes and Heart Disease are ruining the lives of otherwise healthy people. Many of us are at risk through uninformed choices. Doctor Karl consults dietitian Dr Kyra Sim and analytical chemist Dr Yvette D'Entremont for the latest. Did you know your lungs play a huge role in weight management ?

Eddie Woo is Head Teacher Mathematics at a government high school in Sydney, Australia - and a whole lot more. He is someone with a gift for teaching and is now internationally regarded for the lessons he posts online with his woo tube channel. https://misterwootube.com/

Kirsten Banks recently graduated from Sydney University. She has a deep passion for space and astronomy and writes on her twitter page "I won't be the next Brian Cox, I will be the first Kirsten Banks proud wirajuri woman ". Discover an entirely different view of the heavens from an Indigenous Australian. @astrokirsten

A.I. is already surrounding us. The internet, cars, courts, recruitment agencies. Already serious issues are surfacing. For instance removing prejudice is proving very difficult. The data sets we train our devices with are imprinting our own society back into the system. Author Ellen Broad leads Dr Karl inside the machine with her book "Made by Humans : The AI Condition". https://www.mup.com.au/books/made-by-humans-electronic-book-text

Inequality. How dangerous is it ? Are our democracies fair ? Author Tim Dunlop says even the Ancient Greeks didn't trust their democracy to popularity contests. They recognised human weakness and used alternatives. Tim also has a convincing explanation of how privatisation fails and why hope exists. Dr Karl and the future of everything with Tim Dunlop. https://www.newsouthbooks.com.au/books/future-everything/

Dr. Katerina Kimmorley co-founded Pollinate Energy, a solar startup, in Bangalore India. She's since helped expand that business to three more cities, cutting carbon and transforming lives. What drove her from Sydney to the the London School of Economics and the Clean Energy Finance Corporation ? Dr. Kimmorley tells Dr Karl - (and is at the Sydney Spark statup festival). https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/the-role-of-women-entrepreneurs-in-tackling-climate-change-tickets-49158532494 http://sparkfestival.co/program/#

Two Polymaths share stories from the past few Millennia. Bill reveals his DNA profile and links to European History. Karl on Empires and psychopaths. Who said the week should be 7 days long ? How Unready was Ethelred ? Many of Bill Baileys tour dates are sold out. Dr Karl had Laryngitis at the time of recording and has recovered.

They're 300 million years old. They're almost invisible and they are deadly. Cubozoa, Box jellyfish or Irukandji, are both the smallest and the most venomous jellyfish in the world. There are more than 50 species and Dr Karl joins Lisa-ann Gershwin on her hunt for more. When Box jellyfish fire their stingers, the pain and other symptoms are collectively known as Irukandji syndrome and it can kill. But something as thin as pantyhose can save your life - how does that work ? http://lisagershwin.com

What careers open up for Physics graduates? What if you add a PhD in Chemistry? Meet Sydney University graduate Dr Michelle Deaker talking with Dr Karl about her journey. She started with some entrepreneurial spirit and then added an eye for opportunity. Dr Michelle turns research and ideas into products and then takes them to market. Her Australian venture capital portfolio includes a world-leading vaccine Nanopatch, a watch for tracking dementia patients and a new diagnostic in oncology. Got a new idea for Dr Michelle ? one-ventures.com.au

Longitude was maritime history's greatest scientific breakthrough. Dr Karl discovers why with Kevin Sumption and James Hunter from the Australian National Maritime Museum in Sydney. What connects Lieutenant James Cook to the early computers ? Extraordinary nautical tables and accurate clocks. From these innovations space exploration was possible. (from 2016)

The original "AI" could be Avian - and from Australia. Professor Gisela Kaplan with Dr Karl of her research on why Australian birds are smarter than their Northern cousins. NOTE = Professor Kaplan is highly qualified with vast experience treating wild birds. Do NOT attempt her methods at home. The talons of birds of prey can result in serious injury.

A dietary study in Europe reveals a connection between processed foods (and drinks) and cancers. 8 years of research they tried to eliminate factors such as socioeconomic and diet preferences from the data but the link remains strong. What does it mean for you ? Doctor Karl and Professor Claire Collins discuss. https://theconversation.com/research-check-will-eating-ultra-processed-foods-give-you-cancer-91984

Three Cases cracked by Three Doctors. From Floppy Hats, to Firebirds, The Dark Knight and the Broken Escalator Phenomenon. Doctor Karl is joined by Alice and Jessica as the explore the science behind three observed phenomena. The fire carrying birds of Northern Australia, the dark orbiter that will not die and why people brace themselves when there is no apparent danger. (from 2017)

Dr Karl and Dr Helen - talking about .World's longest echo, how to photograph the molecules inside an explosion, Oceans, Coffee rings and climate change. Physics today is "messy" and "complex" and she loves it. (from 2017)

Meet Dr. Marlene Kanga, president of an international governing body looking after 2 million engineers. Our future depends on innovation. The creative application process is what Engineering is all about. She talks with Dr Karl of the value Engineers bring to society, which areas attract female engineers, and what Australia can do to catch up with other leading nations.

So you want to solve the Dark Energy conundrum ? Then you need to be patient. It'll be clumpy, relativistic and you'll be seeing double at times. It will take you to Chile and Germany. Dr Karl explores Dr Lewis's quest for a universal holy grail.

95 % of diets fail. By middle age you will try over 60 diets and 19 times out of 20 you will not lose weight. Australia is now the 5th fattest nation on earth (ahead of the UK). Join Dr Karl & Dr Fuller from Sydney University and a plan that is friendly to the human condition . Fad diets will fail. On average we will spend more than 30 years on diets during our lifetime. With a $60 billion weight loss industry, do they really want you succeed? www.intervalweightloss.com.au

Prof Geraint Lewis takes you back to the birth of our stars. He uses Optic fibres, Robotic observations, Grisms, Hermes and Galah. It all happens at the AAT using 2DF. All these terms are explained wonderfully. This is the art of looking at what's not there. (Warning this podcast may contain Backronyms).

Meet one hardworking Sydney Uni student, Vanessa Pirotta. She works with a boat and a drone. Off Sydney (and in Antarctic waters) she has developed a health profile of migrating whales without touching them. Whales have a 12 month gestation cycle. They synchronise with the seasons. From the tropics to the roaring 40's marine mammals have a story we must listen to.

When Nature magazine published the top 10 researchers of 2017 there was one Australian. A radio astronomer ? no. A paleontologist? no. She is a professor of Molecular Oncology working with the "the Post-Truth Initiative". Doctor Karl interviews our world leading researcher on how she beat fake science. "Seek and Blast" is the software she helped develop in her spare time. An uplifting story on beating the cheats.

Hypersonic space injection is different. It's fast like a Kangaroo, Air breathing like a lungfish and reusable like a keepcup. UQ's Professor Michael Smart takes Dr Karl through an Australian development that could jumpstart the space program downunder. It has been part of a research program spanning 30 years and Hypersonics could be ready to fly in 5 years says Professor Michael - (with an injection of money).

Dr Karl and Dietetics Professor Claire Collins measure popular weight-loss supplements against the scientific literature. She finds one supplement you could easily overdose on. She finds another that has only ever worked in Japan. How much actual evidence is there ? Save your money and Listen. Proven and affordable solutions are here.

Infrared Invisibility from Polar Bears, Secret Elephant Sounds and Tentacle Camouflage.

Before the Space Race there was a race to find and name new elements. Atom smashers and reactors were the tools to make new super-heavy metals - unknown on earth. Who leaked the announcement of two new radioactive elements on a Children's Quiz show ? Transfermium wars - What were they ? Who died getting Einsteinium ? Chemistry World journalist and author, Kit Chapman, tells Dr Karl about the people behind the unpronounceable names with big atomic numbers at the bottom of the table and the race that is still running.

Before the Space Race began there was a chemistry race - the hunt for new elements. The Russians may have organised the periodic table but it was the Americans that began filling in the blanks. These heavy elements could not be found in nature, you had to create them in cyclotrons and reactors. Chemistry World journalist and author, Kit Chapman, tells Dr Karl about the people behind the 20 or so unpronounceable names at the bottom of the table. In this podcast we count up from atomic number 93. Who wrote a personal letter to Stalin urging a soviet atomic program ? What was the Frankenstein-like moment in San Francisco (just before Pearl Harbour) that changed the war? Which superhero prompted the raid on the offices of DC Comics ?

Lose weight by drinking special Tea - that sounds easy... but is it good ? Dietetics professor Clare Collins, takes Dr Karl through seven Botanical tinctures that make this claim. Snake Oil or Science ? http://theconversation.com/science-or-snake-oil-do-skinny-teas-boost-weight-loss-87353 https://www.newcastle.edu.au/online-learning/moocs/the-science-of-weight-loss

The stars at night are only a fraction of what we know should be there. So where are all those missing bits from our universe? This is a lifelong quest for Professor James Green from Colorado University in Boulder. Since his student days, he has been designing payloads for NASA rockets (and the Hubble space telescope) looking at invisible stuff. So how do you see in the cold black soup of space? What is a Sounding Rocket? Why do Wimps beat Macho's ? These and many more questions are answered in Dr Karl's latest podcast.

What would a biohacked future look like ? What would stop Supervillians creating seceret labs ? Who polices the Cyborgs ? What is the controversial 5th pillar of biohacking ? Doctor Karl and Australia's most famous biohacker discuss.

Imagine visiting a doctor in the not too distant future. Afterwards she sends off data to a local gene lab to give your body a small upgrade. This is the world of biohacking. A place where biololgy is being controlled and shaped to our will - just like we have mastered computers. This episode bounces from In-Vivo to In-Silico and back again, visits the Last Universal Common Ancestor and involves a real human cyborg. Doctor Karl and Mr Meow Meow (Australia's most famous biohacker) explain this brave new world. Part One of a two part podcast.

Doctor Alice on Interstellar Chemistry. Doctor Karl answers the vital question "Do Fish Drink?". Dr Almost Jessica on where it is best to listen to podcasts. A Deep edition. The Shirtloads podcast Team back for 2018.

Doctor Karl takes the Healthy Eating Quiz followed by a dietary checkup with Professor Claire Collins. Have you tried being Flexetarian ? 24 minutes of simple, healthy, free and inspiring suggestions. For maximum effect take the quiz before the podcast and compare your score with the Doctors. healthyeatingquiz.com.au

From Floppy Hats, to Firebirds, The Dark Knight and the Broken Escalator Phenomenon. Doctor Karl is joined by Alice and Jessica as the explore the science behind three observed phenomena. The fire carrying birds of Northern Australia, the dark orbiter that will not die and why people brace themselves when there is no apparent danger.

Econobabble is an invented language that deliberately obscures what you think words describe. Words like "unemployment" and "subsidy" are simple at first glance. Wait till you find out what they really mean ! Are you wasting your time looking for certain jobs, investing your savings in the wrong place or voting against you best interests? Are your definitions up to date? 1962, William S. Burroughs suggested that language could be a virus in his book "The Ticket That Exploded". This 30 minute podcast might be the inoculation you've been looking for. Note: Statistics and examples are for illustrative purposes only. Some are out of date and possibly wrong. The interview was recorded this in late 2017 before the Queensland state election.

August 17 2017 will go down in in Astrophysics history . A LIGO event triggered a 50 telescope 24 hour 360 degree operation which yielded astronomy gold. Prof Tara Murphy was at ground zero when the results came in but she would have to be patient for the ripples to show up on Australian Radio Telescopes. In the data was the solution to a Cold war mystery. A compelling first hand account of a new frontier of discovery.

If every death was a good death, then euthenasia would be widespread. Today most countries ban it. Why? Professor Linda Shields has unearthed some of the reasons and they are within living memory. She is a Professor of Rural Health and has written of an under-reported genocide. One-third of a million disabled people (adults and children, male and female, physical and intellectual) were killed during the Nazi regime and the people who did that killing were nurses. Her book is Nurses and Midwives in Nazi Germany: The "Euthanasia Programs.

Dietitian, Care Collins gives Dr Karl a full 360 on a diet that is getting researchers pumped up. Imagine a menu that stimulated the blood brain barrier, made you think you were full early and might starve cancer cells. Sounds good but there are dangerous side effects in the long term. Ketogenic is a medical diet, is difficult to stick with and may actually have no long term weight loss benefits.

We are what we eat. Organic, low fat, pesticide-free, High Fibre ; Consumers pay extra for foods with health benefits like these. But when food is packaged, how do you know what is really inside ? Welcome to the world of Food Fraud. This Shirtloads podcast stars two British Scientists who have investigated and written about it in their book "Sorting the Beef from the Bull". Bio-Geo-Chemist Richard Evershead and Biologist Nicola Temple expose food criminals with forensic science. (first podcast in 2017)

Marine biologist, diver and author Dr Helen Scales takes Dr Karl deep beneath the waves to share her passion for the ocean. Helen talks about the secret life of molluscs (shellfish). Hear about 'clacking' oysters, the legend of the Golden Fleece (sea silk) and a creature resembling a pinecone crossbred with a slug. There's maths in the spirals, slave trading in the cowrie and just imagine a Harry Potter golden snitch of the sea… it's real and plays an incredibly important role.

Dr Karl and Dr Alice put their heads together to discuss the latest research into hairy leaves and burning plants? Dr Karl's amazing fruit and veggie classification system. What do killer kangaroos have to do with sleeping in an unfamiliar bed? And, if you talk to dogs (like Dr Alice does) there's an experiment you might just want to try. Listen up as two Doctors tackle these and more. (First Podcast in 2016)

Dr Michael has found some fascinating new applications and treatments using worms. From gut health, treating Coeliac disease and healing chronic wounds - there's relief to be found in our tubular friends. Join Dr Karl with Dr Michael Smout (from the Australian Institute of Tropical Health & Medicine) at James Cook University. If words like bile, kilodaltons and cysts put you off - stick with this - it's an uplifting tale of research that could make us feel a lot better.

Dr Karl takes up the challenge of saving the world . Joining him are fellow doctors Derek Muller and Petr Lebedev. All three are in the Science communication business. So how do we convince the world to act on climate change ?

The people of Madagascar have fascinating stories. Did you know the first settlers came from South East Asia ? That some of their traditions are almost 2,000 years old ? That 90% of Madagascan flora and fauna are found nowhere else on earth. Dr Karl and local guide Lala Harivelo takes us on a cultural tour of the world's 4th largest island.

Bill Nye is a household name in the United States. Former Engineer for Boeing, he has a real knack of explaining things. On the panel are Peter Lebedev (investigating how YouTube videos could be made better) and Tom Gordon from Sydney University (resident science communicator at the School of Physics). Clear and accurate communication is fundamental to Science. In 2017, how do you counter beliefs that are ultimately harmful to others and the world at large ? Fascinating discussion.