SciBlogs

Episode 29: Getting a grip! John Kerr May 18

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We are getting to grips with nature on the Sciblogs podcast this week as we gain an insight into Japan’s tsunami recovery efforts, manipulate plastic to create tiny solar cells and use brain implants to control a robotic arm – and grip a cup of coffee!

tsunami-debris

Don’t forget to “like” Sciblogs on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

Click below to listen to the podcast…

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Show notes

Sciblogger Motoko Kakubayashi checks in from Japan

What to do with 20 million tons of debris – Motoko’s latest Sciblogs post on the Japanese earthquake

The Science Media Centre of Japan website

Shedding light on solar cells with Justin Hodgkiss

Dr Justin Hodgkiss’s staff page at Victoria University of Wellington

A Q&A with Justin on emerging scientists by colleague and Sciblogger’ Elf Eldridge (Just So Science)

Tetraplegics control robotic arm through brain implant

The BrainGate2 robotic arm case study, published this week in Nature

Acompanying ‘News & Views’ article in the journal

You can watch video of the system in action and further researcher interviews on the Science Media Centre website .

Find out more about the BrainGate project on the official website.

Journal Wrap

Life, death and coffee

Research article from the New England Journal of Medicine

Gaydar on the radar

Original article in PLoS ONE

Expert analysis from the Conversation

Googling cancer

Research article from PLoS Computational Biology

Related coverage

Inflammation thermostat

Original research in Disruptive Science & Technology

Media Release from the University of Pittsburgh

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Episode 28: the not-so-good oil Peter Griffin May 11

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bug_300x250The latest episode of the Sciblogs Podcast is out now, presented by Peter Griffin and produced by John Kerr.

On the Sciblogs Podcast this week we hear from Professor Chris Battershill on the environmental impact of the Rena oil spill, we check out an award winning documentary on Ecuador’s proposal to save its pristine rainforest from oil drilling in exchange for international cash and we catch up with the crowd-funded research efforts of infectious diseases researcher Dr Siouxsie Wiles.

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Show notes:

Professor Chris Battershilll’s University of Waikato home page.
A Wild Idea homepage and movie tralier.
Dr Siouxsie Wiles University of Auckland webpage
Siouxsie’s Sciblog – Infectious Thoughts
Siouxsie’s SciFund Challenge – Evolution in Action

Journal Wrap
Plastic problems in the Pacific
Research article published in Biology Letters
BBC News article
The Scripps Institute SEAPLEX project webpage
Living “against the clock” and obesity
Research article in Biology Letters
The Worldwide Experimental Platform
Prof Till Roenneberg explains social jet lag
Ice sheet instability
Research article in Nature
Research article in Nature Geoscience
Expert commentary from the Science Media Centre
The pleasure of self disclosure
Research article from PNAS
CBS News report

Siouxsie

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Episode 27: Clever endeavours Peter Griffin May 04

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This week’s show is an eclectic mix, taking you from the Swiss lab of cancer researcher Dr Chris Rodley to the Endeavour Crater on Mars where a robotic vehicle has identified evidence of water having existed there in the past.

Dr Chris Rodley

Dr Chris Rodley

In between, we talk innovation with Sciblogger Peter Kerr and bring you the best of the week’s published journal papers in the Journal Wrap.

Presented by Sciblogs editor Peter Griffin and produced by John Kerr

Follow us on Twitter: @sciblogsnz  and Facebook: www.facebook.com/sciblogs

Click below to listen to the podcast

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Show notes

Dr Chris Rodley

Massey University news article on Chris’s graduation

Kiwinet Commercialisation Forum

Kiwinet website

sticK, Peter Kerr’s sciblog

Postcards from Mars

Prof Raymond E Arvidson’s Washington University homepage

Article abstract for the paper on Opportunity-collected data in Science.

From the Journal Wrap

Wind turbines warm the night

Overview and expert commentary on the Science Media Centre website

Article abstract from Nature Climate Change

Tree grow better in cities?

Coverage on the New York Times Green blog.

News release from Columbia University Earth Institute

Article abstract from Tree Physiology

Garlic compound wards off food poisoning

Media release from Washington State University.

Article abstract from the Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy.

Blood analysed in Otzi’s ‘cold case’ murder

Overview of of the research on Livescience.com, with great photos

Article abstract from Journal of the Royal Society Interface

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Episode 26 – the future is up for grabs Peter Griffin Apr 27

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What a show for the re-launched Sciblogs podcast!

Steve-Wozniak

Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak

I talk to Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, the creator of the Apple I and the engineering genius to Steve Jobs’ design brilliance.

We catch up with futurist Mark Stevenson who was in Wellington recently as a “brain for hire”.

And I ask Sciblogger, Professor Shaun Hendy, what made the late Sir Paul Callaghan such a visionary science leader.

It’s a slightly longer bumper issue thanks to my exclusive interview with Steve Wozniak. Typically the podcast will clock in at under 30 minutes.

Click below to listen to the podcast:

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Show notes

The Woz

Steve Wozniak is coming to New Zealand next month for Woz Live his one-man seminar on the Apple story.

Also check out Woz’s personal website for a update on what he is up to.

My Listener piece on Steve Wozniak is out today (in the magzine) – read my other technology stories and columns here.

The Optimist

Mark Stevenson toured the world to research his book An Optimist’s Tour of the Future.

The League of Pragmatic Optimists is setting up a New Zealand chapter. Keep an eye on the website for details.

The Visionary

Professor Shaun Hendy blogs about innovation and science on Sciblogs at A Measure of Science

Sir Paul Callaghan’s Dominion Post obituary

Sir Paul’s presentation on improving New Zealand’s performance based on science and innovation.

The journal wrap

Adolescent health

Science Media Centre expert commentary and a summary of media coverage of the Lancet series on adolescent health.

The Lancet’s adolescent health series

Ice sheet melt

A news report on the Nature ice melt research.

The ice2sea research programme

DNA and violence

Expert commentary from the Science Media Centre on the DNA wear and tear research.

Abstract for Exposure to violence during childhood is associated with telomere erosion from 5 to 10 years of age: a longitudinal study

Berries and staving off cognitive decline

A Science Media Centre UK expert round-up on the research.

Abstract for the paper Dietary intakes of berries and flavonoids in relation to cognitive decline

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TOSP Episode 25: March 19th 2012 aimee whitcroft Mar 20

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This is a very special, and slightly sad, edition of TOSP.

In this episode, Elf and aimee bid farewell as hosts of TOSP. However, do not fear!  We’re passing it into the capable hands of Sciblogs Editor Peter Griffin, who will take it forward proudly from here.

We wanted to express to you, our listeners, how much we’ve enjoyed getting this show started.  As we discuss in the podcast, we’re leaving because there are other projects which demand our time (for Elf, it includes Chiasma, and for aimee, nerd nite* and the utterly-insane Mongol Rally) and both of us would like to return to our blogging proper-like, too :) And we love TOSP too much to let it die!

We also discuss some of the subjects for which our listeners should keep an eye, and an ear, out in the coming months. Peter will be covering these issues on TOSP, and if all goes well, we’ll still be doing guest spots and so forth, too! There may be an hiatus of one or two weeks before the NuTOSP is out, of course, but we’re confident you’ll still be there when the podcast gets back :)

Thanks again to everyone who made this possible, including Sciblogs and all the Scibloggers, the science community in general, and State Shirt and Rhian Sheehan for the use of their music in the intros and outros.

Enjoy, and remember: Stay Curious!

PODCAST HERE

[Did you know you can rate us on iTunes?]

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* She’s the founder/host of the only Southern Hemisphere chapter of nerd nite – nerd nite Wellington – and is always looking for speakers!

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Of course, if you’re interested in the subjects we might have covered this week, the pearltree for this episode is here, pearltree for all TOSP episodes is here. And there’s a pearltrees app for those of you with iPads/iphones. You can also follow these posts by RSS here, or you can follow the podcast on iTunes!

You can find this podcast on New Zealand’s very own Ziln TV (which feeds through to services like Sony TV). Additionally, we have a Youtube Channel – Sciblogs Podcast – which gets updated weekly, too.

Please contact us with feedback, comments, questions and suggestions!

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TOSP Episode 24: March 12th 2012 aimee whitcroft Mar 15

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Greetings again, fine TOSPers!

Apologies for the delay – a host of computer and time-related issues have delayed us a little. But here we are!

This week, Elf and aimee talk many things atom/molecule-related, and some other pretty cool stuff, too :) Specifically, we look at anti-atoms and the new science of anti-matter spectroscopy,greater-than-100%-efficient LEDs, the Tevatron’s Higgs research, the first images of atoms moving in molecules, solar storms, the QWERTY effect, and for our Sciblogs posts, we’re looking at hwther fMRIs can tell truth from lie, and how much sleep we need.

Enjoy, and remember: Stay Curious!

PODCAST HERE

[Did you know you can rate us on iTunes?]

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Whizz for anti-atoms!

Futures in BioTech

LED’s efficiency exceeds 100%

Tevatron experiments see possible signs of the Higgs boson in favored region

The First-Ever Images of Atoms Moving Inside a Molecule

Strong solar storm heading for Earth

The QWERTY Effect: How Typing May Shape the Meaning of Words

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Sciblogs

Truth or lie? Can MRI help scientists read our minds?

The (supposed) myth of the 8-hour sleep

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Events

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Pearltree for this episode here, pearltree for all TOSP episodes here. And there’s a pearltrees app for those of you with iPads/iphones. You can also follow these posts by RSS here, or you can follow the podcast on iTunes!

You can find this podcast on New Zealand’s very own Ziln TV (which feeds through to services like Sony TV). Additionally, we have a Youtube Channel – Sciblogs Podcast – which gets updated weekly, too.  Thanks to State Shirt and Rhian Sheehan for the use of their music in our intro and outro.

Please contact us with feedback, comments, questions and suggestions!

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TOSP Episode 23: March 5th 2012 aimee whitcroft Mar 06

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Episode 23 of TOSP is _out_, yo!

This week, aimee and Elf talk Mars, twisted radiowaves, a new livestock virus, the new number of neurons in a human brain (clue: it’s less than you might think), oxygen-generating biomaterial, SpeechJamming, meetings and IQ, using cellphone data following disasters, and the survival of the brightest.

Quite a selection!  We hope you enjoy it :)

PODCAST HERE

[Did you know you can rate us on iTunes?]

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Scientists see red on NASA cuts of Mars missions

Adding a twist to radio technology

New livestock virus in UK and Europe, unlikely to reach NZ

Silence! Japanese researchers build speech-jamming gun

Researchers develop oxygen-generating biomaterial

How many neurons make a human brain? Billions fewer than we thought

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Sciblogs

if meetings really lower iq

Cellphones track Christchurch’s earthquake diaspora

Survival of the brightest

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Events

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Other interesting things

Fossils reveal giant prehistoric NZ penguin

Milky Way Project: Data Release 1

Quest for quirky quantum particles may have struck gold

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Pearltree for this episode here, pearltree for all TOSP episodes here. And there’s a pearltrees app for those of you with iPads/iphones. You can also follow these posts by RSS here, or you can follow the podcast on iTunes!

You can find this podcast on New Zealand’s very own Ziln TV (which feeds through to services like Sony TV). Additionally, we have a Youtube Channel – Sciblogs Podcast – which gets updated weekly, too.  Thanks to State Shirt and Rhian Sheehan for the use of their music in our intro and outro.

Please contact us with feedback, comments, questions and suggestions!

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TOSP Episode 22: February 27th 2012 aimee whitcroft Feb 27

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Hello, and welcome to a very watery TOSP :)

This week, Elf and aimee talk of things watery – watery planets, flying squid and plankton blooms – as well as new FTL neutrino info (what may have gone wrong), genius computer software, bioscience’s contribution to NZ’s economy, plus a new brilliant site for science-based ebooks and apps, and the tree of diversification!

PODCAST HERE

[Did you know you can rate us on iTunes?]

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Error Undoes Faster-Than-Light Neutrino Results

Plankton-fuelled ocean eddy is 150 kilometres wide

Genius Swedish computer program has IQ of 150

Squid can fly to save energy

Bioscience proves lucrative to NZ economy

Hubble Reveals a New Class of Extrasolar Planet

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Sciblogs

A universe in an eBook (or app)

The Tree of Diversification (or why the March of Progress is wrong)

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Events

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Other interesting things

Titan’s Great Dune Seas Rival Science Fiction Worlds

The coming medical revolution

Physicists Create a Working Transistor From a Single Atom

Honeycomb structure responsible for bacteria’s extraordinary sense

‘Supergiant’ Crustaceans Found Near New Zealand

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Pearltree for this episode here, pearltree for all TOSP episodes here. And there’s a pearltrees app for those of you with iPads/iphones. You can also follow these posts by RSS here, or you can follow the podcast on iTunes!

You can find this podcast on New Zealand’s very own Ziln TV (which feeds through to services like Sony TV). Additionally, we have a Youtube Channel – Sciblogs Podcast – which gets updated weekly, too.  Thanks to State Shirt and Rhian Sheehan for the use of their music in our intro and outro.

Please contact us with feedback, comments, questions and suggestions!

—–

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TOSP Episode 21: February 21st 2012 aimee whitcroft Feb 20

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We’re back!  And with a minimum of difficulties this week :)

This week, Elf and aimee talk of a new soft motor, ROBOBEES, a teeeeeensy chameleon (squee!), hacking yoghurt, some very ancient art, ROBOBEES, investing in yourself, knitting needles and water bubbles and space, quantum computing for beginners, sequencing genomes on a USB stick-sized device (!!!!) and ROBOBEES.

PODCAST HERE

[Did you know you can rate us on iTunes?]

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New ’soft’ motor made from artificial muscles

How To Genetically Modify Yogurt

Registry of Standard Biological Parts

Itsy bitsy teeny weeny chameleons

Water bubbles orbiting a knitting needle on the ISS

Making your education investment pay

These Are the Earliest Human Paintings Ever

In new mass-production technique, robotic insects spring to life

Quantum Physics #1

Sequencing genomes on a USB stick-sized device, $US900

UPDATE (read after the podcast was recorded): Who Doubts The USB Thumb Drive Sequencer? A Rival

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Other interesting things

Do Patents Really Have Nothing to do With Innovation?

Suppression of Catastrophic Failure in Metallic Glass–Polyisoprene Nanolaminate Containing Nanopillars

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Events

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Pearltree for this episode here, pearltree for all TOSP episodes here. And there’s a pearltrees app for those of you with iPads/iphones. You can also follow these posts by RSS here, or you can follow the podcast on iTunes!

You can find this podcast on New Zealand’s very own Ziln TV (which feeds through to services like Sony TV). Additionally, we have a Youtube Channel – Sciblogs Podcast – which gets updated weekly, too.  Thanks to State Shirt and Rhian Sheehan for the use of their music in our intro and outro.

Please contact us with feedback, comments, questions and suggestions!

—–

Youtube version coming soon...

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TOSP Episode 20: February 14th 2012 Elf Eldridge Feb 15

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Greetings, TOSP listeners!

This week’s podcast is a teensy bit late (heh), and a little different to usual as it was the first we’ve done and edited ‘On the Road’.

We (well, Elf – aimee was driving like a loon between Auckland and Wellington as practice for the Rally) travelled to Christchurch to chat to some of New Zealand’s young emerging scientists from both MESA (the MacDiarmid Emerging Scientists Association) and Chiasma ostensibly to pose some of the BIG science questions being bandied around at the moment to see how NZ’s next generation of scientists would handle them. Their responses might surprise you!

We asked them about where they would see the future of science in New Zealand and the world over the next 50 years, debated whether or not it’s possible to do ‘world class’ science in NZ, discussed why so many of NZ’s skilled graduates leave our shores, picked winners for tomorrow world changing technologies and enquired as to where young scientists fit into the new push for innovation in science in NZ.

We would like to extend a huge thanks to our guests: Ben Mallet (CEO Chiasma WGTN and MESA), Shrividya Ravi (MESA), Alec Le Grow (MESA and Chiasma), Anna Henning (MESA) and Jack Grigg (MESA) for participating.

DISCLAIMER: All opinions expressed during this interview are those of the speakers alone and do not represent those of the MacDiarmid Institute, MESA, Chiasma, TOSP, Sciblogs or any other affiliated organizations.

PODCAST HERE

[Did you know you can rate us on iTunes?]

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MacDiarmid Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology

MESA - MacDiarmid Emerging Scientists Association

Chiasma – Linking students and Enterprize

Other interesting science news from this week

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Pearltree for this episode here, pearltree for all TOSP episodes here. And there’s a pearltrees app for those of you with iPads. You can also follow these posts by RSS here, or you can follow the podcast on iTunes!

You can find this podcast on New Zealand’s very own Ziln TV (which feeds through to services like Sony TV). Additionally, we have a Youtube Channel – Sciblogs Podcast – which gets updated weekly, too.  Thanks to State Shirt and Rhian Sheehan for the use of their music in our intro and outro.

Please contact us with feedback, comments, questions and suggestions!

—–

Youtube version coming soon...

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