ABC Science-Updates April 9- April 17, 1999

[Guest guest]

>====================================================

>ABC Science-Updates April 9- April 17, 1999

>Science-Updates is a once-per-week alert about forthcoming coverage of

>science on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's radio, television and

>internet services. Information on how to subscribe is online in The Lab at:

>http://www.abc.net.au/science/io

>

>====SCIENCE ONLINE=========== www.abc.net.au/science ========

>

>WHY SCIENCE IS MEDIA-DUMB

>Scientists are always complaining that they are mis-represented by the

>media. Is this so? Earlier this year screenwriter and author

>Crichton gave an address to the American Association for the Advancement of

>Science on just this subject. It was recorded by the Science Show and

>broadcast on April 3. Crichton, a trained physician, former research

>scientist, author of " Jurassic Park " and " The Andromeda Strain " and many

>other titles, thinks that scientists fundamentally misunderstand how the

>media works, and offers some provocative suggestions for improving media

>coverage of scientific events.

>http://www.abc.net.au/science/slab/

>

>GREAT MOMENTS IN SCIENCE - " Fake Flies and Cheating Cheetahs "

>Most people probably think that the cheetah is the fastest land animal, but

>how do you measure how quick a cheetah runs? Karl explains that the poor

>methods used by some people to measure the speed of animals has led to some

>very wrong and persistent claims.

>http://www.abc.net.au/science/k2/openmom.htm

>

>BIG FAT NEWS - " Say it with urine "

>Catheter-bearing biologists reckon that a quick squirt of urine covers most

>of the small talk your average lobster needs in a lifetime.

>(online Friday, April 9th)

>http://www.abc.net.au/science/bernie/opennews.htm

>

>LOOKING BACK TO NEXT WEEK'S FORECAST

>The CSIRO's Holper explores the history of mathematical weather

>forecasting and it's founder, Fry , who devoted his life to

>developing methods of predicting weather, and whose ideas formed the basis

>for today's worldwide network of weather stations.

>http://www.abc.net.au/science/slab/forecast/story.htm

>

>NATIONAL SCIENCE WEEK

>In 1999 National Science Week will be held during May 1-9. The Lab has a

>page with info on how to register a Science Week Event, how to obtain some

>Science Week graphics for your website, or even print out a simple poster.

>It also contains a link to information on how to obtain our free science

>news ticker.

>http://www.abc.net.au/science/sweek/

>

>ANDREW OLLE MEMORIAL TRUST

>Three years ago Olle suddenly collapsed and died. His death was due

>to an undetected and catastrophic brain cancer. The ABC is inviting the

>public to contribute to a trust which will support scholarships for two

>young Australians to study neurology and do research that may lead to cures

>or remedies for brain cancers and related diseases. Apart from direct

>donations, a number of special events have been organised involving Dr

>Oliver Sacks, who will be In Australia next month. The details are online

at:

>http://www.abc.net.au/olle

>

>SELF-SERVICE SCIENCE

>Australia's first ever science chat-room has much more signal than noise.

If

>you have a science question you need answered in a hurry, someone in the

>Self-Service Science community is likely to be able to help.

>http://www2.abc.net.au/science/k2/stn/

>

>THE LAB'S SEARCH PAGE

>This is a simple and fast-loading page with pre-set forms for a selection

of

>the most popular Internet search engines. The results differ, so if you

>can't find what you are looking for with one, - try another! It's a very

>good starting point for any online session.

>http://www.abc.net.au/science/search/

>

>SCIENCE EVENT DIARY

>Our user-updateable diary of upcoming science events and activities

>throughout Australia and New Zealand.

>http://www.abc.net.au/science/event/diary.htm

>

>SOUTHERN SKY WATCH

>Our monthly guide to the night skies.

>http://www.abc.net.au/science/space

>

>====ON RADIO=======================================

>

>EARTHBEAT (Radio National)

>Sat.10th at 7.30am & Mon.12th April at 2.30pm

>This week on Earthbeat, Maurice Strong, Head of the 1992 Rio Earth Summit

>and the United Nations' first environmental conference 20 years earlier

>discusses the international structures needed to protect our earth. He's

>delivering the inaugural Jack Beale Lecture on the global environment.

>http://www.abc.net.au/rn/science/earth/earth.htm

>

>SCIENCE SHOW: (Radio National)

>Sat.10th at 12.10pm & Mon.12th April at 7.10pm

>If depression is genetic will the disease be inevitable? Is it best not to

>find out? Professor Wolpert, author of " A Malignant Sadness "

>describes his own struggle with depression and offers advice for those

>affected. Professor Wrangham of Harvard talks about killer

>chimpanzees which gang up on victims and literally tear them apart. Why do

>they do it?

>http://www.abc.net.au/rn/science/ss/ss.htm

>

>OCKHAM'S RAZOR (Radio National)

>Sun.11th at 8.45am & Mon.12th April at 2.15pm.

>Oliver Mayo, Chief of the CSIRO's Division of Animal Production in Sydney

>celebrates the centenary of Ian Clunies Ross. As the first Head of the

>CSIRO he once graced the $50 note but what were his particular

achievements?

>As his story unfolds we find he was a scientific visionary, an inspired

>leader and a tolerant internationalist. Indeed, he was a man for our

times.

>http://www.abc.net.au/rn/science/ockham/ockham.htm

>

>HEALTH REPORT (Radio National)

>Mon.12th April at 8.30am and 8.30pm

>Join Dr Norman Swan for Radio National's weekly roundup of the latest

issues

>and developments in the world of health and medicine this week on the

Health

>Report.

>http://www.abc.net.au/rn/talks/8.30/helthrpt/healthrp.htm

>

>INNOVATIONS (Radio Australia)

>April 11, 12, 13

>People have been cutting logs for a long time, but it's a difficult and

>hazardous job. A revolutionary log lifter will allow one person to do work

>safer and more efficiently. A new 6 Wheel Drive system developed in

northern

>NSW is setting new benchmarks in on and off-road performance. The

commercial

>develoment of gel electrolyte batteries, ideal for use in remote power

>supply systems, is gathering pace. And recognition for Dr. A.E.Bishop,

>winner of the 1999 on Motor Industry award. Innovations talks

>to the man whose company has designed components that are used in over a

>quarter of all vehicles built worldwide each year.

>(The Innovations web site has 1999 programs available as audio on demand)

>http://www.abc.net.au/ra/innovations/default.htm

>

>KARL KRUSZELNICKI 99 (on Triple J)

>Every Thursday at 11am, talkback radio canvassing the science behind

>everyday mysteries. Know an answer that Karl doesn't? You can use Dr Karl's

>Signal to Noise web pages to send your answer direct to Karl and in

>the studio.

>http://www.abc.net.au/science/k2

>

>SCIENCE LOUTS

>Thurs April 15, 11:30am (on 4QR)

>Bernie Hobbs and Willis are loose on the Queensland airwaves. Look out

>Charleville!!

>http://www.abc.net.au/science/louts

>

>IN CONVERSATION with Robyn (Radio National)

>Thurs April 15, at 2.15pm.

>Dr Bruce has just won the prestigious Clunies Ross Award for Science

>and Technology. He works in Alice Springs with local Aboriginal people to

>develop an extraordinary range of devices to suit the demands of living on

>the margins.

>

>[RADIO TUNING]:

>Radio National: ---<http://www.abc.net.au/rn/freq/map.htm>

>Radio Australia: --<http://www.abc.net.au/ra/hear.htm>

>Triple J: ------------<http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/access/default.htm>

>

>====ON TELEVISION==== http://www.abc.net.au/surf/tv.htm ===========

>

>The Flying Vet : The new vet

>Saturday April 10, 12.30pm

>A new young vet, , joins the practice and is immediately immersed in

>the animals and people of . The koala colony has to be checked on,

>and an old pet dog sadly needs to be put down. Meanwhile, has been

>asked by an aboriginal ranger to destroy a feral cat.

>

>Nature World: The Forbidden Fruit

>Saturday April 10, 6:00pm

>Exposing the devious and clever tricks employed by fruits and seeds to

>transport themselves in order to propagate away from the parent plant,

>starting in the Australian outback with the plant that uses an emu,

>exploding seed pods and ants to ensure dispersal.

>

>Bush Tucker Man: Stories Of Survival

>Monday, 12 April - Thursday, 15 April 6:30pm

>ABC is re-screening the popular Bush Tucker Man: Stories Of Survival with

>Les Hiddins. This week Les retraces the famous Burke and Wills journey,

>looks at some of the myths and legends across Australia and traces

>Lasseter's expedition.

>

>Red Dwarf

>Wednesday, 14 April, 10:00pm

>Taking Holly's advice, Lister joins the " Canaries " not realising they are a

>battle hardened convict army trained to go on suicide missions and not, as

>Lister thinks, the prison choir.

>

>QUANTUM

>Thursday April 15, 8:00pm (repeat April 26, 12.30pm)

>The heart is a hard worker. Some 10,000 litres of blood pumps through it

>every day. That's over 2 billion beats in the average lifetime. da

>Silva talks to Australian researchers who are finding a better way to stop

>and protect the heart during surgery - using some bizarre apparatus, and

>coming up with some equally extraordinary results!

>

>The Science Show's Robyn interviews Oliver Sacks - one of the

>world's most respected neurologists. Sacks' groundbreaking work in the

>hospitals of the Bronx, New York provided him with a wealth of fascinating

>insights into neurological disorders. Sacks has propelled the human side

of

>mental illness into public awareness through film and popular books such as

>Migraine: Evolution of a Common Disorder, Awakening, A Leg to Stand On and

>The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat.

>

>Could grandmothers be responsible for giving humans the evolutionary edge

>over apes? Yes, according to anthropologist Hawkes and

archaeologist

>Jim O'Connell, from the University of Utah. Leigh Dayton investigates their

>claim.

>http://www.abc.net.au/quantum

>

>The Flying Vet Farewells

>Saturday April 17, 12.30pm (final)

> and Trish set off for the Timber Creek area to treat a sick goat.

>Meanwhile Sam has to make the unpleasant decision to put an RAAF dog down.

>Verina's got a new job in Malaysia so it's the end of an era at the

surgery.

>This last program includes a wedge tailed eagle, a sick goose and a dog

>being given an ultrasound treatment.

>

>Nature World : Fifi's Boys

>Saturday April 17, 6.00pm

>Fifi, a chimpanzee living in the Gombe National Park in Tanzania, is the

>most studied wild ape in the world. The one who has studied her most is

Jane

>Goodall who has devoted 35 years of her life to examining the behaviour of

>man's nearest primate relative. This documentary brings Fifi's story up to

>date, as her family is embroiled in a dynastic struggle for power.

>

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