The interview was a blast - Kathryn was an amazingly kind interviewer - I still can't believe I got to talk about friction and stickiness on primetime radio for 30 mins! You can listen to it here.
Immediately afterwards, as we came off air, the producer, Victoria, asked if I might be interested in coming back on the show at some stage as a general 'science correspondent'. I said yes, of course - I'd loved doing a similar gig for the Naked Scientists back in the day. We agreed to chat about the logistics soon. Fast-forward to July 2022, and the promised email arrived to my inbox - Nine to Noon wanted me to make some appearances on the show. Microbiologist (and superstar scicommer) Dr Siouxsie Wiles had been doing this fortnightly gig solo for some time, but with everything else she does, she needed to step back. So, I joined, along with Chemist Dr Allan Blackman. The three of us now share the segment.
The segment: Choose 2-4 interesting science stories / papers from the previous couple of weeks, and talk about them live on air for a total of ~10 min.
Because I am a nerd, I also pledged to share links to the quoted papers over on Twitter and Mastodon. But I thought I should do it here too! So this post is now the official home for my RNZ stories. I'll update it after each appearance.
Debut appearance: 27th July 2022
Link to the segment: listen here.
Topics covered + links to paper:
- The effects of air pollution on the health of New Zealanders https://environment.govt.nz/publications/health-and-air-pollution-in-new-zealand-2016-findings-and-implications/
- A mysterious radio signal getting astronomers excited https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-04841-8
- The discovery of a link between the areas of a dog's brain that handle smell and vision https://www.jneurosci.org/content/42/33/6392
Appearance #2: 24 August 2022
Link to the segment: listen here.
Topics covered + links to paper:
- Exposure to pesticides damages bee brains https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/finsc.2022.936826/full
- Low-gravity droplets https://journals.aps.org/prl/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevLett.129.084501
- Upcycling polystyrene https://www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1073/pnas.2203346119
- Making concrete with waste tyres https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921344922002348
Appearance #3: 19 October 2022
Link to the segment: listen here.
Topics covered + links to paper:
- Ocean warming rates set to quadruple if we don’t reduce emissions https://doi.org/10.1038/s43017-022-00345-1
- Telescope finds heavy element in the atmosphere of faraway planets https://www.aanda.org/articles/aa/pdf/2022/10/aa44489-22.pdf
- New device allows you to smell (wine) in virtual reality https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1071581922001483
+ free resources to make your own VR odorant device https://www.su.se/english/news/smelling-in-vr-environment-possible-with-new-gaming-technology-1.630811
Appearance #4: 30 November 2022
Link to the segment: listen here.
Topics covered + links to paper:
- Procrastinating before bedtime might be bad for you https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1087079222001101
** apologies to Central Queensland University for incorrectly attributing this work to another institute, live on air **
- Jellyfish-relative pulses its jets https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2202494119
- Physicists design ‘splash-free’ urinal https://meetings.aps.org/Meeting/DFD22/Session/U12.8
Appearance #5: 8 February 2023
Link to the segment: listen here.
Topics covered + links to paper:
- Planting more trees in cities saves lives https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(22)02585-5/fulltext
- Scientists discover new layer of partially-molten rock under the Earth’s crust https://www.nature.com/articles/s41561-022-01116-9
- Bird strike decals aren’t always effective https://peerj.com/articles/14676/
Appearance #6: 19 April 2023
Link to the segment: listen here.
Topics covered + links to paper:
- Indigenous populations at higher risk from flu https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.10.27.22281610v1
- Penguin poo plays a vital role in Southern Ocean https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-37132-5
- Two parts of your brain are activated when you read https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2300252120
Appearance #7: 3 May 2023
Link to the segment: listen here (it was extra short thanks to breaking political news!)
Topics covered + links to paper:
- Two-thirds of elephant habitat in Asia lost in just three centuries https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-30650-8
- Glass bricks get a big upgrade thanks to ‘frozen smoke’ https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352710222016060
- Mosses are vital for planetary health https://www.nature.com/articles/s41561-023-01170-x
Appearance #8: 14 June 2023
Link to the segment: listen here (~8 mins)
Topics covered + links to paper:
- Aviation turbulence has increased due to climate change https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2023GL103814
- Squeezing molecules together to reduce chemical waste https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adf5273
- Sewer robots destroy dengue-carrying mozzies https://journals.plos.org/plosntds/article?id=10.1371/journal.pntd.0011346
Appearance #9: 26 July 2023
Link to the segment: listen here (~9 mins)
Topics covered + links to paper:
- Atlantic Ocean current may be heading for a tipping point https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-39810-w
- Making natural gas engines less polluting through catalysis https://www.nature.com/articles/s41929-023-00983-8
- Evidence of 2,000-year-old curry found in Vietnam https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adh5517
Appearance #10: 6 September 2023
Link to the segment: listen here (~9 mins)
Topics covered + links to paper:
- Extreme El Niño weather saw forest carbon sink switch off https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-023-01776-4
- Drag on partially submerged objects is much higher than expected https://journals.aps.org/prfluids/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevFluids.8.084003
- New ‘odour map’ predicts smells from molecular structure https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adh5517
Appearance #11: 1 November 2023
Link to the segment: listen here (~11 mins)
Topics covered + links to paper:
- Dust caused the demise of the dinosaurs https://www.nature.com/articles/s41561-023-01290-4
- Researchers create ultra-water-repellent surface https://www.nature.com/articles/s41557-023-01346-3
- (Some) Chimpanzees go through menopause www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.add5473
Appearance #12: 29 November 2023
Link to the segment: listen here (~11 mins)
Topics covered + links to paper:
- Traffic jams raise blood pressure, but not in the way you might expect https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/M23-1309
- Scientists solve a 200-year-old geology mystery https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adi3690
- New tech brings sense of touch to robots and prosthetic limbs https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-42722-4
Appearance #13: 3 April 2024
Link to the segment: listen here (~13 mins)
Topics covered + links to paper:
- Climate change may be affecting global timekeeping https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-07170-0
- 4,000-year-old teeth provide insight into changing human diets https://academic.oup.com/mbe/article/41/3/msae017/7617356
- Making tastier beer thanks to machine learning https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-46346-0
Appearance #14: 29 May 2024
Link to the segment: listen here (~10 mins)
Topics covered + links to paper:
- 2023 northern hemisphere summer was the hottest in 2,000 years https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-07512-y
- Volcanoes on Venus may still be erupting https://www.nature.com/articles/s41550-024-02272-1
- New adhesive prevents scarring around implants https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-07426-9
Appearance #15: 17 July 2024
Link to the segment: listen here (~10 mins)
Topics covered + links to paper:
- New Zealand’s weather looks set to become more extreme https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/ad585a
- New chemistry to tackle “fast fashion” waste https://www.science.org/doi/epdf/10.1126/sciadv.ado6827
- Lower speed limits make cities safer https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/11/4382
Appearance #16: 11 September 2024
Link to the segment: listen here (~10 mins)
Topics covered + links to paper:
- Methane emissions are rising faster than ever https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/ad6463
- Kākāpō feather colours evolved to avoid predators https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.3002755
- Gold nuggets form thanks to repeated earthquakes https://www.nature.com/articles/s41561-024-01514-1
