Opossum Antivemon & Tasting Brains
Why are opossums immune to snake bites? And what's the deal with tasting stuff? Dr Alice Williamson joined Ruby Miles to answer some of these pressing questions.
Jun 05, 2018•18 min
Up and Atom
Up and Atom brings you the latest breakthroughs and discoveries in the ever-changing world of science. Sometimes weird, sometimes confronting, always informative, come learn about the world around. Hosted by Alice Williamson (@all_isee), University of Sydney lecturer and researcher for Open Source Malaria, each week on Up For It with Ruby Miles.
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Episodes
Dino Dandruff & Asteroids
Dr Alice Williamson came into the studio to tell us about dinosaur dandruff and the asteroid that wiped them out.
May 29, 2018•15 min
Poop Hands & Green Lizards
Dr. Alice Williamson joined us to confirm our greatest fear (hand driers are spraying poop onto our fingers), and to teach us about green blooded lizards.
May 21, 2018•14 min
Grey Matter Special: A.I. Navigation & Neanderthal Brains
Dr Alice Williamson joined Ruby to talk all things brains. We learned that Google DeepMind has developed an internal satnav (all by itself?!), and about Neanderthal brains that are being grown in petri dishes.
May 14, 2018•16 min
Flesh Eating Bacteria & Sea Floor Antibiotics
Dr. Alice Williamson has finally returned so we can bask in her sciencey glory. It's not all good news though. We talked flesh eating ulcers, and the people who search the sea floor for medicine.
May 08, 2018•17 min
Ageing vs Cancer & Infinitely Recyclable Plastic
Dr. Alice Williamson is still out of sorts, so Tom Gordon joined us to talk protein caps on DNA and special plastic.
May 01, 2018•14 min
Exo-Planets & Nanomotors
Dr. Alice Williamson is recovering, so our backup scientist Tom Gordon swooped in to save the day. He told us all about a spacecraft on the hunt for alien planets, and tiny robots who can fix your cells from the inside.
Apr 23, 2018•13 min
Light Tweezers & Quantum Computing
We're cursed! Dr Alice Williamson tripped over some loose science on the floor and needed to call in from home. Luckily we still got our knowledge fix, learning about laser beam tweezers and their impact on quantum computers.
Apr 16, 2018•13 min
Wasp Drums & Really Killer Whales
Dr Alice Williamson returns to the studio to talk wasp drumming and seriously killer whales.
Apr 09, 2018•16 min
Ball Tampering & Smeat
Tom Gordon joined us for a second week to talk the physics of ball tampering and meat grown in petri dishes.
Mar 26, 2018•14 min
Pi Day, Spinning Galaxies, & Water Powered Batteries
Dr. Alice Williamson is taking the week off, so Ruby was joined by Tom Gordon, who talked Pi Day, the speed of galaxy’s rotations, and batteries that run on water.
Mar 19, 2018•14 min
Disco Brains & Stealth Bunnies
Dr. Alice Williamson joined Ruby to talk (potentially) Alzheimers curing light, and how polar bear fur can make bunnies invisible.
Mar 12, 2018•13 min
2018 IWD Special
Dr. Alice Williamson is joined by Chemistry PhD candidate Kate Leslie for this International Women's Day special to talk fluorescent dye in cells and the end of cervical cancer.
Mar 05, 2018•13 min
2018 Winter Olympics Special
Dr Alice Williamson is making science cool again with this chilly Winter Olympics Special. She talks plastic ice and quintuple spins on Up For It with Ruby Miles.
Feb 26, 2018•13 min
Smart Magpie Societies, Urban Prairies, & the Loneliest Frog in the World
Dr Alice Williamson joined Ruby today, and we learned that magpies in larger groups are smarter, ecologists are planting prairies in our cities, and that somewhere out there is the loneliest frog in the world. http://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2018-02-08/australian-magpie-brain-power-boosted-by-group-size/9401674 https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2018/02/vacant-lot-ecological-experiments/552746/ http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-43004367
Feb 12, 2018•17 min
Australian of the Year & Military Secrets Leaked by Joggers
Dr Alice Williamson discussed Australian of the Year, quantum physicist Michelle Simmons, and talked jogging apps revealing secret US army bases. http://theconversation.com/award-to-michelle-simmons-reflects-strategic-importance-of-quantum-physics-for-australia-90759https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jan/28/fitness-tracking-app-gives-away-location-of-secret-us-army-bases
Jan 29, 2018•12 min
Gold Nugget Bacteria & The Gamblers Who Made Dice Fair
Dr Alice Williamson joins Ruby once again to talk bacteria that make gold nuggets, and how gamblers 600 years ago decided to make dice fair.
Jan 22, 2018•12 min
Firebirds & Pills That Sniff Your Guts
Dr Alice Williamson joined Ruby this morning to talk fire starting birds and a machine the size of a pill that could change diagnostic medicine as we know it.
Jan 15, 2018•13 min
The Big Up And Atom Quiz Of 2017
Lucy Smith is officially wrapping up her time as host of Up For It, making way for a new presenter in 2018 after an incredible two years behind the mic. On her final edition of Up and Atom, Dr Alice Williamson quite literally put her to the test, submitting Lucy to her first science quiz since high school while recapping the biggest science stories covered on Up and Atom over the past year. Questions ranged from why Western Australians were asked to collect as many cane toads as possible, to who...
Dec 11, 2017•17 min
Detecting Earthquakes With Gravity & It's Not A Yeti!
Dr Alice Williamson brought in some amazing science news this week about early earthquake detection that measures fluctuations in gravity signals, as well as the lowdown on some research that might just disprove the existence of the abominable snowman.
Dec 04, 2017•13 min
The Science Of Sniffs & 'Daversity' Problems
Dr Alice Williamson joined Lucy to share some personal memories sparked by specific smells, because one of our science stories this morning is about the research being done to categorise, measure, and quantify smells. They also talked about the 'daversity' problem in Australian science that sees men being given far more grants than women. Research shows these men are also mostly only working with other men, which makes it even tougher for women in science. Also, most of them are called Dave....
Nov 27, 2017•18 min
Editing Rat Genes & Brain Strobing
Lucy quizzed Dr Alice Williamson today on some pest control news out of New Zealand, where scientists and conservationists are examining the potential for the use of gene editing techniques like CRISPR to eradicate rats and other invasive species from the country. They also looked internally at the mechanics of the human brain, after revelations that our brain processes sound in an alternating way, reminiscient of strobes....
Nov 20, 2017•14 min
Lab Grown Skin & Fabric That Warms AND Cools
Our globe-trotting scientist Dr Alice Williamson is back in the country once more, and she dropped by the studio to give Lucy the low down on two amazing new pieces of science news. Scientists have managed to grown a genetically modified replacement skin for a 7 year old boy in Syria, and a reversible material is being developed that'll keep you warm one way, and cool if you turn it inside out....
Nov 13, 2017•14 min
Biomole-cools & Going for Gold
Dr Alice Williamson joins us again in the FBi Studio to bring us all the news of exciting developments in the world of chemistry and the Nobel prize for Chemistry's impacts. We also found out the origin of athletes biting their gold medals, gold's properties and uses.
Oct 23, 2017•16 sec
Space Racing & Phallic Pee-Search
Tom Gordon joins Lucy Smith for Up and Atom! this week to bring us exciting news on Australia's space embassy . One small step for man, one giant leap for all Aussie kind! We also discussed the 'pee-search' suggesting boys are better than girls at physics as they learn from a young age to pee standing up....
Oct 09, 2017•19 min
Bill Nye Saves the World! (and Australia!)
Bill Nye is going to save the world, but can he save Australia too? Joined by Dr Alice Williamson, Bill shares with us how Australia is a corner stone in scientific discoveries. Listen in and get inspired!
Oct 03, 2017•16 sec
Bready for Gluten-free Wheat?
Dr Alice Williamson joins Lucy Smith, bringing us all the latest in gene-editing research of wheat and gluten. Big news for coeliacs and those of us who are gluten intolerant! Cake for all!
Oct 03, 2017•5 sec
Molecular Robots
Dr Alice Williamson joined Lucy Smith over the phone today to bring us gigantic updates on tiny robots. These molecular robotic advancements may seem straight out of a Sci-Fi story but they could mean huge news for us.
Sep 26, 2017•7 sec
Liquid Cats & Fitness First Fish
Filling in for Dr Alice Williamson this week was Dr Bish Marzook, who shared with us two stories from the Ig Noble Prize: Cats - solid or liquid? and the best way to save yourself from a coffee spilling catastrophe . We also got an update on some Sawfish wearing fit bits in WA....
Sep 19, 2017•13 sec
Highlights Of '03: Dark Matter, The Columbia Space Shuttle & Stem Cells
Celebrating FBi Radio's 14th birthday, Up and Atom was all old-school science news this week! Alice and Lucy talked about a bunch of the most interesting breakthroughs and events of 2003 - revelations in dark matter, the Columbia Space Shuttle disaster, and the first time embryonic stem cells were turned into eggs. Oh, and the introduction of camera phones and iTunes!...
Aug 29, 2017•13 min
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