Science On Top

SoT 64: Let’s Go On A Journey

(a) Simplified view of a conventional Li-ion battery, a multilayer device assembled by tightly wound ‘jellyroll’ sandwich of anode-separator-cathode layers. (b) Direct fabrication of Li-ion battery on the surface of interest by sequentially spraying component paints stencil masks tailored to desired geometry and surface.
Source: Paintable Battery, published in Nature, 28 June 2012.

Hosts: Ed Brown, Dr. Shayne Joseph, Penny Dumsday. Topics covered: Spray-on Rechargeable Batteries Could Store Energy Anywhere Parents Less Likely to Develop Colds Jekyll and Hyde Bacteria Helps or Kills, Depending On Chance Climate change shrinking plants Global Warming Favors … [Continue reading...]

SoT 63: It May Have Helped Harry Potter

Photograph: ATLAS, Collaboration
Date: 04/07/2012

Hosts: Ed Brown, Kate Naughton, Mags Lum, Upulie Divisekera. Topics covered: Letters to Sir David Attenborough Higgs-like Particle Discovered at CERN Rabbits kept alive by oxygen injections Geckos evolved sticky feet many times Seeing Inside Tissue for No-Cut Surgeries: Researchers … [Continue reading...]

SoT 62: The Century of Complex Systems

Hosts: Ed Brown, Dr. Shayne Joseph, Penny Dumsday. Topics covered: Scientists discover early source of El Nino Tending the Body’s Microbial Garden Trouble On the Horizon for Genetically Modified Crops? Study: No-Fat, Low-Fat Dressings Don't Get Most Nutrients out of … [Continue reading...]

SoT 61: You Still Need a Golf Club

By NASA (NASA website) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Hosts: Ed Brown, Dr. Shayne Joseph, Penny Dumsday, Daniel Midgley. Topics covered: Lowland gorillas found to use gesture 'baby talk' with their young Out of Asia? New Primate Fossils Pose Origin Riddle Scientists Reveal Structure of Bacterial Chainmail Humanoid Robot Learns Language … [Continue reading...]

SoT 60: Pain Prone Personalities

Hosts: Ed Brown, Dr. Shayne Joseph, Dr. Mick Vagg. Topics covered: Cannabinoid Shown Effective as Adjuvant Analgesic for Cancer Pain Where Have the Hawk-Sized Insects Gone? Raindrops Don't Swat Down Mosquitoes Microbial Communities Changed After Deepwater Horizon Spill Overfed Fruit … [Continue reading...]

SoT 59: Might As Well Be Blind

Restoring Voluntary Control of Locomotion after Paralyzing Spinal Cord Injury

Hosts: Ed Brown, Penny Dumsday, Lucas Randall, Jo Benhamu. Topics covered: Body odour reveals a person's age Robotic Rehab Helps Paralyzed Rats Walk Again Mutant flies confirm genetic link to restless legs syndrome Carbon Found in Mars Meteorites (And Why It Has Nothing to Do With … [Continue reading...]

SoT 58: Dreaming of Batman

Hosts: Ed Brown, Penny Dumsday, Vanessa Hill, Micaela Jemison. Topics covered: Bats and micro-bats. For more information, check the Australasian Bat Society website, in particular their excellent Fact Sheets. Launchpod, Vanessa's new podcast. A series of interviews with a wide range of … [Continue reading...]

SoT 57: Crushed By A Genital

Hosts: Ed Brown, Dr. Shayne Joseph, Lucas Randall, Kate Naughton. Topics covered: Paralysed Woman Controls Robotic Arm With Her Mind Surgeons Restore Some Hand Function to Quadriplegic Patient Earliest wall art features female genitalia Human Genes Transplanted Into Zebrafish: Helps … [Continue reading...]

SoT 56: Our Chimps Are Very Nice

Hosts: Ed Brown, Dr. Shayne Joseph, Penny Dumsday. Topics covered: Dogs Feel Your Pain Stone-Throwing Chimp Is Back - And This Time It's Personal Anti-bacteria coating developed Grandma 'explains' cancer-fertility puzzle The Great Outdoors Is Good for Allergies Kiwifruit detectives … [Continue reading...]

SoT 55: Who Owns An Asteroid?

Hosts: Ed Brown, Dr. Shayne Joseph, Lucas Randall, Steve Nerlich. Topics covered: Asteroid Mining and Planetary Resources: Complete Coverage Private company does indeed plan to mine asteroids… and I think they can do it Who owns the asteroids? Space Law: Is Asteroid Mining … [Continue reading...]