The Science Show

He's one of the most famous scientists ever. But who was Isaac Newton, really? Sharon Carleton presents a portrait like no other about the myths surrounding the genius.

Dark matter is assumed to be responsible for holding the universe together. So where is it?

Reflecting on Sir David Attenborough's decades-long contribution to our understanding of the natural world.

Dave Keeling started measuring carbon dioxide in 1958, Dave’s son Ralph continues his father’s work today.

And bee venom shows promise treating a range of cancers.

And one hundred years ago, a scientific expedition in Australia showed Einstein was right.

As pressure on the natural world increases, new technology is bringing fast results as scientists monitor fauna and flora and identify new species.

By performing their waggle dance, bees communicate information about direction, distance and quality of a food source.

And soft tissues can be fossilised. They help piece together the history of life on Earth.

The Australian Academy of Science has called for a review of science funding in Australia.

In the final Strange Frontiers, Carl Smith takes us into the vault at one of the world’s greatest archives of natural history.

If successful, ITER promises to provide abundant clean energy.

Small unremarkable fish use light to detect and avoid predators.

Carl Smith takes us to the Estonian capital Tallinn to ride an autonomous minibus.

Murdoch University's Harry Butler Institute honours the well-known warrior for the environment.

Carl Smith takes us to the Antimatter factory.

Hope from COP27 and atmospheric research from Germany’s highest peak

From T. H. Huxley - ‘Darwin’s Bulldog’ – to author Aldous Huxley to Nobel Prize winner Andrew Huxley, a new book tells the tale of this remarkable scientific family.

A cosmological Science Show and competition emerging for Haydn’s Creation!

Following experiments with peas and other plants, Gregor Mendel proposed a theory of inheritance which became the basis of modern biology.

The overland telegraph connecting Australia to the world was completed 150 years ago. It was built due to the dedication of a public servant, Charles Todd.

She was a world expert on fleas. Despite being self-taught, she was awarded doctorates from Cambridge and Oxford.

By mid-century, human activity will have doubled atmospheric greenhouse gases compared to the pre-industrial level.

DNA analysis suggests tuberculosis may have jumped to humans from seals.

PM’s Prizes for Science, koalas, COP and Catherine the Great

The Science Show gives Australians unique insights into the latest scientific research and debate.

Subconsciously humans learn from their experiences. Giving this same information to computers is a big challenge.

More than 5 million specimens have been digitised at London's Natural History Museum. Just 75 million to go. It’s a slow journey, but the benefits will be immense.

Around 4,200 years ago, horses began accepting humans. Greger Larson describes the change in a species which changed the course of human history.

The Science Show presents unique insights into the latest scientific research and debate.

The Science Show presents unique insights into the latest scientific research and debate.

The Science Show presents unique insights into the latest scientific research and debate.

The Science Show presents unique insights into the latest scientific research and debate.

The Science Show gives Australians unique insights into the latest scientific research and debate.

Unique insights into the latest scientific research and debate, from the physics of cricket to pr...

Unique insights into the latest scientific research and debate, from the physics of cricket to pr...

Unique insights into the latest scientific research and debate, from the physics of cricket to pr...

Unique insights into the latest scientific research and debate, from the physics of cricket to pr...

Unique insights into the latest scientific research and debate, from the physics of cricket to pr...

We celebrate the life of James Lovelock, father of the Gaia hypothesis which describes how the Earth keeps things in balance favourable for life.

Climate change to bring mass migration Adrian Smith leads the Royal Society Exhibition shows the role of microbes in chocolate production Aussie Stem Stars - Emma Johnston Prosthetic device offers help for people with damaged or missing fingers We need to fix this. Fast.

The Australian overland telegraph was a 3,200 km line connecting Port Augusta in South Australia to Darwin. It was completed in 1872 and allowed communication between Australia and the rest of the world. It was one of the great engineering feats of 19th-century Australia and was a significant milestone in Australia’s development. The line was built due to the determination of one man, a government employee, Charles Todd. As we celebrate 150 years since the line was completed, Sharon Carleton looks at the Charles Todd story, who it turns out was the first pioneer of STEM, way before the acronym had come into use.

In the final part of his series on the connections between developments in physic and music, the late Ian Johnston, physicist from The University of Sydney, explores developments in the twentieth century. In physics, communications technology saw valves come, and go, replaced by transistors, then silicon chips, leading to increased capacity and miniaturisation. In music, accepted conventions of harmony came under attack and composers experimented with more freedom. Musical styles developed using new electronic instruments offering new sounds and capability. In the end, Ian Johnston says the desires of music and physics are the same – both search for harmony.

In the nineteenth century western music moved from classicism to romanticism, and our knowledge of physics progressed in electricity, electromagnetism and the wave properties of sound. We also began to understand how the ear and brain work allowing us to perceive and appreciate music.

We continue our series of programs about the connections between physics and music presented by the late Ian Johnston from The University of Sydney.

Do fish and crabs feel pain, what went down at COP26, and how might climate change dampen the spirits of homeowners in low-lying areas? Plus and environmental scientist explains his theory that the earth has a spirit and we meet a researcher with an unusual obsession with slime.

We continue Ian Johnston’s story of the parallel developments of physics and music. Some combinations of notes we find pleasing. Others less so. How is this explained by physics?

New thinking in the Renaissance led to a new understanding of physics and with it, a new musical scale and new instruments. Physics and music bloomed.

The Science Show presents the first of a three-part series on how physics and music were closely linked in their early development. The series was first heard in 1994 and is presented by physicist from Sydney University the late Ian Johnston. The first universities in Renaissance times offered four subjects - arithmetic, geometry astronomy and music and there were strong connections between each. In a surprising, enthralling and personal way, Ian tells the story of the development of culture and our changing idea of our place in the universe.

Sharon Carleton is our guide as we marvel at species all around us and see the efforts of scientists to understand the natural world.

Slime moulds – important forest dwellers that are neither plant, animal nor fungus The story of soil Shackleton’s Endurance – the extraordinary tale of endurance and unlikely survival NZ getting serious about its snow

The first European honey bees arrived in Australia on 20th May 1822. Four bee experts recount the effects on Australia's native bees, on honey production, on ecology and farming. And a new $2 coin is being released featuring bees, golden honeycomb and Eucalyptus flowers.

* Environmental laws for today, not tomorrow

* Hobart - Australian city of science * New ways of thinking about pain * Getting the cameras right to count feral cats * Boab nuts used to reflect on archaeology

* Primary students present E=mc2 The Musical * Giant strides in energy storage and plastic recycling * Seaweeds – thousands of species many with untapped potential * Giant kelp in massive drastic decline * UV light reveals rare fossilised spiders * Tasmania home to 2,499 species of beetles

* Black hole images allow theories to be tested * Journals slow to act despite evidence of scientific fraud or misconduct * Parrots and humans – extreme species with shared behaviours * New technology brings new life to exhibits at Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery * Vale Caroline Jones

* Science needs to develop trust for links to grow * Kids space adventure combines human fight for survival with planetary science * Where did the universe come from? * There’s more to geoscience than mining

* A call for more controls over possible brain manipulation and monitoring * Global risks require new approach to governance * Consumption linked to biodiversity and extinction risk * Missouri Botanical Gardens moves its annual orchid show online * Australian sea lions in an ongoing decline

* Thankyou Australia and goodbye * Lyrebird song a possible indication of population health * Twelve experiments that changed our world – the story of how we came to understand the universe * Science Media Centres – linking the media to scientists

Celebrating Gregor Mendel the father of genetics

* University plays a key role as Wollongong transforms * New ideas about evolution and spread of monotremes * Space missions excite school students for STEM * High anxiety remains after Tongan tsunami

* New idea explains the enormous heat of the Sun’s corona * All environmental problems traced to immense human impact * This teenager loves science * Centre for the Digital Child studies impact of technology on children

* Election hopes for science * Carbon – the element with a nice voice * Secondary science – more analysis, less rote learning, not so much time for history * Catastrophe – higher risk than most people might think

* The end of astronauts? * The First Astronomers * Kiama students' hopes for International Youth Science Forum * Derek Denton – working and publishing science at age 97

* Soviet scientists locked up or killed for accepting Mendelian genetics * E-boats bigger and stronger * Birds – today’s link to dinosaurs * David Stewart – 40 years recording bird calls

* Scientific collaborations in doubt following Russia's attack on Ukraine * Warnings on climate and flooding seen in today’s massive property losses * Parkinson's Disease – it’s like walking through honey * New approach for those with OCD to cope with unwanted mental images * Creswell Eastman discovers iodine deficiency disorder, then helps millions of children * Sea stars and urchins move south with warmer waters changing ecosystems * George Ivanoff helps us survive the supernatural

Horridus to help answer questions about Triceratops and other dinos Charlotte McConaghy’s compelling novels built on complex characters in a fast-changing natural world Vale Richard Leakey

Artificial intelligence – promises and threats Drone helps control invasive species on Norfolk Island Triceratops comes to Melbourne Hydrogen coming for Cape York communities Pandemic – how we were warned

Human population the driver of greenhouse emissions and all environmental wows Meg Lowman - a voice for trees Flying foxes crashing

Politicians unfairly maligned – Robin Batterham Risk of tsunami on east Australian coast Submerged mats could dissipate energy of tsunami Despite all we know, biodiversity loss is at an all-time high WA to end logging in native forests

Scientists: don’t feed the doubt machine Mysterious object in our galaxy sends pulses every 18 minutes Fred Watson – celebrating 25 years on ABC radio IQ tests, genes and environment - views from 1984 and today

Connection with nature linked to genes Vale E. O. Wilson Geothermal on the cusp in Australia? Ancient Serbian settlement changes the view of early human society in Europe

He imagined the atomic bomb, he believed in a world government, he wrote books about science and science fiction and was the first popular communicator of scientific ideas. Today we commemorate the life and achievements of Herbert George Wells. (this program was first broadcast June 2016)

Geology departments becoming smaller or closing Whitley Awards celebrate 50 years Norfolk Island – food bowl for Australia’s first European settlers

Alan Turing – thinker ahead of his time

Three missions to Mars, phosphine on Venus and water molecules on the Moon. ABC senior science reporter Genelle Weule looks back on the big space news of 2020, with science editor Jonathan Webb.

Serendipity, brilliance and hard work led to the development of penicillin, a drug that has saved billions of lives.

What is QAnon and what’s it doing in Australia? What was behind the spread of misinformation during the Black Summer bushfires? And what went wrong with Australia’s ‘sunscreen’, COVIDSafe? Jonathan Webb speaks with the science unit's tech reporter James Purtill about 2020 in technology news.

EnviroTeens take young readers on fun adventures learning about the environment A portrait of Sir John Eccles - Australian Nobel Laureate who devoted his life to unravelling the complexities of the human brain

What happened when three human species met in South Africa? What caused the biggest gravitational waves we’ve detected so far? Also, alligators on helium. That’s it. That’s the story. Science reporter Belinda Smith reviews her favourite stories from 2020 with science editor Jonathan Webb.

Could you survive for a month living off the land? And what’s the skyscraper-sized object found in the waters off Cape York? Also, everything you need to know about carbon accounting. Science editor Jonathan Webb speaks to environment reporter Nick Kilvert about his top stories from 2020.

Beatrix  Potter – author and amateur pioneer mycologist Peering through the looking glass at Lewis Carroll A tribute to Terry Pratchett A nod to Dylan Thomas

What do we know about the origins of the coronavirus? How promising are these new vaccines? And what’s taken the wind out of the sails of one of the most promising treatments for Alzheimer’s disease? Health reporter Olivia Willis speaks with science editor Jonathan Webb about the big health stories of 2020.

Portraits of two scientists who changed our view of the world - Rosalind Franklin whose photograph illustrated the double helix structure of DNA, and James Clerk Maxwell, who was up there with Newton and Einstein. He pioneered our understanding of the kinetic nature of gases, studied the rings of Saturn and described the importance of electromagnetism.

Radiation used to treat benign conditions up to the 1960s has led to illness and death Big push into nano medicine at The University of Sydney Children’s book celebrates pioneer of surgical osteointegration Australian trees growing all over the world Similarities between COVID-19 and climate change Space weather a risk for life The fine line for the scientific illustrator

The path towards reduced waste in Australia New technology for recycling composite materials Western Australian Museum opens after rebuild New theories about human origins Communicating science and health messages in Africa How humans have changed natural environments

More screen time increases risk of myopia Australian Museum Sydney opens following major transformation Rare monkey finally named NSW Premier’s Prize for battery research NSW Premier’s Prize for research and leadership in medical biological science Journey to Australia, then New Holland by Joseph Banks leads to the publication of hundreds of drawings of new plants and animals Henry the Flying Emu

Twenty years of climate extremes Barry Jones tracks changes since the 1980s How debating helped in the transition years The Carbon Club exposes those behind Australia’s toxic carbon politics

What is life? Revisiting the great Carlos hoax

Prime Minister’s Prize for Science awarded for discovery of gravitational waves. Celebrating Ruby Payne-Scott and the birth of radio astronomy.

Hope in Hell Working towards bigger, better lithium batteries Should scientists take a position in the US election? The Human Body Survival Guide