Fuzzy Logic Science Show

This week, Broderick talks about all the latest in science news from whale song to dust storms, cubic poos to fake news. There's plenty to hear including the scat scat!

Fuzzy is doing some fieldwork this week! We head out with Cale Matthews, an honours student from Flinders University, who shares some tales from the field catching bees in Fiji. We also discuss cuttlefish, native tarantulas and coincidental birthdays on this day. This episode presented by Broderick and Jill.

What would you do with a really big computer?

It's an interesting thought but it almost misses the point because - what we do without one? The super computer at the NCI in Canberra is about far more than intellectual curiosity. Models that give us a seven-day weather forcast are developed on this computer.

Weather leads to climate, and climate leads to the environment, water, and productivity in agriculture. Now of all times, this provides crucial information for our future. Then there's health research in fields such as genetics.

Our guest today is NCI Director, Professor Sean Smith whose own research history is in nanomaterials - a field that offers the prospect of clean hydrogen fuel.

Read more about Raijin and weather forcasting in our Ask Fuzzy column in Fairfax.

Interview by Rod.

@FuzzyLogicSci

So who says you're unwell? A doctor? Your insurance company? You? Your boss?

What makes a disease is a slippery slope of definition, and not for the faint hearted (which could itself be a disease). It makes a vast difference to how - or whether - you're treated. Do you get a day off work? Will you insurance company cover you?

Just as important perhaps, it affects your own well-being, and your perception of whether it's okay to feel crap. Or whether you're a shirker, a malingerer and a sponge bunging on a sickie.

This is no trivial question if you've been told to get over it, come back tomorrow.

Mike McRae is author of Unwell, What makes a disease a disease. Recommended.

We are joined by first year medical student, Eliza who gives us her perspective on childbirth and pain relief.

Interview by Rod.

Worried about having enough vitamins and minerals in your diet? Easy! Here's a pill.

Problem solved....maybe. The vitamins and supplements industry is huge: this year, global sales will be about $100 billion, and almost a billion of us take one regularly. Think about what all that clever marketing does for sales.

Dr Derek Muller digs into this tangled pile in the new documentary, Vitamania. He travels the world, speaking to experts in every country. Along the way he learned what too much vitamin D can do, nuts in space, and...rotten fish.

Interview by Rod, via phone.

Derek Muller will appear on stage for his debut Australian tour, along with the premiere of Vitamania:

www.VitamaniaTheMovie.com