Great Moments In Science

The destructive force of a wall of snow is well known. Major avalanches can not only kill, they can also completely reshape a landscape.  

But it's not just mountainsides we need to worry about. There are also avalanches happening under the surface of the ocean — forging canyons and threatening our telecommunications.

There are plenty of reasons why a person might poke their tongue out. 

Sometimes it can be a rude or cute gesture. Maori warriors do it as a sign of defiance, and Tibetans do it as a greeting.

But many times it's a sign of concentration. So here’s why your tongue helps your brain think.

Host: Dr Karl Kruszelnicki

In development is an amazing new technology which may, eventually, turn your thoughts into speech. It's being designed to help people who can’t speak, turn what they're thinking into speech. But it’s still early days.

Athletes are not just fit, they also attract a lot of media attention, especially if stories are put around that COVID vaccines are a cause of death in this group. In late 2021 such claims were being made - and they’re plainly not true.

In 2022 we found that Neanderthal DNA could kill superbugs. Wait, what ... didn't Neanderthals die out?  Yes, but their hidden power could make them important in modern medicine.

Continuing the story about the effects of alcohol we arrive at the “drunchies”—short for the “drunken munchies”. They’re what occur after a bout of too much drinking. You become very hungry and much your way through any fast food within reach.

Host: Dr Karl Kruszelnicki

Alcohol in small quantities can make people sociable; but too much of it can mean hangovers and associated consumption of non-nutritional foodstuffs. There's a whole chemical family of 'alcohols', so what's the deal with the one that humans kinda like—ethanol.

For some snapping spaghetti is sacrilege — but for others it’s science.

From spaghetti strands to trees to nanotubes — we need to know about the physics of rod-like structures.

How do trees face an incoming threat if they can't move, see, or hear?