Dr Cat and Dilendra weave together the science of using silk from silkworms and spiders in medicine. Dilendra Wijesekara, a material scientist at Deakin University’s Institute of Frontier Materials, is developing a silk biomaterial for ear surgery. Dr Cat also shares some wild science involving getting goats to produce “spider silk milk”, and using a protein in spider silk as inspiration for cancer treatment. It’s a silky-smooth episode that showcases how strong, flexible, and fabulous nature can be.

This episode originally aired on 27th May, 2025.

The post Weave got this – we’re healing with silk appeared first on Science Queeries.

This seals the deal: seals are incredible animals. They’re the only mammal that can hear both through air and under water. Pint of Science speaker/Palaeontologist Dr James Rule and Dr Cat go on a fossil-filled adventure (literally – they talk about their search for fossils), dig deep into Australia’s ancient seas and unearth the evolution of seal hearing.

This episode originally aired on 20th May, 2025.

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For a fabulously nerdy Radiothon special, Dr Cat goes full STEAM ahead with a science-packed extravaganza. She tests her history buff brother Sasha Kober’s knowledge of scientific discoveries and historical episodes of Science Queeries. She fields questions in an Ask Me Anything, runs a quiz showdown between her brother and Little Jase from Big Bi+ Questions, and belts out some science karaoke. It’s brains, banter, and belting for a brilliant cause: supporting JOY.

This episode originally aired on 13th May, 2025.

The post Science, Sass and Song: The Radiothon Riff-Off appeared first on Science Queeries.

Dr Cat and archaeologist Dr Wenjing Yu are digging up the past and brushing off the dust on history. Dr Wenjing has done fieldwork around the world, piecing together the story of our ancestors and their evolution to answer: when and where do we as humans come from? She excavates the fascinating story of the Taung Child skull, the oldest child in the world, and Dr Cat touches on the lessons we’ve learned from the icy archives in Antarctica.

This episode originally aired on 6th May, 2025.

The post Can you dig it? appeared first on Science Queeries.

Dr Cat cell-abrates the World Day of Immunology with Dr Keit Loi, Lecturer in immunology at The University of Melbourne. Together, they’ll infect you with an appreciation of the randomness and chaotic yet impressive coordination of the immune response so that it can help fight infections and cancer. Unless it goes wrong…

This episode originally aired on 29th April, 2025.

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Dr Cat chats to Dr Jamie Robertson AM about the tooth, the whole tooth, and nothing but the tooth. Dr Jamie is filling us in on the root causes of dental inequality – and reminding us that oral health isn’t just about a sparkling smile as it influences our overall health too. Whether you’re grinding through policy or just brushing up on the facts, remember: access to dental care should never be like pulling teeth. Here’s hoping for a fairer, healthier future.

This episode originally aired on 22nd April, 2025.

The post The fluoride of your life appeared first on Science Queeries.

Dr Cat and Amber Craig splashy deep dive into water — where it goes, who gets it, and what happens when there’s way too much… or not nearly enough. From drenched cities to parched paddocks, they wade through the ripple effects of floods, droughts, and the under-appreciated world of sewerage systems.

This episode originally aired on 15th April, 2025.

The post Water’ll we do? appeared first on Science Queeries.

It’s an episode lichen you’ve never heard before! Dr Cat and science educator Finn McHenry literally queer-ied lichens – those curious little lifeforms that are part fungus, part algae, and 100% symbiotic slay. They ask some big questions about how science sees nature, and how queerness helps us see it differently.

This episode originally aired on 8th April, 2025.

The post I lichen like that! appeared first on Science Queeries.

On April Fools’ Day, Dr Cat talks to science communicator/comedian/entertainer Owen Collins. They dive into the trickiest side of science: the legendary pranks that fooled the world, the real scientific facts that sound like total nonsense, and shenanigans that you can try out yourself. They experiment with the fine line between fact and fiction, and teach us that curiosity and a healthy dose of skepticism go hand in hand.

This episode originally aired on 1st April, 2025… yes, really.

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This episode is trending – it’s about data trends and biases. Dr Cat chats to the wonderful Tamzyn of JOY Breakfast, Big Bi+ Questions, and Geeks Out about how bias sneaks into data and they decode its real-world impact. From Tamzyn’s binary code tattoo to where to buy the best BBQ chicken, there’s data everywhere we look. But are things always as they seem?

This episode originally aired 25th March, 2025.

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