Science Vs

Science Vs is moving to a new home in New York City. New episodes be available on a different iTunes feed! If you get lost head to Wendy's twitter @wendyzuk or the Science Vs' Facebook page: facebook.com/sciencevspodcast. We hope to see you soon. Also, you can find more ABC science-y goodness with Dr Karl on Triple J here: https://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/dr-karl-on-triplej/id73331325?mt=2

Dr Neil deGrasse Tyson is the director of the Hayden Planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History. But, most know him as the host of the documentary series Cosmos and podcast StarTalk. Neil gained infamy as the killer of Pluto. For almost a decade, he has been the face behind Pluto’s demise from planet to dwarf planet. So, he gets a lot of hate mail from pissed off kids. Here, Neil talks to science journalist Wendy Zukerman about why he fell in love with space, representing minorities in science, the anti-science movement, religion and, yes, being Pluto's murderer.

NB: Wendy accidentally read out Neil's tweet about religion to say that he jokingly tweeted he was Greek Orthodox, when it should have been "Geek Orthodox". She's very frustrated both that she got it wrong, and didn't share an amazing pun. Sorry. It's been amended.

More information

Mr Universe (The Saturday Paper) https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/2015/08/01/mr-universe-neil-degrasse-tyson/14383512002184

Neil deGrasse Tyson Australian Tour http://thinkinc.org.au/events/an-evening-with-dr-neil-degrasse-tyson/

Neil deGrasse Tyson on Race https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQLtPWPqsjA

Pluto's not a planet? Only in New York (New York Times) http://www.haydenplanetarium.org/tyson/media/pdf/Pluto's_Not_a_Planet.pdf

Science is supposed to be an unbiased way to uncover nature’s secrets. Through blinded experiments, rigorous peer review and replication – we’ve been told that by using the scientific method we’ll find trustworthy facts. But, with many scientific findings largely regarded as ‘wrong’, is science broken? To find out, science journalist Wendy Zukerman speaks to Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson, Prof. Ivan Oransky, Prof. Barton Zwiebach, Ass. Prof. Alex Holcombe and Dr Alice Williamson.

As a quick clarifying point, in our discussion on statistics we mention that a 95 per cent confidence interval means that 1 in 20 individual findings are wrong. The word 'findings' here means individual experiments, not publications.

More information

Believe it or not: how much can we rely on published data on potential drug targets? http://www.nature.com/nrd/journal/v10/n9/full/nrd3439-c1.html

Why Most Published Research Findings Are False http://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.0020124

False-Positive Psychology - Undisclosed Flexibility in Data Collection and Analysis Allows Presenting Anything as Significant

(The Wiggle’ s Study) http://pss.sagepub.com/content/22/11/1359.full

We are often told that we can be happy, if we try hard enough. By shifting our mindset, changing our lifestyles, or even writing a gratitude journal – happiness is waiting for all of us! But, what does science say? To find out, science journalist Wendy Zukerman speaks to Prof. Paul Frijters, Ass. Prof. Dianne Vella Brodrick and Dr. Emiliana Simon-Thomas. We’re also joined by the author of The Happiness Myth, Jennifer Michael Hecht, as well as comedian Gen Fricker.

More information

Positive psychology interventions: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled studies http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2458/13/119/

Subjective well-being and adaptation to life events: a meta-analysis. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22059843

A dark side of happiness? http://gruberpeplab.com/pdf/GruberMaussTamir_2011_DarkSideHappiness.pdf

HILDA Survey https://www.melbourneinstitute.com/downloads/hilda/Stat_Report/statreport_2015.pdf

Are some of us born gay? People have argued that sexuality is determined before birth, while others believe the environment has a role to play here. So, what does the science say? To find out Wendy Zukerman spoke to Prof. Jenny Graves, Prof. Jacques Balthazart, Prof. William Rice, Dr. Ilan Dar-Nimrod as well as comedians Tom Ballard, Rhys Nicholson and Kyran Wheatley.

More Information

Minireview: Hormones and Human Sexual Orientation by Jacques Balthazart http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3138231/

Genetic study into male homosexuality http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25399360

Sexual orientation in women with congenital adrenal hyperplasia

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18157628

Electronic Cigarettes have been hailed by some as a breakthrough in the battle to help people quit smoking, while others say these devices are creating a new generation of nicotine addicts. So, what does the science say? To find out science journalist Wendy Zukerman speaks to Prof. Stanton Glantz, Prof. Simon Chapman, Dr. Lynne Dawkins, Prof. Chris Bullen and e cigarette advocate Simone Davis.

Extra reading:

Chemical Evaluation of E cigarettes

http://tobaccocontrol.bmj.com/content/23/suppl_2/ii11.full

Comparison of toxicity in E Cigarette samples http://www.researchgate.net/profile/Prue_Talbot2/publication/230878668_Comparison_of_electronic_cigarette_refill_fluid_cytotoxicity_using_embryonic_and_adult_models/links/02e7e52b07569671ce000000.pdf

Review of E Cigarettes in Cardiovascular Medicine by Professor Stanton Glantz http://circ.ahajournals.org/content/129/19/1972.full

E-Cigarettes: Prevalence and Attitudes in Great Britain http://ntr.oxfordjournals.org/content/15/10/1737.full?sid=361a964c-7fa5-4cfb-90e5-966b4a0d1226

Pornography has been blamed for destroying our minds and our sex lives. Some even say porn is addictive. But, what does the science say? To find out Wendy Zukerman speaks to Dr. Russell Pratt, Dr Simone Kühn, Prof. Brian McNair and anti-porn campaigner Gabriel Deem.

Bonus reading:

Anal heterosex among young people and implications for health promotion: a qualitative study in the UK http://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/4/8/e004996.full

Erection Dysfunction Questionnaire: http://surgery.arizona.edu/sites/surgery.arizona.edu/files/pdf/SHIM%20score.pdf

Swiss Study on Erectile Dysfunction https://serval.unil.ch/resource/serval:BIB_0A179DC2D471.P001/REF

Is Pornography Use Associated with Sexual Difficulties and Dysfunctions among Younger Heterosexual Men? http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jsm.12853/abstract

Medical marijuana has been called a miracle drug - rumoured to cure an array of ailments, from cramps to cancer. But, what does the science say? To find out Wendy Zukerman speaks to Prof. Laurie Mather, Prof. David Penington, Prof. Herbert Kleber and Prof. Tamas Horvath.

Bonus reading:

Radio National's Background Briefing report Report http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/backgroundbriefing/2014-10-19/5816112

Report of a parent survey of cannabidiol-enriched cannabis use in pediatric treatment-resistant epilepsy http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24237632

Cannabis in cancer care. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25777363

SBS' The Feed https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKwTy0tIyEw