Scitech's Wonder Kids

With the 2019 UN Climate Summit making headlines, climate change and young activists have been put front and centre in the discussion around climate change.

With school students becoming a driving force in the conversation, some education institutes are getting on board with the push for a cleaner and more sustainable future around the school.

So how do you measure a school's carbon footprint, and how can you decide the best order to tackle problems in?

Fremantle based ClimateClever believe they have the answer to help schools across the country.

It's a National Science Week special episode!

Flight controller Andrea Boyd works directly with the International Space Station (ISS) on a day-to-day basis, communicating with astronauts on experiments in the European Space Agency lab.

Originally from South Australia, Andrea was in Australia for National Science Week - visiting Perth, Adelaide and Sydney to attend events and talk with budding STEM students!

Robotics and automation have been changing how we interact with our world more frequently in the past few years.

From robotic vacuum cleaners to self-parking cars to smart houses, robotics has helped to make our world wore accessible and easier to live in.

But to create this level of technology, research into automation and robotics is needed.At UWA's Robotics and Automation lab, the team have been researching autonomous robots for more than 20 years.

Over that time, Professor Thomas Bräunl and his team have created some interesting experiments.

Fetal Alchohol Spectrum Disorder – or FASD – has been a growing concern for families in regional Australia.

FASD occurs when alcohol is consumed during pregnancy and can lead to a wide range of disabilities in an unborn child.

 

This episode we talk with Sharynne Hamilton - a PHD candidate with the Telethon Kids Institute in Western Australia.

 

Sharynne has been looking at the prevalence of FASD in youths who come into conflict with the justice system and was listed as a finalist in the 2019 Premier’s Science awards for her work.

With so many lights in our night sky, identifying what's a star, a galaxy or another source of black body radiation can be a very time consuming project. This immense task is something the team at ICRAR are hoping to complete over the next few years before a new telescope goes online in Chile - and considering the sheer volume of data to sift through, they've reached out to citizen scientists for help.

A team of biologists have created an interactive VR program called the Virtual Plant Cell - designed to help teach students about what happens inside a plants cell. But it's more than just a 3D-video, with cooperative game play and communication a key component of the experience, it has the potential to change how we learn.

The project is by the ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology, a cutting-edge research centre based in Perth focused on better understanding the ways plants capture, convert and use energy.

You can experience what the VR program is like in this 3D video showing the effects of drought on a plants cells: https://youtu.be/PJRJcIUX4o8 (https://youtu.be/PJRJcIUX4o8)

Along with the VR experience, there's a range of free learning resources for teachers and curious minds at www.plantenergy.edu.au/VPC (http://www.plantenergy.edu.au/VPC)

The word sustainable is often used in relation to both our food and the environment.

But what does it mean to make a city sustainable?

Is it controlling its carbon footprint? It’s population growth? Or how its infrastructure is planned?

Professor Peter Newman from the Sustainability Policy Institute has spent many years trying to answer this politically charged and often polarising question.

Plastic has weaved it's way into every aspect of modern society from plastic backs to synthetic clothing. But while it's threat to the environment is of serious concern, there was a time when the invention of plastic actually helped wildlife.

With the first ever Australian Universities Rocket Competition (https://aurc.ayaa.com.au/) being held on April 17th, University students from around the country are taking their amateur rockets to Queensland to see who can fly highest, fastest and not blow up on the launch pad.

The UWA Aerospace Club (http://uwaaerospace.org) was only created in April last year but the team has already made it into the competitions Top 5 list based on the initial round of judging.

Even though there is no Aerospace Engineering course at UWA, the team are proving just how far WA ingenuity can push the envelope, and Project Manager Anthony Poletto says the team can't wait to show off what they've accomplished.

This episode of the Particle Podcast, we're looking at a disorder which effects 9% of women and 25% of men in Australia - Sleep Apnoea.

Professor Peter Eastwood is a Senior Research Fellow with the WA Sleep Disorder Research Institute and has been researching if a 3D-scan of the face can predict a patients risk.

And so far, the results look promising.