The Cosmos Podcast

While Moderna has announced it will be making mRNA vaccines on Australian shores by 2024, there are places that could already be doing parts of the process.

One such facility is based in Adelaide, and run by BioCina. BioCina has the technology and regulatory approvals to do microbial cell culture: the first step of the mRNA production process, and is currently using the technology to make other pharmaceutical products.

Cosmos Journalist Ellen Phiddian wrote and produced today’s episode where we  took a look inside the facility to see how this production process might work, and chatted to BioCina’s CEO, Ian Wisenberg.

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In this episode of our weekly series where journalists from the Cosmos newsroom bring you their highlights from the week in science, we hear about the climate change threat to the Winter Olympics, a smart phone that might be able to tell if you have COVID, and a 750-kilometre-long lightning bolt. And our journalists today are Lauren Fuge, Amalyah Hart and Matilda Handsley-Davis.  

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Today, Cosmos journalist Lauren Fuge reads a story that she wrote for the Cosmos website, and you can find the link to the story in the description. Ash Barty’s recent win at the Australian Open brought universal praise, but there’s one particular shot that is a weapon for the world number one, so we looked at just what the science, and physics in particular, behind her backhand slice.

You can find the original article at https://cosmosmagazine.com/science/physics/the-physics-of-ash-bartys-backhand-slice/

Find the science of everything at the Cosmos Magazine website 

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This is the start of a new weekly series where journalists from the Cosmos newsroom bring you their highlights from the week in science. Today we are joined by Ellen Phiddian, Amalyah Hart and Jamie Priest to talk hippos, little green men and long covid – amongst other things!  

Find the science of everything at the Cosmos Magazine website 

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Today, Cosmos journalist Lauren Fuge reads a story that ran in Cosmos Weekly. Wildlife tourism is the fastest growing sector of the travel industry, bringing in billions of dollars a year worldwide. In South Australia, tour operators and researchers have teamed up to protect a species they both love: white sharks.

You can find the original article at https://cosmosmagazine.com/nature/marine-life/shark-bait-tourism/

Find the science of everything at the Cosmos Magazine website 

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Today, Cosmos journalist Ellen Phiddian reads a story that ran in Cosmos Weekly. It looks at placebos. Right now “Honest placebo pills” are on the market, but does the science support them? You can find the original article at https://cosmosmagazine.com/health/medicine/placebo-pills/. The two studies that the article reference are Maher et al., 2021, ‘Placebos in clinical care: a suggestion beyond the evidence’, Medical Journal of Australia, https://doi.org/10.5694/mja2.51230, and Faasse & Colagiuri, 2019, ‘Placebos in Australian general practice: A national survey of physician use, beliefs and attitudes’, Australian Journal of General Practice, https://doi.org/10.31128/AJGP-11-18-4755.

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Who’s afraid of cobras? Not gorillas and chimps! Recent research has shown that an ancient ancestor of chimps, gorillas and humans evolved strong resistance to venom – specifically, to neurotoxins in snake venom – and passed it on to us. Today, Cosmos journalist Dr Deborah Devis speaks to the study’s lead author, Associate Professor Bryan Fry from the University of Queensland (AKA Venom Doc), about how this was part of an ongoing evolutionary arms race between African apes and deadly venomous snakes and why he’s so interested in venom.

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COVID-19, climate change, renewable energies... we have to make tough decisions every day and it isn't always easy. No matter how much evidence we have, we need to put thought into the actual “thought process” of critical decision making

Forget the complexity of science, how exactly do we make thoughtful, critical decisions that could affect our lives?

Today, Cosmos journalist Dr Deborah Devis talks to Professor Steve Begg from the University of Adelaide. He is an expert in decision-making under uncertainty, asset and portfolio economic evaluations, and psychological and judgmental factors that impact these, particularly eliciting expert opinion and uncertainty assessment.

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Today Royal Institution of Australia Editor-in-Chief Ian Connellan talks to astrophysicist Professor Alan Duffy. Alan has just stepped down as the Royal Institution of Australia's lead scientist after four years in the role. He is simply too busy these days to fit everything in, especially since his appointment earlier this year as director of the space technology and industry Institute at Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne. To say it's been great to have Alan, and that the Royal Institution will miss him, is the understatement of the decade. He's a clever, amiable, and endlessly curious man. And he's also got an interesting backstory for someone who's ended up as one of Australia's best-known scientists. 

Find the science of everything at the Cosmos Magazine website 

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With half of the world’s population now living in cities, a number that is projected to reach two thirds in the coming decades, people are becoming increasingly disconnected from their food both geographically and conceptually. Food travels greater distances, leading to increased waste and supply chain vulnerability.  

History tells us that during times of stress people turn to urban agriculture. Therefore, it is no surprise that the COVID-19 pandemic has seen a resurgence of urban agriculture for its contributions towards food security, health and wellbeing. Moreover, urban agriculture has been identified as a key strategy for adapting to climate change. Recent analysis identified it as a $4 billion growth opportunity for Australia.   

So is urban agriculture just a nice idea, or a plausible reality?  

 Today, Cosmos journalist Dr Deborah Devis talks to three experts from the University of Adelaide: Isobel Hume, a PhD Candidate, Dr Matthias Salomon, an Urban Soil Health researcher, and Tim Cavagnaro, a professor in Soil Ecology in the School of Agriculture, Food and Wine, to get some insights. 

Find the science of everything at the Cosmos Magazine website 

Watch and listen to all our Cosmos Briefings

Subscribe to Cosmos Magazine (print) or the Cosmos Weekly. Special 10% discount on Cosmos magazine print subscriptions (1 or 2 year), or 1 year Cosmos Weekly subscriptions for Cosmos Briefing podcast listeners!  Use coupon code COSMOSPOD in our shop.