The Science Briefing

Buried under more than 2 kilometres of ice in Antarctica is an observatory unlike any other in the world.

It’s called the Icecube Neutrino Observatory – and no, it’s not measuring melting icecaps or numbers of Antarctic wildlife.

In fact, this observatory is making major discoveries about celestial bodies and space objects in our solar system and far beyond that.

Dr Sophie Calabretto talks to Cosmos Magazine journalist Jacinta Bowler about what makes the Icecube Neutrino Observatory so unique, what it’s looking for and what space discoveries are on the horizon.

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Kathleen Folbigg has been in prison for nearly 20 years, charged with murdering 3 of her children and one charge of manslaughter. 

But while she’s been behind bars, genetics research has made exponential leaps.

And new evidence uncovered by two Danish researchers could prove critical to her case. 

Dr Sophie Calabretto talks to Cosmos Magazine journalist Matthew Agius about the Kathleen Folbigg case, what these new findings are and if this game-changing science could rewrite the Folbigg story.

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Genetically modified organisms – or GMO – often get a bad rap with claims they’re bad for your health and can cause things like allergies.

But science says otherwise, proving many of these claims are untrue.

So, what are the benefits of GMO?

Cosmos Magazine journalist Jacinta Bowler runs Dr Sophie Calabretto through the GMO foods already available on some supermarket shelves and why we genetically modify food in the first place.

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Science and music aren’t typically thought of as two peas in a pod, but the two worlds overlap more than you think. 

There’s plenty of scientific research on music – like how certain chords are favoured over others in some cultures and why people might prefer death metal over pop music.  

A recent research project on arguably one of the most complex music genres – jazz – has unlocked some answers as to why it sounds and feels so different to other types of music.

Dr Sophie Calabretto talks to Cosmos Magazine journalist Evrim Yazgin about the science of jazz and take a closer and more scientific look at one of the genre’s defining features – swing. 

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The world is slowly cleaning up electricity by rolling out more solar panels, wind turbines and batteries. 

While the transition to greener energy is critical, these technologies don’t last forever.  

And the waste from dead renewables tech is piling up fast.  

Dr Sophie Calabretto talks to Cosmos Magazine journalist Ellen Phiddian about how we recycle old renewables technology and how the transition to cleaner energy is in desperate need of a green waste solution.

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Emissions reductions are back in the global spotlight with the latest Conference of the Parties - COP27 - underway in Egypt.  

Every year the climate summit brings the world together to set targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. 

But when everyone heads back home, how do countries actually report their performance? 

Dr Sophie Calabretto talks to Cosmos Magazine journalist Ellen Phiddian about how we count greenhouse gas emissions and how some are wildly underreporting what they emit.

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Death is a hard enough to think about, let alone thinking about the toll your body has on the environment when you die. 

Most of the methods we use to dispose of bodies – like cremation and burials – are incredibly carbon unfriendly.  

But the number of environmentally friendly alternatives is on the rise. 

Dr Sophie Calabretto talks to Cosmos Magazine journalist Evrim Yazgin about how your body could be harming the planet and some of the greener – yet slightly queasier – methods for end of life.

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NASA is heading back to the moon in the hopes of setting up a colony there.  

But this endeavour – called Artemis - has been plagued by delays and the spacecraft remains firmly on the ground.  

So, what’s going on? Why hasn’t it launched yet? 

Dr Sophie Calabretto talks to Cosmos Magazine journalist Matthew Agius about the Artemis missions, what's gone wrong so far and when we’re likely to a moon colony become reality.

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A lot of people are freaked out by spiders – no explanation needed – but fear often breeds contempt and spiders get an especially bad rap.  

Misinformation about spiders – or spider ‘fake news’ - spreads like wildfire online. 

So how much of what we read about our crawly friends is actually true?

Dr Sophie Calabretto talks to Cosmos Magazine journalist Jacinta Bowler about where spider misinformation comes from and how many news stories are spun like a web of lies.

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The relaxing of rules around mask-wearing, venue sign-ins and vaccination requirements has got a lot of people thinking we’re out of the woods when it comes to covid.  

But the arrival of new covid subvariants shows that's not the case. 

Dubbed the ‘scrabble’ variants - named after high scoring letters from the boardgame like B, Q and X - they’re spreading fast across Europe, Asia, the US and have now landed on Australian shores.  

Cosmos Magazine journalist Matthew Agius gives Dr Sophie Calabretto a covid update and looks at whether Australia is equipped to deal with another potential outbreak.

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