We also celebrate mathematician Terence Tao’s King’s birthday honour, and go in search of subatomic particles, 2Km underground.

A deadly variant of H5N1 avian influenza has finally reached mainland Australia: the last continent without it. Although the risk to human health remains low, this virus has spread through many different species overseas — and not just birds. So are our animals vulnerable? Jonathan Webb speaks with Dr Tiggy Grillo about which animals could be at risk, and what is being done to protect them.

You can binge more episodes of the Lab Notes podcast with science editor and presenter Jonathan Webb on the ABC Listen app (Australia). You'll find episodes on animal behaviour, human health, space exploration and so much more.

Get in touch with us: [email protected]

Featuring:

• Dr Tiggy Grillo, Chief Operating Officer of Wildlife Health Australia

Further information:

Animal disease hotline: 1800 675 888

What we know about how H5N1 bird flu got here and where it may appear next

Why bird flu poses a high risk to many Australian native mammals

For more on avian influenza and humans, have a listen to the latest Health Report bonus episode.

This episode of Lab Notes was produced on the lands of the Gadigal, Ngunnawal and Ngambri people.

If insects feel pain, do they deserve animal rights as apply to mammals?

The largest, deepest and oldest whale graveyard has been found off the coast of Western Australia: teeming with life. 

Jonathan Webb takes a deep dive with environment reporter, Peter de Kruijff, into the science behind whale falls and their importance to underwater ecosystems.

You can binge more episodes of the Lab Notes podcast with science editor and presenter Jonathan Webb on the ABC Listen app (Australia). You'll find episodes on animal behaviour, human health, space exploration and so much more.

Get in touch with us: [email protected]

Featuring:

• Peter de Kruijff, environment reporter

Further information:

World's biggest whale graveyard found in Indian Ocean off Australia

A 5.3-million-year-old deep-sea whale necropolis in the Diamantina Zone

This episode of Lab Notes was produced on the lands of the Gadigal, Ngunnawal and Ngambri people.

What might be the biggest threat to tropical forests? Climate change? Illegal loggers? Invasive species? None of the above. It’s roads. Bill Laurance explains.

On an island full of trees, there can only be one that is the tallest. How did researchers in Taiwan manage to find the tallest tree in East Asia?

This week, Jonathan Webb finds this out by speaking to Dr Rebecca Hsu, the lead researcher behind the project to find The Heaven Sword.

You can binge more episodes of the Lab Notes podcast with science editor and presenter Jonathan Webb on the ABC Listen app (Australia). You'll find episodes on animal behaviour, human health, space exploration and so much more.

Get in touch with us: [email protected]

Featuring:

• Dr Rebecca Hsu, Taiwan Institute of Forestry

Further information:

The journey of finding the tallest tree in Formosa Taiwan

Finding and saving the world's biggest trees before they disappear

This episode of Lab Notes was produced on the lands of the Gadigal, Ngunnawal and Ngambri people.

Evidence is mounting that Indigenous people were in Australia early than the 65,000 date most now know. And there are suggestions the continent supported a population of at least 2 million people. Authors Sean Ulm, Billy Griffiths and Larissa Behrendt explore these ideas in their book The First Inventors.

Plants are more aware of their surroundings then we give them credit for. A growing body of work is showing that plants can change themselves in response to different sounds.

Dr Samarth Kulshrestha, a molecular biologist from the University of Canterbury, is one of these researchers, looking at the mechanisms behind plant senses. 

You can binge more episodes of the Lab Notes podcast with science editor and presenter Jonathan Webb on the ABC Listen app (Australia). You'll find episodes on animal behaviour, human health, space exploration and so much more.

Get in touch with us: [email protected]

Featuring:

• Dr Kulshrestha, University of Canterbury 

Further information:

The secret sensory life of plants: researchers are discovering how they see, hear, feel – and even remember

Plants respond to leaf vibrations caused by insect herbivore chewing

Tuned in: plant roots use sound to locate water

This episode of Lab Notes was produced on the lands of the Gadigal, Ngunnawal and Ngambri people.

AI offers instant translations between human languages. So will we one day communicate with whales? And while we marvel at the possibilities, the challenge today is preventing collisions between sea creatures and ships, or whales and turtles becoming tangled in nets.

Ever wondered how your sweater became bright orange, or how your leather shoes were made? Chances are, at some point in the process, hazardous chemicals like lead or azo dyes were used. 

Jonathan Webb speaks to Ellen Phiddian, science reporter with Radio National, about whether these chemicals are dangerous to us, and if we should be worried about them. 

You can binge more episodes of the Lab Notes podcast with science editor and presenter Jonathan Webb on the ABC Listen app (Australia). You'll find episodes on animal behaviour, human health, space exploration and so much more.

Get in touch with us: [email protected]

Featuring:

• Ellen Phiddian, science reporter

Further information:

Lead may contaminate our clothes but there's no requirement to test for it

This episode of Lab Notes was produced on the lands of the Gadigal, Ngunnawal and Ngambri people.