Two ancient Australian possums, thought to be extinct, are now known to survive in Indonesian Papua

A fast-moving strain of influenza known as "Super-K" is circulating in Australia and has been driving up flu numbers around the world. Virologists are constantly tracking strains like this as they come and go. Professor Kirsty Short, shares her anxiety about the flu season ahead, as well as a surprising recent win — and a call to arms about vaccination.

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:

• Kirsty Short, virologist at University of Queensland

More information:

Australia's 2026 influenza vaccine rollout and the Super-K strain

This episode of Lab Notes was produced on the lands of the Gadigal and Menang Noongar people.

Conventional explanations for how humans became ‘the language animal’ focus on our need to cooperate to hunt, fight or make tools. Now, evolutionary biologist Madeleine Beekman suggests a new idea for origin of language: the need to share childcare.

Australia has the highest melanoma rates in the world — but there's some good news for Aussie kids. The presence of moles is a strong predictor of melanoma and researchers in Queensland have found that the number of moles found on children's bodies has halved in recent decades.

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:  

• Nick Martin, human geneticist at the QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute

Extra information:

Halving of Australian children's naevus counts during 1992-2016 and change in sun behaviour

Hopes for lower melanoma risk as study finds number of moles on children's bodies halved in 25 years

This episode of Lab Notes was produced on the lands of the Gadigal and Menang Noongar people.

When raised lead levels were noticed in Los Angeles last year, a chemist — who usually examines asteroids — quickly saw that the fires that ravaged the region in January 2025 were to blame. 

Major international airports in the Middle East have been closed this week due to the war with Iran, leaving hundreds of thousands of passengers stranded. So, what happens after a major airspace closure?

How do pilots know where they should fly? And how long will it take to get things back to normal?

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:  

• Amy Briggs, science reporter 

Extra information:  

• Air travel may be disrupted by the Iran war for months. This is why

This episode of Lab Notes was produced on the lands of the Gadigal, Wurundjeri and Menang Noongar people.

Robyn Williams reports from the 2026 annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Backyard sprinklers have transformed the Aussie urban landscape. But their path to domination of our suburbs was haphazard — and hinged on the inventions of several knockabout tinkerers. Meanwhile with a rapidly drying climate, we may need to re-consider our reliance on this invention.

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:  

• James Purtill, technology reporter 

Extra information:

How the garden sprinkler conquered Australia

This episode of Lab Notes was produced on the lands of the Gadigal and Menang Noongar people.

An ancient human may be a new species, and extinct giant kangaroos - could they hop? 

A quick online search reveals multiple paid services for naming stars as commemorative gifts. You'll be provided with a certificate and a map for finding your star in the sky. But these names are not official and are not used by astronomers — or anyone else, for that matter. So what's going on, and how do stars really get their names?  

‌Featuring:  

• Laura Driessen, radio astronomer at the University of Sydney 

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]

This episode of Lab Notes was produced on the lands of the Gadigal and Menang Noongar people.