The Science Show - Separate stories podcast

Crick: A Mind in Motion – from DNA to the Brain was published in 2025, full of new information and the disposal of false tales. The story is so vibrant that, after the West End play about him, author Matthew Cobb tells Robyn Williams there is a Hollywood film about Crick in production and even an opera.

Poor household air quality can affect people’s health, and high pollution levels lead to increased risk of cardiovascular, respiratory and neurological disease. With the kitchen being a primary pollution-producing area in the home, Belinda Smith discovers which cooking methods release the most harmful emissions, and what we can do to reduce health risks.

Belinda Smith reports on the winners of this year’s Nobel Prizes in medicine, physics and chemistry.

If you reach for the old tea towel in the cupboard, this episode is for you. 

It's time to talk textiles: why older towels seem to be better at drying, and when it may be time to throw out your more well-worn towels.

Jonathan follows the thread with Ellen Phiddian to find out what we can do with our linen. 

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]

Or get yourself a Radio National tea towel commemorating Science Week 2026!

Featuring:

• Ellen Phiddian, Science Reporter ABC

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

In her book What the Flora? Vanessa Fuchs tells of the remarkable ways plants have shaped our world: fuelling civilisations, inspiring innovation and sustaining all life on Earth. Blending science, true crime, history and a touch of lore, What the Flora? offers a fresh perspective on the ingenuity and wonders of the plant kingdom.

Many Australian native trees are struggling. Nearly 25 per cent of all eucalypt species are threatened with extinction, impacted by land clearing, climate change and other factors.

In 2015 it was decided to assess the conservation status of all Australian trees. Chantelle Doyle meets two ecologists, Ella Plumanns Pouton and Rachael Gallagher, coordinating Australia’s contribution to The International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species.

The bones were found in 2013 by a team in Türkiye. They look like granules of instant coffee. 40 bones were recovered, with analysis applied to 10, producing one success. This is the genetic lottery with the result being genome sequences of two dogs dating back 14,000–16,000 years, the earliest dogs to be sequenced. Dogs at that time were already genetically distinct from wolves. The work shows that dogs were widely distributed across western Eurasia long before the introduction of agriculture with evidence that the genetic diversification of dogs started much earlier than previously thought.

Sir Paul Nurse, president of the Royal Society of London, discusses the responsibility of science in a world where ideology-driven politics is on the rise. A Nobel Prize winner, Paul Nurse was the inaugural Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Francis Crick Institute in London, a centre for biomedical research in a collaboration between six major UK research institutions. 

Your phone battery doesn't like being fully charged or discharged. This is why it's sometimes advised that to extend its life, you shouldn't charge your phone beyond 80 per cent, or let it drop below 20 per cent.

But what's actually happening inside a lithium-ion battery to cause this effect, and what does it mean for battery engineering — and the life of the battery in your phone, or your electric car?

Jonathan Webb powers through the chemistry of batteries with Professor Neeraj Sharma.

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:

• Professor Neeraj Sharma, University of New South Wales

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

Three evolutionary biologists changed the way we think about life and our world.  They were all brilliant in their own ways and all difficult, gutsy fighters against scientific orthodoxy. But with the insight came ideas which were sometimes very wrong.

Sharon Carleton explores the achievements and sometimes wacky views of Lynn Margulis, Paul Ehrlich and Desmond Morris.