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A Week In Science – 17 May 2013

[ By James Byrne on May 17, 2013 ]
http://vimeo.com/66302490 Media coverage of this week’s stories Skin cells cloned into embryonic cells - Article from ABC Science Apes and monkeys go way back - Article from news.com.au Pollution may increase kids’ risk for diabetes - Article from Fox News Common plants, animals threatened by climate change, ... Continue Reading »

The clock ticks in all of us

[ By James Byrne on May 10, 2013 ]
This week I'm on tour with ActNow Theatre with a play we commissioned called The Clock. Written by Emily Steel, the play examines the science of ageing, from both a social and biological perspective. We're 2 shows into a six show tour of regional South Australia. As part of one of ... Continue Reading »

A Week In Science – 3 May 2013

[ By James Byrne on May 3, 2013 ]
http://vimeo.com/65281819 H7N9 flu confirmed as being transmitted from birds to humans Article from The Australian Early detection of Alzheimer’s using a blood test Article from ABC News 2 doses of HPV vaccine as effective as 3 doses Article from Science Daily EU bans use of 3 ... Continue Reading »

Alchemy in a glass

[ By Petra Dzurovcinova on May 1, 2013 ]
Do you love wine? Do you know why? Join us for a night of sensory indulgence and learn about one of life's great pleasures. Meet renowned winemakers, find out how wines are judged and how ‘taste’ works. You'll try six wine varieties, and learn about the processes and art that gives ... Continue Reading »

Smallpox: a Vaccination Success Story

[ By James Byrne ]
What do Abraham Lincoln, Josef Stalin and Ramses the fifth of Egypt all have in common? The answer is all contracted smallpox, a disease with a special place in our medical history. Smallpox – one of the deadliest diseases known to man - was the first disease for which ... Continue Reading »

A Week In Science – 26 April 2013

[ By James Byrne on April 26, 2013 ]
http://vimeo.com/64703358 Australia’s Aboriginal population descended from just 1000-2000 original inhabitants Article from ABC Science Asthma worsened by low fibre and high fat diets Article from DailyRx Genital Warts diagnoses drop by 59% Article from Eureka Science News Marijuana pills more effective for pain ... Continue Reading »

For the love of graphs

[ By Petra Dzurovcinova on April 24, 2013 ]
Although I’m pretty much allergic to finance and business news in the evening bulletins, I do look forward to Alan Kohler’s segment on the ABC News because no one deals with graphs on telly better than him. Graphs can be difficult to interpret and are often misleading but they are ... Continue Reading »

Media release – Vaccination Café (23 April 2013)

[ By James Byrne on April 23, 2013 ]
Get your 2013 flu vaccination for just $10 at the first RiAus Vaccination Café. Grab a free coffee or tea and chat with roving scientists to find out more about vaccinations and how the body fights illness and disease. In association with the Australasian Society for Immunology to mark the World ... Continue Reading »

Flu vax shot third time lucky

[ By Petra Dzurovcinova on April 20, 2013 ]
Pregnant women are at greater risk of the flu, because their immune system is compromised and their lung capacity is reduced, so the government offers the vaccine for free. Health authorities including the World Health Organisation strongly recommend vaccination against influenza for all pregnant women, in any trimester. Why then, ... Continue Reading »

A Week In Science – 19 April 2013

[ By Petra Dzurovcinova ]
http://vimeo.com/64290509 Ancient Hobbits had a larger brain than previously thought Article from the Royal Society Baby brains mapped to understand when they understand Article from Science Short term hearing loss is protective, not due to damage Article from Health Canal Fainting runs in ... Continue Reading »

Immunising before you travel – Why is it so important?

[ By James Byrne on April 18, 2013 ]
A renewed bird flu epidemic is imminent. There have been 28 reported cases of infection from the bird flu strain H7N9 in eastern China since February this year, in which 9 people have died. There is scientific evidence to suggest that bird flu is a fatal, but preventable disease. ... Continue Reading »

Media release – The Clock: Regional Tour (18 April 2013)

[ By Petra Dzurovcinova ]
Regional tour in Pt Augusta (Tuesday 7 May) - Port August Secondary School Theatre, Mt Gambier (Thursday 9 May) The Main Corner Complex, Goolwa (Friday 10 May) Centenary Hall. Age is just a number... isn't it? Free Range Science and ActNow Theatre present a new piece of interactive theatre, exploring the ... Continue Reading »

Jeremy Woolley

[ By Petra Dzurovcinova on April 17, 2013 ]
Dr Jeremy Woolley has been working as a road safety researcher for over a decade and has been a Senior Research Fellow with the Centre for Automotive Safety Research (CASR) at the University of Adelaide for seven years. He has conducted research in many areas of road safety and is ... Continue Reading »

Lost In Translation: Evidence-based healthcare

[ By James Byrne on April 15, 2013 ]
Could changing the timing of a baby's first bath save its life?  Is it better for your health to have a private or shared hospital room?  Research is constantly discovering better health care solutions, but is often not adopted into best practice and policy. Somewhere these answers are lost in translation. In ... Continue Reading »

A Week In Science – 12 April 2013

[ By Petra Dzurovcinova on April 12, 2013 ]
http://vimeo.com/63801262 Fossilized dinosaur embryos give scientists a unique opportunity Article from National Geographic Fruit juice used to replace fat in chocolate Article from Huffington Post Well-preserved remains of 2 million year old human relatives found in South Africa Article from ABC Science L-carnitine contained ... Continue Reading »

What would happen if we stopped immunising?

[ By Petra Dzurovcinova on April 11, 2013 ]
Imagine yourself in the year 1900. You would be wearing a lovely period costume which would have included a hat, your house may still be without electricity and a toilet and you probably left school before your teen years to work to help support your family. If you were particularly affluent ... Continue Reading »

One web to divide us all

[ By Petra Dzurovcinova on April 10, 2013 ]
I recently had the unpleasant experience of having to ‘unfriend’ someone from my Facebook page. I say it was unpleasant, even if I haven’t seen him for decades, because it is confronting to have to deliberately block someone who was once a real-life, flesh-and-blood friend in the days long before ... Continue Reading »

The International Year of Water Cooperation: Bottled Water

[ By Petra Dzurovcinova on April 8, 2013 ]
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), are organising this year’s International Year of Water Cooperation and aim to remind the world of its commitment to achieve the UN Millennium Development Goals (UN MDG). In particular, they want to focus the world’s efforts on achieving target seven, ensuring ... Continue Reading »

Review of Science Behind the Headlines – Drugs in Sport

[ By Petra Dzurovcinova on April 5, 2013 ]
I don’t know very much about sport. It would seem, therefore, an odd choice for me to be asked to review last week’s RiAus Science in the Headlines event entitled Drugs in Sport, but sometimes it pays to be clueless. With no preconceptions and no bias, I could approach the ... Continue Reading »

A Week In Science – 5 April 2013

[ By Petra Dzurovcinova ]
http://vimeo.com/63305602 Black hole wakes up and has a light snack Article from the European Space Agency Australian scientists capture the end of giant star Supernova 1987A : Article on Adelaide Now Evidence of Dark Matter found Article from News.com.au Call-packed micro fibres restore ... Continue Reading »

What is Immunisation?

[ By Petra Dzurovcinova on April 4, 2013 ]
If you are like me, the most persistent memory of your childhood immunisations is the jelly beans or lollipop that you were given as a trade-off for sitting still. A lolly as a bribe for a needle hardly seems like a fair trade when you think back on it… But ... Continue Reading »

Communicating Science to the Public

[ By Petra Dzurovcinova on April 2, 2013 ]
Communicating science to the public is increasingly seen as an important skill and experience for scientists, however many feel trepidation when faced with it. How do you take your research or field of knowledge and make it understandable for the general public or an audience who don’t have background knowledge ... Continue Reading »

How the moon affects the date of Easter?

[ By Petra Dzurovcinova on March 30, 2013 ]
I don’t know about you, but my sceptical inquiry is fleeting at the best of times. Easter is no exemption. I, like many people, accept the changing dates of Easter each year without much question. Who, after all, is going to dispute a long weekend? I understand why it is easier ... Continue Reading »

A Week In Science – 29 March 2013

[ By Petra Dzurovcinova on March 28, 2013 ]
https://vimeo.com/62841779 TV ups antisocial risk in kids Article from Irish Health Humans wiped out Pacific island birds Article from ABC Science online Genetic link for the development of smoking habits? Article from Science Daily Traffic pollution linked to childhood Asthma Article ... Continue Reading »

Easter Egg-speriments!

[ By Petra Dzurovcinova ]
You may have groaned at my lame pun but I love Easter. It’s an EXTRA long weekend and there is always chocolate involved. What’s not to love?! The Easter weekend is also the perfect excuse for a few fun science activities involving eggs – so grab your lab coat and ... Continue Reading »

A Bone to Share with You

[ By Petra Dzurovcinova on March 27, 2013 ]
This week something a bit different; a photo essay on a fossilised bone I found in Richmond, Queensland last year. On the picture on the right I am with the bone as I found it in the field just minutes after the original find. I was on tour through western Queensland ... Continue Reading »

The Science Exchange: Historic Tour

[ By Petra Dzurovcinova on March 22, 2013 ]
We may be new, but there is more history than you know behind the Science Exchange! Before becoming the home of RiAus, it had an exciting history as the Adelaide Stock Exchange. Step back in time and imagine what it must have been like, from the frantic trading floor to ... Continue Reading »

The International Year of Water Cooperation: Countries in Need

[ By Petra Dzurovcinova ]
International World Water Day is on the 22 March 2013. Each year, the United Nations (UN) Water declares a theme for the day to a profile a particular issue concerning freshwater and this year’s theme is ‘water co-operation’. The theme supports the International Year of Water Cooperation, which is about ... Continue Reading »

The Clock: Regional Tour

[ By Petra Dzurovcinova on March 21, 2013 ]
Age is just a number... isn't it? Free Range Science and ActNow Theatre present a new piece of interactive theatre, exploring the biological and social aspects of ageing. There are living things that do not age. They exist, of course, like us in time. The clock ticks. But it doesn’t tick ... Continue Reading »

What Are Drugs In Sport Used For?

[ By Petra Dzurovcinova ]
The ‘Organised crime and drugs in sport’ report that was conducted by the Australian Crime Commission (ACC) and Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority (ASADA) in 2012 and then published February this year, ignited large scale media interest. The issue of drugs in sport is largely focused on the use of what has been ... Continue Reading »

Driven to Dope: Drugs in Sport

[ By Petra Dzurovcinova on March 15, 2013 ]
"This is my body and I can do whatever I want to it. I can push it and study it, tweak it, listen to it. Everybody wants to know what I am on. What am I on? I'm on my bike busting my ass six hours a day. What are ... Continue Reading »

Jason Mazanov

[ By Petra Dzurovcinova on March 8, 2013 ]
Dr. Jason Mazanov's PhD was in Mathematical/Health Psychology for the examination of nonlinear models in the context of adolescent smoking behaviour. In previous careers, he worked for the Australian Public Service (ATO/CSA and DVA), an Executive Management Consultant and Consultant Psychometrician. Jason's main research interest is looking at the causes and ... Continue Reading »

Robert Robergs

[ By Petra Dzurovcinova ]
Prof Robert Robergs' research is multifaceted, spanning topics that assess exercise performance, fatigue, muscle metabolism and sports nutrition. Prof Robergs is most noted for his work on the biochemistry of exercise-induced metabolic acidosis, the kinetics of recovery from metabolic acidosis, and exercise at altitude or during hypoxia. At Charles Sturt ... Continue Reading »

Science Behind the Headlines: Drugs in Sport

[ By Petra Dzurovcinova on March 6, 2013 ]
This Science Behind the Headlines covered the topical issue of drugs in sport. Doping in sport has been revealed to be even more widespread than we thought, with cyclists and footballers just some of the major scandals. What are our athletes on and why are they doing it? Why do they ... Continue Reading »

I Am a Fish

[ By franceneconnor on February 27, 2013 ]
Recently I was taken to task by some of my Twitter followers for the seemingly outrageous claim that, because birds descended from dinosaurs, we ought to think of birds as still being dinosaurs. While this might be hard to take from a lay taxonomy where groups of animals and plants ... Continue Reading »

A Week In Science – 22 February 2013

[ By Petra Dzurovcinova on February 22, 2013 ]
http://vimeo.com/60145306 Russian city witnesses a meteorite strike, Article from Space.com, More from the European Space Agency Arctic sea ice is thinning at an accelerated rate, Article from Forbes Climate change may lead to more extreme rain events Researchers witness the development of a foetal human brain, Article from New Scientist Mosquitoes ... Continue Reading »

A Week In Science – 15 February 2013

[ By Petra Dzurovcinova on February 15, 2013 ]
http://vimeo.com/59635485   Asteroid DA14 gives Earth a close shave Article from Space.com Rehabilitated mining sites may not be attracting the return of wildlife Article from Phys.org Antibiotics used in farming may be promoting growth of drug-resistant superbugs More information on ABC Online Manuka honey has an antibiotic effect without ... Continue Reading »

Teaching Only Science

[ By Petra Dzurovcinova on February 13, 2013 ]
I’m quietly bemused by the fact that I went to school, not just in the last century but also in a previous millennium! But when I reflect on what I had hoped would have changed over the last three decades and compare that to what’s actually happened, I’m left deeply ... Continue Reading »

Inspiring Australia Forum

[ By Petra Dzurovcinova on February 8, 2013 ]
Stakeholders in the science engagement community in South Australia were invited to attend an update on the Inspiring Australia Strategy, to hear about some of the science engagement activities happening in South Australia and to hear about the strategies’ progress at a national level. It was an opportunity to meet Anna-Maria ... Continue Reading »

A Week In Science – 8 February 2013

[ By Petra Dzurovcinova ]
Welcome to the first episode of A Week in Science in 2013! http://vimeo.com/59127354 Why it’s so hard to win at rock-paper-scissors The asteroid was responsible for the extinction of the dinosaurs after all Article from Cosmos Robot built which can be driven by moths Article from Wired Blue whale spotted in ... Continue Reading »

Book Club: Star-Craving Mad with Fred Watson

[ By Petra Dzurovcinova on February 5, 2013 ]
Journey through time and space with Australia's best known astronomer, Professor Fred Watson. He knows all about the madness that drives people to understand the Universe and unlock its secrets. At a special RiAus Book Club event, Fred Watson took us on a unique tour to unravel the ... Continue Reading »

Galileo – An Astronomer

[ By Petra Dzurovcinova ]
Astronomy, not to be confused with astrology, is the science of the sky. Astronomers observe the movements and magnitudes of all the matter in the sky. Our ancestors have long looked to the sky to make sense of their surrounds. This is why astronomy is considered to be the most ... Continue Reading »

Andrew Baird

[ By Petra Dzurovcinova on January 31, 2013 ]
Andrew Baird was born in Melbourne in 1956. As a kid, when asked what he wanted to do when he grew up, his answer would be: "An author or an artist." There was something compelling about the idea of living a life where the main concern was to create new ... Continue Reading »

Andrew Vogler

[ By Petra Dzurovcinova on January 30, 2013 ]
Dr Andrew Vogler is an Accredited Sports Scientist (Physiology) and has a PhD in Exercise Physiology. Andrew has previously worked with elite Australian athletes at the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) and currently operates a sports physiology practice called Adelaide Human Performance. In his current role, Andrew provides advanced exercise ... Continue Reading »

Cycling Season

[ By Petra Dzurovcinova on January 25, 2013 ]
It’s that time of year in Adelaide. When our cafes hum with the sound of a million clickety-clackety shoes and we share the roads with swarms of lycra-clad super-athletes. Santos Tour Down Under 2013. Professionals aside, the massive upswing in the number of cyclists on our roads can ... Continue Reading »

Galileo – The Scientist

[ By Petra Dzurovcinova on January 23, 2013 ]
The first time I heard of Galileo was in the backseat of my parent’s car, whilst they were blaring “Bohemian Rhapsody” by Queen. Galileo (Galileo), Galileo (Galileo), Galileo, Figaro-magnifico I was just a youngster, bobbing away idly in the back seat as my parents were reminiscing about their youth and ... Continue Reading »

Annette Edmondson

[ By Petra Dzurovcinova on January 22, 2013 ]
Annette Edmondson is one of Australia’s brightest young cycling talents. Annette began cycling after she was identified by the SA Institute of Sport as having the physical attributes of a cyclist, and has since risen to be one of the stars of professional cycling. After winning multiple junior national and Oceania ... Continue Reading »

Media and Communication Workshop

[ By Petra Dzurovcinova on January 17, 2013 ]
The presentation of science in the media is not just the responsibility of the reporting journalist. Scientists too can help in the crafting and delivery of high quality science media and by remaining involved they will help ensure that they no longer find their work misquoted, or worse blown out ... Continue Reading »
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