Published by ABC Australia
The Science Show gives Australians unique insights into the latest scientific research and debate, from the physics of cricket to prime ministerial biorhythms.
Listen on Apple Podcasts54 min
* Fluorescent sensors bring cell contents to life* Plotting the Oceans: Stories of Powerful Maps and Their Makers* Animal senses that work as well in water as on land* Mushroom Day: A Story of 24 Hours and 24 Fungal Lives* Descend two kilometres underground to the cleanest lab on Earth
10 min
The longest survey of our southern skies — The Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) — has just begun from the Vera Rubin Observatory in the Chilean Atacama Desert. Over the next 10 years, the largest digital camera on Earth will look at the same patches of sky time and again, aiming to record exploding stars, new asteroids, and maybe find what's behind dark energy. Jonathan Webb gets sucked into grand cosmic questions with Dr Anais Möller, as they discuss how astronomers are getting a head start on their research from the survey. 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: labnotes@abc.net.au Featuring: Dr Anais Möller, Senior Research Fellow Swinburne University Further information: Rubin's Ocean of Stars Fink broker This episode of Lab Notes was produced on the lands of the Gadigal, Ngunnawal and Ngambri people.
54 min
* Celebrating Charles Todd, father of the overland telegraph* Diverse background ideal for leader in pioneering science* Mirror life risks catastrophe* Future Right Now reveals concerns of young people* Botany courses becoming an endangered species
10 min
This year has been one of the worst starts to the snow season since records began. And it's a trend that researchers say will only continue in the years to come. But what's causing this change? What's the outlook for the rest of this ski season, and should we all just be booking a holiday to Japan? Jonathan Webb goes off-piste with climate reporter Romy Stephens about what this all means. 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: labnotes@abc.net.au Featuring: Romy Stephens, climate reporter Further information: How snow machines have become the key ingredient for ski seasons This episode of Lab Notes was produced on the lands of the Gadigal, Ngunnawal and Ngambri people.
52 min
* Gillard tribute to Ogilvie* The future of sleep* Fossil graveyards an archive of climate and ecology* How bacteria behave in the body* White possums in peril
10 min
Before any new therapy or medicine is placed on the shelves of a pharmacy, it needs to be tested in humans first. What does that process look like? And who are the people testing these new drugs? Jonathan Webb goes behind the curtain of clinical trials with health reporter Lauren Roberts to take a look at what happens in Australia. 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: labnotes@abc.net.au Featuring: Lauren Roberts, health reporter Further information: Richard Scolyer encouraged Australians to enrol in research. Here's how to get involved Australian Clinical Trials This episode of Lab Notes was produced on the lands of the Gadigal, Ngunnawal and Ngambri people.
54 min
A team from Caltech is using ultrasound to reveal processes at work one kilometre under Antarctic ice.
10 min
AI chatbots are helping to crack long-standing mathematical problems, including some of the famous Paul Erdős conjectures that have remained unsolved for nearly 80 years. It's not just researchers finding these solutions, either: it's also amateur mathematicians armed with off-the-shelf ChatGPT.Jonathan Webb wheels out the chalkboard with Dr Melissa Lee to discuss how AI is shaping the field of mathematics, and if anyone can be a mathematician these days. 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: labnotes@abc.net.au Featuring: Dr Melissa Lee, Senior Lecturer Monash University Further information: An AI solution to an 80‑year‑old problem has shocked mathematicians Leiden Declaration on Artificial Intelligence and Mathematics This episode of Lab Notes was produced on the lands of the Gadigal, Ngunnawal and Ngambri people.
53 min
We visit a wildlife sanctuary north of Canberra where enclosures are being built to quarantine the eastern quoll, a species already endangered. Will it work and is this a long-term solution?
10 min
Old satellites and bits of space junk regularly fall back to Earth, burning up as they pass through the atmosphere. All this burning metal causes a chain reaction and ultimately destroys ozone molecules, which keep us safe from most of the Sun's harmful UVB rays. Could a new era of satellite "megaconstellations", like the one run by SpaceX's internet company Starlink, undo humanity's hard work repairing the ozone layer? Jonathan Webb launches into this issue with Dr Alice Gorman (AKA Dr Space Junk), taking stock of just how many satellites are burning up and what can be done to solve the problem. 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: labnotes@abc.net.au Featuring: Dr Alice Gorman, Flinders University This episode of Lab Notes was produced on the lands of the Gadigal, Ngunnawal and Ngambri people.
54 min
We also celebrate mathematician Terence Tao’s King’s birthday honour, and go in search of subatomic particles, 2Km underground.
13 min
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: labnotes@abc.net.au 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.
54 min
If insects feel pain, do they deserve animal rights as apply to mammals?
10 min
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: labnotes@abc.net.au 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.
54 min
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.
10 min
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: labnotes@abc.net.au 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.
54 min
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.
10 min
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: labnotes@abc.net.au 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.
53 min
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.
10 min
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: labnotes@abc.net.au 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.
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Observed July 30, 2026.
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