Podcast Episode 2
What do you get when you cross cutting-edge science, good old-fashioned conversation and near-lethal levels of wit? The answer, of course, is the next instalment of The GIST’s very own podcast.
The certain possibility (or possible certainty) of the Higgs boson’s discovery
Daniel Giovannini talks to three of the physicists working at CERN who have been involved in the hunt for the Higgs Boson.
Throw Me A Meal!
A carnivorous plant of the sundew genus uses two different types of mechanisms to trap animals, new research shows. Scientists in Germany studied the sundew Drosera glanduligera to understand how this plant uses a catapult mechanism to throw flies into its sticky leaf centre where digestive enzymes break down insects to extract nutrients essential for the plant’s development.
Branded painkillers — better pain relief or just a pain in the wallet?
Since regular pain killers were developed, pharmaceutical companies have been desperate to sell them to the cold-and-flu-ridden and pain-suffering public under fancy trade names such as ‘Nurofen’ and ‘Lemsip’. But are these flashy packets any more effective than the bland, generic supermarket own-brand packets?
The Donkey Sanctuary Debate
In tough economic times and with funding for scientific research as competitive as ever, how can we be sure that we are funding the projects that will benefit society the most?
Allelopathy: When Plants Attack!
Biochemical warfare used by aliens on the attack sounds like the plot of an apocalyptic sci-fi story. However under the ground there is biochemical warfare occurring, invaders being repelled and defenders being overcome.
Appropriate technology
Lydia Stevenson looks at technology developed to be appropriate for a particular area and sensitive to that area’s environmental, cultural, social and economic concerns.
What is sexy anyway? A scientific approach
Anneke Meyer wonders if there is an objective answer to the question that moves many men and women’s minds.
