Great Moments In Science
ABC Radio
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From the ground breaking and life saving to the wacky and implausible, Dr Karl Kruszelnicki reveals some of the best moments in science.
Available episodes
Newest first
Oldest first
5 days ago
BP's Carbon Campaign
Why would the fossil fuel company BP promote the idea of reducing our individual 'carbon footprint'?
Jan 11, 2021
Migrating Species
Climate change has begun displacing species, but just how many are on the move?
Jan 4, 2021
Carrington Event
What was the mysterious Carrington Event of 1859? And why did it affect telegraph systems?
Dec 28, 2020
Palaeolithic Dieting
Is it true that our bodies would prefer the 'Paleo diet'?
Dec 21, 2020
Ribbon Curling
What twisted trickery causes ribbons to curl?
Dec 14, 2020
Hot Dog Eating
What's the maximum number of hot dogs someone could eat in 10 minutes?
Dec 7, 2020
Dust
Where does the world's dust come from? And how does it constantly fill up our homes!?
Nov 30, 2020
Carbon Footprints
Are discussions about your individual 'carbon footprint' really a distraction, shifting blame onto everyday citizens?
Nov 23, 2020
Future Hamburgers
Would you eat a hamburger patty that was grown in a lab? What about fake meat that looks and tastes just like the real thing?
Nov 16, 2020
Tea Bag Saves Space Station
A cuppa tea can be a life-saver - sometimes, literally!
Nov 9, 2020
Parking, science-style
Understanding thyself, and taking the middle path, can lead to a much faster and calmer parking experience
Nov 2, 2020
The a-b-c of hepatitis - part 2
Could we really rid the world of Hepatitis C?
Oct 26, 2020
The a-b-c of hepatitis - part 1
Hepatitis C is one sneaky little disease, caused by an equally sneaky virus.
Oct 19, 2020
Beetroot wee and spag bol stains
What is it with red food and stains? So many things!
Oct 12, 2020
The 'tail' of the missing anus
Regrowing your tail is one thing - but what if you lose more than your tail in the first place?
Oct 5, 2020
When copper meets COVID
Copper is like kryptonite to COVID-19.
Sep 28, 2020
For black holes, matter doesn't size
They can be superemassive, but black holes still have no size.
Sep 21, 2020
Dead fish can swim
Why you should always read back copies of the Journal of Fluid Mechanics.
Sep 14, 2020
Pterodactyl take-off
That's not a dinosaur - it's a flying catapult!
Sep 7, 2020
Fish boot camp
Why are scientists exercising fish ... with a coffee plunger?
Aug 31, 2020
The case of the disappearing bum - part 2
This creature has the only known case of an 'on-demand anus'
Aug 24, 2020
The case of the disappearing bum - part 1
The anus is highlight of animal evolution - but it's still full of surprises.
Mar 16, 2020
Spider intelligence
They've got brains smaller than a pinhead, but spiders can count!
Mar 9, 2020
Holy electric flying spiders!
Arachnophobes beware - flying B-grade horror spiders ahoy!
Mar 2, 2020
Putting Einstein to the test - part 2
The short story: he passed the test. Again.
Feb 24, 2020
Putting Einstein to the test - part one
There are very few places weird enough to test out Einstein's General Theory of Relativity.
Feb 17, 2020
The perfect coffee
At last - the real secret to the perfect espresso!
Feb 10, 2020
Australian bushfires - part 3
A lot of players had a role in our horrific 2019/2020 bushfire season. Luckily, El Nino was not one of them.
Feb 3, 2020
Australian bushfires - part 2
Are these bushfires really unprecedented and related to global warming?
Jan 27, 2020
Australian bushfires - part 1
The science behind our cataclysmic bushfire season
Jan 20, 2020
NASA's space pen
The truth behind NASA's 'billion dollar' space pen.
Jan 13, 2020
The flat earth myth myth
Medieval people thought the world was flat right? Wrong.
Jan 6, 2020
Atomic gecko
Spiderman has got nothing on geckos when it comes to sticking to walls.
Dec 30, 2019
Why do we sleep?
What our brains do when we clock off for the night...
Dec 23, 2019
5G hysteria is coming: part 2
If mobile phones don't cause cancer, why did two US studies show they do?
Dec 16, 2019
5G hysteria is coming ...
5G promises incredibly fast download speeds - but what about those cancer rumours?
Dec 9, 2019
Coffee naps
Coffee or a nap? Actually, both.
Dec 2, 2019
Are you a mozzie magnet?
If you're pregnant, a bloke or a beer drinker, you're a prime target for mosquitos.
Nov 25, 2019
How do planes really fly?
If you're bursting to shout "Bernoulli!", think again ... Also, CONGRATULATIONS to Dr Karl from all of us at ABC Science! http://ab.co/2raH8Wj
Nov 18, 2019
Ultraprocessed foods
Obesity has been on the rise since the mid-seventies. As have ultraprocessed foods. Co-inky-dink?
Nov 11, 2019
Is a vegan diet healthy?
Can you be truly healthy on a diet that excludes both meat and dairy?
Nov 4, 2019
Bacteria of champions
It's not just their ability to run 42 kilometres that separates marathon runners from the rest of us. They've got a secret energy source in their gut.
Oct 28, 2019
What happens when you get winded?
Have you ever been winded? You suddenly lose the ability to do something you've done 15 times each minute of your life. But why?
Oct 21, 2019
Knife in the dishwasher - part two
At last - the answer to the burning question in kitchens the world over: does the dishwasher blunt your sharp knife?
Oct 14, 2019
Knife in the dishwasher: part one
Have you heard that you shouldn't put your sharp stainless steel kitchen knives in the dishwasher because they might go blunt?
Oct 7, 2019
The end of the internal combustion engine?
Combustion engines are marvels of engineering and power, but will they feature in the cars of the future?
Sep 30, 2019
The not-so-boring billion
We all go through slow patches - but the Earth went through a famous boring phase that lasted one billion years. Or did it ...
Sep 23, 2019
And the Ig Nobel prizes go to ...
A new year, and a new crop of research to make us laugh and then make us think.
Sep 16, 2019
Red sky at night... sailors' delight?
Could a glowing red sunset really foretell the next morning's weather?
Sep 9, 2019
Jargon moving forwards
Jargon has way more uses than just playing Buzzword Bingo. It's a popular item in the propaganda and social toolkits.