Brains Matter

The Amazing Bodies Exhibition is an exhibition that showcases bodies of all shapes and sizes - from reptiles, to land mammals, to whales, and even humans.
The exhibition premiered in Melbourne, and will tour Australia and New Zealand. One of the most interesting aspects of the exhibit is the use of the plastination [...]

Professor Richard Wassersug is from the Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology from Dalhousie University in Canada. Much of his research and study was and is in the area of herpetology, or the study of amphibians. I talked to Professor Wassersug about herpetology, and the importance of understanding this area of biology. Topics [...]

I speak to Professor Patricia Vickers-Rich, the Director of the Monash Science Centre and Personal Chair of Palaeontology at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, about palaeontology. Topics we covered included:
- What is palaeontology?
- What areas of science does palaeontology cover?
- If you’re interested in palaeontology, what should you consider learning?
- Prof Rich talks a [...]

In today’s episode, I talk to both Professor Roger Short and Evan Bittner from the University of Melbourne on several topics related to the Asian Elephant, including the recent “miracle birth” of the baby elephant at Sydney’s Taronga Zoo.
Topics we cover include:
- Some of the latest news with Prof Short and Evan Bittner’s work
- Some [...]

In this episode, I continue my talk with Evan Bittner from the University of Melbourne in Brains Matter’s continuing series on Asian Elephants. If you missed Episode 110, please go back and listen to that episode first. In this interview, Evan discusses:
- What can we do to reduce the impact on the [...]

In this episode, I talk to Evan Bittner from the University of Melbourne in Brains Matter’s continuing series on Asian Elephants. Evan discusses:
- Elephants and infrasound communications
- Determining how to measure elephant reactions to elephant vocalisations
- What are the meanings of some of the elephant behaviours we observe?
- The follow up experiment to [...]

I just received this email from Professor Roger Short, who appeared on Brains Matter in episodes 73, 74, 77 and 78 on the topic of Asian Elephants and their plight:
Thanks exclusively to Brains Matter, I was contacted by an Accountant,
Glen Antonovich, who lives in Melbourne and is devoted to elephants! He
has offered his services [...]

The 100th episode of Brains Matter coincides with National Science Week - and to celebrate both the 100th show and National Science week, in this episode, we cover a range of topics. There are two great new interviews, as well as highlights from previous shows. You can go to the original interviews by [...]

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In this episode, which is the final of a 2 part interview, I talk once again with Professor Roger Short, from the University of Melbourne on further topics regarding Asian elephants, and on saving them.
- elephant accents
- what happens when you play Asian elephant vocalisations to captive African elephants? Some surprising results!
- Potelemic time [...]