Brains Matter

Professor Richard Wassersug is from the Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology from Dalhousie University in Canada. He is also a prostate cancer survivor, and I talked to him about his personal and academic interest in issues around prostate cancer, including: – His personal experience with prostate cancer – The link between his interest in herpetology […]

I talk to Professor Claude Roux from the Centre for Forensic Science at the University of Technology Sydney about forensics and how it is used. Topics we discuss include: – The type of research Claude is interested in – Finger printing – Forensic anatomy – Anti body forensic methods – DNA usage and profiling in […]

In this episode, I talk to Professor Missaka Wijayagunawardane from the Department of Animal Science at the University of Peradeniya in Sri Lanka. Professor Wijayagunawardane is a Professor in Animal Science and is an elephants reproduction specialist. Topics we discussed included: – What is the situation of elephants in Sri Lanka? – What is the […]

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 technique to […]

Today’s episode is the audio of the Brains Matter & Monash Science Centre’s National Science Week live show, held on 15/8/2010. The topic was “From Slime to Dinosaurs”, and I interviewed renown palaeontologst, Professor Patricia Vickers-Rich on: – How long the earth has been around – What are the geological processes occurring, and that have […]

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 discussed include: – […]

In episode 119, I talk to Corin Storkey, a PhD student at the Bio21 Institute at the University of Melbourne, about some of the research he is doing into cancer drugs, and targeting the immune system such that it may be able to self-heal. – What is cancer? – How do current cancer drugs work? […]

What is Australopithecus Sediba? It’s a newly discovered species of hominid that was discovered recently. I talked to Dr Robyn Pickering at the University of Melbourne, who was involved in this discovery to talk about Sediba. – Why was it called Sediba? – What kind of dating technique was used to work out how old […]

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 […]

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 ability to […]