Science Show - 2009-12-12

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DATE : Sat, 12 Dec 2009 00:00:00 +1000
Entered in Database : 2009-12-11 14:00:00
length : 26314624
Link to the Show / Show Notes

The science of running an airline Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce studied mathematics and physics. He explains how a background in science led him to aviation, and how maths and probabilities are the key in running an airline. He also describes Qantas´s approach to reducing carbon dioxide resulting from its operations. Tanya Ha - pets, pests and problem plants Tanya Ha describes the problems which arise when plants and animals are moved to areas far away from their natural habitat. Lantana, cane toads and rabbits are prime examples of species which have spread uncontrollably, destroying environments and wiping out other species as they go. Group behaviour improves health Group life and feeling part of community plays an important part in one´s wellbeing. There are a range of states which can be measured and which show clear increases when people are part of groups. These cover mental and physical conditions. The best predictor for stroke recovery is belonging to multiple groups before the stroke and maintaining membership after the stroke. Friends - the old fashioned kind How many friends can someone actually have and interact with? Robin Dunbar suggests people can only have four or five close personal friends, with about 150 contacts being a limit in one´s social world. Maintaining people in a network requires personal contact, otherwise they slide away. Robin Dunbar says doing things together is the key, something which can´t be replicated online. Neuroimaging studies show a relationship between the size of our frontal lobes and the number of close friends we have. In evolutionary history, we departed from other apes when we developed the capacity to live in a virtual mental world. Now other apes are under threat as their habitats are being destroyed. As climate warms, they´ll look to move, but there won´t be forests for them to move into. Encrypted electronic voting Elections in some parts of the world produce curious results. So how to have secure electronic voting? James Heather has produced a secure ballot form which allows a machine to read a ballot, which is marked in the normal way with a pencil, but which cannot be read by others. Purifying water Naomi Fowler reports on a new method of purifying water using sunlight and a catalyst.

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