Marc W. posted an article on The Mr Science Show - Dec 22, 2011, 6:08 am
If you thought the biggest science stories of 2011 concerned faster-than-light neutrinos, the Higgs Boson or the discovery of ever more exoplanets, you would be wrong. Researchers at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto, Canada have performed a meta-analysis of 12 prev...
Comment - Like

Marc W. posted an article on The Mr Science Show - Nov 25, 2011, 3:44 am
I'm stranded at Adelaide airport with my flight delayed for four hours, so what better way to get back onto the blog than by sharing my favourite Sesame Street science videos (Sesame Street having recently resumed it's exalted position in my life). The other day they were using the scientific method...
Comment - Like

Marc W. posted an article on The Mr Science Show - Jul 29, 2011, 6:13 pm
Brian Jones, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, Kurt Cobain, and this week tragically Amy Winehouse, all died at the age of 27. This coincidence has spawned the notion of the 27 Club - a club whose members are influential musicians who died at the age of 27. But is there anything statistical...
Comment - Like

Marc W. posted an article on The Mr Science Show - Jul 17, 2011, 8:43 am
TED is a US based not-for-profit enterprise devoted to the propagation of Ideas Worth Spreading. TED started out in 1984 as a conference bringing together people from three worlds: Technology, Entertainment and Design. TedxSydney was a Sydney-based TED event, bringing people together to sh...
Comment - Like

Marc W. posted an article on The Mr Science Show - Jun 13, 2011, 4:42 am
Beyond Zero Emissions is a not-for-profit, volunteer run organisation whose core goal is to develop blueprints for the implementation of climate change solutions. In partnership with the University of Melbourne's Energy Research Institute, BZE are undertaking the Zero Carbon Australia 2020 Project, ...
Comment - Like

Marc W. posted an article on The Mr Science Show - Jun 8, 2011, 6:44 am
Today I learnt a new word. Syzygy. A syzygy is a straight line configuration of three celestial bodies (such as the Earth, Sun, and Moon), and on Thursday 16 June, if you can get yourself up before dawn, you will witness a syzygy - in this case a total lunar eclipse - above the western h...
Comment - Like

Marc W. posted an article on The Mr Science Show - Jun 1, 2011, 8:51 pm
If you listened to the crowd at a Waratahs (Rugby Union) game, apart from wondering which side the so-called fans were barracking for, you'd think that the Waratahs kicked the ball too much. If you have ever listened to a Rugby League fan wax lyrical about how Union teams keep kicking the ball...
Comment - Like

Marc W. posted an article on The Mr Science Show - May 15, 2011, 6:36 am
Did you get up at 5am and brave the cold to see the planets align? If you had, you would have seen something like this. Venus and Jupiter were very bright, Mercury was fainter and eventually fell behind some clouds, and I couldn't see Mars at all with the naked eye. It was only with this long ...
Comment - Like

Marc W. posted an article on The Mr Science Show - May 15, 2011, 6:36 am
When the moon is in the Seventh House And Jupiter aligns with Mars Then peace will guide the planets And love will steer the stars. The age of Aquarius has arrived! Well, it will, this Friday 13th May. In a rare planetary event, Mercury, Venus, Mars and Jupiter, will appear together (wit...
Comment - Like

Marc W. posted an article on The Mr Science Show - Apr 22, 2011, 8:34 am
And we're back! It's been a while, but finally it's time for another podcast, so we've made it a long one. Take this episode on a long train ride or car trip, as Dr Boob and I explore the science of the spells of Harry Potter. Attempting to find scientific and engineering solutions to Ha...
Comment - Like

Marc W. posted an article on The Mr Science Show - Apr 5, 2011, 12:34 am
In every sports competition in the world, fans of one team will claim another team gets more favourable treatment than their own, whether it’s selection in representative teams, concessions regarding player salaries or favourable refereeing decisions. Cricket in Australia is no different. Th...
Comment - Like

Marc W. posted an article on The Mr Science Show - Feb 13, 2011, 11:55 pm
The Egyptian Revolution of 2011 was a series of street demonstrations that demanded the overthrow of the Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. One of the government retaliations to the protests was to shut down the Internet. Imagine you're a youth in Egypt and all of a sudden you don't have access to th...
Comment - Like

Marc W. posted an article on The Mr Science Show - Feb 8, 2011, 9:58 pm
February is a big month for science, and a big month for love. Here are a couple of events that caught my eye. Worldwide: The Global Google Science Fair is an online science competition open to all students aged 13 to 18 from around the world. Unfortunately, I'm now way too old to enter,...
Comment - Like

Marc W. posted an article on The Mr Science Show - Jan 24, 2011, 7:39 pm
Research published in Biological Invasions shows that Australian redback spiders are invading New Zealand and could become established in many urban areas around major ports. The paper, The invasive Australian redback spider, Latrodectus hasseltii Thorell 1870 (Araneae: Theridiidae): cur...
Comment - Like

Marc W. posted an article on The Mr Science Show - Jan 15, 2011, 6:26 pm
Hope you've all had a wonderful Christmas and New Year. We'd like to introduce you to our little bloke, Luka, born on the 29th December 2010. Everyone here is happy and healthy, if a little tired. I'll get back to the blogging and podcasting soon...
Comment - Like

Marc W. posted an article on The Mr Science Show - Dec 24, 2010, 6:30 am
It's scarcely believable that another Christmas has rolled around! I hope that 2010 has been a wonderful year for you. In this year's Christmas podcast, I've compiled some of my favourite segments from the last few years. First up, I chat to Bianca Nogrady, who assembled a crack team of ...
Comment - Like

Marc W. posted an article on The Mr Science Show - Dec 10, 2010, 7:31 pm
A world first study conducted by Menzies Research Institute Tasmania has shown that skipping breakfast over a long period of time may increase your risk of heart disease and diabetes. The study, Skipping breakfast: longitudinal associations with cardiometabolic risk factors in the Childhood De...
Comment - Like

Marc W. posted an article on The Mr Science Show - Dec 1, 2010, 7:43 am
Being able to see your unborn child is truly an amazing experience. Ultrasound (diagnostic sonography) is a common diagnostic tool for, among other things, imaging the foetus to determine its age, look for abnormalities and observe blood flow in the umbilical cord. But possibly its most memorable ef...
Comment - Like

Marc W. posted an article on The Mr Science Show - Nov 24, 2010, 1:20 am
Did you know that worker bees and queen bees have exactly the same DNA? Although they look and behave differently, at birth they have the same genome. Young queen larvae are fed a diet of Royal Jelly, a substance secreted by the worker bees which includes B-complex vitamins, proteins, s...
Comment - Like

Marc W. posted an article on The Mr Science Show - Nov 23, 2010, 4:21 am
This is actually an advertisement for the Marie Curie Actions, which is part of a research push by the European Commission. Thanks to Dr Boob for putting me on to this. Sorry for not posting any original content, or any podcast episodes, recently. Stay tuned, more coming out this week...
Comment - Like

Marc W. posted an article on The Mr Science Show - Nov 16, 2010, 5:24 pm
I am really quite baffled by Science Cheerleaders. What say you? Do you think it "breaks down the stereotype?"
Comment - Like

Marc W. posted an article on The Mr Science Show - Nov 11, 2010, 11:10 pm
When you're at a pub and you see a bunch of scientists in the corner, gazing at their shoes and looking generally uncomfortable, what do call them? Is it a group of scientists? A gaggle of scientists? A murder of scientists? My quick googling didn't give me an answer, so I put the question out...
Comment - Like

Marc W. posted an article on The Mr Science Show - Oct 27, 2010, 1:41 am
Ever wondered how pure mathematicians have fun? The following is from the 1967 paper Modern Research in Mathematics by A. K. Austin, from the Department of Pure Mathematics at the University of Sheffield. It's a send-up, by the way... A note on piffles by A. B. Smith A. C. Jones in his paper ...
Comment - Like

Marc W. posted an article on The Mr Science Show - Oct 19, 2010, 12:40 am
It's about time we put out a new podcast! In this edition, I chat to Associate Professor Robert Brooks, Director at the Evolution and Ecology Research Centre, UNSW about sexual selection. Charles Darwin described sexual selection as "struggle between the individuals of one sex, gen...
Comment - Like

Marc W. posted an article on The Mr Science Show - Oct 10, 2010, 6:56 pm
Between October 11 and October 23, Sydney community radio station 2SER is running its annual subscriber drive. 2SER is home to the science program Diffusion Science Radio to which I regularly contribute, and I also record interviews and podcasts using their studios. Community radio stati...
Comment - Like

Marc W. posted an article on The Mr Science Show - Sep 28, 2010, 1:50 am
I must start by apologising for being so lax in posting articles and podcast episodes over the last month. We've recently bought a house and moved in, and this process has taken up nearly all my time, given me multiple headaches and left me without the Internet at home. A while back we ...
Comment - Like

Marc W. posted an article on The Mr Science Show - Sep 6, 2010, 5:31 am
The cricket world has recently been rocked by allegations of match-fixing against the Pakistan team. The News of the World set up a sting to catch sporting-agent Mazhar Majeed correctly predicting when three no-balls would be bowled during the recent Lords Test Match between England and Pakistan. Wh...
Comment - Like

Marc W. posted an article on The Mr Science Show - Sep 5, 2010, 7:39 pm
Over at my other podcast, The Beer Drinking Scientists, we like to tackle the big science topics down at the pub. And what better topic to talk about over a beer than sex? Darren and Marc review the history of research into sexuality, including the seminal Kinsey Reports, the Masters and Jo...
Comment - Like

Marc W. posted an article on The Mr Science Show - Aug 24, 2010, 8:17 pm
Do you sneeze at the Sun? I do. My brother does. Both my parents do. In fact, we are a family of Photic Sneeze sufferers. The Photic Sneeze Reflex (PSR), also known rather ridiculously as Autosomal Dominant Compelling Helioophthalmic Outburst (ACHOO) Syndrome (how long do you think it took res...
Comment - Like

Marc W. posted an article on The Mr Science Show - Aug 22, 2010, 9:13 am
This weekend, Australia went to polls in the 2010 Federal Election. I showed my colours a few weeks ago by backing the Greens, ostensibly because of their science and social policies, but as I type, Australia does not know who will be governing it for the next few years - we currently have a hung pa...
Comment - Like

Marc W. posted an article on The Mr Science Show - Aug 17, 2010, 1:10 am
Sometimes you gotta love the internets. A story recently popped up that the Taliban was training combat monkeys to fight wars in Afghanistan. The original popped up on the Chinese People's Daily Online (I caught this story on news.com.au) and opened with: Afghanistan's Taliban insurgents are traini...
Comment - Like

Marc W. posted an article on The Mr Science Show - Jul 29, 2010, 9:34 am
In the tradition of UK newspapers, this blog/podcast has decided to throw its (rather small) weight behind a political party at each Australian federal election. And this time around, the decision is easy. The 2010 Australian federal election is the most vision-less election in which I have had the ...
Comment - Like

Marc W. posted an article on The Mr Science Show - Jul 28, 2010, 5:18 am
If you understand all the mathematical references in the following video, you're doing well. Enjoy the classic mathematical a capella (bet you thought you'd never read that sentence) Finite Simple Group (of Order Two). If you think that dance is the best medium to portray protein synthesis, t...
Comment - Like

Marc W. posted an article on The Mr Science Show - Jul 26, 2010, 2:03 am
With climate change seemingly falling off the agenda of Australia's major political parties in the lead-up to the 2010 federal election, I wanted to see whether this inaction reflected the views of the community. I headed down to Paddington Markets, on Oxford St in Paddington, Sydney for some vox po...
Comment - Like

Marc W. posted an article on The Mr Science Show - Jul 21, 2010, 7:39 am
The science of superheroes is taking a green and nasty turn this week as we discuss the largest superhero of them all, The Hulk. Join myself and our regular superhero expert Dr Boob as we delve into the science of how we might realise The Hulk in the lab. It was one of the more entertaining intervie...
Comment - Like

Marc W. posted an article on The Mr Science Show - Jul 21, 2010, 6:54 am
Australian National Science Week is being held in 2010 between the 14th and 22nd August. One of the competitions being run for this year's festival is a hunt for Australia's best science blogger called The Big Blog Theory - and I am rather humbled to have made the shortlisted top 10. There are...
Comment - Like

Marc W. posted an article on The Mr Science Show - Jul 11, 2010, 7:42 am
This question came in from @holabendez for Science Week. What causes a double rainbow? The question is inspired by, in my opinion, the best youtube video since Keyboard Cat met Hall and Oates. Check out the Double Rainbow video below - if I'm this happy for just one day in my life, it will have been...
Comment - Like

Marc W. posted an article on The Mr Science Show - Jul 5, 2010, 9:55 pm
This is a question that has been bugging us at work. What would happen to a chicken egg in space? Equally interesting is the question what would happen to a chicken egg if placed in a vacuum chamber? Eggshells are able to withstand quite large forces from the outside because of their dome structure,...
Comment - Like

Marc W. posted an article on The Mr Science Show - Jun 18, 2010, 12:04 am
It's not often I get the chance to pursue three of my passions - sport, mathematics and online social media - at the same time. The 2010 Football World Cup combines these facets of life in a way we probably haven't seen before, providing numerous opportunities for data mining, funky visualisations a...
Comment - Like

Marc W. posted an article on The Mr Science Show - Jun 7, 2010, 9:58 pm
Every now and then I like to post data visualisations, and this one comes from one of my favourite web applications, Last.fm. Last.fm remembers what songs you play on your iPod (or whatever music player you use). Given that we now have an electronic device ban in our workplace, I'm giving their onli...
Comment - Like

Marc W. posted an article on The Mr Science Show - Jun 5, 2010, 3:52 am
Do you have a burning science question that you need answered? For National Science Week 2010, along with Diffusion Science Radio, we are asking you for your science questions, which we'll then pose to relevant experts. Chemists, mathematicians, physicists, politicians, sociologists - we'll t...
Comment - Like

Marc W. posted an article on The Mr Science Show - May 26, 2010, 5:12 am
Ever wondered what good Twitter actually does? Personally, I love it, but really, is it anything but noise? One of the pipe dreams for online social media is the ability to track opinions and interests in real time. In their paper Predicting the Future With Social Media, Sitaram Asur and Berna...
Comment - Like

Marc W. posted an article on The Mr Science Show - May 19, 2010, 2:14 am
The Australian dingo and the New Guinea Singing Dog may be the world's oldest dog breeds. The study, Genome-wide SNP and haplotype analyses reveal a rich history underlying dog domestication, which was published in Nature and is a major genetic study into the domestication of the dog, was a ...
Comment - Like

Marc W. posted an article on The Mr Science Show - May 18, 2010, 9:59 pm
I also want some Prefamulated Amulite
Comment - Like

Marc W. posted an article on The Mr Science Show - May 5, 2010, 5:06 am
Is Pluto is set to become an also-ran in the astronomical world? Already demoted from the exalted planet club, Pluto could be joined by up to 50 other objects in the ever-expanding "dwarf planet" club if the new definitions of dwarf planet, recently proposed by Australian scientists Charles Li...
Comment - Like

Marc W. posted an article on The Mr Science Show - May 3, 2010, 11:19 pm
Q&A is an Australian television show which encourages the audience - both in the studio and in their homes - to ask questions of the panellists, who often include politicians, celebrities, social commentators etc. The show has quite a twitter following, with #qanda trending most Monday evenings duri...
Comment - Like

Marc W. posted an article on The Mr Science Show - Apr 30, 2010, 2:40 am
Have you ever seen a happy couple walking down the street, holding hands, laughing and being generally smoochy, and thought to yourself, "How did that guy get her?" I’m that guy. As a fully paid-up member of the "batting out of my league club," it comes as no surprise to me that the happiest hete...
Comment - Like

Marc W. posted an article on The Mr Science Show - Apr 27, 2010, 3:22 am
The cane toad in Australia is a text book example of a feral species. As an introduced species, it has no natural predators and out-competes native animals for food and habitat. Things are made worse by the fact that cane toads are highly poisonous - so poisonous that they can kill animals as large ...
Comment - Like

Marc W. posted an article on The Mr Science Show - Apr 19, 2010, 7:11 am
Richard Dawkins, apart from being the popular face of atheism, is a highly regarded scientist. Recently Dawkins spoke to Robyn Williams about the ideas underpinning his new book, The Greatest Show on Earth, in particular the intricacies, patterns and anomalies produced by the process of evolution. ...
Comment - Like

Marc W. posted an article on The Mr Science Show - Apr 13, 2010, 8:29 pm
Seen over at imgur and also at fridley. Fibonacci numbers are the numbers in the following order: After the 0 and 1, each number is the sum of the previous two. A Fibonacci spiral can be created by drawing arcs connecting the opposite corners of squares in a Fibonacci tiling. In the picture ...
Comment - Like