The Science Show - Separate stories podcast

Thanks in part to 18th-century nuns, we now know that having children and breastfeeding reduces a mum's risk of developing breast cancer for years, even until her kid is well into primary school.Now Australian scientists have discovered how breastfeeding specifically enlists the immune system to protect against an aggressive and hard-to-treat type of breast cancer.You can binge more episodes of the Lab Notes podcast with science journalist and presenter Belinda Smith on the ABC Listen app (Australia). You'll find episodes on animal behaviour, human health, space exploration and so much more.Get in touch with us: labnotes@abc.net.auFeaturing:Sherene Loi, medical oncologist at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre Extra information:Parity and lactation induce T cell mediated breast cancer protectionHaving children and breastfeeding reduces breast cancer risk by triggering immune system, study findsThis episode of Lab Notes was produced on the lands of the Wurundjeri and Menang Noongar people.

A Roman shipwreck contained lead ingots. Should they be retained as a link to the past, or be utilised for their unique quality allowing experiments to be performed in the search for dark matter?

Distinguished Professor Lidia Morawska from the Queensland University of Technology has received the 2025 Prime Minister’s Prize for Science for her pioneering research which transformed how the world understands the airborne transmission of disease and indoor air pollution. 

It's mid-afternoon and time for a treat! Do you choose a healthy piece of fruit, or do you head straight for the chocolate? It turns out that well before we consciously decide what we're going to eat, our brain has already weighed up our choices — and in a fraction of a second. Now a new study shows which food attributes are processed by our brain faster than others, and how this might influence our dietary decisions. You can binge more episodes of the Lab Notes podcast with science journalist and presenter Belinda Smith on the ABC Listen app (Australia). You'll find episodes on animal behaviour, human health, space exploration and so much more.Get in touch with us: labnotes@abc.net.auFeaturing:Violet Chae, PhD student at the University of Melbourne More information:Characterising the neural time-courses of food attribute representationsThis episode of Lab Notes was produced on the lands of the Wurundjeri and Menang Noongar people.

Brett Summerell describes work being done at the Mt Annan Royal Botanic Garden southwest of Sydney understanding fungal diseases impacting plants everywhere including native vegetation, urban gardens and crops.

Author Starre Vartan shows how women surpass men in endurance, flexibility, immunity, pain tolerance, and the ultimate test of any human body: longevity.

Our understanding of the evolution of biodiversity is based on fossil evidence. But so much more may lie buried and reveal a different story.

Evidence suggests that as early as 12,800 years ago, people captured wild wallabies from the then joined Australia - New Guinea mainland and transported them in canoes to islands sometimes hundreds of kilometres away.

Editor Catherine de Lange says New Scientist will continue to be printed and new younger readers will be encouraged through the digital edition, a podcast, and live events.

We have a mysterious visitor to our little patch of the cosmos this week: A comet called 3I/ATLAS. This icy, rocky ball is only the third interstellar object we've discovered zooming past our Sun. There are scientists who think the comet may be alien technology sent from another solar system to invade Earth, but space agencies poured cold water on this idea. So how will we know if we truly find evidence of extraterrestrial life? You can binge more episodes of the Lab Notes podcast with science journalist and presenter Belinda Smith on the ABC Listen app (Australia). You'll find episodes on animal behaviour, human health, space exploration and so much more.Get in touch with us: labnotes@abc.net.auFeaturing:Laura Driessen, radio astronomer at the University of Sydney Astronomers discover 3I/ATLAS — third interstellar object to visit our Solar SystemThis episode of Lab Notes was produced on the lands of the Wurundjeri and Menang Noongar people.

Robots are ideal in chemistry labs undertaking repetitive and dangerous tasks. 

Outgoing president of the Royal Society says the UK public accepts the importance of science and those in power must be reminded of the importance of maintained funding.

Some meteorites come with signs of chemical reactions found in life on Earth. 

New materials applied to agricultural greenhouses as a paint coating boosts red light for plant growth increased yields.

The Earth writes its own history, and it can be seen in the physical, chemical and biological components of rocks.

Around 1.5 million years ago, in what's now Kenya, a human-like figure walked across the savannah. He was probably quite short by our standards, no taller than Danny DeVito. But unlike Danny DeVito, this ancient figure was not human. He was a long-extinct relative of ours called Paranthropus boisei. And now his fossilised hand bones are giving us never-before-seen insights into how he and his species lived. You can binge more episodes of the Lab Notes podcast with science journalist and presenter Belinda Smith on the ABC Listen app (Australia). You'll find episodes on animal behaviour, human health, space exploration and so much more.Get in touch with us: labnotes@abc.net.auFeaturing: Carrie Mongle, palaeoanthropologist at Stony Brook University and the Turkana Basin Institute More information: New fossils reveal the hand of Paranthropus boiseiFossil hand bones hint that ancient human relative Paranthropus made tools 1.5 million years agoThis episode of Lab Notes was produced on the lands of the Wurundjeri and Menang Noongar people.

A recent study has shown the loss of 62% of managed bee hives across the United States.

On the shores of the ocean, Laura and Daphne fantasise that they are mother and daughter. They both have problems in their past, which they need to resolve.

Robyn Williams is joined by hotel manager Paul Gallop for a tour of Adelaide’s Marriott hotel and it’s displays commemorating the work of Charles Todd.

David Spiegelhalter offers a data-driven guide to how we should best live with risk and uncertainty.