The Science Show - Separate stories podcast

AI is getting so good at maths that it is now tackling, and apparently solving, some of the hardest mathematical problems that exist. But as huge companies like OpenAI and Anthropic race to outdo each other, human mathematicians are getting caught in the crossfire... and their field is changing forever. Jonathan Webb speaks to ABC AI Technology Reporter Cam Wilson about the furore over the Navier-Stokes equations and the million-dollar Millennium Prize.Featuring:Cam Wilson, AI Reporter at ABC.Professor Tristan Buckmaster, Mathematician at New York University.You can binge more episodes of the Lab Notes podcast with science editor and presenter Jonathan Webb 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: [email protected] episode of Lab Notes was produced on the lands of the Gadigal and Kaurna people.

There's a corner of the social media platform TikTok that has racked up hundreds of billions of views and it is all about books. BookTok is a subcommunity of reading enthusiasts and hopeful influencers creating videos about the books they love. It has been described as the "last wholesome place on the internet” and is popular with teens and those in their early 20s. So do algorithms affect which books we buy, and how has BookTok influenced what types of books get published? Amy Briggs reports.

Dyslexia is not just difficulty in reading and spelling fluency — it affects many aspects of life, such as work or even following a map or recipe. But now the rise of AI has given many people with dyslexia digital tools to help overcome these barriers. Belinda Smith speaks to Dr Shae Wissell and Dr Bec Marland about the pros and cons of AI assistive technology.

In the Blue Mountains west of Sydney a rescue mission is underway to save an endangered plant. But the main threat isn't climate change or habitat loss, it is fertility. Botanists think the plant’s pollen may be sterile. Shelby Traynor joined scientists on a field trip trying to save the species.

NASA has just launched the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, which started life as a spy satellite. It will look for alien planets, map the Universe, and hopefully lead to a better understanding of dark energy and dark matter.