Sila and Tom were joined by guest Sasha Zaman for a jam-packed show today (but with science instead of jam).
Tom discussed MarsOne, an ambitious project to have a human colony on mars by 2013 for a budget of 6 billion dollars. Insane? Possibly. Fascinating? Definitely. He also gave us the down-low on the new strain of bird-flu in China, which has health authorities nervous. Sila shared a breakthrough in “smart-skin”, an artificial membrane with touch sensitivity similar to human skin (creepy), as well as a study on learning behaviours in monkeys and whales (cute).
Our guest Sasha shared some of her research on anaesthetics, and the potential effects they can have on the brain, particularly the areas responsible for memory.
We had some excellent questions and feedback on the text line, and had just enough time at the end to briefly discuss the trials of entering the field of science (and the importance of pestering people for volunteer positions).
Thanks for listening, and tune in for more at the same time next week! 3pm Sundays on 90.7 SYN FM.
The Science Hour team,
Sila + Tom
mindboggled 