RNZ’s interviews with scientists from 2020
DNA, melting ice sheets, the search for exoplanets and more – all our best science interviews from 2020.
Playlist
Environmental DNA is, if you like, the detritus of life
When you ask Professor Neil Gemmell to describe what he does he says it’s complicated, because “I’ve got fingers in lots of pies.” Neil has always been a keen communicator of genetic science, and it was a desire to show the potential of environmental DNA that led him on a high-profile hunt for the Loch Ness monster.
‘Melting ice & rising seas’ team wins PM Science Prize
New Zealand’s most valuable science prize, worth half a million dollars, has gone to a large team of researchers finding links between melting ice sheets in Antarctica and rising sea levels in New Zealand.
Sara Seager: searching for planets beyond our solar system
Seager's in no doubt there must be other life somewhere in the universe and in her book The Smallest Lights in the Universe, she interweaves her quest to find an earth-like exoplanet with the story of her search for meaning and solace after becoming a young widow and solo mother to two small boys.
Professor Elizabeth Loftus: how memory is made
Professor Elizabeth Loftus is an authority on the power and limitations of human memory, appearing as an expert witness in many high profile trials, including those of Ted Bundy, Harvey Weinstein, and OJ Simpson. Her ideas about the accuracy of our memories, and the shortcomings of eyewitness evidence, have proved highly controversial.
Dr Michael Mosley: the secrets of a good night's sleep
Michael Mosley, science journalist, gut specialist and author of the new book Fast Asleep tells Kim Hill didn't want to write a book about sleep until he had some helpful solutions. "Everything I've written about I have tried and I'm delighted to say I'm no longer an insomniac"
Nanogirl: Why do bees buzz?
Nanogirl's been a busy bee. She's been down in Hamilton with Anu and some friends, from Southwell and Marian schools, trying to find out why bees buzz.
Dr Paul Offit, Professor of Vaccinology - is modern medicine truly the answer?
Dr Paul Offit is a professor of vaccinology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and co-inventor of the rotavirus vaccine. He takes aim at some generally accepted medical practices in his book, Overkill When Modern Medicine Goes Too Far.
Mario Livio uncovers the science deniers
The sun never revolved around the earth, Galileo knew it and paid the price for saying so. Renowned astrophysicist Mario Livio tells the story of the rebel astronomer and how it resonates today in his new book Galileo and the Science Deniers.
Preserving our Software Heritage
Paris based computer scientist, Roberto Di Cosmo tells Bryan Crump about Software Heritage - it's like architectural heritage, but for software.
The Morality of Abusing A Robot
In the future we will increasingly interact with robots. So how should we treat them? Christoph and PhD student Merel Keijsers have written a paper on The Morality of Abusing A Robot.