http://www.anu.edu.au/discoveranu/content/podcasts/ en celeste.ecuyer@anu.edu.au Copyright 2009 2009-11-05T03:40:10+10:00 http://www.anu.edu.au/discoveranu/content/podcasts/first_taste_history_culture_in_indigenous_alcohol_use/ http://www.anu.edu.au/discoveranu/content/podcasts/first_taste_history_culture_in_indigenous_alcohol_use/#When:02:26:03Z This public lecture challenges some of the common beliefs that surround Indigenous Australians and the history of 'grog', by discussing the findings of the newly released publication First Taste: How Indigenous Australians Learned About Grog by Maggie Brady (published by the Alcohol Education and Rehabilitation Foundation). This publication was released the morning before the lecture and is a series of six books. The series is designed to educate and empower Indigenous people on alcohol issues, to illuminate the influence of history and social learning on drinking behaviour, and to contribute to greater understanding and reconciliation between Indigenous and non Indigenous Australians. Public Lecture, Behavioural & Cognitive Sciences, Indigenous Studies, Society & Culture, ANU College of Arts and Social Sciences, Arts and Social Sciences 2008-09-24T02:26:03+10:00 http://www.anu.edu.au/discoveranu/content/podcasts/monkey/ http://www.anu.edu.au/discoveranu/content/podcasts/monkey/#When:04:23:00Z Taking off to mend a broken heart, Vanessa Woods left safe, suburban Canberra and headed for the remote, wild and distinctly unsafe jungles of Costa Rica. She was stung so often by killer bees she developed a lethal allergy, and the monkeys she was to study were evasive, mean and aggressive. The only difference between them and her housemates was that at least she could tell her housemates apart. In this talk, science writer Vanessa Woods will explain how to survive a year in the jungle: a world of love, loss, bitter rivalry and vicious battles – and that’s just the monkeys. Public Lecture, Behavioural & Cognitive Sciences, Biological Sciences, Botany & Zoology, Environment, Society & Culture, ANU College of Science, Arts and Social Sciences 2007-03-14T04:23:00+10:00 http://www.anu.edu.au/discoveranu/content/podcasts/window_on_the_brain/ http://www.anu.edu.au/discoveranu/content/podcasts/window_on_the_brain/#When:04:43:01Z There are more nerve cells in the human brain than there are stars in the Milky Way. The brain is probably the most complex thing on earth, and yet we know very little about how it works. New brain imaging technology called MEG allows us to see when and where different parts of the brain become active in response to thoughts or actions.  Dr Kristen Pammer from the School of Psychology in the ANU Faculty of Science outlines what we can expect to learn with this technology about conditions like synaesthesia, which is where some people experience strange sensory combinations like seeing sounds or tasting colours. "Fundamentally I am interested in how the brain works – Why do we cry? How do we see colour? Why do we get tired? How many parents have been embarrassed when their child runs up to a strange man and calls them daddy? How many people have walked into a room and forgotten why they are there? Did you know that if you turned a face upside down it takes you much longer to recognise it – but this is not the case for any other object?" Dr Kristen Pammer This lecture was sponsored by the ANU College of Science as part of National Science Week 2006. Public Lecture, Behavioural & Cognitive Sciences, Medical & Health Science, ANU College of Science, Medicine and Life Science 2006-09-22T04:43:01+10:00