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/darwins_compass/ http://www.anu.edu.au/discoveranu/content/podcasts/darwins_compass/#When:23:21:45Z Orthodox neo-Darwinism very much emphasises the random and contingent. Re-run the tape of life, as Steven Jay Gould famously observed, and the outcomes would be utterly different. Terrestrial life maybe, but certainly no humans. They, like tulips and tape-worms, are just another evolutionary fluke. The basis of this is hardly surprising: think of random mutations, massive shifts in the environment, not to mention the odd giant rock dropping out of the sky. Life is on a roller-coaster and is flung from one strange place to another. Conway Morris argued for the exact reverse, that evolution is like any other science, that is it is predictable. The mainstay of this argument revolved around evolutionary convergence, the observation that from different starting points evolution arrives at the same solution. A classic example is the camera-eyes (and please do not mention ‘deep homology'), but less appreciated is that convergence is not common, it is ubiquitous. Evidence continues to grow that evolutionary bifurcations are far from random, but probably lead to inevitable outcomes. This suggests the Tree of Life is very different from the sprawling mass of foliage that is commonly envisaged. Also of great importance is the inherency of molecular systems and the capacity for self organisation. Darwinian evolution explains the mechanism, but not the outcomes. Public Lecture, Biological Sciences, Botany & Zoology, ANU College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Medicine and Life Science 2009-09-24T23:21:45+10:00 http://www.anu.edu.au/discoveranu/content/podcasts/ecology_conservation_public_policy/ http://www.anu.edu.au/discoveranu/content/podcasts/ecology_conservation_public_policy/#When:01:28:46Z One of the great challenges of this century is to answer the question: Howdo we bring first class basic science to bear on important appliedproblems? Although the path is not completely clear, it is becoming moreso. Professor Mangel will address a series of sub-questions including: How does the nature of environmental problems differ from other kinds of problems? How do we deal with uncertainty, data and models? How can science support policy making? How do we and what should we learn from other disciplines? After answering these questions, he will provide some suggestions to thenext generation of biologists. Public Lecture, Biological Sciences, Economics, Environment, ANU College of Asia and the Pacific, Asia and the Pacific 2009-03-27T01:28:46+10:00 http://www.anu.edu.au/discoveranu/content/podcasts/immunity_altered_self/ http://www.anu.edu.au/discoveranu/content/podcasts/immunity_altered_self/#When:03:02:00Z World Day of Immunology 2008 Public Lecture What defines us as individuals? What makes us both similar and different to other individuals, other species? These are great philosophical questions throughout the history of human thought, they are a source of angst in teenagers, and they are fundamental issues in medicine. In this lecture Professor Goodnow explores these questions from the perspective of our immune system, whose raison d’etre is to distinguish our self from the legions of viruses, bacteria and other microbes that would wish to take part in or take over our self. He will give examples of progress, opportunities and challenges in improving health outcomes from the struggle between our self, our genome and our microbes. Public Lecture, Biological Sciences, Medical & Health Science, ANU College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Medicine and Life Science 2008-05-06T03:02:00+10:00 http://www.anu.edu.au/discoveranu/content/podcasts/biosecurity_upgrading_web_prevention/ http://www.anu.edu.au/discoveranu/content/podcasts/biosecurity_upgrading_web_prevention/#When:01:17:00Z In this lecture Professor Dando reviews international control of the biotechnology revolution, the threat of deliberate disease - from biowarfare, bioterrorism, and the possible misuse of benignly intended civil research. He looks at the recent history of the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention and the emphasis on in-depth implementation of the Convention including codes of conduct and education for life scientists. Professor Dando argues that there is much evidence that life scientists know very little about these issues. There is a wider question of how this prohibition regime might be strengthened. He asks, could the education of life scientists be improved though the development of appropriate education modules? Public Lecture, Biological Sciences, Law, Justice & Law Enforcement, ANU College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Medicine and Life Science 2008-02-19T01:17:00+10:00 http://www.anu.edu.au/discoveranu/content/podcasts/great_pandemics/ http://www.anu.edu.au/discoveranu/content/podcasts/great_pandemics/#When:03:25:00Z The last five years have seen a remarkable increase in the level of financing and commitment in the war against AIDS, TB and Malaria. This period has also witnessed remarkable innovations in the business of development finance. The Global Fund has played a central role in both of these phenomena. Professor Sir Richard Feachem, who lead the Global Fund from its inception in 2002 until March 2007, discusses the fight against the great pandemics and the need to find a new architecture for development finance drawing on the experience of the first five years of the Global Fund. Professor Sir Richard will be cautiously optimistic about the struggle against HIV/AIDS, ambitious in his remarks on malaria, and provocative in his prescriptions for fundamental change in the way in which aid is provided. Public Lecture, Biological Sciences, Medical & Health Science, ANU College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Medicine and Life Science 2007-05-18T03:25:00+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/it_aint_necessarily_so_bro/ http://www.anu.edu.au/discoveranu/content/podcasts/it_aint_necessarily_so_bro/#When:05:45:01Z Dr Karl explodes our most common ‘mythconceptions’, including whether the daddy long legs is really the most venomous spider in the world and whether a frog will really sit in a pot of gently warming water, and unknowingly boil itself to death. Are virgin births possible? Would cockroaches survive a nuclear holocaust? Will a black hole suck you in? Is the most radioactive device in our homes the microwave? Dr Karl will discuss the answers to these and other fascinating science questions posed in his new book 'It Ain't Necessarily So...Bro'. Part of the ANU 2006 Meet the Author series. Public Lecture, Astronomy & Astrophysics, Biological Sciences, Chemical Sciences, Earth & Marine Sciences, Science Communication, ANU College of Science, Physical Science 2006-11-10T05:45:01+10:00 http://www.anu.edu.au/discoveranu/content/podcasts/earth_history/ http://www.anu.edu.au/discoveranu/content/podcasts/earth_history/#When:06:00:00Z Earth formed over 4.5 billion years ago with its initial condition greatly affected by the trauma of giant impacts. In this lecture, Professor David Stevenson discusses how this trauma affects the similarities and differences between Earth and Moon, the core, possible initial layering of the mantle and the conditions for the early evolution, including timing for the origin of life. This lecture was presented by The Research School of Earth Sciences, ANU College of Science. Public Lecture, Astronomy & Astrophysics, Biological Sciences, Earth & Marine Sciences, ANU College of Science, Physical Science 2006-11-02T06:00:00+10:00 http://www.anu.edu.au/discoveranu/content/podcasts/east_timor/ http://www.anu.edu.au/discoveranu/content/podcasts/east_timor/#When:03:29:00Z In his first visit to Australia as Prime Minister of Timor-Leste, Dr Jose Ramos-Horta discusses the current political situation in his country. Dr Ramos-Horta, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate and accomplished diplomat, was handed one of the biggest challenges of his life on 10 July 2006, he became Timor-Leste’s second Prime Minister. He came to the position amid high expectations that he restore political stability, reconstitute the security forces, promote development, eradicate corruption and revive public faith in the country’s fledgling democracy. Although conditions remain bleak, he is widely viewed as the best person for promoting reconciliation and restoring hope. In accepting the difficult task of Prime Minister, he put aside personal ambition by withdrawing from the shortlist of candidates for the United Nations Secretary-General. This lecture was presented by the Asia-Pacific College of Diplomacy, ANU College of Asia and the Pacific. Public Lecture, Biological Sciences, Law, Justice & Law Enforcement, Policy & Political Science, Society & Culture, ANU College of Asia and the Pacific, Arts and Social Sciences, Asia and the Pacific 2006-10-13T03:29:00+10:00 http://www.anu.edu.au/discoveranu/content/podcasts/sex_chromosomes_the_future_of_men/ http://www.anu.edu.au/discoveranu/content/podcasts/sex_chromosomes_the_future_of_men/#When:05:06:00Z In humans and other mammals, females have two X chromosomes, while males have one X and one Y. The Y chromosome is male determining because it bears a gene (SRY) that switches on the development of testes, which pump out male hormones. The X is a decent, ordinary chromosome, but the Y is a genetic wasteland – small and full of genetic junk, bearing only 45 genes, mostly active only in testes. Professor Jenny Graves outlines why the human Y chromosome is running out of time and how it could lose its last 45 genes in just 10 million years. What happens when SRY disappears? Would this be the end of the line for humans? Professor Graves explains the latest scientific research and discuss why, as the human Y runs out of options, new sex determining genes may evolve, potentially leading to different hominid species. This lecture was sponsored by the ANU College of Science as part of National Science Week 2006. Public Lecture, Biological Sciences, ANU College of Science, Medicine and Life Science 2006-09-22T05:06:00+10:00 http://www.anu.edu.au/discoveranu/content/podcasts/when_art_meets_science/ http://www.anu.edu.au/discoveranu/content/podcasts/when_art_meets_science/#When:04:58:00Z Science and art might sound like vastly different disciplines, but Dr Tim Wetherell from ANU believes they are both motivated by a desire to make sense of the world in which we live. A sculptor and a scientist, Dr Wetherell talks about his experiences working with various artists and scientists on a range of interdisciplinary projects - from the monumental sculptures of body arts to growing living cells over a computer-generated head. This lecture was sponsored by the ANU College of Science as part of National Science Week 2006. Public Lecture, Biological Sciences, Creative Arts, Science Communication, ANU College of Science, Arts and Social Sciences, Medicine and Life Science 2006-09-22T04:58:00+10:00 http://www.anu.edu.au/discoveranu/content/podcasts/seduced_by_dna_from_chromosomes_to_cancer/ http://www.anu.edu.au/discoveranu/content/podcasts/seduced_by_dna_from_chromosomes_to_cancer/#When:04:50:01Z In this lecture, Professor Cory will give a personal perspective on her career, covering how she came to become a molecular biologist and how her fascination with chromosomes led her into cancer research and the quest to develop better cancer drugs. This lecture was sponsored by the ANU College of Science as part of their 2006 Dean's Lecture Series. Public Lecture, Biological Sciences, Medical & Health Science, ANU College of Science, Medicine and Life Science 2006-09-22T04:50:01+10:00