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Science In Public

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Factchecking 5G, future energy, swarming behaviour, and how real is virtual reality?

Dozens of Science Week stories around Victoria

More on these highlights below.

Scientists, experts and event organisers are available for interview throughout National Science Week.

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Soil, seafood, and seeing your future health

Dozens of Science Week stories around the Territory

More on these highlights below.

Scientists, experts and event organisers are available for interview throughout National Science Week.

[Read more…] about Soil, seafood, and seeing your future health

Indigenous astronomy, internet evils, the poo palace, and what will the Antarctic look like in the future?

Dozens of Science Week stories around New South Wales

More on these highlights below.

Scientists, experts and event organisers are available for interview throughout National Science Week.

[Read more…] about Indigenous astronomy, internet evils, the poo palace, and what will the Antarctic look like in the future?

Sex in the sea, the science in sci-fi, dance hall becomes a lab, and measuring a Footy Quake

Dozens of Science Week stories around ACT

More on these highlights below.

[Read more…] about Sex in the sea, the science in sci-fi, dance hall becomes a lab, and measuring a Footy Quake

What is your favourite tree? Cast your vote in our national poll

Karri, tea tree, river red gum… nationwide project to crown Australia’s most loved species.

The poll opens on Monday 1 August. The list will be cut to the top 20 on Friday 12 August, then 10 finalists on Friday 19 August, and the winner will be announced on Friday August 26.

Images available for media use

Meet the 33 contender trees

Participate at: www.abc.net.au/trees from 1 August.

Mountain ash at Lake Tali Karng
Credit: Claire Gilder

Do you love the water-bulging boab or the towering mountain ash, the world’s tallest flowering tree? Are you intrigued by the carbon capturing power of grey mangrove ecosystems or the ‘living fossil’ story of the Wollemi pine?

The search is on to find Australia’s favourite tree. This National Science Week, ABC Science wants people to go online to explore the wonder and science of the plant kingdom, and vote for their favourite tree.

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Australia’s Favourite Tree: the contenders

Images available for media use.

Blackwood (Acacia melanoxylon) — a long-lived wattle with cream ball-shaped flowers. Native to eastern states and SA, it’s now also found in WA, often as a feature or shade tree. Blackwood is used for furniture and guitars; and by Indigenous people for food, medicine and weapons.

Boab (Adansonia gregorii) — found in the Kimberly, WA and western NT, Australia’s boab has a huge bottle-shaped trunk that stores water: just one of the reasons this is an important tree for the local Indigenous people. The boab is deciduous during the dry season.

Bunya pine (Araucaria bidwillii) — a large, symmetrical ancient conifer native to Qld. It has huge cones containing large, delicious seeds traditionally roasted and eaten by Indigenous people. Weighing up to 10kg, these cones can be a hazard when they fall.

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How do collisions of rocks with planets help the planets evolve?

Planetary scientist Katarina Miljkovic is available to discuss the nature of planets in Melbourne this week. It’s part of a national tour of public and school talks promoting opportunities for women in physics.

The planets in our solar system are vastly different although they all formed from the same cloud of gas and dust around a star – our sun. Why is this?

Associate Professor Katarina Miljkovic thinks the answers lie in studying how asteroids, comets and meteors bombarded the planets in the past, changing the surface conditions.

She works at Curtin University’s Space Science and Technology Centre and School of Earth and Planetary Sciences and uses data from several NASA missions.

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Dopamine hits; Antarctic art; a mass rocket launch; and will we have enough prawns for Christmas?

This year’s festival runs 13 to 21 August, with thousands of events around Australia.

Entertainment, business, environment, food and wine, Indigenous media, the arts, health, technology, farming and agriculture, lifestyle, education, and disability media…

EVERY round can find a story in this year’s National Science Week. Here are some of the early top picks:

[Read more…] about Dopamine hits; Antarctic art; a mass rocket launch; and will we have enough prawns for Christmas?

Clinical trial to test potential new combination therapy for aggressive breast cancer

Media call 11 am, Garvan Institute with researchers and the late Rebecca Wilson’s brother, Jim Wilson

Meet in the foyer of the Kinghorn Cancer Centre, 370 Victoria St, Darlinghurst NSW 2010

Researchers are recruiting volunteers for a clinical trial they hope will improve survival rates for an aggressive form of breast cancer that affects about 1,500 women each year in New South Wales.

The trial will test a new strategy in cancer treatment: using a new therapy to target a ‘defence switch’ on cancer cells that alerts cancer to the threat of chemotherapy.

The trial aims to improve survival rates for patients with triple negative breast cancer, a treatment-resistant form of cancer that can quickly adapt against chemotherapy. It will commence in August.

It will be led by Associate Professor Christine Chaffer and Dr Beatriz San Juan from the Garvan Institute of Medical Research, and Senior Staff Specialist in medical oncology Dr Rachel Dear of St Vincent’s Hospital Sydney. The trial will be conducted at The Kinghorn Cancer Centre in Darlinghurst.

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Massive X-ray blasts, thousands of black holes revealed; a universe in a computer and more

Next generation astronomers win national recognition

A Sydney student, early-career researchers from Perth and Melbourne, and a fast telescope have received awards for changing our view of our galaxy and the Universe.

The Astronomical Society of Australia (ASA) will honour the five at its Annual Scientific Meeting in Hobart 27 June – 1 July.

“Australian astronomers are among the best in the world, and the breadth of these prestigious awards shows why we lead the world in so many areas. It is a pleasure to recognise these examples of individual brilliance, as well as teamwork, and technical innovation,” says ASA President Professor John Lattanzio.

[Read more…] about Massive X-ray blasts, thousands of black holes revealed; a universe in a computer and more