| Description |
1 online resource (streaming video file) (27 min. 25 sec.) ; 164859246 bytes |
| Summary |
Ant venom treatment for allergies; wheat crop threat; ironing out aeronautical ripples; dolphin power; ironman brekkie; and neurotoxins.ANT VENOMFor some, an ant sting can cause extreme illness and in the worst cases, death. So why are people from all over Tasmania flocking to the Hobart Hospital to get injected with the same venom that triggers serious allergic reactions? The answer lies in the body's ability to accept small but increasing doses of venom over time. After a year or more of treatment, patients can take the sting challenge to be stung twice in one hour by a live ant! Mark Horstman meets some brave souls prepared to go through the pain to gain a cure. TURBULENCEUp to half of the cost of a plane ticket pays for the fuel and most of the fuel is burnt overcoming drag. Graham Phillips meets engineers from Melbourne University who have spent over 14 years building a 'world first' wind tunnel dedicated to studying turbulence and drag. One design solution could be to copy the textured skin of sharks.UG99A virulent fungus is marching its way through the wheat fields of Kenya. Since its detection in 2009, UG99 rust fungus has wiped out around 80% of Kenya's wheat crops. Fungicides are one solution, but small scale farmers in African nations cannot afford to continue effective applications. Since windborne spores could one day reach our shores, Australian scientists have joined an international team determined to develop new stem rust resistant wheat breeds. Paul Willis travels to Kenya to report on this serious threat to world food security.NEUROTOXINSThe venom of choice for Australia's deadliest snakes is the 'neurotoxin'. Parts of the human nervous system shut down until life grinds to a halt. The funnel web spider's neurotoxin, however, works quite differently by flooding our bodies with adrenalin a far more frantic demise. CEREAL IRONSurfing scientist Ruben Meerman enlists Maryanne Demasi's help to extract the iron content from breakfast cereal using a mortar, pestle and a magnet. While the iron is safe to eat, Dr Demasi has some advice on some natural sources of iron and how to absorb more of it. DOLPHIN POWEREarly estimates of dolphin muscle power couldn't explain how they'd reach speeds of more than 30 km/hr. That is until Professor Timothy Wei and his colleagues decided to measure the force that bottlenose dolphins create by analysing the movement of bubbles around them as they swim |
| Event |
Broadcast 2011-08-04 at 20:00:00 |
| Notes |
Classification: G |
| Subject |
Air travel -- Economic aspects.
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Anaphylaxis.
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Fungal diseases of plants -- Climatic factors.
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Transportation -- Research.
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Venom -- Therapeutic use.
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Wheat -- Diseases and pests.
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Africa.
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Australia.
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Tasmania.
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| Form |
Streaming video
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| Author |
Bhavani, Sridhar, contributor
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Brown, Simon, contributor
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Crisp, Elaine, contributor
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Demasi, Maryanne, host
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Hawker, Judith, contributor
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Hutchins, Nicholas, contributor
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Marusic, Ivan, contributor
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Meerman, Ruben, host
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Parker, Robert, contributor
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Phillips, Graham, reporter
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Willis, Paul, reporter
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