Lost in Science

It’s all about saving coral this week: Linden shares an accidental discovery that bleached coral can be healed through contact with healthy coral; and Kate talks about the benefits of building artificial reefs from calcium carbonate instead of any old junk.Daniel S. Collins et al., Rapid coral bleaching recovery via symbiont transfer from healthy corals. Sci. Adv. 12, eaeh1580(2026). DOI:10.1126/sciadv.aeh1580O’Sullivan B, Bamford R, Shannon MR, Mallela J, Perriman AW. Material design for artificial reef restoration: a novel calcium carbonate biocomposite. Biotechnology Design. 2026;4:e77. doi:10.1017/S2977905726100808

The annual Halloween episode of Lost in Science looks at the science of fiction, this year we look at the scientific realities of Project Hail Mary, both the film and the book, and how much of it is plausible, possible or probable.

This week, Linden and Stu get ornithological with two guests to celebrate the Aussie Bird Count. Dr Sara Ryding shares an update on the bird flu situation in Australia, and Dr Jacinta Humphrey explains why this year's Aussie Bird Count really counts.

Stu, Linden and Chris break down this years science Nobel Prizes: the Physics Prize for the IceCube neutrino observatory; the Physiology & Medicine Prize for controlling nerve cells with light via optogenetics; and the Chemistry Prize for figuring out how biological molecules are only right- or left-handed.

This week we welcome three students from the University of Melbourne's Science Communication program. Meredith, Maeve and Annisa share the science stories they've gotten lost in recently: the power of periods, bioplastics loved by worms, and the impact of light exposure on our heart.

The team discuss the use of AI technology in education, whether its use is making students less able to complete their studies, whether it's harder to assess that when they use it, whether the technology is making us less intelligent, and whether its output is any good. Linden also discusses with the team changes to butterfly wings linked to climate change and temperature in their natural habitat.

This week, Chris digs into a curious signal in the hunt for dark matter that may be a sign of a new particle responsible for 85% of the matter of the universe; and Linden and Kate breeze through the current record-breaking El Niño event, and what it may or may not mean for global and local climate and weather.

Chris, Stu and Linden discuss the winners of this year's Ig Nobel prizes, from simultaneously soiled underpants to milky cockroaches. This is the 36th year of the awards celebrating science that make you laugh, then make you think.

Stu talks to Nicola Sockhill about her research into urban vegetation, and how only planting grass and trees might not be the best use of space as far as planting for people; and biodiversity and we discuss some of the stand-out winners of the 2026 Eureka prizes awarded earlier this month.

This week, Chris talks to Dr Julia Henning from Adelaide University about how bad humans are at understanding cat behaviour, particularly knowing the difference between play-fighting and wanting to be left alone; and Naina talks to the team about a new observation of bottlenose dolphins in Queensland using shells as tools to catch fish.