Skip to content.

 

Our Changing World

with Alison Ballance & Ruth Beran

Thursdays 9 - 10pm

Audio from Thursday 24 December 2009

Not all audio is available due to copyright restrictions.

21:06 Bar-tailed Godwits - part 2

The cannon nets have been fired and Jesse Concklin and Phil Battley retrieve data loggers from the godwits they have caught. (12′23″)

Download: Ogg Vorbis  MP3 | Embed
21:20 Remembering the Future

Recent research suggests the same parts of the brain are used for remembering and for thinking about the future. (12′39″)

Download: Ogg Vorbis  MP3 | Embed
21:34 Calcium, lung function and asthma

Mathematician James Sneyd is modelling the role of calcium in lung function and saliva secretion. (12′31″)

Download: Ogg Vorbis  MP3 | Embed
21:46 Asian Paddle Crabs

The newly arrived Asian paddle crab is proving to be aggressive, voracious and a fast breeder. (12′25″)

Download: Ogg Vorbis  MP3 | Embed

On This Programme

Godwits at Foxton Beach - Part 2

Godwits being taken out of the net, Phil Battley holding a godwit, and processing the birds.

Removing godwits from the net; Phil Battley holding a godwit; processing the birds. (Images: A. Ballance)

Last week on Our Changing World, Alison Ballance joined Massey University's Jesse Conklin and Phil Battley, and a team of shorebird experts, in a mission to cannon net bar-tailed godwits at the Manawatu Estuary. In part two of that story the cannons are fired, and the team discover how many data loggers they are able to retrieve from 24 godwits carrying them. They are especially interested in four birds that have carried the data loggers for two seasons.

Don't forget that Keith Woodley's new book 'Godwits: long haul champions' (Penguin Books) is a great source of information about bar-tailed godwits, and that the Asia Pacific Shorebird Network encourages international co-operation in the study and conservation of shorebirds.

Jesse Conklin removing a data logger, and data logger showing the light sensor.

Jesse Conklin removing a data logger, and data logger showing the light sensor. (Images: A. Ballance)

Remembering Future Events

Donna Rose Addis, an MRI image, and Victoria Martin

Donna Rose Addis (left) and Victoria Martin (right) from the University of Auckland are looking brain activity to determine whether the same region of the brain, the hippocampus, which is known to be associated with memory and the past, is also responsible for imagining future events. Their research may have implications for people with conditions which effect memory like Alzheimer's disease and amnesia.

Ruth Beran went to meet them, and in the process undertook a modified version of their trial.

Maths and Calcium

At the University of Auckland, a mathematician is doing something rather unusual…for a mathematician. James Sneyd, with a team of others including Merryn Tawhai, is trying to work out what happens in the asthmatic lung. In particular he is interested in how calcium levels (pdf) relate to contractions in smooth muscle and also to saliva secretion. Using large computational models, he is helping experimentalists better understand biology. Ruth Beran meets him in his office to find out more.

Asian Paddle Crabs - Ocean Science Series part 7

native paddle crab on left and Asian paddle crab on right.

In the final story from the University of Auckland's Leigh Marine Laboratory, Amy Fowler introduces Alison Ballance to two species of paddle crab. Most people will be familiar with the native paddle crab Ovalipes catharus (above left), but in 2000 an introduced species, the Asian paddle crab, Charybdis japonica (above right; images: A. Ballance), was discovered around Auckland. This new species is much more aggressive than the native species, and Amy Fowler is investigating aspects of its biology and breeding behaviour, as well as its interactions with the native species, to try and understand its potential impact.

Astronomy Symposium, Auckland 22 January 2010

The Public Astronomy Symposium is hosted by the University of Auckland's Faculty of Science. International speakers describe the search for habitable planets in our Milky Way Galaxy; the nature of `dark matteŕ and `dark energý; cosmic structure, black holes, and the early universe; gamma ray bursts, life in extreme environments, new space missions and gravitational lenses. 22 January 9.15 am to 4 pm, Glenn Owen Building, Lecture Room 098, 12 Grafton Road, Auckland City.

Please RSVP by email by 12 January to: astronomy.symposium@auckland.ac.nz

Next On Air Date

Our Changing World will be back on air on Thursday 28 January 2010. Until then, have a great summer.


The Team

Presenters:

Photo of Alison Ballance

Alison Ballance

Photo of Ruth Beran

Ruth Beran

Photo of Veronika Meduna

Veronika Meduna

About Our Changing World

A mix of in depth interviews, packages and sound rich features, Our Changing World covers topics across all scientific disciplines, natural history and environmental issues, and developments in health as well as exploring the human side of science and the personalities behind it.

email: ourchangingworld@radionz.co.nz
Phone: (04) 4741910

Our Changing World Emailer

To join the email preview of our programme, send a blank email with an empty subject line to ocw-join@lists.radionz.co.nz and respond to our confirmation email.

To unsubscribe, send a blank email to ocw-leave@lists.radionz.co.nz.

Follow RNZ_Science on Twitter.Follow RNZ_Science on Twitter

Podcast

The link(s) below can be pasted into your podcasting software.

Podcast (MP3)

Oggcast (Vorbis)

For more podcasts and the conditions of use, please see our podcast page.

Coming up on National

More National highlights

Radio New Zealand Audio

hide window

Audio is categorised based on the frequency of the programme it was heard in. Click on the headings below to access the programmes. If you are unsure where to look, try the latest audio page.

Live Audio Streams

Streams are in Windows Media format. Mac and Linux users see our help section.

If you use Windows Vista and streaming has stopped working see our help section.

National Daily On Demand

National Weekly Audio On Demand

Concert On Demand

Music On Demand

Documentaries, Lectures and Forums

Parliament Audio

Podcasts & Downloads

Downloads and Podcasts are available on selected programmes. Our podcast page has a complete list of feeds.

Audio Help

National Access Keys

Why does this site look so plain?