Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

Show notes for Saturday 18 May 2013

Quick Hits

12:15  Rice cooking

12:40  Naked Science

12:50  Toast!

13:15  Tech news

13:35  Brain roadmap

13:50  Japanese mascots

The small print

First up this week, a follow up to our story on the origin and culture of basmati rice. We're cooking basmati 4 different ways, rapid boil, absorption, rice cooker and the microwave, to find out which tastes best.

Then at 12:40pm, Dr Chris Smith of The Naked Scientists beams in with the latest science news. This week, searching for signs of life after the discovery of the oldest water on earth- it's up to 2.5 billion years old and has been entombed underground all this time. Also news that malaria could be manipulating a mosquito's sense of smell so they hunt out more humans to bite, and an anti-heroin vaccine that could stop addicts getting high.

And at 12:50pm a listener's question about toasters and toasting. Why is it so darn hard to get some bread to toast properly and how long should your toaster last? We're testing toasters with Bill Whitley of consumer.org.nz.

After the 1pm news, the latest bits and bytes from the hi-tech world with Peter Griffin. This week, Google launches its own music streaming service; can it challenge Spotify's dominance in this space? Also 'revenge porn' and a woman's fight to get intimate photos of her taken offline and Amazon's new online currency called coins...how did they think of that?!

Then at 1.30pm, we're talking to the lead scientist on an ambitious project to map the development of the human brain just before and just after birth. The Developing Human Connectome Project is MRI-scanning the brains of 1,500 babies and the hope is that by producing a detailed roadmap of neurological pathways as they take shape.  This could tell us a lot more about conditions like autism, ADHD and schizophrenia.

And before we go, the important role that mascots play in Japanese life. Life-size characters in dress-up suits are powerful ways to educate Japanese consumers, from paying your taxes to which politician to vote for.

We're playing these tracks too...

Artist: British Sea Power

Track: Monsters of Sunderland

Composer: Noble, Yan, Fry et al

Album: Machineries of Joy

Label: ROUGH TRADE 700666

Broadcast: 12:35

Artist: Matthew E. White

Track: Big Love

Composer: Matthew E. White

Album: Big Inner

Label: DOMINO 903547

Broadcast: 13:10

Artist: Carter The Unstoppable Sex Machine

Track: The Only Living Boy In New Cross

Album: Straw Donkey: The Singles

Label: CHRYSALIS 835629

Broadcast: 13:45

And our theme is:

Artist: Jefferson Belt

Track: The Green Termite

Composer: Jefferson Belt

Album: Table Manners

Label: Round Trip Mars

http://www.myspace.com/jeffersonbelt