It Starts With...

We're told white keeps you cool and black soaks up the heat — but where does purple fit in? Imma Perfetto joins David Boldeman to unpack the surprising physics of colour and heat after a new purple fabric was found to keep you cooler than white cotton. The discovery was made by researchers at Adelaide University. They discuss why purple absorbs more light than you'd think, how passive radiative cooling works, and what this could mean for beating extreme heat as the planet warms.It Starts With... is a free, weekly podcast by ConnectSci. ConnectSci is the trusted home of content from the editorially independent CSIRO Publishing.

New research shows that making sexual health services pleasure-inclusive for young people returns $23 for every $1 spent. Across 99 countries, that's 30.7 million more people protected, 4.3 million unintended pregnancies avoided, and over 90,000 lives saved by 2050. It turns out the missing piece in sexual health programming wasn't complicated. It was pleasure, and it was there the whole time.David Boldeman speaks with Anne Philpott, founder and co-director of The Pleasure Project that commissioned the study. Anne is also the associate editor of the CSIRO Publishing journal Sexual Health. Anne and David discuss the impact of a more positive approach to sexual education and whether or not it makes people less responsible and take more risks.They also chat about how normalising pleasure in sex education and health contexts can also have a positive impact on the use of contraception.MORE YOU MIGHT LIKE:Women with high levels of ‘interoception’ orgasm more oftenFree monthly newsletter: sign up nowIt Starts With... is a free, weekly podcast by ConnectSci. ConnectSci is the trusted home of content from the editorially independent CSIRO Publishing.

The last Tasmanian tiger died 90 years ago. Could de-extinction science bring it back? Professor Andrew Pask explains how.September 7, 1936, was the last confirmed sighting of a thylacine (Tasmanian tiger). It was named “Benjamin” and died at Beaumaris Zoo in Hobart, Australia. Now, 90 years on, a team of researchers have teamed up with US-based company Colossal Biosciences to bring the thylacine back to life, along with other extinct animals including the woolly mammoth, dodo and dire wolf.In this episode of the It Starts With… podcast, David Boldeman speaks with University of Melbourne geneticist Professor Andrew Pask about the thylacine de-extinction project.They discuss the big questions: How do you bring extinct animals back? Can you stop extinction before it happens? Are scientists “playing God”?

Why does mint make your mouth feel like it's full of ice even though it doesn't change the temperature in your mouth?In this episode, host David Boldeman sits down with science journalist Ellen Phiddian to unpack the strange sensory science hiding behind everyday flavors. They dig into the trigeminal nerve, the hidden receptors that mix up heat, cold, and pain, and why your tongue is doing a lot more than just tasting.And you'll get the answers to a whole lot more:Why does wasabi shoot up your nose?Why are fizzy drinks not really about the bubbles?Why do garlic and mustard have a spicy kick?Can you build up a tolerance to chilli?READ MORE: https://connectsci.au/news/news-parent/4296/Why-does-mint-make-your-mouth-feel-cold-and-why-do

Knowledge built over time, skills practiced and risks taken help prepare us for the challenges of life. Resilience, therefore, is not something that emerges when things go wrong but takes a lifetime to develop according to this week’s podcast guest Richard de Crespigny.Richard de Crespigny knows all about resilience in challenging situations. He was captain of Qantas Flight 32, the Airbus A380 that in 2010 suffered a catastrophic, uncontained explosion in its engine on a flight from Singapore to Sydney.Despite more than 50 cascading system failures and severe wing damage, the 5-pilot crew landed safely. All of the 469 people on board disembarked without a single injury.In this episode of It Stars With… David Boldeman speaks to Richard about how resilience is built and why it is more important than ever in an age of AI and automation.Richard de Crespigny has written a book on the topic, Fly! The Elements of Resilience.

Professor Volker Hessel is working on one of the biggest challenge in future space exploration, how do we support human life beyond Earth.Volker is a chief investigator at the ARC Center of Excellence in Plants for Space. Plants for Space brings together researchers who are looking at we can eat and drink in space, and how we could grow food.He is also looking at how this research can be used back on earth, including droughts, vertical farming and personalised farming.

Microplastics are everywhere – in water, food, air and even our bodies. But are microplastics as scary as some news headlines would have us believe?In this episode of the It Stars With… podcast, David Boldeman chats with science journalist Ellen Phiddian about microplastics.Ellen gives us the latest facts and figures on microplastics: where they’ve been found and how much have polluted our planet.Everywhere microplastics have been found – oceans, soil and even the human body – scientists are beginning to build a picture of the damage they can cause to the ecosystem and organisms that encounter the tiny fragments.Understanding these microscopic fragments of plastic – where they come from, why they don’t break down, where they’re appearing, how they affect organisms – is the key to being able to resolve an increasingly complex environmental and health problem brought on by their proliferation.

Science journalist and author Smriti Daniel explains what actually separates a robot from a smart toaster and why the most useful robots don't look human at all.Smriti also discussed with host David Boldeman how robots are already fighting bushfires, working inside Fukushima, and collecting whale snot.She also shares her five favourite robots, some are quite bizarre.Smriti has written the book Robot Responders aimed at kids aged 8 to 12. It is published by CSIRO Publishing and is available in print or eBook.CSIRO has created the online game CSIRO Robot Responders and unplugged card game, where players design, test and refine robots to complete missions inspired by real-world science and engineering. It is recommended for 10 to 14 year olds.