This Way Up for Saturday 26 September 2015
This Way Up #1 for Sat 26 Sept 2015
Why menopause happens, plus medical testing, are they really worth it if you are fit and well?
Menopause: Part 2 - why it happens
Dr Bev Lawton is director of the Women's Health Research Centre at the University of Otago and a past president of the Australasian Menopause Society. 20 years ago she founded a clinic devoted to helping women experiencing menopause.
In this episode we'll explore the science of menopause; what causes it and why does it happen?
How useful is medical testing?
Dr Michael Mosley Photo: Supplied
Science journalist, TV presenter and bestselling author Dr Michael Mosley has been putting himself through a barrage of medical tests in the hope of discovering 'Are Health Tests Really a Good Idea?' the title of his latest documentary broadcast on the BBC.
Medical testing is a huge business, and is available to people feeling perfectly fit and well. From a high res heart scan to sending off your DNA for analysis, you can pay to find out how likely you are to develop and die from a particular health condition. But do you really want to know, and what can you do with this information?
This Way Up 26 September 2015 Part 2
Why menopause happens, plus medical testing, are they really worth it if you are fit and well?
Naked Science
Dr Chris Smith of The Naked Scientists Photo: SUPPLIED
Dr Chris Smith of The Naked Scientists with the latest science news. This week, the device allowing a paralysed man to walk again, a study into 3D printing which could revolutionise surgery, and why people who fidget may live longer!
World's biggest pet shop
Norbert Zajac has built up the biggest pet shop in the world. It's a huge 12,000 square meter warehouse in the industrial city of Duisburg in western Germany. There are a quarter of a million individual animals and over 3,000 different species. No wonder it attracts up to 12,000 visitors some days!
Whether you want to drop $16,000 for a two toed sloth or take home an armadillo, a meerkat, or a monkey then you can be sure that Zoo Zajac has just the pet for you.
Peer reviewing research
Photo: Public Domain
A New Zealand tech company is hoping to speed up science with new tools that streamline the peer review process.
The peer-review process, where a scientific paper gets read and reviewed by other independent academics, is a tried and trusted way to scrutinise research before it gets published. Just because it's been done this way for centuries doesn't necessarily mean it's the best way to go. Simon Morton talks with Andrew Preston, who studied in Wellington and the US before founding Publons.com.
Genetic flu risk
Photo: Public Domain
Have you noticed that some of us suffer way more than others when infected with the flu bug? No, this is not about gender but genes! It turns out there's a genetic reason why some of us get sicker than others when infected with infuenza.
Simon Morton discusses genetic flu risk with Professor Paul Kellam, an expert in virus genomics at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute and University College London.