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Our Changing World headlines with summaries.
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Scandium - the scandal of the scandium cricket bat
16 Oct 2019Predicted by Mendeleev & useful for alloying with aluminium, scandium was involved in a famous cricket scandal, says AUT's Allan Blackman in ep 73 of Elemental.
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Samarium - magnets for making & listening to music
14 Oct 2019Samarium magnets are used in headphones & guitar pickups, and samarium was the first element named after a real person, says Prof Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 72 of Elemental.
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Ruthenium - a 'sort of' precious metal
11 Oct 2019Ruthenium is a 'sort of' precious metal that is a useful catalyst and alloy. It is toxic and smells like ozone, says Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 71 of Elemental.
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Older men lose ability to recognise emotions
University of Otago psychology professor Ted Ruffman says ageing brains means older men become less able to recognise emotions in other people.
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Rubidium - expensive and not very useful
7 Oct 2019Rubidium is a reactive metal with few uses, named 'deepest red' due to its beautiful red spectral lines, says Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 70 of Elemental.
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Rhodium - used in cars, drugs ... and aftershave
4 Oct 2019Rhodium is an expensive precious metal that is used in catalytic convertors, to make the Parkinson's drug L-DOPA, create shiny jewellery and add the menthol taste to toothpaste, says Allan Blackman…
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The quest to live forever
3 Oct 2019From cutting-edge genetic treatments to computer-brain interfaces that are still in the realm of science fiction, Silicon Valley is on a quest to let us live forever.
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Rhenium - has a number of claims to chemical fame
2 Oct 2019Named after the Rhine river, rhenium is a metal with very high boiling and melting points, and it was the last naturally occuring, non-radioactive element to be discovered, says Prof Allan Blackman in…
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Radon - radioactive basement risk
30 Sep 2019The radioactive gas radon can be a risk in the basements of stone houses and used to, erroneously, be touted for its health benefits, says Prof Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 67 of Elemental.
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Radium - famous but not very useful
27 Sep 2019Radium was famously found by the Curies, and was once widely used in face creams, drinks and luminous watch dials, despite being highly radioactive, says Allan Blackman in ep 66 of Elemental.
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Our Changing World for 26 September 2019
26 Sep 2019As the world considers taking more action to combat climate change we revisit Antarctica with the Voice of the Iceberg podcast & hear about protactinium.
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Protactinium - a very dull chemical element
23 Sep 2019Protactinium is a rare, radioactive element that has no uses and may be the most boring element, says Prof Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 65 of Elemental.
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Promethium - rare and unremarkable
20 Sep 2019Despite its gruesome mythical name, the radioactive element promethium has no particular claim to fame, says Prof Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 64 of Elemental.
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Kākāpō population hits new high of 213 birds
18 Sep 2019The youngest kākāpō chick has passed 150 days old, bringing the number of living juveniles to 71 and the overall kākāpō population to 213, in ep 24 of the Kākāpō Files.
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Shaped by the wind
19 Sep 2019The 20-metre long wind tunnel at the University of Auckland is used to test the aerodynamics of objects as varied as Olympic cyclists and buildings, as well as drones, ancient building designs & tiny…
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Praseodymium - a long name but not many uses
16 Sep 2019Praseodymium is a metal wirh the second longest name on the periodic table and not many uses, says Prof Alan Blackman from AUT in ep 63 of Elemental.
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Potassium - a matter of life and death
13 Sep 2019From levitating burnt buttocks, to excitable nerves and sure-to-rise baking, potassium is highly reactive and vital to life, says Prof Allan Blackman in ep 62 of Elemental.
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Green cities of the future - what we can expect in 2050
12 Sep 2019Better solar panels and efficient carbon capture technology will help shape the impact and look of cities in the future, say MacDiarmid Institute scientists.
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Polonium - few redeeming features
9 Sep 2019Polonium will be forever linked with the names Curie and Litvinenko and has negligible desirable features, says Prof Allan Blackman in ep 61 of Elemental.
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Plutonium - nuclear bombs & nuclear power
6 Sep 2019A radioactive heavyweight associated with nuclear bombs & power, which is powering the Voyager spacecraft, says Prof Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 60 of Elemental.
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The science of toxic algal blooms
5 Sep 2019Toxic algae expert Jonathan Puddick has a Marsden Grant to find out if toxic cyanobacteria share their toxins with non-toxic species.
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Platinum - another pricey precious metal
2 Sep 2019Platinum is useful in catalytic convertors, is used to treat testicular cancer and will be useful in hydrogen fuel cells, says Prof Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 59 of Elemental.
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Phosphorus - P was discovered in pee
30 Aug 2019Phosphorus, chemical symbol P, was first isolated as an element from thousands of litres of urine. Also found in guano, aka bird poo. Allan Blackman from AUT has the full story in ep 58 of Elemental.
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No escape: separating from an abusive partner
29 Aug 2019New Zealand has one of the highest rates of domestic violence in the world, but sociology research shows life post- separation can still leave women feeling trapped.
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