The Science Show

Dust storms on Mars make the biggest on Earth seem like a gentle breeze. Chelsea Huang describes the Martian conditions which produce humungous dust storms that cover the entire planet.

These little spiders that live in the dark corner of your garage have a pretty crazy sex life. Researchers have known for a while that male redback spiders get eaten during sex — but not only that, they somersault themselves right onto the fangs of the female.
Considering the ultimate aim of this process is to create more spiders , this seems pretty counterintuitive. So it begs the question: why do they do it?
Jonathan Webb and Ellen Phiddian get caught up in the science of this act, discussing what researchers have uncovered in the genes of the redback spider and its relatives.
You can binge more episodes of the Lab Notes podcast with science editor and presenter Jonathan Webb on the ABC Listen app (Australia). You'll find episodes on animal behaviour, human health, space exploration and so much more.
Get in touch with us: labnotes@abc.net.au
Featuring:
Ellen Phiddian, science reporter
Further information:
Male redback spider's dramatic death somersault during sex coded in its DNACrossing experiments suggest a simple genetic basis of complex male self-sacrifice phenotypes in widow spidersThis episode of Lab Notes was produced on the lands of the Gadigal, Ngunnawal and Ngambri people.

Plus hope for corals, and the story of a museum thief who liked butterflies.

Right now, a high-stakes mission is underway to save NASA's Swift telescope before it falls back to Earth.
There's just one problem… the rescue satellite has run into some issues. So who rescues the rescuer?
Jonathan Webb and Dr Sara Webb launch into this issue to see what scientists are doing to get this satellite back on track, and whether it can save Swift in time.
You can binge more episodes of the Lab Notes podcast with science editor and presenter Jonathan Webb on the ABC Listen app (Australia). You'll find episodes on animal behaviour, human health, space exploration and so much more.
Editor's note: the day after this episode was published, Australian time, NASA announced that its plan to boost the Swift Observatory was being abandoned because of ongoing issues controlling the pointing of the LINK spacecraft. It will still test out "rendesvous and proximity operations" which might provide useful results for similar missions in the future, but will not attempt to grab and lift the telescope as planned.
Get in touch with us: labnotes@abc.net.au
Featuring:
Dr Sara Webb, Swinburne University of Technology
This episode of Lab Notes was produced on the lands of the Gadigal, Ngunnawal and Ngambri people.

* The attraction of smelly feet * Plants that trap insects* Pollen grains reveal Australia's first flowering plants* Vale botanist Peter Raven* Australians smashing it at CERN