There’s a vast reef system rivalling the Great Barrier Reef in size and diversity which you probably haven’t heard of. Its name is the Great Southern Reef and it wraps around most of the southern part of Australia.

David Bolderman speaks with marine ecologist Scott Bennett in this episode of It Starts With… to understand the hidden world of the Great Southern Reef.

Scott is Chair of the Great Southern Reef Foundation which aims to promote understanding and protection of this marine environment.

The Great Southern Reef itself was only identified by science in 2015. It’s not an interconnected coral reef like the tropical Great Barrier Reef, but a temperate collection of rocky reefs. It is home to a stunning array of biodiversity, including the vulnerable kelp forests off Tasmania’s coast.

It Starts With... is a ConnectSci podcast. ConnectSci delivers trusted, fact-based content, including peer-reviewed journal articles, eBooks and science news articles. It is operated by CSIRO Publishing, a not-for-profit, editorially independent publisher based in Australia.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Alcohol has been socially lubricating, intoxicating and relaxing humans for thousands of years. But the chemistry behind alcohol and the biological effects it has on the human body are still being understood.

Join David Bolderman and science journalist Ellen Phiddian in this episode of the It Starts With… podcast as they take a sip from the chalice of knowledge to get to the gurgling heart of what alcohol is and how it affects the body.

Ellen and David explore the properties of ethanol, why we get drunk, as well as the harmful effects of overconsumption of alcohol on the human body.

It Starts With... is a ConnectSci podcast. ConnectSci delivers trusted, fact-based content, including peer-reviewed journal articles, eBooks and science news articles. It is operated by CSIRO Publishing, a not-for-profit, editorially independent publisher based in Australia.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

About 70% of Australia’s dinosaur holotype fossils were not discovered by palaeontologists. They were found by members of the public with a keen eye. It begs the question: what should you do if you stumble on a fossil or ancient artefact?

In this podcast, David Bolderman speaks with archaeologist and palaeontologist Sally Hurst who is founder of the “Found A Fossil” project which provides all the answers to these questions and more about what to do if you find remains of ancient animals or artefacts from human settlements.

Who do you tell? Can you take the object? What kind of pictures should you take?

Join Sally and David as they discuss these questions.

Sally is author of the book Found a Fossil is published by CSIRO Publishing and is available in print or eBook.

It Starts With... is a ConnectSci podcast. ConnectSci delivers trusted, fact-based content, including peer-reviewed journal articles, eBooks and science news articles. It is operated by CSIRO Publishing, a not-for-profit, editorially independent publisher based in Australia.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.