Science Tank | Jet Debt

Posted 1:34pm Sunday 8th October 2017 by Chelle Fitzgerald

Jet lag arises due to a disturbance of your body’s internal clock, which drives your circadian rhythms. Known as the suprachiasmatic nucleus, this ‘master clock’ processes light information from your retinas and tells the pineal gland what’s happening, so that it can Read more...

Science Tank | Hear, Hear

Posted 1:07pm Saturday 30th September 2017 by Chelle Fitzgerald

As someone who hosts a weekly radio show, I was initially excited at the prospect of hearing my own voice in recording. I thought I was a pretty amazing radio presenter and that I sounded like milk, honey and cocaine all in one. Boy, how jarring it was to hear my screechy bagpipe of a wheeze Read more...

Science Tank | RIP Cassini

Posted 2:33pm Sunday 24th September 2017 by Chelle Fitzgerald

A planet named after the Roman god of time, renewal and liberation seems a fitting final resting place for our lovely friend Cassini-Huygens, whose life was spent furthering astronomical knowledge and the liberation of truth from a far-flung part of our small star system in this abyssal ocean of Read more...

Science Tank | Einstein

Posted 2:29pm Sunday 17th September 2017 by Chelle Fitzgerald

“When a man sits with a pretty girl for an hour, it seems like a minute. But let him sit on a hot stove for a minute - and it's longer than any hour. That's relativity.” - Albert Einstein   This guy kind of needs no introduction but, while most people know that he Read more...

Fluoride is Fine and We Can't Believe That Has to Be Said

Posted 1:39pm Sunday 10th September 2017 by Chelle Fitzgerald

Conspiratorial people love to claim that the government adds fluoride to water and toothpaste in some dastardly plan to make us all sleepy slaves, helpless to resist their evil bidding. The truth, however, is far less scandalous and far more reassuring - fluoride is your friend, my friend, and Read more...

Science Tank | Homebrewed Ginger Beer

Posted 2:52pm Sunday 3rd September 2017 by Swilliam Shakesbeer

Equipment needed: 1 30L plastic bucket, an airlock, some sanitiser. All available for under $35 from your local homebrew store.   Recipe: Get your biggest kitchen pot. That one you use to make soup. Fill it up with water and bring to the boil. Grate up 500g of ginger root. Fresh Read more...

Science Tank | Snake Bite

Posted 1:10pm Sunday 20th August 2017 by Wee Doubt

A single drop of Russell’s viper venom will turn blood in a cup into a coagulated blob that looks like moulded jelly. However, in a living body, the venom has a different effect. The venom reacts with a protein in your blood called Factor X, creating proteins called fibrin, which cause the Read more...

Science Tank | Cold Readers: The First Circle of Hell

Posted 1:00pm Sunday 13th August 2017 by Anon

It was 2010 and my father had passed away earlier that year. My usual logic blinded by grief, I did what any standard mourner would do and booked an appointment to see a medium. Walking into her home-cum-spiritual lair, I immediately noticed the tacky abundance of quartz crystals (when will people Read more...

Science Tank | Supervolcanoes

Posted 2:02pm Sunday 6th August 2017 by Chelle Fitzgerald

It was 75,000 years ago, and all was peaceful in the Sumatran jungle - birds were chirping and swishing through sunlight-dappled tree canopies, while insects chirruped busily on the jungle floor. Suddenly, a sonic boom pierced the air; rumbling shook the earth. All living things fell dead instantly Read more...

Science Tank | The Mighty Aurora

Posted 1:47pm Sunday 30th July 2017 by Chelle Fitzgerald

Living far from the equator can be a bit of a bummer - we miss out on that awesome high concentration of sunshine and long sunny days. Instead we crawl sadly into our damp Dunedin caves at 4pm when we lose the sun in winter. We brave the cold Antarctic winds and surf in what feels like a frozen Read more...