G’day, Dr Karl here.
Gazing at the heavens or just staring blankly into empty space - we’ve all done it. And there is that phrase ‘stare bear’ that refers to somebody who is staring at you.
We’ve been staring at the stars forever, and for the last six decades, we’ve put telescopes into orbit around the earth to act as our upgraded eyes.
But shifting from astronomy to medicine, staring into space can occasionally be caused by an “absence seizure” – which is a type of epilepsy. They usually happen in children between the ages of four and 14, mostly lasting less than 15 seconds - and can sometimes go unnoticed. A child could have up to 100 absence seizures in a single day – which has a huge impact on their learning and concentration.
G’day, Dr Karl here.
Over the last few episodes together we have considered the difference between a virus and a bacterium, grappled with the intellectual problem of whether a virus is alive or not, and looked at just how we discovered these incredibly tiny critters. That was deep stuff, and I didn’t even touch on where they came from.
But while mysteries surrounding viruses are intriguing, most people are pretty convinced of one thing – viruses are bad news. But that’s only part of the story. In fact, without viruses, we couldn’t have babies or even think.
Does a spoon keep champagne bubbly? Why do I cough when using an earbud? Why do animals sense disasters? Dr Karl answers these questions and more, on triple j mornings with host Lucy Smith.
What's the frame rate of our eyes? Does gut bacteria cause depression? What would happen if mosquitos became extinct? Dr Karl answers these questions and more, on triple j mornings with host Lucy Smith.