Around 1.5 million years ago, in what's now Kenya, a human-like figure walked across the savannah.  He was probably quite short by our standards, no taller than Danny DeVito.  But unlike Danny DeVito, this ancient figure was not human. He was a long-extinct relative of ours called Paranthropus boisei.  And now his fossilised hand bones are giving us never-before-seen insights into how he and his species lived.  You can binge more episodes of the Lab Notes podcast with science journalist and presenter Belinda Smith 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:  Carrie Mongle, palaeoanthropologist at Stony Brook University and the Turkana Basin Institute  More information:  New fossils reveal the hand of Paranthropus boisei  Fossil hand bones hint that ancient human relative Paranthropus made tools 1.5 million years ago  This episode of Lab Notes was produced on the lands of the Wurundjeri and Menang Noongar people.

A recent study has shown the loss of 62% of managed bee hives across the United States.

On the shores of the ocean, Laura and Daphne fantasise that they are mother and daughter. They both have problems in their past, which they need to resolve.

Robyn Williams is joined by hotel manager Paul Gallop for a tour of Adelaide’s Marriott hotel and it’s displays commemorating the work of Charles Todd.

David Spiegelhalter offers a data-driven guide to how we should best live with risk and uncertainty.

Evidence of harm of social media on young people is limited, but the effects are obvious.

Love, Anger and Betrayal follows 26 young British citizens as protest against the ongoing use of fossil fuels.

Few astronomical wonders are as spectacular as a total solar eclipse, when the Moon fully covers the Sun, plunging us into daytime darkness.  If we're lucky, we can see this epic phenomenon as it happens — through special glasses, of course. But our preoccupation with looking at the sky means we may not notice what's happening to the animals around us.  When it comes to birds, many of which rely on the Sun to tell them when to sing a dawn chorus, how does a solar eclipse change how they behave? And what are the wider implications in this artificially lit world?   You can binge more episodes of the Lab Notes podcast with science journalist and presenter Belinda Smith 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:  Liz Aguilar, PhD student in bird reproductive behaviour at Indiana University Bloomington More information:  Total solar eclipse triggers dawn behavior in birds: Insights from acoustic recordings and community science  This episode of Lab Notes was produced on the lands of the Wurundjeri and Menang Noongar people.

David Ellis is investigating how technology might be redesigned to reduce or eliminate the loneliness which can arise for some users.

Phages are viruses which attack specific bacteria. 

Biofilms are produced by microorganisms coming together and forming a community usually on a surface. The biofilm provides protection for the microorganism.

The idea is to see if technology can be used to support animals which live in isolation in zoos or sanctuaries.

A display at the British Science Festival featured sounds from animals we usually think of as being silent such as some fish, and sea horses.

Andre Geim was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in 2010 for his work on graphene. Graphene is one atom thick, a lattice of carbon atoms and is a two-dimensional material. 

Nobel Prize winner Takaaki Kajita laments poor support for research in Japan.

David Fisher reports on the 2025 Nobel Prizes for Medicine, Physics and Chemistry.

This has been a bumper year for whale-watching on Australia's east coast, with thousands of humpbacks spotted cruising along their annual migration route.   This population was almost wiped out by whalers last century but has bounced back — and then some. A new estimate suggests there are now more of these humpbacks than in pre-whaling times.  So why are the eastern Australian humpbacks going gangbusters while other populations aren't doing nearly as well?  You can binge more episodes of the Lab Notes podcast with science journalist and presenter Belinda Smith 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:  Wally Franklin, marine scientist at Southern Cross University and the Oceania Project  More information:  Eastern Australian humpback whale population now well above pre-whaling levels, report finds Boom to bust? Implications for the continued rapid growth of the eastern Australian humpback whale population despite recovery  The Oceania Project  If you want to hear about how other Australian whales are going, check out The plight of the southern right whales.  This episode of Lab Notes was produced on the lands of the Wurundjeri and Menang Noongar people.

Despite the cloud, the UK has a telescope. It is cleverly located in the Canary Islands and specialises in short duration cosmic events such as supernovae and merging stars. 

Madeline Robinson describes some of the nation’s most important archaeological sites, what they reveal, and she touches on why they are not widely known, despite their importance.

Flint Dibble says our civilisation is at risk if we don’t recognise facts, acknowledge threats and change the way we live.