How Bugs can harm AND help us

This week on Self Improvement Wednesday, Dr Lauren Rosewarne, from Melbourne University's School of Social and Political Sciences, teaches us about her very festive special subject: Christmas films.  

Sydney's first government telephone exchange was established in 1882. By 1891 there was a petition that unleashed hell. 

Latin Lecturer Dr Anne Rogerson shows you how to party like it's 99BC with the history of Roman birthdays, holidays, and military parties.  

It's a gross but very useful fact that some insects will eat deceased humans, because scientists can observe those insects to learn about where and when a person died. Learn about forensic entomology in this episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://science.howstuffwo ... Show More

Prof Adam Hart stirred a hornet’s nest of controversy by asking the public to kill wasps for science. He explores why scientists kill insects to save them from extinction.The work of the entomologist often involves the killing of insects in large numbers. This happens in the sear ... Show More

This is a big year for bug science as two broods of cicadas are set to emerge. We connected with Emma Grace the entomologist to learn about women in entomology, bug science, cicadas and Star Wars.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. 

Are insects the sustainable food source of the future? In this podcast, we’re going to take a look at edible bugs as an alternative protein source. Some say that we should be eating bugs by 2050 because of the growing population. Some blame climate change or claim that beef is no ... Show More

Mosquitoes are common flying insect that inhabit all continents except Antarctica. There are over 3500 species of mosquitoes worldwide, but only somewhere between 6 and 9.3% bite humans and are disease vectors. That said, mosquitos are the deadliest animal on the planet, thanks t ... Show More

Blowflies may be some of the most reviled insects on the planet, but as Erica McAlister discovers, they are central to the surprisingly long tradition of forensic entomology and how there's more than meets the eye in the distinctive structural colour of the morpho butterfly wing, ... Show More

There are many ways people get sick, but sometimes diseases are carried to people by insects. Dr. Sydnee and Justin talk about the top ten "bad bugs" including mosquitoes, ticks, assassin bugs, and some beetles that are big and bad. Music: "Medicines" by The Taxpayers https://tax ... Show More

Neil and Sam discuss eating insects and teach you related vocabulary. 

After centuries of use in wound-healing, the maggot is back. The rise of the drug-resistant superbug means fresh eyes are focused on the superpowers of the larvae of the greenbottle fly species, Lucilia Sericata. James Gallagher reports on the healthcare professionals who are tur ... Show More

Insect Love Song: The night is alive with insects. To our human ears their song is mere cacophony, but it's actually a vast web of communication signals. In this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert and Julie decode the Insect Internet for the meanings behind insect songs. ... Show More