Category: Announcements

October 2, 2013

Science Talent Search 2013

by Chris Guest

For the 11th consecutive year, the Australian Skeptics are a proud sponsor of the Science Teachers of Victoria’s annual Science Talent Search. 2013 marks the sixty-second year of this important event.

Each year thousands of Victorian school students from lower Primary to Year 12 enter science projects in the categories of experimental research, working models and inventions, computer programs, science photography, games, essays and posters in a state wide competition.

2012stsmodelsinventionscollage

This is a small sample of entries in last year’s Working Models and inventions category. (Click on the picture to enlarge it).

View More Science Talent Search 2013

No Comments
July 19, 2013

Vitamins: A Panacea for all Ills?

louis roller close-up-smallAssociate Professor Louis Roller PhD

Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences,
Monash University

“We are so constituted that we believe the most incredible things:
and once they are engraved upon the memory, woe betide him who would endeavour to erase them” — Goethe, 1774

Vitamins have caught the popular imagination. A recent study established that some 52 per cent of the Australian population takes some form of complementary medicine. It found that 37 per cent of these people were taking vitamins. Overall, 19.2 percent of the total Australian population – about 4.4 million people – are taking vitamins. Many people take over-the-counter vitamins without professional advice and a few practitioners prescribe megavitamin therapy. View More Vitamins: A Panacea for all Ills?

1 Comment
June 19, 2013

Local Groups Update: The Peninsula Skeptics

We recently announced that Peninsula Skeptics had resumed business after a break. Indeed, the group has bounced back so quickly that it’s worth sharing its impressive event calendar with you.

global_10099998

Tuesday July 9: Presenter: Ian Storey; Topic: Calculating the AU. The data gathered in the 1761 and 1769 observations of the Transit of Venus was used to calculate the Astronomical Unit. Ian Storey will explain how that was done.

Tuesday August 13: Presenter: Tim Harding; Topic: Protection of Port Phillip Bay dolphins. Tim Harding is a former Director of Flora and Fauna in the Department of Primary Industries, with a background in biological sciences. Scientific research has recently shown that the dolphins in Port Phillip Bay are a separate species, rather than a sub-population of coastal bottlenose dolphins found elsewhere. This means that Port Phillip Bay is their only habitat, making them even more vulnerable to extinction. View More Local Groups Update: The Peninsula Skeptics

No Comments
June 19, 2013

Recommended site: Itsmyhealth.com.au

itsmyhealthlogo

When we draw attention to Health and Lifestyle websites, or those offering free medical advice, it’s often with a tone of disapproval.

However, we recently stumbled upon Itsmyhealth.com.au. We were impressed.
It’s an Australian site. It caters to an Australian (Australasian?) lifestyle. It’s informative and up-to-date; you don’t need a technical background to follow the discussion, although the authorship is clearly supported by medical expertise.

It’s interactive. It features a Q&A staffed by a panel of specialists including a doctor, a psychologist, a fitness expert, a sexologist, a beauty expert and a dietician. It invites feedback, comment and articles from its readership. View More Recommended site: Itsmyhealth.com.au

No Comments
May 15, 2013

Latest info on local groups

PENINSULA SKEPTICS

We’ll lead off with the excellent news that after a twelve-month recess, Peninsula Skeptics are re-starting: on Tuesday, June 11, 2013 at 7:00 PM. The venue is The Peninsula Club, Gibson Street Dromana.

The Peninsula Club

Your convenor Graeme Hanigan says: The night will be primarily social, perhaps a round table suggestion of topics for the future. Please go to the MEETUP GROUP to read more and to RSVP.

Graeme is also keen for Peninsula Skeptics to be involved in Science Week (mid August) and is looking for suggestions and ideas on some of the best ways to achieve this.

VIC SKEPTICS

are travelling nicely with our regular Skeptics Café at La Notte Restaurant, 140 Lygon Street Carlton.

The next event is on Monday 20th May, where Ken Greatorex will host our Ninth Annual Trivia Extravaganza.

thinker

Please join us (with a team of up to six people, or just by yourself) for a meal at 6pm, with the Trivia starting at 7:30 pm. See our EVENTS page for details of Skeptics Cafés well into the future.

View More Latest info on local groups

No Comments
April 30, 2013

May Puzzles

This month we let Roy off the leash to provide his magnificent CRYPTIC CROSSWORD

The Picture Puzzles and “Mixed Bag” Questions are at the top of our PUZZLE PAGE. There are a larger than usual number of “Mixed Bag” questions; consider them a practice set for Trivia Night at Skeptics Café on May 20.

Your Logic and Maths Problems for May are HERE

Enjoy!

 

No Comments