A stellar grave yard at the heart of the Milky Way A new study has shown that the gas orbiting the black hole at the centre of our galaxy is rich in metals from the corpses of dead and dying stars. The mystery of the origin of Earth’s water A new study suggests planet Earth may have formed much of its water during its formation in the protoplanetary disk rather than later from asteroid and comet impacts as often speculated. Rocket Lab to fly from Alaska Rocket Lab is building two new launch pads in Alaska to conduct rapid-response launches and missile-defence testing for the United States military. The Science Report A derivative of vitamin B5 used as a cholesterol-lowering supplement shown to stop psoriasis. Having a spouse with dementia may put you at a higher risk of developing dementia yourself. Northern Australia becomes a lifeboat for the critically endangered Green Sawfish. Smartphone after 10pm linked to teens falling asleep later, waking up later and sleeping less. Alex on Tech messages from the dead.
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00:00:00 --> 00:00:02 Stuart Gary: This is space Time Series 29,
00:00:02 --> 00:00:04 episode 135 for broadcast on
00:00:04 --> 00:00:07 11 November 2026.
00:00:07 --> 00:00:10 Coming up on Space Time, a stellar
00:00:10 --> 00:00:12 graveyard discovered at the heart of the
00:00:12 --> 00:00:15 Milky Way galaxy, the mystery of the
00:00:15 --> 00:00:18 origin of Earth's water, and New Zealand's
00:00:18 --> 00:00:20 rocket lab to start flying from Alaska.
00:00:21 --> 00:00:23 All that and more coming up on um, Space
00:00:23 --> 00:00:24 Time.
00:00:25 --> 00:00:28 Stuart Gary: Welcome to Space Time with Stuart
00:00:28 --> 00:00:28 G.
00:00:44 --> 00:00:47 Stuart Gary: A new study has shown that gas orbiting the
00:00:47 --> 00:00:49 black hole at the centre of our galaxy is
00:00:49 --> 00:00:51 rich in metals from the corpses of dead and
00:00:51 --> 00:00:54 dying stars. The findings, reported in the
00:00:54 --> 00:00:57 Astronomical Journal, show that this gas is
00:00:57 --> 00:00:59 similar in composition to many of the stars
00:00:59 --> 00:01:02 in the black hole's orbit, suggesting the gas
00:01:02 --> 00:01:05 and stars form together. The
00:01:05 --> 00:01:07 supermassive black hole at the centre of our
00:01:07 --> 00:01:10 Milky Way galaxy, Sagittarius A, is
00:01:10 --> 00:01:12 located some 27 light years away
00:01:12 --> 00:01:15 and contains 4.3 million times the mass of
00:01:15 --> 00:01:18 our Sun. Um, Sagittarius A is
00:01:18 --> 00:01:20 closer to Earth and therefore easier to see
00:01:20 --> 00:01:23 and study than any other supermassive black
00:01:23 --> 00:01:25 hole. So the new findings could advance
00:01:25 --> 00:01:27 science's understanding of how metals are
00:01:27 --> 00:01:30 distributed around supermassive black holes
00:01:30 --> 00:01:32 in more distant galaxies, as well as the
00:01:32 --> 00:01:34 processes that supplied Earth with many of
00:01:34 --> 00:01:37 these elements. In astronomy,
00:01:37 --> 00:01:39 metals include any element heavier than
00:01:39 --> 00:01:42 helium and hydrogen, and their presence
00:01:42 --> 00:01:45 influences how quickly gases cool, which in
00:01:45 --> 00:01:47 turn influences how readily the gas can be
00:01:47 --> 00:01:50 drawn into a black hole. The
00:01:50 --> 00:01:52 study's lead author, Nicole Ford from McGill
00:01:52 --> 00:01:54 University, says astronomers know there's a
00:01:54 --> 00:01:56 black hole at the centre of our galaxy
00:01:56 --> 00:01:59 pulling material into itself, but it's eating
00:01:59 --> 00:02:01 a lot less material than other supermassive
00:02:01 --> 00:02:03 black holes, and it's doing so much more
00:02:03 --> 00:02:06 slowly. Part of understanding why this is
00:02:06 --> 00:02:08 happening means looking at the properties of
00:02:08 --> 00:02:10 the materials available for it to consume,
00:02:10 --> 00:02:12 including gas, dust, and the stars orbiting
00:02:12 --> 00:02:15 around it. So to work out what's going on,
00:02:15 --> 00:02:17 Ford and colleagues used data gathered by
00:02:17 --> 00:02:20 NASA's Webb Space Telescope. Webb
00:02:20 --> 00:02:23 measures infrared light over a wide range of
00:02:23 --> 00:02:25 wavelengths with unprecedented spectral and
00:02:25 --> 00:02:27 spatial resolution, and that allows
00:02:27 --> 00:02:29 astronomers to distinguish the heat
00:02:29 --> 00:02:31 signatures of multiple gas clouds orbiting
00:02:31 --> 00:02:34 near the black hole. It also enabled them to
00:02:34 --> 00:02:36 precisely measure the metal composition of
00:02:36 --> 00:02:39 each gas cloud. The new findings
00:02:39 --> 00:02:41 complement a recent study which tested
00:02:41 --> 00:02:43 whether gas preserved the evidence of
00:02:43 --> 00:02:44 previous bursts of energy coming from
00:02:44 --> 00:02:47 Sagittarius A. The results found that
00:02:47 --> 00:02:49 the gas emission was shaped by local
00:02:49 --> 00:02:51 conditions, making it difficult to isolate
00:02:51 --> 00:02:54 the black hole's influence. Rather than
00:02:54 --> 00:02:57 ruling out past outbursts, this shows that
00:02:57 --> 00:02:59 the surrounding gas cannot provide a reliable
00:02:59 --> 00:03:02 history of the black hole's activity, Ford
00:03:02 --> 00:03:04 says. Understanding how the black hole
00:03:04 --> 00:03:06 attracts material will therefore require
00:03:06 --> 00:03:08 comparing these observations with simulations
00:03:08 --> 00:03:11 of how gas evolves over longer timescales.
00:03:12 --> 00:03:15 This space time still to
00:03:15 --> 00:03:18 come, the mystery of the origin of Earth's
00:03:18 --> 00:03:20 life giving water supplies, and New Zealand's
00:03:20 --> 00:03:23 rocket lab about to start launching from
00:03:23 --> 00:03:25 Alaska. All that and more still to come
00:03:26 --> 00:03:27 on space time.
00:03:36 --> 00:03:39 A new study suggests planet Earth may have
00:03:39 --> 00:03:41 formed much of its water during its formation
00:03:41 --> 00:03:44 in the protoplanetary disc, rather than later
00:03:44 --> 00:03:46 from asteroid or cometary impacts is often
00:03:46 --> 00:03:49 speculated. The solar system's planets,
00:03:49 --> 00:03:51 including the Earth, were created by
00:03:51 --> 00:03:53 condensing out of a disc of spinning gas and
00:03:53 --> 00:03:55 dust called a protoplanetary disc, orbiting
00:03:55 --> 00:03:57 around the then still nascent Sun.
00:03:58 --> 00:04:01 Over time, these dust grains clump
00:04:01 --> 00:04:03 together through static electricity and later
00:04:03 --> 00:04:06 gravity, accreting to form protoplanets and
00:04:06 --> 00:04:09 eventually planets. Different elements and
00:04:09 --> 00:04:11 different materials condensed at different
00:04:11 --> 00:04:13 distances from the proto sun depending on
00:04:13 --> 00:04:16 temperature. Iron condenses closest to the
00:04:16 --> 00:04:19 sun, silicon a bit further away, and the ices
00:04:19 --> 00:04:22 such as water and methane and ammonia further
00:04:22 --> 00:04:24 out still, beyond what's known as the snow
00:04:24 --> 00:04:26 line, which lies between the orbits of Mars
00:04:26 --> 00:04:29 and Jupiter. So how planet Earth got its
00:04:29 --> 00:04:31 water, essential for life as we know it, has
00:04:31 --> 00:04:34 always been a mystery. Now, a
00:04:34 --> 00:04:36 new study reported in the journal Nature
00:04:36 --> 00:04:39 Geoscience suggests Earth may have produced
00:04:39 --> 00:04:41 its own water during its formation, as rocky
00:04:41 --> 00:04:43 pebbles reacted with the hydrogen rich
00:04:43 --> 00:04:45 atmosphere surrounding the young planet.
00:04:46 --> 00:04:47 These new findings offer a potential
00:04:47 --> 00:04:50 explanation for how Earth acquired one of the
00:04:50 --> 00:04:52 essential ingredients for life. And they
00:04:52 --> 00:04:53 suggest that similar water producing
00:04:53 --> 00:04:56 processes may have been common on the rocky
00:04:56 --> 00:04:58 planets throughout the inner solar system.
00:04:59 --> 00:05:01 The study used high temperature experiments
00:05:01 --> 00:05:03 to investigate how iron bearing silicate
00:05:03 --> 00:05:06 rocks react with atmospheric hydrogen under
00:05:06 --> 00:05:08 conditions similar to those found during the
00:05:08 --> 00:05:10 early stages of planetary formation.
00:05:11 --> 00:05:13 One of the study's authors, Zachary Sharp
00:05:13 --> 00:05:15 from the University of New Mexico, says
00:05:15 --> 00:05:17 previous ideas about the source of water on
00:05:17 --> 00:05:20 Earth relied on an external source, such as
00:05:20 --> 00:05:23 comets or meteors from colder regions in the
00:05:23 --> 00:05:25 early solar system. However, the problem is
00:05:25 --> 00:05:28 the hydrogen to deuterium ratios in comets
00:05:28 --> 00:05:30 and meteorites don't match those found in
00:05:30 --> 00:05:32 Earth's oceans. And that means another
00:05:33 --> 00:05:35 source. The new work shows that
00:05:35 --> 00:05:37 virtually any Earth sized planet could have
00:05:37 --> 00:05:40 water by this newly identified mechanism,
00:05:40 --> 00:05:42 Sharpe says. In order to evaluate the
00:05:42 --> 00:05:44 possibility of pebble rain being the source
00:05:44 --> 00:05:46 of water, the authors needed to construct and
00:05:46 --> 00:05:49 execute some very challenging experiments
00:05:49 --> 00:05:50 showing that water is produced in just
00:05:50 --> 00:05:52 minutes in very high temperature
00:05:52 --> 00:05:54 environments, such as the early Earth's
00:05:54 --> 00:05:57 atmosphere. As Earth, uh, formed, small
00:05:57 --> 00:05:59 rocky particles known as pebbles accumulated
00:05:59 --> 00:06:02 to build a larger planetary body A process
00:06:02 --> 00:06:04 called pebble accretion. When the growing
00:06:04 --> 00:06:06 planet becomes sufficiently massive, it could
00:06:06 --> 00:06:09 develop a hot, high pressure atmosphere rich
00:06:09 --> 00:06:12 in hydrogen. As the silicate pebbles fill
00:06:12 --> 00:06:14 through this atmosphere, iron oxide in the
00:06:14 --> 00:06:16 rocks could react with hydrogen, producing
00:06:16 --> 00:06:18 metallic iron and water vapour.
00:06:19 --> 00:06:21 To test this process, the authors heated
00:06:21 --> 00:06:23 silicate rock samples at temperatures between
00:06:23 --> 00:06:26 1200 and 1400 degrees Celsius in streams
00:06:26 --> 00:06:28 of hydrogen and for comparison, helium.
00:06:29 --> 00:06:32 The experiments lasted between 15 minutes and
00:06:32 --> 00:06:35 three hours. In the hydrogen experiments,
00:06:35 --> 00:06:37 nearly 80% of the iron oxide in the samples
00:06:37 --> 00:06:39 was converted into metallic hydrogen,
00:06:39 --> 00:06:42 producing water vapour as a byproduct in the
00:06:42 --> 00:06:45 process. But the same reaction didn't occur
00:06:45 --> 00:06:47 in the helium experiments, demonstrating the
00:06:47 --> 00:06:49 importance of hydrogen in the water producing
00:06:49 --> 00:06:52 process, and the authors were surprised how
00:06:52 --> 00:06:55 quickly water was produced and how large the
00:06:55 --> 00:06:58 quantities were. The study provides
00:06:58 --> 00:07:00 new insights into the chemical processes that
00:07:00 --> 00:07:02 shaped the early Earth and expand science's
00:07:02 --> 00:07:04 uh, understanding of the possible pathways
00:07:04 --> 00:07:06 through which water can develop on rocky
00:07:06 --> 00:07:09 planets. Water is Earth's most
00:07:09 --> 00:07:12 valuable resource, so knowing its origins and
00:07:12 --> 00:07:13 its hydrology is important.
00:07:14 --> 00:07:16 This report from MASATV
00:07:16 --> 00:07:19 NASA TV narrator: Water is the fundamental ingredient for life
00:07:19 --> 00:07:22 on Earth. Looking at our Earth from space,
00:07:22 --> 00:07:25 with its vast and deep ocean, it
00:07:25 --> 00:07:27 appears as though there is an abundance of
00:07:27 --> 00:07:29 water for our use. However,
00:07:29 --> 00:07:32 only a small portion of Earth's water is
00:07:32 --> 00:07:35 accessible for our needs. How much
00:07:35 --> 00:07:38 fresh water exists and where it is stored
00:07:38 --> 00:07:39 affects us all.
00:07:40 --> 00:07:43 Nearly two thirds of this fresh water is
00:07:43 --> 00:07:46 stored in the polar ice caps, snowpacks,
00:07:46 --> 00:07:49 and glaciers, making it inaccessible for
00:07:49 --> 00:07:50 long periods of time.
00:07:51 --> 00:07:53 The water cycle is dynamic.
00:07:55 --> 00:07:57 It describes the continuous movement of water
00:07:57 --> 00:08:00 on, above and below the surface of the Earth
00:08:01 --> 00:08:04 and the transitions from one state to
00:08:04 --> 00:08:06 another. Sea surface temperature,
00:08:06 --> 00:08:08 surface winds and air temperature
00:08:09 --> 00:08:11 influence the rate of evaporation at the
00:08:11 --> 00:08:14 ocean surface. In the tropics,
00:08:14 --> 00:08:17 warm ocean surface temperatures support high
00:08:17 --> 00:08:18 rates of evaporation.
00:08:20 --> 00:08:22 Wind also increases evaporation.
00:08:24 --> 00:08:26 When the air's temperature is warmer, it can
00:08:26 --> 00:08:29 hold more water. While the atmosphere
00:08:29 --> 00:08:31 does not store a large quantity of water
00:08:31 --> 00:08:34 compared to the ocean rivers and lakes, it
00:08:34 --> 00:08:37 can transport water quickly from one place to
00:08:37 --> 00:08:40 another. Low lying regions of the
00:08:40 --> 00:08:42 atmosphere with high moisture and strong
00:08:42 --> 00:08:45 winds can form atmospheric rivers
00:08:45 --> 00:08:47 to transport water horizontally.
00:08:48 --> 00:08:51 Clouds are formed as water vapour cools and
00:08:51 --> 00:08:53 condenses into droplets and ice crystals.
00:08:53 --> 00:08:56 Clouds and water vapour act as insulators in
00:08:56 --> 00:08:59 the atmosphere. Clouds help shield the Earth
00:08:59 --> 00:09:01 from the sun and trap heat from below.
00:09:02 --> 00:09:04 When cloud particles grow large enough,
00:09:05 --> 00:09:07 they may fall out as rain or snow.
00:09:08 --> 00:09:10 Under the right conditions, areas of
00:09:10 --> 00:09:13 precipitation can grow into large storms
00:09:13 --> 00:09:16 as storms grow, they transfer heat
00:09:16 --> 00:09:18 vertically into the upper atmosphere.
00:09:19 --> 00:09:21 The migration of storms helps to distribute
00:09:21 --> 00:09:24 heat between the equator and poles,
00:09:24 --> 00:09:27 shaping wind patterns globally. How
00:09:27 --> 00:09:30 storms grow and intensify depends on
00:09:30 --> 00:09:32 atmospheric moisture, surface temperatures
00:09:32 --> 00:09:35 and wind patterns. Precipitation is
00:09:35 --> 00:09:38 concentrated in some parts of the world and
00:09:38 --> 00:09:40 scarce in others. It can vary
00:09:40 --> 00:09:43 substantially from season to season and
00:09:43 --> 00:09:46 from year to year. Water that falls
00:09:46 --> 00:09:48 on the land surface as precipitation is
00:09:48 --> 00:09:51 stored within snowpacks, lakes,
00:09:52 --> 00:09:55 reservoirs, soils and
00:09:55 --> 00:09:57 underground aquifers. Water availability
00:09:58 --> 00:10:00 varies from place to place and over time.
00:10:01 --> 00:10:03 The availability of water affects the type
00:10:03 --> 00:10:06 and abundance of vegetation, the
00:10:06 --> 00:10:09 primary source of food for animals and
00:10:09 --> 00:10:11 people. Extreme water cycle variability
00:10:12 --> 00:10:14 Unusually dry or wet conditions
00:10:14 --> 00:10:17 impacts humans worldwide each
00:10:17 --> 00:10:20 year. Hazards such as floods exact a
00:10:20 --> 00:10:23 costly economic and human toll.
00:10:23 --> 00:10:25 Most of the water that falls onto land
00:10:25 --> 00:10:27 remains stored there for weeks or more.
00:10:28 --> 00:10:30 Snowfall is stored as snowpack or ice.
00:10:31 --> 00:10:33 Meltwater and rainfall are stored in lakes
00:10:33 --> 00:10:36 and soils. Some of the water is absorbed by
00:10:36 --> 00:10:39 plant roots or drains into the water table.
00:10:39 --> 00:10:42 Eventually, the water will evaporate to the
00:10:42 --> 00:10:44 atmosphere or return to the ocean in
00:10:44 --> 00:10:47 streams and rivers, providing a
00:10:47 --> 00:10:50 source of nutrient rich water that
00:10:50 --> 00:10:53 supports ocean life. Sensors m on a suite
00:10:53 --> 00:10:55 of NASA satellites observe and measure water
00:10:55 --> 00:10:58 on land, in the ocean and in the
00:10:58 --> 00:11:01 atmosphere. These measurements are important
00:11:01 --> 00:11:03 to understanding the availability and
00:11:03 --> 00:11:06 distribution of Earth's water, which is
00:11:06 --> 00:11:09 both vital to life and vulnerable to
00:11:09 --> 00:11:12 the impacts of climate change and a growing
00:11:12 --> 00:11:13 world population.
00:11:13 --> 00:11:16 Stuart Gary: This is space time still to come.
00:11:16 --> 00:11:19 New Zealand's Rocket Lab to begin flying from
00:11:19 --> 00:11:22 Alaska and later in the science report a
00:11:22 --> 00:11:25 new study shows a derivative of vitamin B5
00:11:25 --> 00:11:27 used as a cholesterol lowering supplement can
00:11:27 --> 00:11:30 also stop psoriasis. All that and more
00:11:30 --> 00:11:32 still to come on uh, space time.
00:11:48 --> 00:11:50 New Zealand's Rocket Lab is building two new
00:11:50 --> 00:11:53 launch pads in Alaska. The new facilities
00:11:53 --> 00:11:55 will expand the company's ability to conduct
00:11:55 --> 00:11:58 rapid response launches and missile defence
00:11:58 --> 00:12:01 testing for the United States military. The
00:12:01 --> 00:12:03 facilities are planned for the Pacific
00:12:03 --> 00:12:05 Spaceport Complex on Kadiak island, with the
00:12:05 --> 00:12:07 company's first launch pad expected to be
00:12:07 --> 00:12:09 operational by January. The launch
00:12:09 --> 00:12:12 complex will support Rocket Labs Electron and
00:12:12 --> 00:12:14 Hasty rockets and will use the company's new
00:12:14 --> 00:12:16 Ghost transportable containerized launch
00:12:16 --> 00:12:19 system. Ghost packages complete rockets,
00:12:19 --> 00:12:21 launch infrastructure, ground support
00:12:21 --> 00:12:24 equipment and range control systems inside
00:12:24 --> 00:12:27 standard shipping containers. Rocket
00:12:27 --> 00:12:29 Lab previously secured a $266 million
00:12:30 --> 00:12:32 US Space Force contract covering 12
00:12:32 --> 00:12:34 suborbital launchers with options for a
00:12:34 --> 00:12:37 further six. The Alaska site
00:12:37 --> 00:12:39 will give the company additional flexibility
00:12:39 --> 00:12:41 to conduct national security missions
00:12:41 --> 00:12:44 alongside its existing operations in Virginia
00:12:44 --> 00:12:46 and New Zealand. Rocket Lab currently
00:12:46 --> 00:12:49 operates two launch pads at its Mahaya
00:12:49 --> 00:12:51 Peninsula launch Complex at Hawke's Bay on
00:12:51 --> 00:12:54 New Zealand's north island east coast. These
00:12:54 --> 00:12:56 are designed to launch its two stage electron
00:12:56 --> 00:12:59 rocket, which is capable of carrying payloads
00:12:59 --> 00:13:01 and small satellites up to 300 kilogrammes
00:13:01 --> 00:13:03 into low earth orbit. The company
00:13:03 --> 00:13:05 operates a third launch pad for electron
00:13:05 --> 00:13:08 orbital missions as well as Hastie suborbital
00:13:08 --> 00:13:10 rockets at NASA's Wallops island flight
00:13:10 --> 00:13:13 facility on the Virginia Mid Atlantic coast.
00:13:13 --> 00:13:16 Hastie is a modified variant of electron
00:13:16 --> 00:13:18 designed to carry payloads of up to 700
00:13:18 --> 00:13:20 kilogrammes on suborbital missions. The
00:13:20 --> 00:13:22 company is currently building a second launch
00:13:22 --> 00:13:25 pad at Wallops island for its new reusable
00:13:25 --> 00:13:26 neutron rocket, which will be capable of
00:13:26 --> 00:13:29 carrying payloads of up to 13 tons in a low
00:13:29 --> 00:13:32 Earth orbit. Neutron's maiden flight is
00:13:32 --> 00:13:35 slated for next year and needless to say,
00:13:35 --> 00:13:36 we'll keep you informed.
00:13:37 --> 00:13:39 This is space, time.
00:13:54 --> 00:13:56 And time now to take another brief look at
00:13:56 --> 00:13:57 some of the other stories making news in
00:13:57 --> 00:13:59 Science this week with a Science report.
00:14:00 --> 00:14:03 Scientists say a, uh, derivative of vitamin
00:14:03 --> 00:14:05 B5 called patothine, widely used as a
00:14:05 --> 00:14:07 cholesterol lowering supplement, has been
00:14:07 --> 00:14:10 shown to stop psoriasis, alleviating symptoms
00:14:10 --> 00:14:12 and limiting the activity of the immune cells
00:14:12 --> 00:14:15 behind the condition. The findings, reported
00:14:15 --> 00:14:17 in the Journal of Experimental Medicine,
00:14:17 --> 00:14:19 looked at dendritic cells, which are
00:14:19 --> 00:14:21 specialised immune cells thought to underlie
00:14:21 --> 00:14:23 a variety of autoimmune diseases, including
00:14:23 --> 00:14:26 psoriasis. The authors found cells in
00:14:26 --> 00:14:29 psoriasis patients had elevated levels of
00:14:29 --> 00:14:31 enzymes called vanines, which lowered the
00:14:31 --> 00:14:33 levels of pantethine, leading to higher
00:14:33 --> 00:14:35 cholesterol production and hyperactivation of
00:14:35 --> 00:14:38 the cells. Adding pantethine reversed this
00:14:38 --> 00:14:41 process, stopping psoriasis from developing.
00:14:41 --> 00:14:44 The authors tested pantothine in 24 psoriasis
00:14:44 --> 00:14:46 patients, half of whom were given the
00:14:46 --> 00:14:48 supplements in addition to normal care. They
00:14:48 --> 00:14:50 found the patients given the supplements
00:14:50 --> 00:14:52 showed improved symptoms compared to those on
00:14:52 --> 00:14:55 normal care alone, especially if they had
00:14:55 --> 00:14:57 elevated blood cholesterol to begin with.
00:14:58 --> 00:15:01 A study of nearly a million married couples
00:15:01 --> 00:15:04 in Taiwan has found that having a spouse with
00:15:04 --> 00:15:06 dementia may put you at greater risk of also
00:15:06 --> 00:15:09 developing the condition. The findings,
00:15:09 --> 00:15:10 reported in the Journal of the American
00:15:10 --> 00:15:12 Medical association, showed that the female
00:15:12 --> 00:15:15 spouses of people with dementia had a 74%
00:15:15 --> 00:15:17 higher risk of dementia, while male spouses
00:15:17 --> 00:15:20 had a 69% higher risk. The authors
00:15:20 --> 00:15:22 also found the risk was lower among people
00:15:22 --> 00:15:24 with higher incomes or more children,
00:15:24 --> 00:15:27 suggesting financial resources and family
00:15:27 --> 00:15:29 context may play a role.
00:15:30 --> 00:15:32 Scientists say northern Australia is a
00:15:32 --> 00:15:35 lifeboat for the critically endangered green
00:15:35 --> 00:15:37 sawfish. A UH report in the Journal's
00:15:37 --> 00:15:40 Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries Aims
00:15:40 --> 00:15:42 and Scope examined decades of research on the
00:15:42 --> 00:15:44 rare species showing that the northern
00:15:44 --> 00:15:47 Australian coast, especially around WA's
00:15:47 --> 00:15:49 Pilbara region, could be playing a crucial
00:15:49 --> 00:15:51 role in the species recovery. Green
00:15:51 --> 00:15:54 sawfish, distinguished by their long shark
00:15:54 --> 00:15:56 like body and tooth lined sore on the front
00:15:56 --> 00:15:57 of their heads, are on the verge of
00:15:57 --> 00:15:59 extinction, largely due to overfishing, uh,
00:16:00 --> 00:16:03 and habitat loss. A
00:16:03 --> 00:16:05 new study has shown that using a smartphone
00:16:05 --> 00:16:08 after 10pm is linked to teens falling
00:16:08 --> 00:16:11 asleep later, waking up later and sleeping
00:16:11 --> 00:16:13 less. The, uh, findings reported in the
00:16:13 --> 00:16:15 Journal of the American Medical association
00:16:15 --> 00:16:18 used Fitbit data on 425 teens
00:16:18 --> 00:16:20 measuring their evening phone activity and
00:16:20 --> 00:16:23 when and how long they slept. The authors
00:16:23 --> 00:16:25 found that using a phone in the final minutes
00:16:25 --> 00:16:28 before bed was linked to teens waking up more
00:16:28 --> 00:16:30 often after falling asleep, mostly during the
00:16:30 --> 00:16:33 first 30 minutes after nodding off. They say
00:16:33 --> 00:16:36 this wakefulness after falling asleep was
00:16:36 --> 00:16:38 triggered most by cell phone use in the final
00:16:38 --> 00:16:41 five minutes and became negligible if the
00:16:41 --> 00:16:43 kids put down their phones 20 minutes before
00:16:43 --> 00:16:44 going to bed.
00:16:46 --> 00:16:48 Australia's largest Telco has been forced to
00:16:48 --> 00:16:50 apologise after a yet to be explained
00:16:50 --> 00:16:52 technical glitch from its Message bank
00:16:52 --> 00:16:54 system, which sent out thousands of phantom
00:16:54 --> 00:16:57 missed calls and voicemail notifications
00:16:58 --> 00:17:00 because the system error queued up and then
00:17:00 --> 00:17:02 released years of severely delayed
00:17:02 --> 00:17:04 notifications all at once. Some customers
00:17:04 --> 00:17:06 shockingly received text alerts appearing to
00:17:06 --> 00:17:09 come from deceased relatives and loved ones.
00:17:09 --> 00:17:11 A message from the dead. With the details,
00:17:11 --> 00:17:13 we joined by technology editor Alex Saharov.
00:17:13 --> 00:17:16 Ah, Roy from tech Advice, Start life. Well,
00:17:16 --> 00:17:19 Alex Zaharov-Reutt: if your phone wasn't haunted, Telco's
00:17:19 --> 00:17:21 voicemail system just cleared its throat all
00:17:21 --> 00:17:23 at once. There was some sort of glitch in
00:17:23 --> 00:17:25 Message bank which was sending people text
00:17:25 --> 00:17:27 messages. There were no calls made, there
00:17:27 --> 00:17:28 were no messages sent. But this was previous
00:17:28 --> 00:17:31 messages, people in the family group. And
00:17:31 --> 00:17:33 look, it's, it's one of those weird things
00:17:33 --> 00:17:36 where people were getting messages, including
00:17:36 --> 00:17:38 reportedly from relatives who had passed
00:17:38 --> 00:17:41 away. Telstra hasn't published a detailed
00:17:41 --> 00:17:44 call. It did have an apology. We're sorry
00:17:44 --> 00:17:45 for how confusing this must be.
00:17:45 --> 00:17:48 Stuart Gary: It is funny that, um, just after Halloween,
00:17:48 --> 00:17:48 but
00:17:48 --> 00:17:50 Alex Zaharov-Reutt: luckily there was a queue of notifications
00:17:50 --> 00:17:52 backed up. Somehow they got released all at
00:17:52 --> 00:17:54 once and some alerts were for calls never
00:17:54 --> 00:17:56 made, which some, which also suggests that
00:17:56 --> 00:17:58 some of the records were scrambled. So it's a
00:17:58 --> 00:18:00 bit of a question for Chelsea as to what is
00:18:00 --> 00:18:02 going on there. You know, what else is
00:18:02 --> 00:18:03 playing up that we don't know about? How
00:18:03 --> 00:18:04 often does this sort of thing happen? But
00:18:04 --> 00:18:06 look, it's a glitch. It's one of those
00:18:06 --> 00:18:06 things.
00:18:06 --> 00:18:08 Stuart Gary: Of course, the other big news right around
00:18:08 --> 00:18:11 the world has been the blue wave which has
00:18:11 --> 00:18:13 washed over the United States. What's that
00:18:13 --> 00:18:15 done to the stock market, especially when it
00:18:15 --> 00:18:16 comes to tech stocks?
00:18:16 --> 00:18:18 Alex Zaharov-Reutt: Well, I mean this route wiped out roughly
00:18:18 --> 00:18:21 2.5 trillion in market value.
00:18:21 --> 00:18:23 And this is on fears that Democrats midterm
00:18:23 --> 00:18:25 gains could slow the AI build uh out. Chip
00:18:25 --> 00:18:28 makers were hard. I mean, the Nasdaq was down
00:18:28 --> 00:18:31 5.5%. The S&P 500 fell
00:18:31 --> 00:18:34 4.36%, the Dow 3.44. All three
00:18:34 --> 00:18:37 had their worst day since April 2025. And the
00:18:37 --> 00:18:38 Nasdaq is now officially in a correction. The
00:18:38 --> 00:18:41 chip makers hit the hardest, Nvidia, which is
00:18:41 --> 00:18:44 massively successful. They dropped over 9%.
00:18:44 --> 00:18:46 The, uh, Philadelphia semiconductor index
00:18:46 --> 00:18:49 plunged 12%. Micron and AMD fell
00:18:49 --> 00:18:49 17% each.
00:18:49 --> 00:18:52 Stuart Gary: That's Alex Zaharov Freud from Tech.
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