Science Friction's latest season is: The Challenger Legacy.
In January 1986, the Challenger space shuttle disintegrated 73 seconds after lift-off. This is the story of how the tragedy unfolded, the engineers who tried to stop it — and the enduring consequences for humanity's exploration of space.
Artificial Evolution (Season 4): Three decades ago, Dolly the Sheep became the first ever cloned mammal. Nearly 30 years later, genetic technology has reshaped the world around us. Environment reporter Peter de Kruijff explores what's changed, where we are headed, and whether we're okay with it.
Brain Rot (Season 3): How does being chronically online affect our brains? Technology reporter Ange Lavoipierre explores the wildest ways people are using tech — from falling in love with AI companions to data-dumping a life into a language model — and the big questions about our own screen use.
Cooked (Season 2): Why do some studies show ice cream is good for you? Why do some people say they feel good going carnivore, and do we really need as many electrolytes as the internet tells us? Food and nutrition scientist Dr Emma Beckett cuts through these confusing findings to explain how nutrition science works.
AI Overlords (Season 1): AI didn't come from nowhere, and its development hasn't been a smooth, straight line — it's been rife with drama, conflict and disagreement. Technology reporter James Purtill looks at where AI came from, who controls it and where it's heading.
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Science Friction's latest season is: The Challenger Legacy.
In January 1986, the Challenger space shuttle disintegrated 73 seconds after lift-off. This is the story of how the tragedy unfolded, the engineers who tried to stop it — and the enduring consequences for humanity's exploration of space.
Artificial Evolution (Season 4): Three decades ago, Dolly the Sheep became the first ever cloned mammal. Nearly 30 years later, genetic technology has reshaped the world around us. Environment reporter Peter de Kruijff explores what's changed, where we are headed, and whether we're okay with it.
Brain Rot (Season 3): How does being chronically online affect our brains? Technology reporter Ange Lavoipierre explores the wildest ways people are using tech — from falling in love with AI companions to data-dumping a life into a language model — and the big questions about our own screen use.
Cooked (Season 2): Why do some studies show ice cream is good for you? Why do some people say they feel good going carnivore, and do we really need as many electrolytes as the internet tells us? Food and nutrition scientist Dr Emma Beckett cuts through these confusing findings to explain how nutrition science works.
AI Overlords (Season 1): AI didn't come from nowhere, and its development hasn't been a smooth, straight line — it's been rife with drama, conflict and disagreement. Technology reporter James Purtill looks at where AI came from, who controls it and where it's heading.
It was one of the world's biggest nutrition trials. A study of thousands of people which found that following a Mediterranean diet could meaningfully reduce someone's risk of heart disease and stroke.
But as data detectives began to comb through the results of the trial, something wasn't quite adding up.
On Cooked this week, we're taking a look at what can go wrong when implementing a nutrition science trial at scale ... and what it means for one of the world's most popular diets.
Guests:
Dr John Carlisle
Anaesthetist, NHS, United Kingdom
Dr Gideon Meyerowitz-Katz
Epidemiologist, University of Wollongong
Dr Evangeline Mantzioris
Program Director, Nutrition and Food Sciences, University of South Australia
Credits:
Presenter: Dr Emma Beckett
Producer: Carl Smith
Senior Producer: James Bullen
Sound Engineer: Angie Grant
This story was made on the lands of the Gadigal, Wurundjeri, Jagera and Turrbal peoples.
More information:
The analysis of 168 randomised controlled trials to test data integrity - Anaesthesia, 2012.
Primary Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease with a Mediterranean Diet - New England Journal of Medicine, 2013.
Data fabrication and other reasons for non-random sampling in 5087 randomised, controlled trials in anaesthetic and general medical journals - Anaesthesia, 2017.
Primary Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease with a Mediterranean Diet Supplemented with Extra-Virgin Olive Oil or Nuts - New England Journal of Medicine, 2018.
Mediterranean‐style diet for the primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease - Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2019.
Translation of a Mediterranean-Style Diet into the Australian Dietary Guidelines: A Nutritional, Ecological and Environmental Perspective - Nutrients, 2019.
Adherence to a Mediterranean Diet is associated with physical and cognitive health: a cross-sectional analysis of community-dwelling older Australians - Frontiers in Public Health, 2022.
In conversation with John Carlisle: the silent hero shaping medical publication integrity - ENT and Audiology News, 2024.
That Huge Mediterranean Diet Study Was Flawed. But Was It Wrong? - NYT, 2018.
Errors Trigger Retraction Of Study On Mediterranean Diet's Heart Benefits - NPR, 2018.
How the Biggest Fabricator in Science Got Caught - Nautilus, 2015.
Statistical vigilantes: the war on scientific fraud - The Guardian, Science Weekly Podcast, 2017.
Science Friction
Science Friction's latest season is: The Challenger Legacy.
In January 1986, the Challenger space shuttle disintegrated 73 seconds after lift-off. This is the story of how the tragedy unfolded, the engineers who tried to stop it — and the enduring consequences for humanity's exploration of space.
Artificial Evolution (Season 4): Three decades ago, Dolly the Sheep became the first ever cloned mammal. Nearly 30 years later, genetic technology has reshaped the world around us. Environment reporter Peter de Kruijff explores what's changed, where we are headed, and whether we're okay with it.
Brain Rot (Season 3): How does being chronically online affect our brains? Technology reporter Ange Lavoipierre explores the wildest ways people are using tech — from falling in love with AI companions to data-dumping a life into a language model — and the big questions about our own screen use.
Cooked (Season 2): Why do some studies show ice cream is good for you? Why do some people say they feel good going carnivore, and do we really need as many electrolytes as the internet tells us? Food and nutrition scientist Dr Emma Beckett cuts through these confusing findings to explain how nutrition science works.
AI Overlords (Season 1): AI didn't come from nowhere, and its development hasn't been a smooth, straight line — it's been rife with drama, conflict and disagreement. Technology reporter James Purtill looks at where AI came from, who controls it and where it's heading.
