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The Curious Country THE CURIOUS COUNTRY EDITED BY LEIGH DAYTON Published by ANU E Press The Australian National University Canberra ACT 0200, Australia Email: [email protected] This title is also available online at http://epress.anu.edu.au National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry Title: The curious country / edited by Leigh Dayton. ISBN: 9781925021356 (paperback) 9781925021363 (ebook) Subjects: Science--Social aspects--Australia. Technology--Social aspects-- Australia. Science and civilization. Public opinion--Australia. Essays. Other Authors/Contributors: Dayton, Leigh, editor. Dewey Number: 303.4830994 Cover design and layout by Tim Verrender, Refraction Media Refraction Media 93A Shepherd St, Chippendale Sydney NSW 2008, Australia Web: www.refractionmedia.com.au Production Editor: Heather Catchpole Business Manager: Karen Taylor Designers: Tim Verrender, Christian Harimanow Sub-editor: Bob Guntrip Copy editors: Keira Daley, Jo McKinnon Printed by Griffin Press 2 THE CURIOUS COUNTRY Ownership of intellectual property rights Unless otherwise noted, copyright (and any other intellectual property rights, if any) in this publication is owned by the Commonwealth of Australia and the respective authors of the essays it contains. Creative Commons licence Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY NC SA All material in this publication is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution - Noncommerical – Share Alike 3.0 Australia Licence, save for logos, any material protected by trademark or otherwise noted in this publication, and the Commonwealth Coat of Arms. Creative Commons Attribution – Noncommercial – Share Alike 3.0 Australia Licence is a standard form licence agreement that allows you to distribute, remix and build upon the work, but only if it is for non-commercial purposes. You must also credit the original creator/s (and any other nominated parties) and license the derivative works under the same terms. A summary of the licence terms is available from creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/au/ The full licence terms are available from creativecommons. org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/au/legalcode Content contained herein should be attributed as Commonwealth of Australia 2013, The Curious Country, [essay author] [essay title] Disclaimer Any views expressed are those of the authors, and not necessarily of the Chief Scientist or the Australian Government. This publication does not indicate commitment by the Australian Government to a particular course of action. THE CURIOUS COUNTRY 3 CONTENTS CONTENTS Foreword by the Chief Scientist 7 CHAPTER 1: Introduction by Leigh Dayton 8 CHAPTER 2: Living in a changing Environment 14 Antarctic Ice… Going, Going, Gone? 14 Marine Life in a Changing Climate 20 Adaptation is the Key to Survival 26 Biowealth: All Creatures Great and Small 30 CHAPTER 3: Promoting Health and Wellbeing 34 Beating Cancer 34 Mind Decline 38 It’s Not All in the Mind 42 Pandemics: Learning from the Past to Protect the Future 46 Population Health: Understanding Why Disease Rates Change Over Time 52 CHAPTER 4: Managing our Food and Water Assets 57 Science for our Daily Bread 57 Food for Thought 62 Whither Australia’s Water 67 4 THE CURIOUS COUNTRY Science can unveil the complexities of ourselves, and the world around us. CHAPTER 5: Securing Australia’s Place in a Changing World 72 Oceanography: A Global Revolution 72 Computer Crime is on the Rise 77 The Fruits of Science 82 Science Diplomacy 87 CHAPTER 6: Sustainable Energy and Productivity 92 Powering the Future 92 Energy Efficiency 98 Future Electricity Systems 102 New Engines, New Fuels, New Attitudes 108 CHAPTER 7: Curiosity 113 Is Anybody Out There? 113 Cosmic Quest 119 Mind and Matter 123 Stem Cells: Hype or Hope 128 Trust Me – I’m a Scientist 133 Gravity Waves Make Young Minds Ripple 138 THE CURIOUS COUNTRY 5 THE CURIOUS COUNTRY 6 THE CURIOUS COUNTRY ForeWorD BY THE CHIEF SCIENTIST We commissioned a survey, asking people to identify the important issues they wanted science to address. Collating the results allowed us to start framing the narrative for the book you are about to read. URING 2012 I travelled the media rendered opaque by the tendency of breadth and width of the country, scientists to talk in technical language? made many speeches, gave many What would Australians like to know more high-level briefings and attended about? What, if anything concerns Australians many events and even more about science? What inspires them? Dmeetings. I met lots of people and was So we asked them. heartened by their interest in science. We commissioned a survey, asking people It was immensely interesting, but I can’t say to identify the important issues they wanted it gave me a representative insight into how science to address. Australians view science and where their Collating the results allowed us to start framing interests lie. Most of the people I met at the narrative for the book you are about to read. these events had an interest in the specific We then set about finding the right people topic we were discussing or had come to tell to write the book. They needed knowledge, me whether they agreed or disagreed with creativity and passion. Leigh Dayton agreed some aspect of the science. to come aboard as editor. Both she and the This led me to wonder what Australians more authors have contributed hours and effort beyond generally think about science. I know that the what we or they imagined. For that I say thank average Australian family enjoys the fruits of you. I would also like to acknowledge the hard science every hour of every day; but does science work of the staff in my office, without them, this intrigue them? Do they think about how book would not have seen the light of day. science shapes the food they eat, the medicines Finally, to you, the reader, I also say thank they take and the technology they use? Are you. As a citizen of the Curious Country, this is there issues in science that are not necessarily very much your book. part of the topical agenda that intrigue them? I hope you find it informative, but more than Importantly, are there parts of science in the that, I hope you enjoy reading it. – Ian Chubb THE CURIOUS COUNTRY 7 CHAPTER 1: IntroDuction BY LEIGH DAYTON NASA SCIENCE MEETS SOCIETY Scientists are an inquisitive lot, keen to tackle the scientific curiosities and concerns of Australians, writes Leigh Dayton SU A STRALIANS The ‘whys’ of weather are complex. Who to recovered from the New Year’s ask about them is not. The answer is scientists. party whistles, fireworks and It’s their job, their passion and their pleasure rounds of ‘Auld Lang Syne’, to tease out nature’s secrets and apply their scientists were on the job at findings to the current events and queries of theA Bureau of Meteorology in Melbourne. the day. From climate change to swine flu, “It’s [the record] going down,” messaged one astrophysics to zoology, this diverse group of excited meteorologist as the nation’s collective men and women raise issues, seek answers thermometer broke the all-time record. and rigorously explore the curiosities and On 7 January 2013 the national average concerns facing today’s world. temperature for that day hit 40.33°C, beating By definition scientists are an inquisitive lot. the previous record of 40.17°C, set in 1972. But what are the scientific curiosities and concerns Why? Why care? Who to ask? on the minds of Australians? What worries them, 8 THE CURIOUS COUNTRY baffles them, and sets their curiosity meter to from wild conjecture and apply the findings 10 out of 10? To find out, the Office of the Chief to evidence-based national, regional and local Scientist (OCS) took the nation’s intellectual government policy… and to the Big Questions. temperature, surveying 1186 Australians: men Will ET phone home? Where did life begin? and women aged 18 to 65, from all education And will intelligent robots ever be able to make levels and locations around Australia. a good cup of coffee? The results? Health and climate issues topped Enter The Curious Country. This e-book the list for 32 and 30 per cent, respectively, was compiled as a direct response to the of respondents. On the health front the most survey results. It fills that critical gap between pressing issues for participants were cancer, specialist publications and the increasingly obesity and globe-straddling pandemics. limited information available about science Pollution and water were the environmental and society through mainstream media. issues of greatest concern and cyber-security The Curious Country can be read online, was the principal cause for anxiety in the downloaded to assorted electronic devices technology realm. or printed for readers who like the look Proving that Australians really are intellectually and feel of paper. I vote for papyrus myself. adventurous, most respondents said that, after A hand-picked group of 27 academic health, what most inspired them was space. It experts and science writers have contributed may be abstract and have no perceived effect on informative and entertaining essays about how daily life but it’s clear that curiosity abounds. Are we alone? How do scientists detect what’s What are the scientific curiosities and out there? What on Earth – or in space – was concerns on the minds of Australians? Einstein really talking about? What worries them, baffles them, and While it may come as a surprise to some sets their curiosity meter to 10 out of 10? headline writers, bloggers and talkback radio hosts, the OCS survey results suggest there is no widespread concern that scientists are up scientists are tackling the issues highlighted by to no good, conducting dangerous or unethical survey respondents. There’s no need to read the research.
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