Catalyst Season 17 poster

Season guide

Catalyst Season 17 — Episodes and Where to Watch

40 episodes · first aired 2016-02-02

TMDB does not provide a season overview.

Episode guide

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Episode 1: Batteries 24 Hour Renewable Power

2016-02-0228 min

Dr. Jonica Newby investigates home batteries - how they work, why you will want one, how they will change the way we consume electricity & what they mean for the future of the world's power generation.

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Episode 2: Oxytocin, Crown of Thorns Starfish

2016-02-0931 min

It turns out oxytocin is responsible for a lot more than just love. Dr. Graham Phillips discovers oxytocin's great potential to treat social disorders, like drug addiction and alcoholism.

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Episode 3: Wi-Fried?

2016-02-1630 min

Wi-Fi blankets our homes, schools & cities. Dr. Maryanne Demasi takes a closer look at the link between mobile phones & brain cancer & explores whether our wireless devices could be putting our health at risk.

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Episode 4: Out of Africa

2016-02-2330 min

Prof. Vanessa Hayes is searching for the origins of modern society, revealing the bedrock of human genetic diversity. Her work exposes some startling truths about racial inequality in modern medicine.

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Episode 5: Science of Sci-Fi Films, Mercury Hotspots

2016-03-0130 min

Dr. Graham Phillips sits down with physicists Dr. Katie Mack & Professor Lawrence Krauss to review Hollywood's treatment of science. And is the level of mercury in the fish we're eating safe for our health?

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Episode 6: Music on the Brain

2016-03-0830 min

Could the soundtrack of your life bring back fading memories? Catalyst takes you inside an extraordinary new program, revealing how personalised playlists can re-awaken the brains of people with dementia.

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Episode 7: Micro-Plastics, Tassie's Secrets

2016-03-1530 min

We look into marine life in Australia, to find out what plastics escape our household drains & what kind of damage they can do. And the geology of north-western Tasmania reveals similarities to Antarctica.

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Episode 8: If Pain Persists

2016-03-2228 min

This week we investigate recent advances in science and medical engineering that are transforming our understanding of chronic back pain & opening the door to new treatments.

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Episode 9: Motorcycle Clothes, Gravitational Waves

2016-03-2930 min

A new kind of telescope will allow us to observe a whole host of astronomical phenomena, like gravitational waves. Plus how protective is safety motorcycle gear anyway? Mark Horstman lays his body on the line.

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Episode 10: Lavender and the Honey Bee, Tassie Fires

2016-04-0530 min

New research reveals that Lavender can help bees make new memories & even change their DNA. Could it do the same for humans? Plus, climate change is affecting the 1000 year old World Heritage forests in Tasmania.

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Episode 11: Blind Leading the Blind, Bionic Bra

2016-04-1229 min

Researchers are getting a clearer picture on the way the brain turns sounds into images, redefining our understanding of vision. Plus, the "Bionic Bra" - providing the right amount of breast support as needed.

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Episode 12: Antibiotic Resistance

2016-04-1930 min

Antibiotics have saved millions of lives, but their overuse is making them less effective as bacteria develop resistance. Can researchers outwit these clever bacteria & find novel ways to beat resistance?

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Episode 13: Short Sightedness In Children, Saving A Furry Friend

2016-04-2627 min

We look into the rise of myopia & how scientists are finding a way to turn the tide on the epidemic. Plus meet Australia's first koala scat detection dog that's helping koala conservation researchers.

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Episode 14: Exercise and Cancer

2016-05-1026 min

By the time you hit mid life, odds are you or someone close to you will be touched by cancer. In this half-hour special, Dr Jonica Newby investigates a medicine that will double your chance of survival – Its exercise, but not as we know it.

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Episode 15: Becoming Superhuman (Part 1)

2016-05-2426 min

Dr. Jordan Nguyen is a biomedical engineer. Riley Saban is a 13-year-old kid with cerebral palsy. Together they develop extraordinary, cutting edge technology that gives young Riley superhuman powers.

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Episode 16: Becoming Superhuman (Part 2)

2016-05-3126 min

Biomedical engineer Dr. Jordan Nguyen & 13-year-old Riley aren't content developing cutting edge technology to give Riley superhuman powers. In Part 2 they want to push the boundaries to see if Riley can drive a car.

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Episode 17: Meditation: Can It Really Change You?

2016-06-0730 min

Dr. Graham Phillips embarks on an 8 week meditation course to find out if the ancient art lives up to the current hype. New research shows that it can affect the body & the mind & even alter the structure of the brain.

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Episode 18: Oldest Aussie Beer, Unboiling An Egg

2016-06-1430 min

Could bottles, salvaged from a 220 year old Tasmanian ship wreck, contain the remnants of the world's oldest beer? Plus 'unboiling an egg' technology leads to new discoveries in renewable energy.

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Episode 19: Live Long Die Young

2016-06-2128 min

Lab experiments show it's now possible to fight the four major diseases of old age. Anja Taylor investigates one of these methods achieving extraordinary results. Could this be the key to a long & healthy life?

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Episode 20: Stress and Cancer, Secrets of Pluto

2016-06-2830 min

Researchers may have found a way to prevent the stress induced spread of cancer cells. Guest reporter, oncologist Dr Ranjana Srivastava investigates. Plus we reveal Pluto's secrets with mind boggling pictures.

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Episode 21: Toxic Ticks

2016-07-0529 min

Do Australian ticks pose a greater health risk than we thought? For the first time, microbes inside native Aussie ticks are being probed, leading to new discoveries which may reveal the causes of unexplained illnesses.

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Episode 22: Soundscape, Juno's Mission

2016-07-1230 min

The natural world tells unseen stories through sound. Catalyst discovers what we can learn from listening to nature. Plus we go to Australia's tracking station Tidbinbilla to witness Juno going into orbit around Jupiter.

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Episode 23: Gaming with Orang-utans, Stormageddon

2016-07-1930 min

How are storms changing as the world warms? Plus can orang-utans teach us a thing or two about computer games?

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Episode 24: Gut Reaction (Part 1)

2016-07-2630 min

Could our food be making us sick - very sick? In the first of a two-part special, Dr Graham Phillips reveals research about the interplay between food and the bacteria deep within our guts.

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Episode 25: Gut Reaction (Part 2)

2016-08-0230 min

The final part of a Catalyst investigation into whether food could actually be our medicine. A healthy diet could be even more important than previously thought because food affects the bacteria deep inside our guts.

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Episode 26: Artificial Sweeteners, Antarctica Fossils

2016-08-0930 min

GP & guest reporter Dr. Zeeshan Arain looks at artificial sweeteners and how they may impact our health. Plus an Australian paleontologist goes on a US expedition searching for dinosaur fossils in Antarctica.

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Episode 27: Stentrode, Fantastic Journey

2016-08-1630 min

Catalyst looks at the game-changing new Australian device that aims to help the paralysed walk again. Plus virtual reality takes scientists and patients on a unique interactive journey inside the human body.

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Episode 28: Alzheimer's - Can We Prevent It?

2016-08-2330 min

Can lifestyle choices delay or even prevent Alzheimer's disease? From what we eat to how much we move & sleep, scientists are suggesting that the power to push back the disease is largely in our hands.

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Episode 29: Gene Editing, Is There Life On Mars?

2016-08-3030 min

Graham Phillips goes into the desert on a meteorite hunt to investigate the question: is there life on Mars? Plus the powerful gene-editing technique CRISPR that is transforming the field of genetics.

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Episode 30: Making Dogs Happy (Part 1)

2016-09-0630 min

We all like to think our dogs are really happy with us, but how can we be sure? New research suggests most of us can't even tell. Are our dogs really happy & can we use science to make them happier?

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Episode 31: Making Dogs Happy (Part 2)

2016-09-1330 min

In Part 2 of Making Dogs Happy, discover new science-based ways of communicating with dogs, how to better read what they are saying, how our own personalities impact their happiness & new technology to help make pets happier.

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Episode 32: Smell: Our Most Underestimated Sense

2016-09-2030 min

Smell is our most ancient, but also our most underestimated sense. In this episode Anja Taylor investigates the hidden powers of smell & how smell influences many aspects of our lives in ways we often overlook.

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Episode 33: Hidden Secrets Of Art, Out Of Africa

2016-09-2730 min

Catalyst goes behind the scenes at the NGV to see how scientists are revealing concealed gems with stunning clarity. Plus we revisit what genomicist Professor Vanessa Hayes discovered about the origins of modern society.

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Episode 34: Forensic Future, Alien Megastructure

2016-10-0430 min

Catalyst investigates how cutting edge forensics together with developments in DNA testing are working towards putting a face to the nameless. Plus the massive megastructure puzzling astrophysicists - could it be alien-built?

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Episode 35: Coral Bleaching

2016-10-1130 min

In this confronting special, Catalyst explores the lethal threat of coral bleaching to the Great Barrier Reef, and the challenges we all face to protect this global treasure.

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Episode 36: Plain Of Jars, Tiny Satellites

2016-10-1830 min

South East Asia's Plain of Jars is an archaeological enigma. Who carved these megalithic stone jars & what were they used for? Plus, Space is being invaded by a new breed of cheap satellites, smaller than a loaf of bread.

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Episode 37: Testosterone, Dr. Jane Goodall

2016-10-2530 min

Dr. Graham Phillips investigates how testosterone affects our abilities, behaviour & health, in both men and women. Plus Dr. Jane Goodall & her work as a World-renowned primatologist, conservationist & activist.

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Episode 38: Medicinal Cannabis

2016-11-0130 min

Anecdotal evidence is building that cannabis has a positive effect on a long list of medical conditions from epilepsy, cancer, even Alzheimer's Disease. By applying scientific rigour can researchers uncover clinical evidence?

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Episode 39: Tick Bites, Swift Parrot

2016-11-0830 min

Dr. Jonica Newby meets Dr. Sheryl van Nunen, the clinician who discovered the link between tick bites & meat allergies. Plus we revisit a story on one of Australia's most charismatic & endangered birds - the swift parrot.

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Episode 40: The Anthropocene

2016-11-1530 min

Scientists claim that the Earth has shifted out of the Holocene state & into a new geological epoch. We look at how the last 60 years has transformed the human race into a geological force to rival nature.

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