Wominjeka science friends! ABC science reporter Jacinta Bowler in your inbox for another week.
Isn't getting out into nature a wonderful, relaxing experience?
One of my favourite pastimes is kayaking down our local river — getting the sounds of water splashing, trees rustling and the occasional animal or bird call peppered throughout.
If this seems like your idea of a good time, I'd highly recommend checking out Nature Sounds by Ann Jones.
Our favourite intrepid explorer heads out across Australia and sets up a recorder to capture the calming sounds of nature.
But here's the thing — nature is not always relaxing, especially when you stick a microphone in front of it.
Sometimes, instead of the quiet sounds of a high-country river on a cold, crisp night, you accidentally record a wombat jazzed about finding a new scratching stick.
Here's what Ann had to say about the recording she took:
"This bit got edited out of the longer soundscape [on Nature Sounds] because it was determined that a wombat walking in and scratching its butt ON THE MICROPHONES in the middle of a meditation soundscape would harsh the high of the listener."
Wise words.
But, if like us, you want to listen to the wombat scratch its butt, you'll find it on What the Duck?! as a special extra. I'm not going to tell you how many times I've already listened.
In other news, bird flu is back in the news with the potential detection of the virus in a red fox in Adelaide. Top 5 scientist Patrick Finnerty looks into how bird flu moves into scavengers and why this matters.
Meanwhile, while the chance of it spreading to humans remains low, there's also a story looking into the potential health risks if it did.
If you need something brighter, we also have an ecology photo competition that'll make you bug-eyed.
Finally, before I go, I just want to highlight the death of Dolly Parton today.
While she was well known for her music and charity work, she was also a big supporter of medical research. In particular, she provided funding to help develop the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, and was the face of a campaign in the US to overcome vaccine hesitancy during the pandemic, according to Sharon Lewin, the director of the Doherty Institute.
"It's important to acknowledge the tremendous impact she made," Professor Lewin said.
"The research she enabled will continue to inform science and medicine, and ultimately benefit people she would never have met, for years and generations to come."
That's it from me, but there's plenty of good stuff below! If you have any feedback about the newsletter or a sciency photo to share, get in touch by sending an email.
And a reminder about bird flu: anyone who sees a dead or sick bird is asked not to touch it and report it to the Emergency Animal Disease Hotline on 1800 675 888.
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