Every season of Catalyst ever, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best seasons of Catalyst!

Meet Dr. Jane Goodall DBE, world-renowned primatologist, humanitarian, conservationist and UN Messenger of Peace.

Jane Goodall

Do sharks have friends?  Watch and see if there is actually anything to study when we look at the "social behavior" of sharks off the coast of New South Wales, Australia!

Shark Behavior

Wouldn't it be wonderful if you could just sit and watch a movie about the universe and see how everything unfolded? Thanks to a new scientifically accurate computer simulation called the Illustris, which models a part of the universe, a cube 350 million light years across, you can!

Virtual Universe

Each year, over 2000 people apply for jobs in Antarctica, but few are successful. What are the physical and psychological attributes required to work in the most remote location on Earth?  Could you snag a job in sub-zero temperatures at an Antarctic station?

Polar People

Take a look at the Voyager unmanned space probes launched in the 1970's -- and where they are now after 36 years of travel!  Voyager I is the furthest travelled man made object in space.  What are the missions finding in the distant universe?

Voyager

Titanium implants are a favorite among surgeons. They're light, durable and strong and readily accepted by the human body. But with each surgery comes a small but potentially deadly risk - infection through the introduction of bacteria.  How can they design implants to resist bacterial infection?

Wings Of Wonder

In a family reunion like no other, astronomers reunite our sun with her long lost sibling. Dr Graham Phillips meets the new relative and explores its similarities with our sun. Could it even have planets, like our solar system, and be another home for life?

Sun's Lost Siblings

Dr Graham Phillips investigates new technology that is able to convert more than 40 per cent of the sun's light into electricity. This is more than double the efficiency of today's domestic rooftop solar panels, and could eventually lead to cheaper sources of renewable energy.

Super Solar Cells

Thousands of chemicals are used in everyday products – in our water, our food and in the air we breathe. It’s the chemical soup of modern life and it’s virtually impossible to escape them.  Is there adequate regulation and testing, or are we in the midst of an uncontrolled, human experiment?

Our Chemical Lives

Good to know as you travel to the Antipodes - Australia has the most venomous snakes and spiders in the world. But, if you’re bitten, can you rely on anti-venom? Dr Graham Phillips investigates the effectiveness of anti-venom.

Antivenom

What is memory?  How do our memories change from childhood to adulthood? How we can build up greater brain reserves to power our mind into old age? Brain epigenetics, how the expression of our DNA can be changed by our experiences, is an intriguing new area of science with huge health implications.

Powering The Mind

Is there anyone out there? Does the popular movie quote 'ET phone home' have any substance? Astronomers have been pointing their radio telescopes at the skies for decades trying to pick up alien signals.  Hitch a ride as we join astronomers trawling through the galaxy looking for signs of life.

Alien Technology

How can a supercomputer can help researchers to a better understanding of the poliovirus at an atomic level?  This has implications for understanding and eradicating deadly diseases worldwide.

3D Virus

It's amazing to think that in the 1900s a mere tenth of the world's population lived and worked in cities. Now it is over half.  With soaring populations, how will we keep our cities live-able? And what will the city of tomorrow look like?

Future Cities

The promise of quantum computers is that what would otherwise take a billion years to calculate, could be done in a few seconds.  First-generation quantum computers have started to appear. Indeed, earlier this year, Google bought one, The D-Wave 2. How will this advance change our future lives?

Quantum Computing

Think spiders aren't beautiful?  Then think again!  The colorful and beautiful jumping Peacock Spider, native to Australia, will change your mind.

Peacock Spider

In the western world there’s an epidemic of allergies. Could it be that our lifestyles are too clean? And that we’re not exposing ourselves to bugs that help build our immune systems?  Is there bacteria that is good for us?

Allergy Pill

There’s no doubt that cardiac implants or stents save lives. They unblock arteries to prevent heart attacks. But because the body treats stents as foreign, the risk of blood clots is ever present. How can we coat the stents in order to stop the rejections?

Cardiac Implants

It seems that the bee population crisis is intricately tied to the way we have changed our planet. Catalyst investigates how modern agriculture methods, increasing diseases and the impending threat of the deadly varroa mite could destroy the last safe-haven for bees on the planet, Australia.

Honey Bees

This special report looks at the domino effect of environmental and atmospheric factors that drive the globe to wetter, hotter, drier and colder extremes.

Extreme Weather

By building see-through flowers, researchers at the University of Connecticut have captured high-speed, high-magnification images of the remarkable tongue of the Hummingbird.  And they've revealed that previously held theories about the diminutive birds are wrong!

Fast Food For Hummingbirds

Cuneiform documents in clay cover everything from political affairs to economic practices, from 3400BC right up to the time of Christ.  But can modern technology unwrap clay envelopes so that archaeologists can preserve the artifact but see the letter inside?  Watch and see!

Ancient Writing

Fifty meters beneath the teeming mega-city of Tokyo is an underworld river system - 6.4km of tunnels, colossal water tanks, massive pillars, giant pumps that remove 200 tons of floodwater every second. It’s an engineering marvel built to protect Tokyo against the increasing threat of flooding.

Tokyo Flood Prevention

Performance-enhancing drugs aren't limited to just sport and increasing your physical prowess. There are substances that could improve your mind power as well - things like help you learn faster or improve your memory. Do we face a future where we'll be increasingly brain doping?

Life Enhancing Drugs

A short video on this phenomenon of nature, particularly evident in deep ocean animals.

Bioluminescence

By investigating the tell-tale signs of earthquakes and tsunamis written into the landscape over the last thousand years, Japanese scientists are rewriting the rule books for disaster prevention in the Pacific.

Mega-tsunamis

The Catalyst team look at what YouTube can teach us about meteors and how far can sea levels rise? Also how to stay as safe as possible in a house fire.

Meteors, Sea Level Rise, House Fires

Tattoos: They are on trend but how easy are they to remove? Moon Mining: Scientists look at ways to mine the moon. Muscle fibre Fishing Line: How fishing line, a hairdryer and an electric drill make artificial muscle fibres.

Tattoos, Moon Mining, Muscle Fibre

Could omega 3 supplements reduce aggressive behaviour of inmates?; Antarctica Sea Ice: The sleeping giant of climate change; Dog Optimism: How does your dog view the world? Is it an optimist or pessimist?

Omega 3 Inmates, Antarctic Sea Ice, Dog Optimism

Three years after the Fukushima nuclear disaster we explore the hidden impact of radioactive sediments and why do some trauma patients appear to recover from injury but just a few days later develop multiple organ failure?

Radiation Fallout, Multiple Organ Failure

In the first of a two-part special, reporter Dr. Graham Phillips investigates whether what we feed the bacteria deep inside our gut could be contributing to a whole litany of diseases.

Gut Reaction: Part 1 - What You Eat Could Be Making You Ill

In this two-part Gut Reaction special, reporter Dr. Graham Phillips investigates whether the Western diet could be contributing to a whole litany of diseases by causing an imbalance in the bacteria deep inside our gut.

Gut Reaction: Part 2 - Let Food Be Thy Medicine

Inside Australia's long lost World War 1 submarine, the AE2, we reveal her hidden secrets and investigate what scientists are doing to protect her from the ravages of time.

AE2 - The Silent ANZAC, Where Does Fat Go?

Catalyst investigates two ground breaking treatment procedures for epilepsy; We meet the man who discovered dark energy - Nobel Prize winner Professor Brian Schmidt.

Epilepsy, Brian Schmidt

Dr. Jane Goodall entered the forests of Tanzania as a girl with a dream. Twenty years later she left a woman with a mission; Can science help the dead speak? We 'unwrap' a mummy to unveil secrets hidden for thousands of years.

Dr. Jane Goodall Profile, Mystery Mummy, Eureka Prizes

Dr. Graham Phillips delves into the latest research on testosterone, from the womb to old age, it moulds the male body &amp; mind. It is also a hormone of good health during the life of both men &amp; women.

Testosterone - It's Not All About Sex

Catalyst investigates how modern agriculture methods, increasing diseases and the impending threat of the deadly varroa mite could destroy the last safe-haven for bees on the planet.

Honey Bees, Drinking Water, Driver Distraction

Ground breaking Japanese research reveals clues about future hazards for tsunami-prone countries. How playing outdoors can improve children's health and could the bacteria in our stomach ulcers help cure allergies.

Mega Tsunamis, Allergy Pill, Nature Play

Friendship: From before we can even speak, we seek the companionship of others. But why is this drive so powerful? And how come out of all the people we meet in our lives, we fall in friendship with some and not others?

Falling In Friendship

Global Warming Pause: The big question in climate science - what happened to global warming? Virtual universe - reveals the life of the universe. Green alloys - 'reincarnating' CDs, pushbike and car parts.

Global Warming Pause, Virtual Universe, Green Alloys

Tokyo flood prevention - How does a city of rivers defend itself in during flooding rain? Crying - are tears of joy different from tears of sorrow? Open plan office layout - how the open plan office can affect our health.

Tokyo Flood Prevention, Crying, Open Plan Office

What does it mean when the weather report says - winds will be up to 50kph... How much notice should we really take?; With planes and birds sharing our skies, how common are collisions and how can they be avoided.

The Wind, Bird Strike

How Aircraft Electromagnetic Interference (AEI) affects our military aircraft; Detecting Tilapia; the cane toads of our waterways and what makes Lasers so dangerous?

Aircraft Electromagnetic Interference, Tilapia, Laser Danger

Catalyst investigates the science behind the low carb diet. What are the health benefits and are there any risks? Is it suitable for everyone?

Low Carb Diet - Fat or Fiction?

The Catalyst team look at how our genes can affect exercise performance; Come face to face with 120 metre tunnel borers Florence and Elizabeth; And reveal the good news for Coral trout on the Great Barrier Reef.

Genetic ID, Tunnel Borer, Coral Trout

Could abalone blood be the new treatment for cold sores and herpes?; The inspirational story of 350 year old mathematics problem and how it was solved; Tasmania's Great Poo Hunt - have foxes invaded the island state?

Antiviral Abalone, Fermat's Theorem, Predator Scat

With a soaring population how do we keep our cities liveable? And what will the city of tomorrow look like? Catalyst reporter Anja Taylor investigates some innovative ideas for Australia's future cities.

Reporter Mark Horstman gives up some of his own blood to test specially coated stents that can mimic the blood vessel wall and Dr Jonica Newby is on a mission to find out what's been lurking in the back yard.

Implant Protection, What Rat Is That?, Science Of The Perfect Drink

Would you apply for a job in the Antarctic? Mark Horstman looks into the physical and psychological profiles of successful applicants. Dr. Maryanne Demasi investigates the development of ingestible, protein based drugs.

Polar People, Plant Based Medicine

Could lead exposure in childhood lead to an adult life marked by violent crime? Although much is being done to reduce contamination, once the damage has been done, it can't be reversed.

Lead Astray

Mammalian meat allergy is on the rise in Australia and the surprising cause is a tick bite. Dr. Jonica Newby meets Dr. Sheryl van Nunen, the clinician who discovered the link.

Tick Meat Allergy, Alien Technology

Dr. Jonica Newby tries her luck at passport fraud and Dr. Graham Phillips investigates the effectiveness of anti-venom for red back spider and brown snake bites.

Passport Facial Recognition, Anti-venom

Faced with a flu pandemic, will anti-viral drugs protect us? Dr. Maryanne Demasi investigates. Plus searching for our sun's lost siblings - what can it tell us about the existence of life on other planets?

Tamiflu, The Sun's Lost Sibling

Graham Phillips investigates new technology that is able to convert more than 40 per cent of the sun's light into electricity. Plus Mark Horstman discovers that no other continent has been as important for bird evolution.

Super Solar Cells, Where Birdsong Began

Anja Taylor investigates how our memories change from childhood to adulthood and how we can build up greater brain reserves to power our mind into old age.

Are we beating our horses to the finish line? Dr. Jonica Newby investigates. And in a world first, a lab under the Antarctic ice puts the sea floor to the acid test.

Horse Whip, Antarctic Acidification

Dr. Maryanne Demasi investigates the safety of chemicals found in everyday products and compares the level of chemicals in her own body with clean living convert and media personality Sarah Wilson.

The next generation condom - a pleasure, not a duty to wear. And, can science solve the Toorale Man murder mystery? Mark Horstman joins the dig team on this extraordinary investigation.

Condoms, Toorale Man

Anja Taylor investigates the science behind low volume, high intensity fitness training, and takes on the challenge of going from couch slouch to fighting fit, with just six minutes of exercise a week!

Fit In 6 Minutes A Week

Could facial expressions, voice and body posture be the key to diagnosing depression? Plus we take a look at a range of non-invasive brain stimulation therapies that may help treat depression.

Diagnosing Mental Illness, Ghostbusters, Brain Stimulation

Can obesity be treated as a chronic inflammatory disease? Mark Horstman explores these emerging fields of science, and meets ordinary people in their daily struggle with obesity.

Why Am I Still Fat?

Catalyst meets one of Mars One's brave astronauts, & takes a look at NASA's new interplanetary spaceship. Catalyst reporter Mark Horstman joins scientists in the Tasmanian wilderness as they try to save the swift parrot.

Can We Live on Mars?, Parrots versus Possums

Advances in medicine have propelled health care to new heights. But are we getting too much of a good thing? Dr Maryanne Demasi examines how our relentless pursuit for good health, could be making people sick.

Too Much Medicine

Sex is the spark that ignites many relationships. It seems to fade more quickly in women. Dr. Newby investigates the science of female libido, as she asks - what does it take to restore a healthy sex life?

Female Sex Drive

To celebrate 100 years since Einstein's theory of General Relativity we visit three 'big physics' facilities where scientists are hoping to prove a prediction Einstein made over a century ago.

Einstein

We explore the recent extraordinary cases of virgin births in animals and find out whether humans could spontaneously clone themselves. Reporter Anja Taylor investigates why males exist in the first place.

A Life Without Males

Millions of people are giving up gluten in pursuit of better health. In this special investigation, Dr. Maryanne Demasi cuts through the hype of the gluten free diet. Should we all get on board or is it just another fad?

Gluten: A Gut Feeling

In the final Catalyst for 2015, the team look at the scientific discoveries and innovations being made to ensure sharks and humans can co-exist.

Sharks

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.

Batteries 24 Hour Renewable Power

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.

Oxytocin, Crown of Thorns Starfish

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.

Wi-Fried?

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.

Out of Africa

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?

Science of Sci-Fi Films, Mercury Hotspots

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.

Music on the Brain

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

Micro-Plastics, Tassie's Secrets

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.

If Pain Persists

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.

Motorcycle Clothes, Gravitational Waves

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.

Lavender and the Honey Bee, Tassie Fires

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.

Blind Leading the Blind, Bionic Bra

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

Antibiotic Resistance

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.

Short Sightedness In Children, Saving A Furry Friend

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.

Exercise and Cancer

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.

Becoming Superhuman (Part 1)

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.

Becoming Superhuman (Part 2)

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 &amp; the mind &amp; even alter the structure of the brain.

Meditation: Can It Really Change You?

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.

Oldest Aussie Beer, Unboiling An Egg

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?

Live Long Die Young

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.

Stress and Cancer, Secrets of Pluto

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.

Toxic Ticks

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.

Soundscape, Juno's Mission

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

Gaming with Orang-utans, Stormageddon

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.

Gut Reaction (Part 1)

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.

Gut Reaction (Part 2)

GP &amp; 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.

Artificial Sweeteners, Antarctica Fossils

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.

Stentrode, Fantastic Journey

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

Alzheimer's - Can We Prevent It?

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.

Gene Editing, Is There Life On Mars?

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 &amp; can we use science to make them happier?

Making Dogs Happy (Part 1)

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 &amp; new technology to help make pets happier.

Making Dogs Happy (Part 2)

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

Smell: Our Most Underestimated Sense

Catalyst is Australia's premier science  investigation series. Each week the team brings you stories from  Australia and around the world, meeting scientists at the forefront of  discovery.

The Best Seasons of Catalyst

The Best Seasons of Catalyst

Season 23

Season 1

Season 15

Season 16

Season 17

Season 18

Season 19

Season 20

Season 21

Season 22