Catalyst

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?

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.

If you were told you could get fit with just a few minutes of exercise a week would you believe it? Anja Taylor looks at whether exercise impacts aging and if changes in your mitochondria resulting from exercise effectively retard aging.

Reporter Dr. Graham Phillips examines the effects of meditation in his own life, and the medical evidence of how it affects those who practice it. Can meditation literally make your brain younger?

There's a power revolution heading for our homes – a device that allows you to take power into your own hands. It starts with batteries, home batteries, and they've been called the holy grail of renewables – the key to the transition away from fossil fuels.

Military aircraft are increasingly being exposed to electromagnetic interference whether the source is natural, like lightning strikes, or human produced, like radars. In extreme cases it could result in weapons being released without pressing a button. Dr Graham Phillips investigates the tests being conducted to help determine the susceptibility of military aircraft to AEI. The Tilapia fish, aka the Mozambique Mouthbrooder, is an exotic invasive species introduced in Australia in the seventies, which is taking hold in Queensland rivers. Anja Taylor investigates new DNA technology which detects Tilapia in waterways. This research may help prevent devastating infestations from occurring. Despite tough regulations, lasers are still widely available in Australia. Ruben Meerman demonstrates the power of lasers and reveals what makes them so dangerous.