1

Questions for discussion

Tassie Tiger

1] What was the main point of the story? 2] What is the other name for the Tasmanian Tiger and what does it mean? 3] What do experts say caused the Thylacine to become extinct? 4] How is it being brought back to life? 5] What are genes? 6] Explain what scientists did with the DNA from the Thylacine. 7] How did they know the DNA was in the mouse? 8] What do opponents say about these experiments? 9] Do you believe they should be able to conduct experiments such as these?

Explain your answer. 10] What are some other ethical/moral considerations?

`Should extinct animals be brought back to life?’ Vote in the online poll.

Junk Energy

1. Why do dumps smell? 2. What is methane? 3. How is it being converted to energy? 4. Describe in your own words how a bioreactor works. 5. How many homes is the bioreactor currently powering? How many are

they hoping to power? 6. What gas is produced by the bioreactor and what impact does it have? 7. How does this compare with methane? 8. Is this a renewable or non-renewable form of energy? 9. Is it important to explore other forms of energy production? Explain your

answer. 10. What do you think are the advantages and disadvantages of using

methane as a form of energy production?

Create a plus, minus and interesting chart about using methane as an energy

source.

Medicare

1] What is Medicare? 2] Who is covered by it? 3] Who pays for Medicare? 4] How does the private health system work? 5] What are the advantages of the public health system (Medicare) and the

private system? 6] Why may some people drop out of the private health system in the near

future? 7] What could it mean for those people left in the private system? 8] What could be the impact on the Medicare system? 9] How important is health care? Explain your answer. 10] What do you think could be done to improve the health system in Australia?

EPISODE 13

27TH MAY 2008

2

Send a message or tell us what you think on the BtN Guestbook.

Cow Class

1] Why are they teaching children about dairy farming? 2] What is the name of the program that looks at how the dairy industry works? 3] What is the program trying to achieve? 4] Why are fewer people choosing to work in the industry? 5] What skills have the children been learning? 6] What is special about Jersey cow milk? 7] What makes it valuable? 8] How have the students responded to the program? 9] Predict what might happen if young people don’t work in the dairy industry? 10] How else could young people be encouraged to work in the industry?

Test your knowledge in the online quiz.

Sea Spectacular

1] Retell the story in your own words. 2] Where do squid and cuttlefish breed? 3] What does it mean when a male squid turns white? 4] What happens when he is ready to fight? 5] What is the scientific name for squid and cuttlefish? 6] From which country does the word come from and what does it mean? 7] What part of the cuttlefish is usually on the beach? 8] Describe a female cuttlefish. 9] Why do your think scientists want to find out how squid and cuttlefish

behave? 10] Describe three facts about cephalopods that you didn’t know before watching

the BtN story.

Use the information from the BtN story to create a true or false quiz about

cephalopods.

3

Junk Energy In the New South Wales town of Tarago, a

bioreactor has been build at a rubbish

dump and is producing enough electricity

to supply 1500 homes.

Focus Questions

1. Why do dumps smell? 2. What is methane? 3. How is it being converted to energy? 4. Describe in your own words how a bioreactor works. 5. How many homes is the bioreactor currently powering? How many are

they hoping to power?

6. What gas is produced by the bioreactor and what impact does it have? 7. How does this compare with methane? 8. Is this a renewable or non-renewable form of energy? 9. Is it important to explore other forms of energy production? Explain your

answer. 10. What do you think are the advantages and disadvantages of using

methane as a form of energy production?

Talking Rubbish

Students will be finding out more about biogas and how it is used in energy

production.

Ask them to consider the following questions when researching the topic:

What is biogas?

How is it used to produce energy/power?

How does a biogas generator or bioreactor work?

What are the advantages and disadvantages of biofuels?

Working in pairs, students will use the information collated from their research to

create

a diagram or simple model that demonstrates how a bioreactor or biogas generator

works.

Students will be displaying their diagram or model in the classroom and speaking

briefly

about how they work.

EPISODE 13 27TH MAY 2008

Learning Area

Society and Environment

Key learning

Students will develop an

understanding of what

biogas is and how it can

be used in energy

production.

There are some useful websites at the end of this activity sheet to help students with their research.

4

Further investigations

Build a bioreactor using a soft drink bottle. Go to

http://www.css.cornell.edu/compost/soda.html

Or a more complex biogas generator, go to http://www.re-energy.ca/t-

i_biomassbuild-1.shtml to find out more.

Research whether biofuels are being used in your local area as an alternative

energy source.

Create an advertisement that promotes the use of biofuels.

Related Research Links

ABC News – Rubbish to power 20,000 homes

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/03/28/2201257.htm

ABC News – Methane power producers looking to wind power

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/04/14/2216540.htm?section=justin

BBC website – Information about methane

http://www.bbc.co.uk/climate/evidence/methane.shtml

Build a simple bioreactor

http://www.css.cornell.edu/compost/soda.html

Build a Biogas generator

http://www.re-energy.ca/t-i_biomassbuild-1.shtml

NSW Department of Primary Industry – About landfill methane power generation

http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/aboutus/news/agriculture-today/december-2007/landfill-

methane-power-generation

Energy Information Administration – Kids’ page

http://www.eia.doe.gov/kids/energyfacts/saving/recycling/solidwaste/landfiller.html

5

Tassie Tiger Scientists believe that introducing Thylacine genes

into a mouse embryo may be the first step in

cloning the animal. Could the Tasmanian Tiger be

brought back to life?

Focus Questions

1] What was the main point of the story? 2] What is the scientific name for the Tasmanian Tiger and what does it mean? 3] What do experts say caused the Thylacine to become extinct? 4] How is it being brought back to life? 5] What are genes? 6] Explain what scientists did with the DNA from the Thylacine. 7] How did they know the DNA was in the mouse? 8] What do opponents say about these experiments? 9] Do you believe they should be able to conduct experiments such as these?

Explain your answer. 10] What are some other ethical/moral considerations?

The curly cloning question Students will be exploring the issue of genetic cloning in relation to the

Thylacine. After viewing the BtN story, students will identify key words and

questions about the topic.

Working individually, students think about what questions they have about

cloning the Thylacine. Then, in groups of 3-4 people, students review and

share their questions with the group.

Using a variety of sources including the Internet, print and relevant

organisations, students find information related to their key questions.

Students then research a particular position or viewpoint relating to the cloning

of the Thylacine through one of the following roles:

Environmentalist (Impact on the environment)

Animal rights campaigner (Ethical issues)

Entrepreneur (Economics, marketing)

Scientist (Implications of successful cloning, what will it achieve?)

Research needs to take a point of view in regard to cloning or anti-cloning.

Students collate the information to prepare their position on the issue and

present it in a way they think will have the most impact. Hold a class vote on

EPISODE 13 27TH MAY 2008

Learning Area

Society and Environment

Key learning

Students will develop an

understanding of what

cloning is and the

different viewpoints

The transcript of the BtN story is available on the story page of the BtN website http://abc.net.au/news/btn/

6

whether the Thylacine should or should not be cloned. Ask students to reflect

on how their thinking has changed.

Assessment Criteria Research – key questions addressed, a variety of sources used.

Presentation – engaging, appropriate format, identified and described issues

clearly, presented a powerful case for their point of view.

Further investigations

Create a rap or rhyme about the Thylacine.

Role-play an interview with an animal rights campaigner or research scientist.

Develop a board game or multimedia game about the Thylacine.

Related Research Links

ABC News – Tasmanian Tiger DNA comes alive in mouse

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/05/20/2249778.htm

ABC New in Science – Extinct Thylacine brought back to life

http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2008/05/20/2249769.htm?site=science

BBC News – Tasmanian Tiger DNA resurrected

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7408840.stm

Australia’s Thylacine

http://www.amonline.net.au/thylacine/

The Thylacine Museum

http://www.naturalworlds.org/thylacine/index.htm

Department of Primary Industries and Water – Tasmanian Tiger

http://www.dpiw.tas.gov.au/inter.nsf/WebPages/BHAN-53777B?open

7

TRANSCRIPTS 27/05/08

Episode 13 On this week's Behind the News - can extinct animals be brought back to life? Using garbage gas to light up our lives. And a dazzling date with some psychedelic sea creatures. Hi I'm Nathan Bazley, welcome to Behind the News. Also on the show today: why cows have become classmates at this school. Those items later but first to our top story.

MEDICARE Sarah Larsen, Reporter INTRO: Have you ever gone to hospital? If you have, do you know how much it cost? You probably don't and that's OK because in Australia we have a system where the government helps people pay their hospital bills. But lately there's been a lot of talk about changes and that's got some people worried so Sarah thought she'd should find out what's going on. SARAH LARSEN, REPORTER: Getting sick can be an expensive business. REPORTER: If I really needed an operation I'd need all these machines and they're worth a fortune! See this one here? It's worth 800,000 dollars. Then there are the doctors. Their work could cost thousands. But I don't have that sort of money! Luckily for me, in Australia it doesn't matter too much if you're broke. If it's an emergency you'll be able to go to hospital and get the treatment you need. That's because of something called Medicare. It's a system run by the government which helps to pay for people's medical treatment and every Australian is covered by it. KID: So who pays for Medicare? Well, in a way we all do. It's funded by taxpayers. And it's very expensive - every year it costs the Australian government billions. That pays for what's called the public health system and public hospitals. But it's not the only way Aussies can get looked after. On top of Medicare, you can choose to pay extra for something called private health insurance. HBA COMMERCIAL: A crocodile came up and it bit my guts out and it bit me into parts, pieces, and even my legs went that way and my head went that way. Recognise this? It's an ad for a private health company. There are quite a few of them and unlike the public Medicare system they're private businesses. You pay them some money each year and in return they'll help you pay your bills if you need to go to hospital. KID: Why would you get private health insurance? It has a few advantages. It offers you different hospitals to go to; they're called private hospitals. You also get a bigger choice of doctor and you can get faster service for some types of operations. So they're the two health systems people talk about; Medicare and Private Health Insurance.

8

About half the population are happy to just use Medicare. The other half choose to pay for private health insurance as well. KID: But why are people talking about it now? The government is changing laws which means for some Medicare seems like better value. That means people could choose to drop out of private and just have Medicare. It's great news for these guys because they save money but there could be some problems. If there are fewer people in private these guys might have to pay more to cover the cost and too many patients depending on Medicare and the public hospitals could also be a big headache. Some people reckon the public system is already overloaded and won't be able to deal with new patients. That's why some think private health insurance is really important. It takes some of the pressure off Medicare. Now, the Federal Government says it can deal with any problems so I guess we'll have to wait and see. But whoever's paying the bills the best idea is to stay healthy! QUIZ 1 OK let’s do a medical quiz! Where is the biggest bone in your body? a. back b. arm c. leg Answer: leg The bone is called your femur and it runs from your waist down to your knee. Let's look at the Wire.

THE WIRE Two scuba divers are feeling pretty lucky after surviving 19 hours lost at sea. The man and woman went missing after drifting away from their dive boat in north Queensland. After a massive search and rescue operation they were found alive and well on Saturday morning. The couple said sharks were one of their biggest worries in the hours they spent floating in the water. ******************** The New South Wales government is being urged to follow Queensland and ban the shooting of flying foxes. The small mammals eat fruit and are seen as a pest by some farmers, but conservationists say the species survival is being threatened. ********************** The birth of a tornado has been caught on film in the United States. Witness: "It's gonna cross the road Garry. I don't know what road that is but it's starting to move a little bit more to the north east now." You can see the twister causing serious damage to farm buildings as it gets going.

9

************************ And a NASA space probe called Phoenix has landed on the arctic surface of Mars. The red planet has an icy North Pole and this is the first time a mission has explored the area. The probe will drill into the ice to see if there's any evidence that life has ever existed on the planet. *********************** And two Aussies have become the first mother and daughter team to reach the top of Mt Everest. Cheryl Bart and her 23 year old daughter Nikki reached the summit on the weekend. The pair is now thought to be the first mother-daughter team to have climbed the "seven summits" - the highest mountain on each continent. **************** TASSIE TIGER

Catherine Ellis, Reporter INTRO: Imagine if you could bring an extinct animal back to life like a dinosaur or some other ancient creature!!! Well that's a fair way off but a team of Aussie scientists has achieved something that could see an extinct animal walk the earth again. Don't freak out. It's not a terrifying T-Rex. It's a lot smaller and cuter. Here's Catherine! CATHERINE ELLIS, REPORTER: Put up your hand if you've seen one of these guys before? No you haven't! You're being silly! They're extinct! It's a Tasmanian Tiger and this is the only way you can see them now. They died out more than 70 years ago - the last one in Hobart Zoo in 1936. Some people reckon they've spotted a Tassie Tiger or two since. Competitions have even been run offering big money to anyone who could find one. But despite lots of big searches - there's been no real proof. CATHERINE ELLIS, REPORTER: The proper name for a Tassie Tiger is 'Thylacine' which is actually short for whatever that says, anyway, it means pouched dog with wolf's head. Because it has a pouch for its babies and a head like a wolf. Experts say the Thylacine became extinct because of hunting, loss of habitat and disease. But, could the Tassie Tiger be brought back to life?! Well this tiny creature is offering some hope. It's an unborn mouse. But how can it help bring a Tiger back to life? Well to explain, we'll have to go back to this stuff - DNA.

10

It's in every cell of every living organism. It's made up of thousands of genes - like a huge list of instructions making us all grow to look and behave differently. There are genes for hair colour, skin type, genes for the shape of your nose and the list goes on. Now because some remains of Tassie Tigers were kept from all those years ago scientists have been able to take some DNA and do something that's never been done before. They brought the DNA back to life in another animal. They took the gene that's responsible for making bones in the Tassie Tiger and they put it into a developing mouse. And it worked! It helped form the mouse's skeleton. They dyed it blue so you can actually see it in the mouse's feet, legs and tail. DR ANDREW PASK, RESEARCHER: When we got the result of the mouse with the blue skeleton, we were just, extremely excited. But that was only one tiny gene. To actually bring a thylacine back to life - which would be cloning it - you'd have to get 30,000 genes to work and a lot of other tricky things. And lots of people are against cloning. They're really angry and say nature shouldn't be interfered with. They also say it's very cruel to the animals involved. But the scientists who dream of bringing the Tassie Tiger back to life say they'll continue their research. So it is possible one day, we could have a pouched dog with a wolf head as a pet! But this is the closest we'll get for a long time. ONLINE POLL Right we might make that our poll. The question is "Should extinct animals be brought back to life?” If you want to vote go to our website at abc.net.au/btn

COW CLASS Nathan Bazley, Reporter

INTRO: You can tell us what you think in the guest book. Now let's look at some animals that are definitely alive and kicking. Dairy cows supply us with lots of great food but there's a bit of a problem down on the farm. Not enough kids are choosing to become dairy farmers and the industry is really feeling the pinch. So some farmers have visited a local school to try and change that.

11

The two cows in the back of this ute aren't being driven to a farm, or to be sold. These cows are just on their way to school! Mt Compass Area School actually and they're being dropped here by their owner Nick. He's lending them to teacher Neil and his students. Although they don't seem all that keen about getting an education. ELI: We've given them the names Apricot and Pickle. COURTNEY: We wanted something different like not toffee or anything so we thought we'd go with Apricot and Pickle because it was a nice cute name. But these little calves won't be normal class pets - they're going to be raised by the kids to become working dairy cows. It's part of a program called 'Cows to Careers' - which aims to give kids a look at how the dairy industry works and hopefully get some of them interested in jobs. NICK: That's probably what we want to put out there with this program is the rewards and the atmosphere and the good things of being involved with dairy. The diary industry is finding it really hard to find workers right now. Many have been moved to high paying mining jobs. Others are moving into cities and away from farms. But the dairy industry is hoping to turn that around with the help of Apricot and Pickle - and these kids. Before these calves were delivered, the students learnt how to build their pens and took classes on how to keep a dairy cow happy and healthy. Today, they're getting their first practical lesson! NICK: The most important thing with mixing the milk is to put the water in first and the powder in after. Right now, they're learning how to make powdered milk to feed them while they're young. It looks like Apricot and Pickle were thirsty! But once Nick leaves, it'll be up to these guys to carry on. ELI: We have to feed them in the mornings with a little milk and just make sure they have clean water and a little bit of grain to munch on and clean out their pens. COURTNEY: We've learnt stuff about like maintenance and stuff. Keeping them healthy and their food and like different diseases and stuff. And this is something like what they'll grow into - a jersey dairy cow. NATHAN BAZLEY, REPORTER: The special thing about jersey cows is they produce really fatty milk. It has lots of cream kinda like this. That might sound like a bad thing, but it's actually the part of milk that's made into butter, so it makes the milk more valuable. And that's something the kids at Mt. Compass will be very interested in some are now pretty keen on getting into the industry after school. COURTNEY: I think that it would be a good industry to get into, you can do other things, not just milking, you can be a technician or a vet so it could be something that I would consider looking into. And the dairy industry is hoping she isn't the only one. QUIZ QUESTION 2 OK reckon we might do another quiz on that. ¶ What is the most common type of dairy cow in Australia?

12

a. Jersey b. Friesian c. Illawarra Answer: Friesian About 60 per cent of Australia's dairy cows are Friesians. 20 per cent are jerseys.

JUNK ENERGY Catherine Ellis, Reporter INTRO: If someone wanted to start up a rubbish dump near your home, you'd probably be really annoyed. But what if it was going to help the environment, provide jobs and power thousands of homes?! Wait up that sounds ridiculous. A rubbish dump powering homes?? Well Catherine discovered there is such a thing and she checked out the biggest one in the world. CATHERINE ELLIS, REPORTER: If you've been to one of these places lately you'd know they smell yuck! You need one of these to breathe. Dumps smell bad because when rubbish is rotting and breaking down it gives off gases - just like we do when our tummies are breaking down food. Oh that is disgusting! Moving on! CATHERINE ELLIS, REPORTER: But still on the topic of gas, one of the gases let off by rotting rubbish doesn't smell at all. It's called methane. But methane is a greenhouse gas and it's worse than Carbon Dioxide! You see methane traps more heat in the atmosphere and scientists say that's a problem for climate change. So what if you could catch the methane from rubbish tips and turn it into something useful like electricity? CATHERINE ELLIS, REPORTER: Sounds ridiculous but it isn't. It's happening near the town of Tarago in New South Wales. This humungous hole that used to be a mine has been turned into what's called a 'Bioreactor'. Hundreds of thousands of tonnes of Sydney's waste is delivered here each year. So what do they do to it? Well for starters the liquid waste that forms at the bottom of all the rotting garbage is pumped up through the upper layers. Why? Because it speeds up the break-down of the newer waste. It also speeds up the production of the methane gas I was telling you about. But no they don't let it all escape into the atmosphere. Instead they collect it - in pipes.

13

And it's sent up to a generator where these giant engines turn the gas into energy. And the power they make can be used as electricity to power homes! The bioreactor is already making enough electricity for 1500 homes but they're going to make it even bigger so it can hopefully power 20,000 homes. The good thing about that is it means less electricity needs to be made with fossil fuels, which are non-renewable and produce lots of greenhouse gas! Some carbon dioxide is released when electricity's generated at the bioreactor, so it's not completely clean and green. But carbon dioxide's much less harmful than the methane gas that would have been released if they hadn't caught it! Maybe one day more garbage dumps can be like this one, so less rubbish goes to waste! THE SCORE I reckon my room could keep a decent sized town going for weeks! Here's Sarah with some sport. The Socceroos have beaten Ghana one-nil in a friendly match in Sydney. But the game started on a not-too-friendly note - organisers couldn't find Ghana's national anthem so after an embarrassing silence, the crowd heard only Advance Australia Fair. That match was important as a warm up for the world cup qualifiers ********************* Also in Sydney, the Waratahs from New South Wales won a place in the Super 14 rugby final by beating the Sharks from South Africa. The Tahs will face the Canterbury Crusaders in New Zealand ********************** And the Hockeyroos have been blasted by their coach after finishing 5th in the Champions Trophy in Germany. The coach said they played like rubbish and they'll need a lot of improvement before the Olympics. Argentina won the tournament. SEA SPECTACULAR Nathan Bazley, Reporter INTRO: Thanks Sarah. In a few weeks, cuttlefish and squid will be spawning on reefs around Australia. Now they're pretty freaky animals really. What with their tentacles and ink shooting tendencies. But when it comes to finding that special squid or cuttlefish for a partner - they become absolutely amazing. Welcome to the secret life of squid. When a guy asks a girl on a date, they want to do all they can to try and impress. That's exactly what this boy squid on the left is doing right now. Well, he's trying. And just as the guy gets close he suddenly turns and goes all white! You see that? Brown

14

before, then white. White, as it turns out, is how a squid tells a rival to get away and if he adds black spots and stripes like here, it's fighting time! That's what these two guys are doing. Squid have an amazing ability to change colour. In this scene the male you'll notice is all white on one side and all brown on his girl-facing side. That's because brown is the 'I love you' signal - that's facing her. The white is aimed at some guys you can't see off camera. He's telling them to stay away! But while he's sending two signals at the same time, the girl squid decides to change sides. Keep looking at him because he totally switches colour instantly. Brown now for her and white the opposite way. When it comes to dating, squid really like to pull out all the stops! The scientific name for squid is Cephalopod, which in Greek means 'head-footed' that's because their tentacles grow out of their head and when they named it, they thought they looked like legs. But they aren't the only odd ones in this crazy family of sea creatures. This is a Cuttlefish - a relative of the squid and these guys aren't just content to change colours to grab a girl, they have a huge party to celebrate it! And this is where it all happens, Point Lowly, in South Australia, where cuttlefish have their very own romantic getaway! Well, it's more like a reef, but this is where the local cuttlefish go every year when they want to find a mate. NATHAN BAZLEY, REPORTER: But you have probably been closer to cuttlefish than you'd realise. Well, bits of them. This is the bone of a dead cuttlefish you've probably seen them lying round on the beach. And this is where they come from. Back at cuttlefish central, the guys are pulling out all the stops to try and get a girl. Here, a male sends electric pulses through its body to try to look cool. But the female cuttlefish are very picky. They may have 10 arms, a doughnut shaped brain, three hearts, and bluey-green blood but they also have high standards. Despite this, scientists say they all will eventually find that special cuttlefish right here. So whether it's squidy serenades, or cuttlefish cuddles this family of fish has some pretty weird ideas on love. But when it comes down to it, is it any more weird than flowers and a movie? CLOSER Amazing. If you want to see any of the show again hit our website at abc.net.au/btn and don't forget every Monday to Friday at 5 to 6 we have BTN Daily. Catch ya then. Now before we go a quick look at something else that's even more colourful and bizarre. This is the Eurovision song contest which is held in Europe every year. Each country is represented by a band or singer with a song and they compete on TV to win the most votes. To get noticed they tend to go for an outrageous stage act. It's the 53rd time the comp has been held and it attracts a huge audience. This year's winner was Russia. I think I'll have to smarten up my clothes after seeing that.