Dr Linden and Dr Ray join Dr Shane in the studio.

In news: Predicting Australian summers from the polar vortex above Antartica; Measuring lateral lightning strikes; Gravitational micro-lensing.

First guest is Associate Professor Melinda T. Coughlan, JDRF Clinical Research Network Career Development Fellow from Monash University.
Diabetes is a growing global health burden, with 422 million adults – or one in 11 people – diagnosed with the disease. A new discovery has the potential to slow the progression of kidney disease in people with diabetes. Normal function of the mitochondria within the kidney – known as the “batteries of the cell” – don’t work properly in people with diabetes. The drug that has already been tested on other inflammatory diseases can decrease kidney injury caused by diabetes.

Second guest is Dr Francine Marques, Head of the Hypertension Research Laboratory from the School of Biological Sciences, Monash University.
It is well known that our diet influences the risk of high blood pressure. While salt intake is associated with higher blood pressure, consumption of fruit, vegetables and other food rich in fibre is usually associated with lower blood pressure. New evidence from our laboratory has emerged that this may be due to the tiny microorganisms that live in our gut, called gut microbes. Dr Marques’ animal research a few years ago showed that a diet high in fibre prevents the development of high blood pressure and heart disease via the gut microbiota, who digest the fibre (that’s indigestible to humans) for us and as consequence release metabolites called short-chain fatty acids. The purpose of this research is to determine if dietary supplements which produce high levels of substances produced as a result of microbial fermentation could be used as a new strategy to lower blood pressure.