Weave got this – we’re healing with silk

Weave got this – we’re healing with silk

Author: JOY 94.9 - Rainbow Community Podcasts for our LGBTI, LGBTIQA+, LGBTQIA+, LGBT, LGBTQ, LGB, Gay, Lesbian, Trans, Intersex, Queer Communities May 28, 2025 Duration: 39:58

Dr Cat and Dilendra weave together the science of using silk from silkworms and spiders in medicine. Dilendra Wijesekara, a material scientist at Deakin University’s Institute of Frontier Materials, is developing a silk biomaterial for ear surgery. Dr Cat also shares some wild science involving getting goats to produce “spider silk milk”, and using a protein in spider silk as inspiration for cancer treatment. It’s a silky-smooth episode that showcases how strong, flexible, and fabulous nature can be.

This episode originally aired on 27th May, 2025.

The post Weave got this – we’re healing with silk appeared first on Science Queeries.


Curiosity meets community in Science Queeries, a space where the wonders of the natural world and the vibrant spectrum of human identity intersect. Hosted by Cat, this podcast from JOY 94.9’s Rainbow Community collection approaches learning with a warm, questioning spirit. It’s less a formal lecture and more a series of engaging conversations that unpack scientific concepts through an inclusive, queer lens. You’ll hear explorations that connect the dots between biology, sociology, technology, and lived experience, making complex ideas both accessible and personally relevant. Each episode invites you to consider how science shapes and is shaped by the diverse LGBTIQA+ communities it seeks to understand. The tone is thoughtful and welcoming, designed for anyone who’s ever felt on the outside looking in at traditional science communication. Whether discussing the latest research or the fundamentals of how things work, this podcast consistently centers a perspective that is often overlooked. It’s a place for learning, questioning, and finding connection in the shared pursuit of knowledge. Tune in for a refreshing take that proves science is for everyone, and that some of the most insightful discoveries begin with a simple, open-minded query.
Author: Language: en-us Episodes: 50

Science Queeries
Podcast Episodes
A cracking good episode [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 44:07
Did you know that someone you know may have ceramics inside their body? Maybe it’s even you. Ceramics are used for so many things – including art and expression, medicine, space exploration, and more. Dr Cat chats to a c…
Somewhere over the rainbow there’s gay space [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 43:15
Space is soooo gay. Let’s go star gay-zing. Dr Cat and Zofia Witkowski-Blake, presenter at Melbourne Planetarium at Scienceworks, orbited queer cosmic stories, launched into what happens when humans are in space, and ref…
Seals’ flipperin’ good hearing [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 44:22
This seals the deal: seals are incredible animals. They’re the only mammal that can hear both through air and under water. Pint of Science speaker/Palaeontologist Dr James Rule and Dr Cat go on a fossil-filled adventure…
Science, Sass and Song: The Radiothon Riff-Off [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 40:21
For a fabulously nerdy Radiothon special, Dr Cat goes full STEAM ahead with a science-packed extravaganza. She tests her history buff brother Sasha Kober’s knowledge of scientific discoveries and historical episodes of S…
Can you dig it? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 0:00
Dr Cat and archaeologist Dr Wenjing Yu are digging up the past and brushing off the dust on history. Dr Wenjing has done fieldwork around the world, piecing together the story of our ancestors and their evolution to answ…
A cell of a day [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 0:00
Dr Cat cell-abrates the World Day of Immunology with Dr Keit Loi, Lecturer in immunology at The University of Melbourne. Together, they’ll infect you with an appreciation of the randomness and chaotic yet impressive coor…
The fluoride of your life [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 0:00
Dr Cat chats to Dr Jamie Robertson AM about the tooth, the whole tooth, and nothing but the tooth. Dr Jamie is filling us in on the root causes of dental inequality – and reminding us that oral health isn’t just about a…
Water’ll we do? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 0:00
Dr Cat and Amber Craig splashy deep dive into water — where it goes, who gets it, and what happens when there’s way too much… or not nearly enough. From drenched cities to parched paddocks, they wade through the ripple e…
I lichen like that! [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 0:00
It’s an episode lichen you’ve never heard before! Dr Cat and science educator Finn McHenry literally queer-ied lichens – those curious little lifeforms that are part fungus, part algae, and 100% symbiotic slay. They ask…