Mt Sheridan

WORM spit will be a hot topic of conversation when two USbased comedians record a live podcast in Cairns today.

Probably Science hosts Matt Kirshen and Andy Wood are in town as part of a Queensland tour with their weekly science and comedy podcast.

The top-rated podcast focuses on current scientific news and the careers and hobbies of its guests.

It has been running since 2012, and attracted the likes of Hollywood actor Karen Gillan, Aussie comedian Wil Anderson and Mythbuster’s Adam Savage.

The podcast, which is being recorded at the Reef Casino, will feature James Cook University researcher Dr Michael Smout, who helped bring the comedians to the Far North.

Dr Smout, who is a big fan of the podcast, said he reached out to them after they recently discussed some of his work.

The Cairns-based biotechnology researcher has been examining a protein found in the spit of parasitic liver flukes that can promote cell growth and wound repair.

Dr Smout, who works at JCU’s Australian Institute of Tropical Health and Medicine, was able to gain funding via the Australian Society for Parasitology and the Federal Government to bring the podcast to Cairns, the first destination on a statewide tour.

He said he was looking forward to promoting other research work being carried out in Far North Queensland,

“I’m going to go with a few science stories that we’ve done recently, and there’s a couple of worm-related stories over the last couple of years that they’ve missed,” he said.

“For example, counting worms in poo, and the importance of where you get the sample from and things like that.

“Poo is always a good comedic starting point.”

Probably Science will be recorded live from 3pm today at Cairns Dinner Theatre, inside the Reef Hotel Casino.