The nail-bitingly close last round was a perfect reflection of the incredibly tight competition throughout the August/September I’m a Scientist event.

Congratulations to our winners: Peter Enticott from Monash University in the Brain Zone, Mia Zeric from University of Sydney in the MicroLife Zone and Mia Cobb from Monash University in the general Nitrogen Zone.

We’ve had a dramatic double eviction, a whopping 60 live chats and 976 questions ASK’ed across our three zones – Brain, Micro Life, and Nitrogen. Amongst these stats, the general science Nitrogen Zone smashed the Australian record for the number of questions answered with 424 in the Ask section! The Nitrogen Zone breaks the previous record of 399 questions held by the Disease Zone of our March 2013 event. It just keeps on getting better!

The scientists have been faced with so many fantastic questions, from why they have chosen a science career, to how to make hot chocolate. Here are just a few we thought really captured the energy of the event:

Student (@jaidyn): Will your work affect others? If so, how?

Scientist (@Kristyn): Every time a scientist publishes their work or gives a presentation at a conference, it can spark ideas or form new collaborations between other scientists so we can work on problems together. So there are lots of ways our work affects others in a (hopefully!!) positive way!

Student (@gannaz): What are pins and needles and why do we have them?

Scientist (@Mick): The most common example of pins and needles is when you fall asleep on an arm or have been sitting on your leg… When you move off your arm or leg all of the salts that were building up and being blocked can now flood back down the [nerve] cable. This gives you the hypersensitive feeling of someone stabbing you with little needles.

Student (@louiepop): How long would it take for us to find out why we are here on Earth? (if there is a reason))

Scientist (@Dave): Interesting question. I think each individual needs to answer that for themselves – to find their own purpose in life. What do you think life is all about louie?

Student (@louiepop): Living and making the most of it as they say YOLO (You Only Live Once)

Thanks to DMITRE SA and Waite Research Institute for making our August event possible. Our next I’m a Scientist, Get me out of Here! in Australia is scheduled for May 26^th – June 6^th 2014. We are now accepting registrations of interest from teachers and scientists for the May 2014 event. Here is to another awesome event!