In this installment of the Blue Streak Science Podcast we have expanded the Science Roundup from three to six topics. It's so much fun talking about the latest science that even the expanded version seems to end way too soon. How can one not like it? We talked about newly discovered antibiotic properties of Tasmanian Devil milk, and wondered aloud about who is the unfortunate person tasked with milking the little devils. A new technique has been developed in Japan to coax mouse stem cells, both embryonic and induced pluripotent, all the way through to oogenesis! More ominous news from Antarctica regarding the instability of unimaginably huge glaciers. And what podcast would be complete without a story about monkeys making knives, right? It's all here, and more! What The Hell Was That? Have a listen to this week's WTHWT! Walruses make some of the most varied sounds of any mammal. Some of the sounds are downright rude! Blue Streak Science News Roundup These are summaries of our discussions on the podcast. For the full conversation please listen to this episode of the Blue Streak Science Podcast. Reconstitution in vitro of the entire cycle of the mouse female germ line For the first time ever, scientists have reprogrammed mouse embryonic stem cells and induced pluripotent stem cells to become fully functional oocytes. This paper was published in the 17 October issue of the journal Nature and describes this technique, the process of oogenesis, and may open an avenue for a similar technique using human embryonic stem cells and induced pluripotent stem cells. Tasmanian devil milk fights superbugs From BBC Health. According to a Sydney University research team, Tasmanian devil milk apparently contains important peptides that appear to be able to kill hard-to-treat infections, including MRSA. It’s believed the devils evolved this cocktail to help their young grow stronger. In this post-antibiotic era the scientists are looking to make new treatments that mimic the peptides. They’ve scanned the devils' genetic code to find and recreate the infection-fighting compounds, called cathelicidins. West Antarctica glacier unstable From the Washington Post. There was an article that talks about a moment in history, 2014, when when two separate research papers said there was reason to think a frozen sector of West Antarctica, called the Amundsen Sea region, may have been destabilized. Hurricane Matthew exposes civil war cannonballs From LiveScience.com. A day after Hurricane Matthew lashed the South Carolina coast with tidal surge, torrential rain, and high winds a resident walking along the east end of Folly Island found a pile of 16 corroded cannonballs resting on the sand. ExoMars Schiaparelli lander likely lost Regarding the ExoMars mission landing vehicle, named Schiaparelli. Well, we have some good news and some bad news. ExoMars Schiaparelli Lander First the good news, it hit near the target zone! The bad news, it hit the target zone like it was shot out of a cannon! There is actually some good news for real. From Scientific American, The ExoMars 2016 mission is in business despite the apparent failure of its lander to touch down softly on the Red Planet. The lander seems to have deployed its parachute too early and fired its thrusters for an insufficient amount of time as it streaked through the Martian atmosphere like a bat out of hell. But in spite of the loss of the lander the the Trace Gas Orbiter is gearing up for spectacular science at Mars. Monkeys making stone knives Another one from Scientific American, monkeys with knives! Picture this. A monkey picks up a potato-sized rock in his little hands, raises it above his head and smashes it down with all his might on another stone embedded in the ground. As the monkey bashes away flakes fly off the rock he is wielding. They’re sharp enough to cut meat or plant material. The monkey does not pay much attention to the flakes, save to place one on the embedded rock