Podcasts by Unexpected Elements

Boring science from 2023-12-07T10:00

After 41 Indian miners were happily rescued last week, Unexpected Elements takes a look at how our futures might lie below the surface.

As climate change suggests more of our infrastructur...

Meetings with intelligent worms from 2023-11-30T10:00

This week on the show that brings you the science behind the news, inspired by COP28, we’re talking about meetings. Honestly, it’s way more interesting than it sounds.

Come to hear about ...

All about cricket(s) from 2023-11-23T10:00

The cricket world cup has us looking at the science of spitting on cricket balls, particle accelerators, and insect sound engineers.

Also on the program, how AI is breaking into e-commerce...

Why we need to talk toilets from 2023-11-16T07:00

To mark UN World Toilet Day on 19 Nov, Alex Lathbridge discusses all things toilet related with Andrada Fiscutean and Tristan Ahtone, as they attempt to lift the lid on our collective taboo of d...

Working 70 hours a week from 2023-11-09T10:00

This week on the show with the science behind the news, we’re looking at a story that has sparked a debate in India about a 70-hour work week.

In an interview, the billionaire NR Narayana ...

Scary science from 2023-11-02T10:00

In the week where many celebrated Halloween we are wondering about that tingle down your spine, the dryness in your mouth, the racing pulse - might it actually be good for you?

We also lo...

Fashion to dye for from 2023-10-26T06:00

Lagos Fashion Week makes some unexpected connections to vegan wool, 1920s car marketing, and Right to Repair legislation. If we consider our obsession with the clothes we wear to be some result ...

Putting Madonna to the test from 2023-10-19T06:00

According to the pop icon Madonna, music makes the people come together. But can we prove that using science?

As Madonna embarks on her greatest hits world tour, the Unexpected Elements te...

How bedbugs took over the world from 2023-10-12T06:00

How did bedbugs become a global concern? We examine why their unconventional reproduction methods are so successful, how bedbugs and humans even crossed paths in the first place and what public ...

Complete shutdown from 2023-10-05T06:00

How would it feel wake up years later? After the US narrowly avoided a government shutdown, we look at how complicated systems - such as living things - can just press pause.

Could humans ...

How inflation affects the entire cosmos from 2023-09-28T06:00

This week on the show that brings you the science behind the news, there are lots of stories about inflation in economies across the world. When inflation happens your money doesn’t go as far, s...

Can technology read our mind? from 2023-09-21T06:00

How does our brain process language? We speak to an expert who is using technology to turn narrative thoughts into text. Also on the show, what is happening in our brains when we switch language...

Forgetful fish, telescopic worms and bad air days from 2023-09-14T06:00

In a week where global heat records have melted, we find out how that can make fish life-threateningly stupid. We also dive a little deeper to find the part of the ocean where a little heat prov...

Zombies, cows and coups from 2023-09-07T06:00

Following recent coups in Niger and Gabon, and with seven African coups in the last three years, some political commentators are suggesting that there might be an epidemic of coups. But are coup...

Protecting the Moon from 2023-08-31T06:00

India's successful moon landing has the Unexpected Elements team engaging in some serious lunacy. We look at where the moon even came from, how it helps us navigate, and whether it has a cultura...

The man who couldn’t lie from 2023-08-24T06:00

This week, we start off by digging into conspiracy theories. What’s behind their enduring allure? And have they always been around? Marnie and the panel investigate.

Many conspiracy theor...

Corrupted thinking and cancerous co-option from 2023-08-17T06:00

The conversation this week starts off on corruption. There are allegations of political or corporate malfeasance in the news regularly throughout the world. But can science bring anything to the...

Some of our universe is missing from 2023-08-10T06:00

This week on the show that looks for the science behind the news, Marnie Chesterton investigates mystery after mystery. Where is Yevegeny Prigozhin, the leader of the Wagner Group, and could sci...

The World Cup and hallucinogenic bananas from 2023-08-03T06:00

The World Cup has us looking at why women get more ACL injuries, how to avoid cracking under pressure, and why some animals play dead.

Also on the program we consider the pros and cons of...

Password1234#Invisibility&Moonshot from 2023-07-27T06:01

As Netflix cracks down on password sharing around the world - something it once encouraged - we wondered why people like to share passwords to other things, such as phones, email accounts and lo...

Barbie in Space from 2023-07-20T06:00

Unexpected Elements looks for the science behind the news, and this week the news is glittery and pink with the release of the Barbie movie.

The movie has very pink aesthetic, so we get ph...

Nato and the left-handed universe from 2023-07-13T06:00

As Nato meets, we look at what science says about consensus decision-making, whether the universe is left-handed, and what chemistry can tell us about our ancient past.

Also, we examine wi...

Unexpected elements on the sea bed from 2023-07-06T06:00

This week time is up for the UN to come up with rules about how to mine the ocean bed. We hear about the mysterious potato shaped objects on the sea floor that contain lots of valuable minerals ...

Predictions from the sky and murderous fish from 2023-06-29T10:00

Muslims around the world are celebrating Eid, but how to pick a date for your festivities?

The Islamic calendar says look to the moon, but haven’t we always chosen to order life on earth ...

Hayfever, paleobotany and snot palaces from 2023-06-22T10:06

A look at some unexpected elements of congestion: Why does pollen make so many of us wheezy, and sneezy? What can it tell us about the distant past? Plus, we take a look at what we can learn fro...

Wildfires and wild animals from 2023-06-15T06:00

The show that brings you the science behind the news, with Marnie Chesterton and an inter-continental team.

This week we take the headlines of the wildfires in North America, pull out the ...

Collapsing pensions and civilisations from 2023-06-08T06:00

As French citizens protest against the raising of the state pension age, we look at the figures – are we really living longer? And if so, why? We take notes from the naked mole rat - it’s born l...

Migrate ideas from 2023-06-01T06:00

Human migration is in the headlines again – India and Australia have announced a new migration deal, in the US a Covid-inspired policy that allowed migrants to be quickly expelled has come to an...

Signals, seaweed and space from 2023-05-25T06:00

On the anniversary of the first telegraph being sent, the team discover how the telegraph was used as a colonial tool in Ghana, and how an eccentric Brazilian emperor helped spark a communicatio...

Co-operation and cohesion from 2023-05-18T14:29

After the elections in Thailand and Turkey, we explore the forces that shape how you decide to vote. Clue: a lot of it comes down to us being social animals. We getting stuck into various stick...

Coronation exploration from 2023-05-11T10:32

Unexpected Elements is all about finding surprising stories and nuggets of science in everyday news. Each week we start by taking a news story that’s floating around and use that as a launchpad ...

Return of Cyclone Freddy from 2023-03-19T16:00

34 days after it first formed at the far end of the Indian Ocean, record-breaking Cyclone Freddy made a repeat landfall on Mozambique as well as passing over Malawi, causing extensive damage and...

Human genome editing: Promise and Peril from 2023-03-12T16:00

We meet experts at the Human Genome Editing Summit in London, seeking to cure genetic disease and ensure that it is safe and available to all.

Roland Pease hears from Victoria Gray, the fi...

Drought worsens in East Africa from 2023-03-05T16:00

The long rains of East Africa are forecast to fail again, for the third year running, precipitating a food crisis affecting millions. Science In Action explores the science of the drought, hears...

Animals at the Wuhan Market from 2023-02-26T16:00

DNA has revealed potential animal COVID carriers at the Wuhan market, but what does that tell us about the start of the pandemic? Roland talks to two of the experts behind the new analysis: Dr F...

Cyclone Freddy batters Madagascar from 2023-02-26T16:00

Cyclone Freddy has made landfall on Madagascar, leaving destruction in its wake. At the time this edition of Science In Action is going to air, Freddy is on course to reach Mozambique and South ...

CRISPR&bioethics from 2023-02-19T16:00

In the decade since the genome editing capabilities of CRISPR-Cas9 emerged, research into novel medicines has boomed – but alongside progress comes new ethical considerations. Controversy erupte...

Turkey-Syria earthquake from 2023-02-11T23:59

In the early hours of Monday, a powerful earthquake hit Kahramanmaras in Turkey. Nine hours later another struck. When this edition of Science in Action first aired, 19,000 people were reported ...

Science on ice from 2023-02-05T16:00

Pull on an extra layer and stay toasty whilst Science in Action braces for a deep freeze. Whilst we know plenty about the ice on the Earth’s poles, Roland is on a chilling journey to see what ca...

Bird flu (H5N1) outbreak in mink from 2023-01-29T16:00

An outbreak of pathogenic bird flu, H5N1, in a Spanish mink farm could be a cause for concern. Some experts fear the virus may now spill over to other mammals without strict surveillance. Marion...

Climate science activism from 2023-01-22T16:00

Climate researcher, Rose Abramoff took to the stage at the American Geophysical Union (AGU) fall meetings, not as a guest speaker but in protest. Whilst her demonstration only lasted 15 seconds,...

Atmospheric rivers from 2023-01-15T16:00

Flood warnings in parts of California have seen some of the state’s best known celebrities flee their homes. The current weather conditions are in part the result of ‘Atmospheric rivers’ – liter...

One year on from the Tonga eruption from 2023-01-08T16:00

We’re taking a look back at the January 2022 eruption of Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai, which literally sent shockwaves around the world. One year on, and we’re still uncovering what made the volcan...

The James Webb Space Telescope - the first 6 months from 2023-01-01T16:00

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has produced amazing images in its first 5 months, but amazing science as well. Roland hears from one of the leading astronomers on the JWST programme, Dr Heidi...

Mosquito pesticide failing from 2022-12-25T16:00

Mosquito pesticide failing - prevention of dengue fever and other diseases at risk.

Dangerous bird flu evolving fast - researchers are learning why bird flu is persisting and spreading fa...

Fusion milestone from 2022-12-18T16:00

Fusion milestone - the science behind the headlines. Laser fusion expert Kate Lancaster walks us through the technology that produced energy gain at the US's National Ignition Facility NIF

Ancient warmth in Greenland from 2022-12-11T16:00

Two-million-year-old molecular fossils reveal flourishing woodlands and widespread animals in Greenland's pre-Ice-Age past, and give hints to the Arctic’s future under global warming. We hear fr...

COVID spreads in China from 2022-12-04T16:00

Hong Kong health expert Professor Malik Peiris relates the lessons from the devastation there earlier this year.

UK virologist Dr Tom Peacock reveals the unusual origins and evolution of ...

A distant planet’s atmosphere from 2022-11-27T16:00

A distant planet's atmosphere - NASA's JWST space telescope has unpicked the chemical contents and state of the atmosphere of planet WASP-39b 700 light years away. Astronomer Hannah Wakeford exp...

Online harassment of Covid scientists from 2022-11-20T16:00

Since the Covid-19 pandemic began, scientists studying the virus have become targets of online harassment, and more recently, death threats. Roland speaks to Dr Angela Rasmussen, virologist at t...

Neurons that restore walking in paralysed patients from 2022-11-13T16:00

Researchers have identified which neurons, when electrically stimulated, can restore the ability to walk in paralysed patients. Professor Jocelyne Bloch, Associate Professor at the Université de...

What peat can tell us about our future from 2022-11-06T00:00

The Congo Basin is home to the world’s largest peatland. Simon Lewis, Professor of Global Change Science at UCL and the University of Leeds, tells Roland how peatlands all around the world are s...

Seismic events on Mars from 2022-10-30T16:00

The latest observations from Nasa’s InSight Mars Lander and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) have revealed new information on Mars’ interior structure. Dr Anna Horleston, Senior Research Associ...

The most powerful explosion ever recorded from 2022-10-23T15:00

It’s been an unusual week for astronomers, with telescopes swivelled off course to observe GRB221009A, the brightest gamma ray burst ever recorded. Gamma ray bursts aren’t unusual, the by-produc...

Inserting human neurons into the brains of rats from 2022-10-16T15:00

Sergiu Pasca, Professor of Psychiatry at Stanford University has left the petri dish in the drawer and grown human neurons inside the brains of juvenile rats. Successful connectivity and brain f...

Nobel Prize 2022: The science behind the winners from 2022-10-09T15:00

For the scientific community, the Nobel Prize announcements are an important part of the yearly science calendar. The award is one of the most widely celebrated and gives us a moment to reflect ...

The final moments of DART from 2022-10-01T23:30

NASA’s latest mission, DART hit the headlines this week after the space agency’s satellite successfully collided with a far off asteroid. The mission acts as a demonstration of Earth’s first pla...

Should we mine the deep sea? from 2022-09-24T23:30

The first license of its kind has been granted for deep-sea mining. It will be used to run early tests to see whether the seabed could be good place to harvest rare earth materials in the future...

Science and the causes behind Pakistan’s floods from 2022-09-18T15:00

A new report by the World Weather Attribution consortium demonstrates the impact of global warming on flooding in Pakistan. The consortium are helping to assess the link between humanitarian dis...

The genetics of human intelligence from 2022-09-11T03:00

Early humans and Neanderthals had similar-sized brains but around 6 million years ago something happened that gave us the intellectual edge. The answer may lie in a tiny mutation in a single gen...

The China Heatwave and the New Normal from 2022-09-04T15:00

Hot on the tail of China’s heatwave comes the other side of the extreme coin – tragic flooding. Also, a coming global shortage of sulfur, while scientists produce useful oxygen on Mars in the MO...

Surprises from a Martian Lake Bed from 2022-08-28T15:00

The Jezero Crater on Mars was targeted by Nasa’s Perseverence rover because from orbit, there was strong evidence it had at some point contained a lake. When the Mars 2020 mission landed, it did...

Deadly drought from 2022-08-20T23:06

East Africa has endured more than two years on continuous drought. The latest predictions suggest the drought is not likely to end any time soon. We look at why climate change and weather patter...

Icelandic volcano erupts again from 2022-08-14T15:00

We talk to volcano scientist Ed Marshall in Iceland about working at the volcano which has burst into life spectacularly again after a year of quiet.

Also in the programme, we'll be fol...

Synthetic mouse embryos with brains and hearts from 2022-08-07T15:00

This week two research groups announced that they have made synthetic mouse embryos that developed brains and beating hearts in the test tube, starting only with embryonic stem cells. No sperm ...

The first galaxies at the universe's dawn from 2022-07-30T23:06

In the last week, teams of astronomers have rushed to report ever deeper views of the universe thanks to the James Webb Space Telescope. These are galaxies of stars more than 13.5 billion light ...

Heat waves in the Northern Hemisphere from 2022-07-23T23:06

The extreme heat wave in western Europe over the last couple of weeks is just one of many in the Northern Hemisphere in 2022. How is global warming changing the atmosphere to make heat waves mor...

First images from the James Webb Space Telescope from 2022-07-16T23:06

Roland Pease talks to two astronomers who began working on the James Webb Space Telescope more than two decades ago and have now seen the first spectacular results of their labours. Marcia Rieke...

Long Covid ‘brain fog’ from 2022-07-11T09:11

Following a bout of Covid-19, a significant number of people suffer with weeks or months of 'brain fog' - poor concentration, forgetfulness, and confusion. This is one of the manifestations of...

Extreme heat death risk in Latin America from 2022-07-03T15:00

Audio for this episode was updated on 8th July.

A new analysis of deaths in cities across Latin America suggests rising global temperatures could lead to large numbers of deaths in the reg...

Monster microbe from 2022-06-26T15:00

Researchers have discovered a species of bacteria which dwarfs all others by thousands of times. Normally you need a microscope to see single-celled bacteria, but Thiomargarita magnifica is the...

Thirty years after the Earth Summit from 2022-06-19T00:06

Thirty years ago, world leaders met at the United Nations Earth Summit in Rio and appeared to commit to action to tackle two of the world's greatest environmental threats. The Earth Summit launc...

Body scan reveals HIV's hideouts from 2022-06-11T23:06

Researchers have developed a medical imaging technique which reveals where in the body HIV lies hidden, even when people have their infection well controlled by antiviral drugs. The team at the ...

Should we worry about the latest Omicron subvariants? from 2022-06-04T23:00

Should we worry about the most recent Omicron subvariants, BA 4 and BA5? They are the subtypes of the Covid-19 virus now dominant in southern Africa and spreading elsewhere. New research sugge...

Heat death by volcano and other stories from 2022-05-29T00:06

This week Science in Action comes from a vast gathering of earth scientists in Vienna, at the general assembly of the European Geosciences Union.

Roland Pease hears the latest insights i...

Death in the rainforest from 2022-05-21T23:01

Tree mortality in tropical moist forests in Australia has been increasing since the mid 1980s. The death rate of trees appears to have doubled over that time period. According to an internati...

Portrait of the monster black hole at our galaxy’s heart from 2022-05-15T00:06

The heaviest thing in the Galaxy has now been imaged by the biggest telescope on Earth. This is Sagittarius A*, the supermassive black hole at the centre of our Galaxy – a gas and star-consuming...

Mekong Delta will sink beneath the sea by 2100 from 2022-05-08T00:06

The Mekong Delta is home to 17 million people and is Vietnam’s most productive agricultural region. An international group of scientists warn this week that almost all of the low lying delta wil...

The Indian subcontinent’s record-breaking heatwave from 2022-05-01T00:06

Deadly heat has been building over the Indian sub-continent for weeks and this week reached crisis levels. India experienced its hottest March on record and temperatures over 40 degrees Celsius ...

Climate techno-fix would worsen global malaria burden from 2022-04-24T00:06

As a series of UN climate reports have warned recently, drastic reductions in greenhouse gas emissions – a halving over the next decade – are needed if we are to keep global warming down to mana...

How ‘magic mushroom’ chemical treats depression from 2022-04-17T15:00

Brain scanning experiments reveal how psilocybin works to relieve severe depression. Psilocybin is the psychedelic substance in 'magic mushrooms'. The psychoactive chemical is currently in cl...

Tsunami detective in Tonga from 2022-04-10T15:00

Just over two months ago, the undersea volcano of Hunga Tonga erupted catastrophically, generating huge tsunamis and covering the islands of Tonga in ash. University of Auckland geologist Shane ...

Radioactive Red Forest from 2022-04-03T15:21

Russian forces in the forested exclusion zone around the Chernobyl nuclear site may be receiving potentially dangerous levels of radiation. After the nuclear accident trees were felled and radio...

Covid in the sewers from 2022-03-20T16:00

Analysis of wastewater from sewage systems has provided an early warning system for the presence of Covid19 in communities – showing up in the water samples before people test positive. It’s als...

Why are Covid19 cases rising in Hong Kong? from 2022-03-13T16:00

Hong Kong had been very successful at preventing the spread of Coivd19. Testing and isolation measures were very effective. However, vaccine uptake was low amongst elderly people and that says v...

Covid -19 origins from 2022-03-06T01:06

Wuhan's Huanan Seafood Market is associated with many of the first cases or Covid- 19, but data on precisely how and from where the virus might have first spread has been difficult to find. Howe...

Reforming the 'China Initiative' from 2022-02-27T16:00

A scheme in the US designed to prevent industrial espionage and the theft of intellectual property, is to be refocused after it was accused of unfairly targeting Chinese American scientists. We ...

Bone repair from Covid-19 vaccine technology from 2022-02-20T16:00

Messenger RNA-based vaccines have been used successfully to kick start the antibody production needed to fight Covid-19. Now the technology has been successfully used to encourage the growth of ...

Inside Wuhan's coronavirus lab from 2022-02-13T16:00

The Wuhan Institute of Virology has been at the centre of a controversy surrounding the origins of the virus which caused the Covid-19 pandemic. The work of the lab's previously obscure division...

Identifying a more infectious HIV variant from 2022-02-06T16:00

We’re 40 years into the AIDS pandemic, and even with massive public health campaigns, still, 1 ½ million become infected with HIV each year; about half that number die of its ravages. And a stu...

The roots of Long Covid from 2022-01-30T16:00

There are now a number of biological indicators for the potential development of long covid. Immunologist Onur Boyman of Zurich University Hospital and Claire Steves, Clinical Senior Lecturer at...

Tonga eruption – how it happened from 2022-01-23T16:00

The effects of the Tonga eruption could be felt around the world, many heard the boom of a sonic shock, and tsunami waves travelled far and wide. Volcanologist Shane Cronin from the University o...

Have we got it wrong on Omicron? from 2022-01-16T16:00

Studies using swabs from coronavirus patients seem to contradict earlier findings from cell cultures which showed Omicon replicated faster than earlier variants. As Benjamin Meyer from the centr...

CORBEVAX – A vaccine for the world? from 2022-01-09T16:00

Now being produced in India CORBEVAX is grown in yeast in a similar way to several other widely available vaccines. The technology used to make it is far simpler and much more readily available ...

Omicron – mild or monster? from 2021-12-26T16:00

Studies from South Africa and the UK suggest Omicron may be a mild infection for the majority of people. Hospital admissions are down when compared with other variants. However, the virus is rep...

Omicron’s rapid replication rate from 2021-12-19T00:06

A study from Hong Kong university shows Omicron replicates 70 times faster than two earlier variants of the SARS-Cov-2 virus. Virologist Malik Peiris, explains how tests using cells from the win...

Can the weather trigger a volcano? from 2021-12-12T16:00

Which came first the volcano or the rain? Volcanic eruptions are known to influence global climate systems, even leading to the cooling of the planet. However local weather conditions can also i...

Omicron, racism and trust from 2021-12-05T01:06

South Africa announced their discovery of the Omicron variant to the world as quickly as they could. The response from many nations was panic and the closure of transport links with southern Afr...

Deliberately doomed dart from 2021-11-28T01:06

d dart Science in Action

DART is a space mission designed to hit a distant asteroid and knock it slightly out of orbit. It’s a test mission, a pilot project for a way of potentially protec...

The end for coal power? from 2021-11-21T01:06

The political message from the COP meeting was a fudge over coal, but what does the science say? Surprisingly India seems to be on track to switch away from coal to renewables. We explore the ap...

Bambi got Covid from 2021-11-14T01:00

Up to 8 percent of deer sampled in studies in the US were found to be infected with the SARS-Cov-2 Virus. Suresh Kuchipudi from the Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences at Penn State...

Jet fuel from thin air from 2021-11-07T01:00

Scientists in Switzerland have developed a system which uses solar energy to extract gases such as hydrogen and carbon dioxide from the air and turns them into fuels for transport. So far they h...

Can we still avoid climate catastrophe? from 2021-10-31T02:00

Just a few days before COP26 opens in Glasgow, the World Meteorological Organisation reported record greenhouse gas levels, despite a fall in CO2 due to pandemic restrictions.

The UN Envi...

Red blood cells’ surprising immune function from 2021-10-24T00:06

We’ve talked a huge amount the past 18 months, for obvious reasons, about the way that white blood cells protect us from infection. But red blood cells – it’s probably among the earliest things ...

Wetlands under attack from 2021-10-15T15:00

Since its introduction four decades ago, Spartina alterniflora, a salt-water cordgrass from the USA, has been spreading along China’s coasts.

Today, it covers nearly half of the country’s...

Youngest rock samples from the moon from 2021-10-10T15:00

n December 2020, China's Chang'e-5 mission returned to earth carrying rock samples collected from the moon – the first lunar samples to be collected since the American Apollo and Luna missions t...

Drug resistant malaria found in East Africa from 2021-10-03T00:06

Since their discovery in the 1970s, artemisinin-based drugs have become the mainstay of treatment for malaria caused by the Plasmodium falciparum parasite. Researchers have identified artemisini...

New evidence for SARS-CoV-2’s origin in bats from 2021-09-26T15:00

Researchers studying bats in Northern Laos have found evidence that brings us closer than ever to understanding the origin of Covid-19. Since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic scientists...

Ebola can remain dormant for five years from 2021-09-19T15:00

An international team of researchers has discovered that an outbreak of Ebola in Guinea in February this year was the result of re-activated Ebola virus in someone who’d been infected at least f...

Keep most fossil fuel in ground to meet 1.5 degree goal from 2021-09-12T15:00

For the world to have a decent chance of limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees, 90 per cent of remaining coal reserves and 60% of unexploited oil and gas have to stay in the ground. Th...

Hurricane season intensifies from 2021-09-04T23:06

When hurricane Ida struck the coast of Louisiana last weekend, almost to the day that Katrina did 16 years ago, comparisons between the two events were soon to follow. As the latest storm continues...

World’s first DNA Covid-Vaccine from 2021-08-28T23:06

Indian authorities have approved the world’s first DNA-based Covid vaccine for emergency use. Not all the data that has led to the opening of the phase 3 trials is yet publicly available, but as pu...

Seismic citizen science in Hispaniola from 2021-08-21T23:06

The epicentre of the tragic earthquake in Haiti last week was just 100km from that of the even more deadly 2010 one. Unlike then, a network of small cheap seismic detectors run by volunteers is cur...

Methane - a climate solution? from 2021-08-15T00:00

The latest IPCC assessment raised alarm about the rate at which manmade emissions are contributing to climate change. Much of the focus for action is on reducing levels of carbon dioxide, howeve...

Record-shattering weather from 2021-08-08T15:00

July 2021 saw temperatures in the western US and Canada smash previous records by 5 degrees. And that’s what we should expect, according to a study prepared much earlier but published, coinciden...

The earliest traces of animal life on earth from 2021-07-31T23:06

Do rocks found in Canada show animal life 350 million years older than any found before? And, delving to the core of Mars, the guts of cats, and into the life of Steven Weinberg.

Prof Eli...

Your molecular machinery, now in 3D from 2021-07-24T23:06

Back in November it was announced that an AI company called DeepMind had near enough cracked the problem of protein folding - that is they had managed to successfully predict the 3D structures of c...

Science when the funding dries up from 2021-07-17T23:06

This week the UK parliament voted to accept the Government’s continued cap on Official Development Aid. This disappointed many researchers around the world, funded directly and indirectly through v...

Human induced climate change heats up fast from 2021-07-10T23:06

Scientists say the record-breaking Pacific North-West heatwave of recent weeks must have been caused by human induced climate change, but as Geert Jan van Oldenborgh explains to Roland Pease, despi...

Insects in incredible detail from 2021-07-04T15:00

The Natural History Museum in London holds a massive collection of insects. It asked researchers at the Diamond light source, a facility near Oxford, to develop a high throughput X-ray microscop...

Tales of unexpected DNA data from 2021-06-26T22:06

This week Jesse Bloom of Seattle’s Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research has published an account of some DNA sequence data he located in an internet archive, despite it having been removed from the US N...

Evolving viral variant trickery from 2021-06-12T19:00

Dr. Clare Jolly and colleagues have been looking at how the first of the major covid variants – alpha - evolved to be more transmissible. Whilst a lot of attention has been on the spike binding are...

Doubling Earth’s Energy Imbalance from 2021-06-11T23:06

On Science in Action this week Nasa scientists have observed that the Earth’s Energy Imbalance has doubled in just 15 years. As greenhouse gas atmospheric concentrations have risen, so too has the ...

Zoonotic hotspots and where to find them from 2021-06-05T00:05

Researchers map where the riskiest areas are for viruses to jump from bats into humans. Also, synthetic bacteria with unnatural DNA, and the origin of the humble watermelon.

David Hayman o...

Nyiragongo Eruption from 2021-05-29T23:05

The latest Nyiragongo eruption was not entirely unexpected, the volcano’s lava lake inside the crater had been building up for years. Local volcanologists say it was only a matter of time befor...

Robot revolution from 2021-05-23T15:00

A brain-computer interface allows a severely paralysed patient not only to move and use a robotic arm, but also to feel the sensations as the mechanical hand clasps objects . We hear from Jennif...

Covid and clean air from 2021-05-16T15:00

We wouldn’t drink dirty water so why do we put up with polluted air? Researchers are calling for a major rethink on our attitude to air quality. Professor Lidia Morawska, from the Queensland Uni...

Africa’s oldest burial from 2021-05-09T15:00

Analysis of the 78,0000-year-old fossil of a Kenyan boy reveals he was likely buried with care and attention, the body wrapped and laid to rest supported on a pillow. Maria Martinon-Torres, of t...

Melting glaciers, warming coffee and a Dragonfly on Titan from 2021-05-01T22:59

When Apollo 11 astronaut Michael Collins – who passed away this week – looked down on the earth from lunar orbit during those days in 1969, he saw more ice and a smaller liquid ocean than you would...

Exponential increase in Indian covid cases from 2021-04-24T23:06

As Covid cases surge almost beyond belief in India, how much is to do with social distancing, and how much to do with the mutations to the original virus?

Ramanan Laxminarayan talks to Rol...

Rolling out the vaccines faster from 2021-04-17T23:06

Two weeks ago several G7 leaders called for an international treaty on Pandemic Preparedness for the future. This week 175 prominent leaders called for lifting the IP on vaccine design. And former ...

On the trail of rare blood clots from 2021-04-11T01:06

On Wednesday the EU’s EMA and UK’s JCVI announced a suspected correlation between vaccination and an extremely rare type of blood clot. Prof Sabine Eichinger is a co-author of a new paper suggestin...

Post-Covid outcomes after release from hospital from 2021-04-03T21:06

After last year’s first wave of covid-19 in the UK, individuals who had been discharged after hospitalisation suffered higher rates of coronary and respiratory disorders, and even diabetes subseque...

Science on the side of a new volcano from 2021-03-27T21:30

Sightseers and social media scrollers have flocked to the slopes of Fagradalsfjall, a volcano erupting 40 kilometres west of the Icelandic capital Reykjavik. Having produced less than 1 square kilo...

International science at sea from 2021-03-21T02:00

In the UK thousands of scientists have signed open letters to the UK government protesting cuts to international funding announced this week. Abruptly and severely, the cuts may end hundreds of int...

A shooting star parked on your driveway from 2021-03-14T02:00

Last week a fireball lit up the sky of western England. Locals and professionals scoured the countryside for any surviving precious fragments of meteorite, and thanks to them some bits of the earli...

Uncovering history with Little Foot's skull from 2021-03-07T16:00

One of our most complete ancient ancestor’s fossils has been transported to the UK from South Africa in order to be scanned at the Diamond Light Source. Roland Pease investigates what these scan...

Waste not, want not from 2021-02-28T16:00

Although vaccines will go a long way to reducing the number of cases of Covid, there’s still a need for other approaches. One of these could be an engineered biomolecule, designed by virologists...

Weird weather from 2021-02-21T01:30

A paper in the BMJ shows that deaths from Covid 9 are being massively overlooked in Zambia. The new data come from post-mortem tests at the University Hospital mortuary in Lusaka, showing that a...

Perseverance approaches Mars from 2021-02-14T16:00

On 18th February the Perseverance rover should land on Mars. Katie Stack-Morgan of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab tells Roland Pease about the technological advances that mean that the spacecraft sho...

Mixing Covid vaccines from 2021-02-07T16:00

A new trial is about to start in the UK, seeing if different vaccines can be mixed and matched in a two-dose schedule, and whether the timing matters. Governments want to know the answer as vacc...

New Covid vaccine from 2021-01-31T02:06

Researchers at Imperial College have been working on a strategy that can make RNA vaccines stretch further. Anna Blakely explains how the new approach works and why RNA vaccines are adaptable to a ...

Saving the Northern White Rhino from 2021-01-24T16:00

Northern white rhinos are extinct in the wild and there are just two females in captivity in Kenya. Conservationists are working on an artificial breeding programme, using eggs from the females ...

Gravitational waves and black holes from 2021-01-17T16:00

After collecting data for more than twelve years the North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves (NANOGrav) announced it may have detected new kinds of gravitational waves cause...

New variants of SARS-Cov2 from 2021-01-10T16:00

Mutant strains of SARS-Cov2 have been identified not only in the UK, where it was first identified, but also in at least 30 other countries. And to complicate matters, another alarming variant, ...

Coping with Covid from 2021-01-03T16:00

This has been an incredible year for scientific advance and collaboration, epitomised by the roll out of vaccines that didn’t exist a year ago, against a virus that no one had ever heard of . Listen

2021 the year of variants from 2021-01-02T16:00

In our first programme of the year, we gathered a group of scientific experts directly involved in analysing the structure and impact of the SARS- Cov-2 coronavirus. There were concerns over th...

A year with Covid -19 from 2020-12-27T16:00

It was the end of December 2019 when reports of a new flu like infection first came out of China. Within weeks millions of people were in lockdown as the virus took hold around the world.

...

Covid -19 – Mutations are normal from 2020-12-20T16:00

This week the UK Health secretary raised concerns over a new variant of SARS- CoV-2 currently spreading across Europe. Viruses mutate all the time so it’s no surprise that a new form of the one ...

The unchecked spread of Covid-19 in Manaus from 2020-12-13T16:00

Pictures of coffins and mass graves seen by satellites showed that Manaus has been badly affected by Covid- 19. Now analysis of blood samples shows the extent to which the virus took hold in the...

Freak weather getting even freakier from 2020-12-08T16:02

This year’s Atlantic hurricane season has seen a new record for severe storms says Climatologist Michael Mann. He says warming oceans are one of the drivers.

And Australia has seen spring ...

Vaccines – the Covid confusion from 2020-11-29T16:00

While developing new treatments drug companies usually release little useful information on how the clinical trials are progressing. However with the world’s attention on potential vaccines agai...

Covid- 19 – Good news on immunity from 2020-11-22T16:00

Tests on patients for up to 8 months following their infection with SARS- CoV-2 suggests an immune response can persist. Alessandro Sette and Daniela Weiskopf at the La Jolla Institute in Califo...

Covid-19 defeats US Marines from 2020-11-15T16:00

The WHO is working with China to try and pinpoint the source of SARS- COV-2. Sian Griffiths, Emeritus Professor of Public Health at the Chinese University of Hong Kong says there are lessons we ...

Coronavirus spreads from mink to humans from 2020-11-08T16:00

All the farmed mink in Denmark are to be killed. Around 17 million. This is because they have SARS COV-2 coronavirus circulating among them and some humans have contracted a new strain from the ...

Osiris Rex stows asteroid material from 2020-11-01T16:00

Last week NASA’s Osiris-Rex mission successfully touched down on asteroid Bennu’s crumbly surface. But the spacecraft collected so much material that the canister wouldn’t close. NASA systems en...

Nasa probe Osiris Rex lands on asteroid from 2020-10-25T16:00

Science in Action talks to Nasa researcher Hannah Kaplan who is part of the team for the space agency’s sampling mission to the asteroid Bennu. Mission scientists were overjoyed this week when t...

Covid -19 mortality from 2020-10-18T15:00

Why is there such a range in the number of deaths from Covid -19 between countries? A study of the data across 21 industrialised countries reveals a wide discrepancy. Preparedness and the point ...

Do Covid–19 mutations matter? from 2020-10-11T15:00

Data from clinical investigations has suggested that a specific mutation in the SARS-Cov -2 virus has made it more transmissible. This finding is now supported by molecular biology work. Ralph B...

Are children the biggest Covid-19 spreaders? from 2020-10-04T15:00

An analysis of Covid-19 data from South India shows children more than any other group are transmitting the virus both to other children and adults, Epidemiologist Ramanan Laxminarayan tell us t...

Why Covid -19 vaccines may not stop transmission from 2020-09-27T15:00

While vaccines against Covid -19 are being developed at unprecedented speed, none of them have been tested to see if they can actually stop transmission of the virus. They are designed to stop t...

Malaria resistance breakthrough from 2020-09-20T15:00

Some East Africans have a genetic mutation which gives them resistance to Malaria. Investigations into how it works have produced a surprising finding. As researcher Silvia Kariuki explains it’s...

Covid -19 science versus politics from 2020-09-13T15:00

With the announcement in the UK of investment in rapid testing for people who may not have Covid -19 we ask why is this only happening now? For months on this programme we’ve featured scientific...

Nyiragongo - is Goma under threat? from 2020-09-06T00:00

A new survey of the volcano's activity suggests there may be an eruption in the next 4 to 7 years. It's a particular concern for the populations of Goma and Gisenyi, two cites between the volcan...

Covid-19 Therapy Controversy from 2020-08-29T23:30

This week Science in Action examines the evidence around the Trump Administration’s emergency use authorisation of convalescent plasma therapy for the treatment of Covid-19. Donald Trump descri...

Trouble in Greenland from 2020-08-23T15:00

Has the loss from Greenland’s vast ice sheet reached a tipping point? According to glaciologist Michalea King, the rate at which its ice flows into the sea stepped up about 15 years ago. The pro...

Putin’s Covid-19 vaccine from 2020-08-16T15:00

Russia’s President Putin announced the registration of a vaccine for coronavirus. This was reported with widespread alarm amid concerns over safety, but as BBC Russian Service’s Sergei Goryashko...

Counting the heat health threat from climate change from 2020-08-09T15:00

If the world does not curb its greenhouse gas emissions, by the end of this century, the number of people dying annually because of extreme heat will be greater than the current global death tol...

NASA rover heads for Mars ancient lake from 2020-08-02T15:00

NASA launches its new robotic mission to Mars. The rover, Perseverance, will land in a 50 kilometre wide crater which looks like it was filled by a lake about 4 billion years ago - the time whe...

Making a Covid-19 vaccine for two billion people from 2020-07-26T15:00

There's been encouraging news about the Oxford Covid-19 vaccine this week from a trial involving about 1,000 people. But how great is the challenge in scaling up from making a few thousand doses...

How long do Covid-19 antibodies last? from 2020-07-18T23:10

Science in Action looks at some of the latest research on how response of our immune system to infection by the coronavirus. Researchers at Kings College London find that protective antibodies...

Rwanda’s game changing coronavirus test from 2020-07-11T23:06

African scientists have developed a reliable, quick and cheap testing method which could be used by worldwide as the basis for mass testing programmes.

The method, which produces highly ac...

Covid-19 and children from 2020-07-05T15:00

Studies in children who have been severely affected by Covid-19 in Italy, Britain and the US are showing the same thing – a range of symptoms linked to an overactive immune system. Elizabeth Whi...

Record high temperatures – in the Arctic from 2020-06-28T15:00

A record summer temperature in Siberia is an indication of major changes in the Arctic climate. Changing weather patterns there have a knock on effect for other parts of the planet says Climatol...

Covid -19 hope for severe cases from 2020-06-21T15:00

A multi arm trial testing a range of drugs has shown that readily available steroids can be lifesaving for people severely ill with Covid-19. Max Parmar, head of the UK Medical Research Council’...

Food security, locusts and Covid -19 from 2020-06-14T15:00

Despite the Covid-19 pandemic efforts to counter massive swarms of locusts across East Africa have continued. In many places this has been very effective, killing up to 90% of locusts. However, ...

The medical complexity of Covid -19 from 2020-06-07T15:00

Autopsies show Covid 19 can affect the brain and other organs. Pathologist Mary Fowkes from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai found the signs of stroke - unusually in young people, as ...

Brazil’s Covid chaos from 2020-05-31T15:00

The number of cases of Covid -19 infections in Brazil and deaths related to the pandemic may be much higher than official figures show. Testing of the living is not widespread and there are few ...

Loosening lockdown from 2020-05-17T15:00

How is Covid -19 spread? Who is most at risk and what are the circumstances under which it is most likely to be transmitted? These questions need answers for the implementation of effective and ...

Covid -19 new hope from blood tests from 2020-05-10T15:00

Research from New York examining the blood of people who have recovered from Covid – 19 shows the majority have produced antibodies against the disease, The researchers hope to soon be able to e...

Ebola drug offers hope for Covid-19 from 2020-05-03T15:00

Remdesivir a drug eventually rejected as a treatment for Ebola seems to have aided recovery in a trial with more than a thousand Covid -19 patients. Researchers are cautious but hopeful; a leadi...

Presidents and pandemics from 2020-04-26T15:00

President Trump has repeated unfounded claims that scientists created Covid-19 in a lab. Rigorous scrutiny of the genetics of the virus reveals no evidence for such a claim.

And Brazil’s ...

Italy, getting Covid 19 under control from 2020-04-19T15:00

Italy is beginning its first tentative steps towards ending its lockdown. These are small steps, opening a few shops in areas where virus transmission has seen big falls. Part of the reason for ...

The impossibility of social distancing and even handwashing in crowded refugee camps from 2020-04-12T15:00

Massively over crowded Moria refugee camp on the Greek island of Lesbos has seen numbers grow from 5 to 20 thousand in a matter of months. Hundreds of people share taps and toilets, there is lit...

Covid 19 – The fightback in Africa begins from 2020-04-05T15:00

Nigeria has seen a small number of Covid -19 cases, largely spread amongst the most affluent, people who travel abroad, However there is concern about the potential of the virus to spread to ove...

The science of social distancing from 2020-03-29T15:00

The strong social distancing policies introduced by China seem to have been successful in stopping the spread of Covid 19. Without any effective drug treatments, reducing our number of contacts ...

Covid -19, are you carrying the virus? from 2020-03-22T16:00

In Italy the entire population of a small town was tested for Covid 19. Of those infected, one in three people with no symptoms had the virus. And from China researchers found many people carrie...

Covid -19 how infectious is it really? from 2020-03-15T16:00

Covid- 19 cases seem to be multiplying daily and there is now a growing body of scientific evidence both on its spread and the effectiveness of measures to try and control it. We look at what’s ...

Australia’s fires - fuelled by climate change from 2020-03-08T16:00

Attributing Australia's bush fires, a major study says man-made climate change was a big driver – making the fires at least 30% worse than they would have been if natural processes were the only...

Tracking coronavirus spread from 2020-03-01T16:00

The appearance of Covid -19 in Italy and Iran surprised many this week. As the virus continues to spread we look at ways to contain it.

Australia’s fires have burnt around 20 percent of th...

Monitoring Covid-19, harvests and space junk from 2020-02-23T15:30

Roland Pease reports from the American Association for the Advancement of Science’s annual meeting in Seattle. At the UK Research and Innovation’s stand in the exhibition hall, he’s joined by th...

CoVid-19: Mapping the outbreak from 2020-02-16T16:16

Researchers at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical medicine have developed an online map which presents the latest information on the spread of CoVid-19 and allows anyone to follow the out...

Coronavirus, prospects for treatment? from 2020-02-09T16:00

Doctors in the US have treated a coronavirus patient with a drug developed for Ebola. That drug had never been tested on people so its use here seems an extreme move. We look at why this kind of...

Understanding the Wuhan coronavirus from 2020-02-02T16:00

Parts of China are on lockdown, a small number of cases have been reported in other countries and the past week has brought widely conflicting views on the potential danger presented by the new ...

Wuhan Coronavirus from 2020-01-26T15:06

The way in which a new virus has emerged in China is reminiscent of SARS, a highly infectious virus that spread rapidly. It’s so similar that Health officials demanded action as soon as its exis...

Mount Taal volcano from 2020-01-19T16:00

An experimental satellite called Aeolus, named after a Greek god of wind, which takes daily global measurements of the wind patterns throughout the depth of atmosphere has improved weather forec...

Australia’s extreme fire season from 2020-01-12T16:00

2019 was Australia’s hottest year on record, a major factor behind the bush fires which have been far worse than usual. We look at the patterns of extreme weather that have contributed to the fi...

Adapting California from 2020-01-05T16:00

Roland Pease is joined by California based science Journalist Molly Bentley as we examine the impact of earthquakes and fires. California has experienced both in the last year - What’s it like t...

Gaming climate change from 2019-12-29T16:00

The latest round of climate negotiations, COP25 have ended without agreement on many fundamental issues. We join researchers from Perdue University in the US who have developed a role playing ga...

Understanding the Anak Krakatau eruption from 2019-12-22T16:00

We have the latest from a year long investigation into the causes of the December 2018 Indonesian Tsunami. And we get a look at the first pictures from the Mayotte undersea volcano, which emerge...

White Island volcano eruption from 2019-12-15T15:00

From the American Geophysical Union in San Francisco, Roland Pease talks with Diana Roman of the Carnegie Institution for Science in Washington DC about the tragic White Island volcanic eruption...

CRISPR babies scandal – more details from 2019-12-08T16:00

Extracts from unpublished papers on the methods used by a Chinese scientist to genetically modify the embryos of two girls reveal a series of potentially dangerous problems with the procedure an...

New Malaria target from 2019-12-02T12:56

Molecular scale investigations have identified the mechanism which confers resistance to antimalarial drugs. Researchers hope work to turn off this mechanism could mean cheaper well known antima...

Politics and Amazonia’s fires from 2019-11-24T16:00

This year’s Amazon fires have been worse than since 2010, scientists blame a government attitude which they say has encouraged deforestation. Government funded scientists have contributed anonym...

Australia burning from 2019-11-17T16:00

Australia’s annual wild fires have started early this year, drought is a factor but to what extent is ‘Bush fire weather’ influenced by climate change?

A two million year old fossil tooth ...

Climate in crisis from 2019-11-10T16:00

Pledges to reduce greenhouse gas emissions are largely unachievable says a major audit of commitments to the Paris Climate Accord. Air pollution in Delhi is so bad, breathing the toxic particles...

Wildfires and winds in California from 2019-11-03T16:00

The Santa Ana in the south, and the Diablo in the north, are winds that are fuelling the terrible fires raging in California this week. They’re also blamed for bringing down power lines that som...

Is quantum supremacy ‘garbage’? from 2019-10-27T16:00

A quantum computer has performed a calculation considered impossible for conventional computers, but how meaningful is the result? As our guest reveals, this quantum state can be hugely signific...

Malaria, origins and a potential new treatment from 2019-10-20T15:00

A variety of malarial parasites have existed amongst the great apes for millennia, we look at how one of them jumped species and why humans became its preferred host. And from Antarctica we hea...

From batteries to distant worlds from 2019-10-13T15:00

Nobel prizes this week went to a range of discoveries that you might be familiar with, in fact you might be using one of them right now – the lithium ion battery. The scientists credited with it...

Global climate inaction from 2019-09-29T15:00

This week’s IPCC report on the state of the world’s climate looks very much like their earlier reports on the subject. The document cautiously expresses a picture of a future with greater climat...

South East Asia choking - again from 2019-09-25T08:42

Staying indoors might seem a good way to avoid air pollution, but scientists studying the fires in Indonesia have found there is little difference between the air quality in their hotel room and...

Embryoids from stem cells from 2019-09-15T15:00

Scientists know very little about the first few days of the life of a human embryo, once it's been implanted in the womb. Yet this is when the majority of pregnancies fail. Professor Magdalena Z...

New evidence of nuclear reactor explosion from 2019-09-07T14:06

An isotopic fingerprint is reported of a nuclear explosion in Russia last month. Researchers ask people living in the area or nearby to send them samples of dust or soil before the radioactive c...

Nanotube computer says hello from 2019-08-31T19:02

A computer processor made of carbon nanotubes is unveiled to the world. Also, the continuing quest for nuclear fusion energy, and the stats on crocodile attacks since the 1960s.

Satellites...

Amazonian fires likely to worsen from 2019-08-24T14:06

As fires across the amazon basin continue to burn, we speak to the researchers watching from space and from the ground. Also, new pictures back from the surface of asteroid Ryugu thanks to Germa...

Cracking the case of the Krakatoa volcano collapse from 2019-08-18T14:00

Scientists this week are on expedition around the volcano Anak Krakatoa, which erupted and collapsed in 2018 leading to the loss of some 400 lives on the island of Java. The scientists, includin...

The birth of a new volcano from 2019-05-26T14:15

A new undersea volcano has appeared off the coast of East Africa. The sea floor between Madagascar and Mozambique has become increasingly seismically active in the last year. As well as the appe...