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Every several years, the surface temperatures of the Pacific Ocean rise, triggering a climate event that has a domino effect on weather patterns across the globe. This is known as El Niño – and this year, meteorologists predict we’re in for a big one. But how exactly do these events occur, how big an effect is climate change having on their frequency and impact, and what can we expect to see in…
Though we’re often not aware of it, the ground beneath our feet is teeming with an abundance of life and activity – from the complex networks of fungi and tangled roots put down deep into the Earth by the plants that live on its surface to the staggering variety of organisms that make their homes in the damp and darkness of the soil. This vast, fascinating ecosystem is vital for the health of the…
It’s widely documented that during the time of the Third Reich, the Nazi Party employed a legion of scientists to aid them in their goals of military superiority and ethnic cleansing – particularly in their pursuit of eugenics and development of cruel nerve agents and chemical weapons. It’s far less known that Heinrich Himmler, one of the primary architects of the Holocaust, considered himself to…
Oftentimes in popular culture we’ll hear the term narcissist used to describe a person who has an inflated opinion of themselves, a big ego or someone who tends to overestimate their own abilities. However, in psychology, narcissistic personality disorder is defined as a diagnosable mental health condition that can cause just as many issues for those living with it as it does for those around…
Parkinson’s disease currently affects more than 160,000 people in the UK. It’s a complex, progressive condition that typically develops slowly over many years and causes issues with movement, balance, and quality of life, and currently has no known cure. In this episode, we’re joined by Prof David Dexter, director of research at Parkinson’s UK, to talk about the latest exciting developments in our…
For a large proportion of our lives, our brains seemingly work on autopilot – the many processes the brain controls hum away behind the scenes, helping us to carry out our daily tasks. But in certain scenarios, our attention takes over, giving more conscious control of our actions. These processes, such as memory, planning and our emotional responses to the situations we find ourselves in, are…
What does it mean to be a living organism? What are the driving forces that motivate our thoughts and actions? Are we all simply acting the way we do thanks to the instructions built into our genes and our automatic responses to the environments we live in? In this episode we’re joined by researcher, broadcaster and author Melanie Challenger to talk about her latest book, Alive: The Hidden…
When Charles Darwin published On the Origin of Species in the mid-nineteenth century, his theory of evolution by natural selection turned many of the scientific ideas of the day on their heads. The influence of the book was so profound that scientists are still studying its many implications to this day. And it turns out that, if we look closely enough, we find that investigating queerness in…
Currently there are around one million people in the UK living with dementia. Despite significant advances in our understanding of the disease over the past several decades an effective cure is yet to be found. However, recent breakthroughs made by researchers around the world are showing great promise in the treatment of this devasting condition. In this episode, we’re joined by Prof Selina Wray,…
Way back in 1976, NASA’s Viking landers touched down on Mars to search for potential signs of microbial life that could currently exist on the planet’s surface. Despite the mission making a number of promising discoveries, so far, no further landers have returned to the surface of the Red Planet with the aim of repeating these fascinating experiments. As such, many questions still remain as to…
Every single day of our lives, we’re exposed to a vast multitude of experiences and interactions with the various people, objects and technologies in the wider world that surrounds us. The chances are that many of us give these moment-to-moment encounters very little thought. But could it be that our desire for convenience, efficiency and productivity has resulted in a widening rift that has…
While largely viewed as a toxic waste product with no practical use, our urine is actually rich in all manner of valuable nutrients that, with a little effort, can be extracted, recycled and converted into fertiliser for use on food crops, used to make building materials or even used to generate electricity. In this episode, we’re joined by Kai Udert, a researcher based at the Swiss Federal…
It’s clear to all of us that the rapid progress that technology has made over the last century or so has had profound impacts on almost every aspect of our lives. But often, the impact on our emotional well-being associated with these great changes is overlooked, or, if mentioned at all, portrayed in a largely negative light. Why is this? Is it simply down to our innate fear of the new or our…