Science Weekly
Alok Jha and the Guardian's science team bring you the best analysis and interviews from the worlds of science and technology.
Nuclear fusion, new drugs, better batteries: how AI will transform science
As the UK hosts the first global AI safety summit, Guardian science editor Ian Sample joins Madeleine Finlay to look on the bright side and consider some of the huge benefits AI could bring to science. Madeleine also hears from Prof Mihaela van der Schaar, an expert in machine learning…
What could near-death experiences teach us about life, death and consciousness?
Seeing a bright light, floating above your body, being guided by an angel. All of these are common elements of reported near-death experiences, but what’s really going on? Ian Sample meets Sam Parnia, an intensive care doctor and associate professor at NYU Grossman school of medicine in New York City…
Black holes, but backwards: unlocking the mysteries of white holes
Ian Sample meets the Italian physicist Carlo Rovelli to find out about his cutting-edge research into white holes. A white hole is essentially a time-reversed black hole: a region of spacetime where matter spontaneously appears and explodes outwards. At the moment they are hypothetical objects, so Rovelli explains why he…
‘We’ve lost control’: what happens when the west Antarctic ice sheet melts?
Madeleine Finlay hears from environment editor Damian Carrington about why Antarctic ice may be melting even faster than we thought. He also reflects on the life and career of former environment editor John Vidal, whose death was announced last week. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod
Could AI help diagnose schizophrenia?
Madeleine Finlay meets neuroscientist and psychiatrist Matthew Nour, whose research looks at how artificial intelligence could help doctors and scientists bring precision to diagnosis of psychiatric conditions. He describes his latest study looking at patients with schizophrenia, and explains how he thinks large language models such as ChatGPT could one…
Scarier than lions: how fear of ‘super predator’ humans is shaping the animal kingdom
Ian Sample meets the conservation biologist Liana Zanette, whose recently published research demonstrates that humans are now the super predator, inciting more fear in wild animals than even lions. She explains the ramifications of this knowledge for conservation techniques and the protection of endangered animals. Help support our independent journalism…
Inside the UK’s first gaming disorder clinic
In 2018 the World Health Organisation formally included gaming disorder in its diagnostic manual for the first time. Nearly four years into running the only NHS gaming disorder clinic, Prof Henrietta Bowden Jones tells Madeleine Finlay about how her team are learning to help those impacted, while a former patient…
What’s really going on with Paris’s bedbug crisis?
The Guardian’s Paris correspondent, Angelique Chrisafis, tells Madeleine Finlay about the explosion in bedbug sightings in the city, and how residents and officials have reacted. And Prof Jerome Goddard explains what makes the creatures so difficult to eradicate, and why the biggest threat they pose may be to our mental…
All the news and science from the Nobel Prizes
Guardian science correspondents Linda Geddes, Nicola Davis and Hannah Devlin give Madeleine Finlay the lowdown on the Nobel Prizes for medicine, physics and chemistry that were announced this week. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod
Everything you need to know about the menopause
Madeleine Finlay meets menopause expert Dr Louise Newson to find out about some of the myths surrounding the menopause, how women can prepare for this stage in life, and why information and support can be so difficult to access. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod
Could we end migraines for good?
British cabinet minister Dehenna Davison recently resigned from government, explaining that chronic migraines were making it impossible for her to do her job. Her announcement coincided with a new drug for acute migraines being recommended for use in the NHS. Madeleine Finlay meets Prof Peter Goadsby, whose pioneering research underpins…
Deja vu’s lesser-known opposite: why do we experience jamais vu?
There’s a sensation many of us might have experienced: when something routine or recognisable suddenly feels strange and unfamiliar. It’s known as jamais vu, or ‘never seen’. Research into this odd feeling recently won an Ig Nobel prize, which is awarded to science that makes you laugh, then think. Ian…
The mystery of Europe’s heat death hotspot
Ian Sample hears from the Guardian’s Europe environment correspondent, Ajit Niranjan, about the reporting he has been doing for the launch of our new Europe edition. He talks about Osijek, a Croatian city that has the highest heat mortality rate in Europe … but no one knows why. Help support…
Will our bees survive the Asian hornet invasion?
Asian hornets have been spotted in the UK in record numbers this year, sparking concern about what their presence could mean for our native insects, and in particular bee populations. Madeleine Finlay speaks to ecologist Prof Juliet Osborne about why this species of hornet is so voracious, how European beekeepers…
Should American bully XLs be banned?
The UK home secretary, Suella Braverman, is pushing for a ban on American bully XL dogs after an attack on an 11-year-old girl in Birmingham. Madeleine Finlay hears from Guardian Midlands correspondent Jessica Murray about how this relatively new breed became so popular, and from bioethicist Jessica Pierce about whether…
Teen mental health and social media: what does the evidence tell us?
Ian Sample talks to Dr Amy Orben, who leads the digital mental health programme at the Medical Research Council’s cognition and brain sciences unit, about why the link between teen mental health and social media is so difficult to study, what the current evidence tells us and what advice she…
First African climate summit: can development and climate action coexist?
Madeleine Finlay hears from the Guardian’s east Africa global development correspondent, Caroline Kimeu, about the challenges and tensions at play at the inaugural climate summit. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod
Everything you need to know about the new Covid variant
The UK Health Security Agency has announced plans to bring forward its autumn Covid-19 vaccination programme, and scale up testing and surveillance, after the emergence of the BA.2.86 variant. Madeleine Finlay and Ian Sample discuss where current infection rates stand, the characteristics of the new variant, and how prepared the…
Why are scientists so excited about the vagus nerve? – podcast
Serving as a two-way ‘electrical superhighway’, the vagus nerve – which is actually a pair of nerves – allows for communication between the brain and the heart, lungs and abdominal organs. And because of this, it has been shown to help control things such as the heart rate, breathing, digestion…
Iris scans: proof of our humanity in an AI future, or marketing gimmick?
Madeleine Finlay speaks to the Guardian’s technology reporter Hibaq Farah about Worldcoin, a new cryptocurrency offering users tokens in exchange for a scan of their eyeballs. Farah explains what the motives behind the company are, why they think we all need to become ‘verified humans’, and how governments have responded…