Episodes
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The south Wales town of Pontypridd saw cars submerged, people bailing floodwater out of their homes using bins, and the beautiful park and lido transformed into a brown mess, as parts of the UK were flooded.
But, it's nothing new. Pontypridd was severely flooded just four and a half years ago – and these are scenes that play out around the UK every winter.
So, is the way we warn people about floods failing?
We’re going to unpick exactly how floods are forecast – and what went wrong – with natural hazards researcher and hydrologist, Professor Hannah Cloke.
Also this week, sharing your microbiome with friends, alternative plastics, and was the most recent climate summit good COP or bad COP?
Presenter: Victoria Gill Producers: Gerry Holt, Sophie Ormiston & Ella Hubber Editor: Martin Smith Production Co-ordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth
To discover more fascinating science content, head to bbc.co.uk search for BBC Inside Science and follow the links to The Open University.
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As conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine continue to dominate the news, many Inside Science listeners have been in touch with the same question:
What is the carbon footprint of war?
How significant is the impact – and is it crass to even talk about it? We’re joined by Benjamin Neimark from Queen Mary University in London.
Also this week, we chat to the incoming DG of Europe’s particle-smashing facility Cern, what have we learnt by defrosting an extinct big cat and, the beetle that could ruin Christmas...
Presenter: Marnie Chesterton Producers: Florian Bohr, Ella Hubber & Gerry Holt Editor: Martin Smith Production Co-ordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth
If you want to test your climate change knowledge, head to bbc.co.uk search for BBC Inside Science and follow the links to The Open University to take the quiz.
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Episodes manquant?
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A shortage of medical isotopes used to detect cancer has experts concerned that the shortfall could be delaying diagnosis and could even be costing lives.
Exactly what these nuclear medicines are and how they are made is key to understanding the national scarcity. So, we’re going back to basics and learning all about medical isotopes.
We also speak to world-famous conservationist and primatologist Jane Goodall who, now aged 90, continues to travel the globe campaigning to protect the natural world.
Dame Goodall reflects on a life of studying our closest living animal relatives, chimpanzees, and as COP29 gets under way, speaks about the “closing window of time” to turn the tide on climate change and nature loss.
Also this week, we answer the listener question “Why don’t we just throw nuclear waste into volcanoes?” and can Marnie spot AI vs real poetry?
Presenter: Marnie Chesterton Producers: Ella Hubber & Gerry Holt Editor: Martin Smith Production Co-ordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth
To discover more fascinating science content, head to bbc.co.uk search for BBC Inside Science and follow the links to The Open University.
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This year is set to be the world’s hottest on record, likely shattering the aspiration to limit global warming to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels.
So where does this leave COP29, the upcoming UN climate conference in Azerbaijan?
This week Inside Science is asking, are climate summits really working? What is the point of them - and are they doing enough?
Joining Marnie Chesterton to discuss this are:
- Joanna Depledge, expert on international climate negotiations at the University of Cambridge - Mark Maslin, climate change professor from University College London (UCL) - Jim Watson, professor of energy policy, also from UCL
Presenter: Marnie Chesterton Producers: Ella Hubber, Sophie Ormiston & Gerry Holt Editor: Martin Smith Production Co-ordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth
If you want to test your climate change knowledge, follow the links on this page to The Open University to take a quiz.
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It’s our Halloween special from a rain-soaked Jodrell Bank in Cheshire.
We find out what you can see in a dark, dark Halloween night sky with space-watcher and Professor of astrophysics Tim O’Brien.
Also this week, we meet some blood-sucking leeches, the horrors of pumpkin waste and could zombies ever be real?
Presenter: Victoria Gill Producers: Ella Hubber, Sophie Ormiston & Gerry Holt Editor: Martin Smith Production Co-ordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth
To discover more fascinating science content, head to bbc.co.uk search for BBC Inside Science and follow the links to The Open University.
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Twenty years ago this week two physicists at the University of Manchester published a ground-breaking paper describing the extraordinary qualities of graphene.
The thinnest and strongest material known to exist – and better at carrying electricity than any metal – its discovery was hailed as revolutionary.
But two decades on, it doesn’t seem to have changed the world, or if it has, it is doing so very quietly.
So, what happened?
We go on the trail of graphene, meeting Nobel Prize winner and Godfather of Graphene Andrew Geim, and learning what it has – and hasn’t – done and what might be next...
Also this week, how to kill an asteroid and we talk the “other” COP with chief scientific adviser to the government, Dame Angela McLean.
Presenter: Victoria Gill Producers: Sophie Ormiston, Ella Hubber & Gerry Holt Editor: Martin Smith Production Co-ordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth
BBC Inside Science is produced in partnership with the Open University.
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The Earth’s natural carbon sinks absorb half of our pollution. But now, they appear to be collapsing. Why is this happening – and will we be able to reach our climate goals without them?
Also this week, why a psychologist won the Nobel Prize in Physics, the culprit behind the second biggest mass extinction event, and does playing video games make you smarter?
Presenter: Marnie ChestertonProducers: Sophie Ormiston, Ella Hubber, Anna CharalambouEditor: Martin SmithProduction Co-ordinator: Andrew Rhys Lewis BBC Inside Science is produced in collaboration with the Open University.
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A woolly mammoth by 2028.
That’s the bold claim from US company Colossal Biosciences, who say research is under way that will make this possible.
But even if we have the technology to bring back a long dead species, should we? We hear the arguments for and against de-extinction.
Also this week, what will Europa Clipper find when it heads to one of Jupiter’s icy moons and how to win a Nobel Prize.
Presenter: Marnie Chesterton Producers: Ella Hubber, Sophie Ormiston & Gerry Holt Editor: Martin Smith Production Co-ordinator: Andrew Rhys Lewis
BBC Inside Science is produced in partnership with the Open University.
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“That’s the end of coal in the UK for electricity.”
The UK’s last coal-fired power station has closed, ending Britain's 142-year reliance on coal.
But what difference will the closure of Ratcliffe-on-Soar make – and could it mark a new dawn for clean energy?
After 20 years of research into microplastics and headline upon headline on their potential harms, how much do we really know about these tiny particles?
Also this week, Marnie turns lab rat for a navigation experiment, and why are we all so obsessed with Moo Deng?
Presenter: Marnie Chesterton Producers: Sophie Ormiston, Ella Hubber & Gerry Holt Editor: Martin Smith Production Co-ordinator: Andrew Rhys Lewis
BBC Inside Science is produced in partnership with the Open University.
If you want to test your climate change knowledge, head to bbc.co.uk - search for BBC Inside Science and follow the links to the Open University.
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The images beamed back to Earth of the first civilian spacewalk have prompted a very pertinent question from one Inside Science listener:
What effect is space travel having on our climate?
We're used to delving into the carbon footprint of Earth-bound travel – so this week we’re going to explore the impact of the rapidly growing space industry on our climate.
How does a rocket launch compare to a flight taking off? Do we even know the true cost yet – and if it’s significant, what might the solution be?
Also on the programme, a personal perspective from a remote island on worrying seabird declines, the results of a project to refreeze Arctic sea ice, and why new evidence unearthed about the Falkland Islands suggests it may once have looked very different...
Presenter: Vic Gill Producers: Ella Hubber & Gerry Holt Editor: Martin Smith Production Co-ordinator: Andrew Rhys Lewis Studio Manager: Rhys Morris
BBC Inside Science is produced in partnership with the Open University.
If you want to test your climate change knowledge, head to bbc.co.uk - search for BBC Inside Science and follow the links to the Open University.
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Lab-grown meat, cultivated meat, cultured meat, in-vitro meat - whatever you call it, the industry claims it could be a game changer. Not just economically, but for feeding the planet in a sustainable way.
But is it too good to be true? And will people even eat it?
In this special episode of Inside Science, we take a deep-dive into lab-grown meat; visiting a production facility to see how it's made, hearing about the nuanced perspectives of British farmers, asking if this new industry can learn from the failings of GM foods, and trying to figure out what the true environmental costs of entirely new way of producing food really is.
Presenter: Victoria GillProducer: Ella HubberEditor: Martin SmithProduction Co-ordinator: Andrew Rhys Lewis
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Today incredible images were beamed around the world of civilians walking in space – for the very first time.
All eyes were on businessman Jared Isaacman and engineer Sarah Gillis as they ventured outside a Space X capsule.
But is this an historic space exploration milestone - or just a very exciting holiday for a billionaire? We'll find out more from the BBC’s own expert space-watcher Jonathan Amos.
Also this week, we visit Sellafield which processes and stores more radioactive material per square metre than any other site in Europe. But it is getting full.
So where is our nuclear waste going to go in future? As the UK searches for a new potential site, we look at the science of what we do with nuclear waste and why.
We’ll also delve into the fascinating world of nuclear semiotics. How can we communicate the dangers of nuclear waste to people living 100,000 years from now?
Presenter: Vic Gill Producers: Sophie Ormiston & Gerry Holt Editor: Martin Smith Studio manager: Cath McGhee Production Co-ordinator: Andrew Rhys Lewis
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As the long-awaited final report into Grenfell Tower is made public, we look at the cladding that has been at the centre of the story for seven years.
We ask Richard Hull, an expert in chemistry and fire science who’s been following the story, why it was used in the first place and what made it so dangerous.
Also this week, the neuroscience of the Oasis queue, the technology powering Paralympic athletes and strange sounds from space...
Presenter: Victoria Gill Producers: Sophie Ormiston, Ella Hubber & Gerry Holt Editor: Martin Smith Studio Manager: Emily PrestonProduction Co-ordinator: Andrew Rhys Lewis
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The Royal Society recently announced the shortlist for their annual Science Book Prize – and nominated is science writer and journalist Tom Chivers, author of the book Everything is Predictable. He tells us how statistics impact every aspect of our lives, and joins Marnie as a studio guest throughout the show.
A drug – lecanemab – that can slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease has recently been approved for use in the UK, but the healthcare regulator NICE has said that it won’t be available on the NHS. But what is behind this decision, and what makes creating an Alzheimer’s drug so difficult? Professor Tara Spires-Jones from the University of Edinburgh talks us through the science.
And could ‘smart paint’ supersize our fruit and veg? Reporter Roland Pease heads over to the experimental greenhouses of Cranfield University’s crop science unit to see if the technology works.
Thee Paralympic Games are now underway in Paris, with athletes competing across 22 different events. But as competitors have a range of different impairments, how is it ensured that there's a level playing field? Professor Sean Tweedy from the University of Queensland calls in from Paris to explain how athletes are sorted into categories for competition.
Presenter: Marnie ChestertonProducers: Sophie Ormiston and Ella HubberEditor: Martin SmithProduction Co-ordinator: Andrew Lewis
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We try some cricket tacos and ask what role insects might play in our future diets, in a special programme with a live audience at Green Man Festival in the Bannau Brycheiniog National Park in Wales.
Our panellists: Peter Smithers, an entomologist and fellow of the Royal Entomological Society Aaron Thomas, co-founder of Yum Bug, which makes meat out of cricketsDr Emily Porter, a dietician and gut health specialist for the NHS and The Gut Health Clinic
What else should we explore – and where else should we visit? Send your suggestions to [email protected]
Presenter: Marnie Chesterton Producer: Gerry Holt Editor: Martin SmithSound manager: Mike CoxProduction Co-ordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth
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The Ealing Beaver Project has found success as two new beaver kits have been born in a park in London after being reintroduced last October.
Marnie visits the site to learn more about the benefits they bring - but beavers are just a drop in the river of urban rewilding. We find out what the practicalities and pitfalls of letting nature take back space in our cities are.
Do you feel like your dog is watching you? You're probably right. Zoologist and broadcaster Jules Howard ponders on the human-watching acuity of our beloved pets.
And our guts are not the only places where bacterial communities thrive, new research tells us that our microwaves also have a microbiome. Should we be worried?
Presenter: Marnie ChestertonProducers: Ella Hubber, Sophie Ormiston and Gerry HoltEditor: Martin SmithProduction Co-ordinators: Jana Bennett-Holesworth and Andrew Rhys Lewis
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Today we will be going for gold in more ways than one.
Inga Doak, the Head of Sustainability at The Royal Mint, reveals how the company plan to ‘urban mine’ gold from household electronic waste and turn it into jewellery. But with tens of millions of tonnes of e-waste piling up every year, the environment policy adviser at the Royal Society of Chemistry, Izzi Monk unpacks how the UK can clean up its act.
Vic puts her stable boots on to visit some very pampered thoroughbred foals to find out what their poo can reveal about their future success on the racecourse.
From horses to humanity, sports geneticist Alun Williams discusses how our genetic make-up could determine whether or not we are destined for gold at the Olympics.
Plus, Roland Pease channels his inner child to investigate his youthful obsession with Mars as NASA looks for new microbial life on the red planet.
Presenter: Victoria Gill Producers: Ben Mitchell and Ella Hubber Editor: Martin Smith Production Co-ordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth
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Space junk.
It might sound like an out-of-this-world problem that we don’t need to worry about here on Earth – but is it?
As we send more and more metal in the form of satellites up into space, scientists are warning it is becoming more of a risk both here – and up there.
We dig into the problem and what’s being done to clean it up.
Also this week, we answer a listener question about oceans and their influence on global temperatures, and we ponder the use – and sometimes abuse – of scientific language.
And with the Paris Olympics well under way, how much does sex affect sporting performance?
Presenter: Victoria Gill Producers: Ella Hubber & Gerry Holt Editor: Martin Smith Production Co-ordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth
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CERN’s plans to build a bigger, faster particle collider, with a hefty 17 billion Euro price tag, are in question. Physicists Andrew Pontzen and Harry Cliff discuss if the new machine is really worth it.
A place on the podium or disappointment in the Olympics can come down to the precise position of a foot or angle of the hips. Science reporter Ella Hubber visits the University of Bath to check out the motion capture tech that makes these measurements. New research suggests our close cousins, the chimpanzees, chat just as fast as humans. Professor Cat Hobaiter from the University of St Andrews tells us what chimp chats can teach us about the evolution of language.
75 years after making a groundbreaking discovery, Rosemary Fowler has finally been awarded with an honorary doctorate. University of Bristol chancellor, Sir Paul Nurse, shares how important it is to celebrate and recognise Rosemary’s achievements.
Presenter: Victoria GillProducers: Ella Hubber and Sophie OrmistonEditor: Martin SmithProduction Co-ordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth
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Antarctica is a 'natural reserve, devoted to peace and science' - that’s according to an international treaty.
But with visitor numbers at a record high, how does tourism fit into that – and what kind of impact is it having on its fragile ecosystem? We discuss whether tourists – and even scientists – should be allowed to go at all.
Swimming in the Seine has been banned for more than a century because of pollution concerns. The main culprit? Human waste. We find out if it really will be safe in time.
And every summer we ready ourselves for 'flying ant day' – that one day where winged ants take to the skies across Britain. Or do they?
Presenter: Victoria Gill Producers: Sophie Ormiston, Ella Hubber and Gerry Holt Editor: Martin Smith Production Co-ordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth
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