Ancient DNA reveals farming led to more human diseases
00:48 The past 35,000 years of diseaseAncient DNA evidence shows that the advent of agriculture led to more infectious disease among humans, with pathogens from animals only showing up 6,500 years ago...
9 Juli 202537min
Audio long read: How to speak to a vaccine sceptic — research reveals what works
Questions and doubts about vaccines are on the rise worldwide and public-health specialists worry that these trends could worsen. But while the shift in public attitudes towards immunizations can leav...
4 Juli 202516min
3D-printed fake wasps help explain bad animal mimicry
In this episode:00:45 Why animals evolve to be imperfect mimicsMany harmless animals mimic dangerous ones to avoid being eaten, but often this fakery is inaccurate. To help explain why evolution somet...
2 Juli 202527min
Is AI watching you? The hidden links between research and surveillance
We’d like to learn more about our listeners, please help us out by filling in this short survey.In this episode:00:45 Is AI-research being co-opted to keep track of people?A significant amount of rese...
25 Juni 202531min
Flight simulator for moths reveals they navigate by starlight
We’d like to learn more about our listeners, please help us out by filling in this short survey.In this episode:00:45 The tiny moths that use the stars to navigateBogong moths use the stars to help th...
18 Juni 202530min
Hundreds of physicists on a remote island: we visit the ultimate quantum party
According to legend, physicist Werner Heisenberg formulated the mathematics behind quantum mechanics in 1925 while on a restorative trip to the remote North Sea island of Heligoland.To celebrate the c...
13 Juni 20259min
This stretchy neural implant grows with an axolotl's brain
00:45 A flexible neural-implant that grows with the brainResearchers have developed a soft electronic implant that can measure brain activity of amphibian embryos as they develop. Understanding the ne...
11 Juni 202536min
Trump wants to put humans on Mars: what scientists think of the plan
In this Podcast Extra, we examine President Donald Trump's calls for NASA to land humans on Mars. Although the White House has proposed spending some US$1 billion in 2026 on Mars plans, critics say th...
6 Juni 202511min
