Audio long read: Do smartphones and social media really harm teens’ mental health?
Research shows that, over the past two decades, rates of mental illness have been increasing in adolescents in many countries. While some scientists point to soaring use of smartphones and social medi...
25 Apr 202517min
A brand-new colour created by lasers, a pig-liver transplant trial gets the green light, and a nugget-sized chunk of lab-grown meat
00:27 Five people see ‘olo’, a brand-new colourUsing a laser system to activate specific eye cells, a team has allowed five study participants to perceive a vibrant blue-greenish hue well outside the ...
23 Apr 202520min
‘Dark matter’, 'Big Bang' and ‘spin’: how physics terms can confuse researchers
Categorizing things is central to science. And there are dozens of systems scientists have created to name everything from the trenches on the sea bed to the stars in the sky.But names have consequenc...
22 Apr 202533min
What a trove of potato genomes reveals about the humble spud
In this episode:00:46 A potato pangenomeResearchers have created a ‘pangenome’ containing the genomes of multiple potato types, something they believe can help make it easier to breed and sequence new...
16 Apr 202532min
Long-awaited ape genomes give new insights into their evolution — and ours
00:46 Complete sequencing of ape genomesResearchers have sequenced the complete genomes of six ape species, helping uncover the evolutionary history of our closest relatives and offering insights into...
9 Apr 202529min
From Hippocrates to COVID-19: the scientific fight to prove diseases can be airborne
Science writer and New York Times columnist Carl Zimmer's latest book Air-Borne: The Hidden History of the Life we Breathe dives into the invisible maelstrom of microbial life swirling in the air arou...
7 Apr 202532min
Trump team removes senior NIH chiefs in shock move
In this Podcast Extra, we hear the latest on how decisions by the Trump administration are affecting science in the US. Most recently, a purge of National Institutes of Health (NIH) leadership has see...
4 Apr 202511min
World’s tiniest pacemaker could revolutionize heart surgery
00:46 Millimetre-sized pacemaker fits inside syringeResearchers have developed a tiny, temporary pacemaker that dissolves when no longer needed, helping to overcome some of the challenges associated w...
2 Apr 202537min
