The debilitating impact of tinnitus, and how a new app could help
It’s thought that about 15% of us are affected by tinnitus, and despite its potentially debilitating impact on mental health and quality of life, there isn’t any cure for the condition. Madeleine Finl...
29 Feb 202419min
How green are electric cars?
Electric cars might seem like a no-brainer on a warming planet, but there are plenty of people who remain sceptical about everything from their battery life to their carbon impact and the environmenta...
27 Feb 202416min
Mistakes, fakes, and a giant rat penis: why are so many science papers being retracted?
A record 10,000 research papers were retracted in 2023. To find out what’s driving this trend, Ian Sample speaks to Ivan Oransky, whose organisation Retraction Watch has been monitoring the growing nu...
22 Feb 202419min
Nitazenes and xylazine: what’s behind the rise of dangerous synthetic drugs?
Social affairs correspondent Robert Booth tells Madeleine Finlay why a class of synthetic opioids called nitazenes, first developed in the 1950s, is leading to a worrying number of fatal overdoses in ...
20 Feb 202416min
What apes can tell us about the origins of teasing
We all know people who find it hilarious to prod and poke, pinch and tickle, all in the name of fun. But are humans the only ones who like to tease each other? Or are other animals in on the act? Ian ...
15 Feb 202414min
Retinol, acids and serums for kids? A dermatologist’s guide to age appropriate skincare
Last month the British Association of Dermatologists warned that children as young as eight years old were using potentially damaging anti-ageing skin care products. Madeleine Finlay speaks to consult...
13 Feb 202414min
Why are we still waiting for a male contraceptive pill?
Despite research into a male contraceptive pill starting around the same time as its female counterpart, no product has ever made it to market. But that could soon change, with a new non-hormonal male...
8 Feb 202416min
What happens now bird flu has reached the Antarctic?
The moment scientists had been dreading arrived late last year, when H5N1, or bird flu, was found for the first time in the Antarctic. Last week a king penguin on the island of South Georgia became th...
6 Feb 202413min
