BBC Inside Science

Whilst the globe struggles to shift to green sustainable energy sources, one industry has its sights set solely on the stars. Space X just launched the biggest rocket the world’s ever seen, and it won’t be their last even if it did end its test flight with a bang. As we enter a new golden age of space travel, Vic asks Associate Professor in Physical Geography Dr Eloise Marais if we are paying enough attention to the environmental impacts posed by a rapidly growing space industry. Have viruses, bacteria, and microorganisms influenced humanity more than we know? Author of new book, Pathogenesis: How Germs Made History, Dr Jonathan Kennedy discusses how germs and disease have shaped human evolution, history and culture and what we can learn from the COVID pandemic. And from unconventional life in space to psychoactive spinning apes, Vic and BBC Climate Reporter Georgina Rannard bring you the best scientific stories from the past couple of weeks. Presenter: Victoria Gill Producer: Harrison Lewis Content Producer: Ella Hubber BBC Inside Science is produced in collaboration with the Open University.

17 Maj 202328min

When was the last time you had to use your negotiating skills? Did you walk away satisfied? This week junior doctors are half way through their 4 day walkout, with senior NHS figures suggesting the cancellation of between 250,000 and 350,000 appointments/operations. Victoria Gill is preparing to debate her way through the science of disagreement and identify what qualities make for the perfect negotiator. Associate Professor Sunny Lee, Deputy Director of Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion at University College London helps guide Victoria through the basic building blocks that help resolve conflict, with expert commentary from Camilla Born peeking behind the curtain of COP26, and finally negotiating with elephants? Dr Josh Plotnik at City University of New York suggests that some animals may be actively seeking out conflict with humans.Presenter: Victoria Gill Producer: Harrison Lewis

11 Maj 202328min

In this special edition of Inside Science, Vic Gill prepares to rummage through our rubbish, to peek behind the curtain of the UK's recycling habits and see how well prepared we are as a nation to further our efforts of sustainable waste management.Presenter: Vic Gill Producer: Emily Bird

4 Maj 202327min

Far away and not enough, those are criticisms of the government’s latest net zero initiative – a plan to reduce emissions . We ask Jim Watson Professor of Energy Policy and Director of the UCL Institute for Sustainable Resources for his assessment.And there’s money to be made from private health testing, the growth of Covid testing has been followed by an upsurge in private screening for cancer in particular, but how useful is it really? BBC Health correspondent Matthew Hill takes a look.Every cell in out body carries an electrical charge. In her new book, We Are Electric: The New Science of Our Body’s Electrome, Sally Adee discusses how this facet might be harnessed for the detection of illnesses, medical treatments and whether it will allow us to develop hidden powers.The World Wood Web is a concept showing how trees communicate with each other through an underground fungal network. The idea was first proposed by Suzanne Simard, Now professor of Forest Ecology at the University of British Columbia, who tells us how she came up with the concept and about her work on the hidden relationships of trees.

27 Apr 202334min

Data collated from swab samples taken in Wuhan’s market in the early days of the Covid pandemic suggest animals sold in the market were carrying the virus at the time. It’s the strongest evidence yet for an intermediate species – one which passed the virus on to humans after becoming infected by bats carrying the virus. Dr Florence Debarre from the Institute of ecology and environmental sciences, in Paris and Professor Eddie Holmes from Sydney University discuss the findings. Beethoven’s genome has been reconstructed from samples of his hair. It reveals some of his medical history, but also unexpected findings on his paternity. We discuss the ethics of such genetic analysis with Tom Booth who studies ancient DNA at the Francis Crick institute. And microbes may help us survive and thrive in space according to Astrobiologist Rosa Santomartino, not only that but their recycling capabilities could also help us on earth

20 Apr 202327min

Researchers from London’s Francis Crick Institute have found a type of artificial sweetener is able to dampen down immune system responses - at least in mice. Karen Vousden and Fabio Zani tell us about the implications. And Ronan McCarthy from Brunel University has found a range of different artificial sweeteners have antibacterial properties. We discuss the connections between these two areas of research and the prospect of developing drug treatments from artificial sweeteners. Penny Johnes from Bristol University discusses the use of phosphorus in agriculture, it’s a key component of fertilisers, but global supplies may run out in a few years, despite this overuse of phosphorus in agriculture is also creating problems. And Chat GPT has had a makeover, a new version of the chatbot was rolled out this week. Chatbots seem to be getting a lot of press at the moment, but are they really something we will all be using in the future? Technologist and composer LJ Rich who works with the UN on artificial intelligence gives us her analysis.BBC Inside Science is produced in collaboration with the Open University.

13 Apr 202340min

The government has launched a new 10-point plan designed, it said to “cement the UK’s place as a global science and technology superpower”. We speak with Sir Paul Nurse, director of the Francis Crick Institute, for his take on the government's plan and the findings of his own review of the UK’s research landscape. In 1963, in a now famous speech at the Labour Party conference in Scarborough, Labour leader and soon to be Prime Minister Harold Wilson promised a new Britain would be forged in the “white heat" of a "scientific revolution". Nick Thomas Symonds, Labour MP and political biographer, discusses how that idea was put into action. Scientists in Bristol have published a detailed "future flood map" of Britain - simulating the impacts of flooding as climate change takes its toll. Paul Bates from Bristol University explains how the new flood risk maps give a level of detail that could help people to plan and adapt. Vic Gill visits the Calder Valley in West Yorkshire, a place that’s suffered repeated flooding in recent years, where the community is taking matters into its own hands. New fossil findings from China have led scientists to re-evaluate their classification of tiny tentacled sea creatures from half a billion years ago and declare that they are in fact seaweeds says Martin Smith, a paleobiologist from The University of Durham. And this re-classification isn't unusual, fossils are constantly re-examined in light of new evidence and insights. Susie Maidment a paleobiologist at the Natural History Museum takes us through some of her favourite contentious fossils. Presenter: Victoria Gill Producers: Julian Siddle and Emily Bird BBC Inside Science is produced in collaboration with the Open University

6 Apr 202329min

Science writer Philip Ball has followed the relationship between government and its scientific advisors throughout the pandemic. He discusses the role of scientific advisors in the light of conflicting information following the leak of a number of former Health Minister Matt Hancock’s WhatsApp messages. Phil tells us why he believes greater transpearency is needed around the advice offered to government. The head of the US FBI has suggested the Covid 19 pandemic may have been started through a leak from a laboratory. No evidence has been offered. The ‘lab leak ‘ theory is the counter idea to Covid having a natural origin. We hear from three scientists who have been to China to investigate different aspects of the virus origins story.Journalist and microbiologist Jane Qui visited the Wuhan Institute of Virology – the lab at the centre of the lab leak theory.Marion Koopmans from Erasmus University in Rotterdam was a member of the WHO mission to China to investigate the origins of Covid 19.And Eddie Holmes from the University of Sydney visited the market in Wuhan, the epicentre of the outbreak.Besides inflating party balloons helium gas has a vast range of industrial uses, particularly as a coolant. There’s a world shortage, and helium is only extracted with fossil fuels such as coal and methane gas. Earth scientist Anran Cheng at the University of Oxford has developed a method to look for helium deposits without the fossil fuel connection.And ever wondered how heavy all the animals in the world might be ? We have the answer thanks to Ron Milo and Lior Greenspoon from the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel.BBC Inside Science is produced in partnership with the Open University. Presenter: Victoria Gill Producer: Julian Siddle

30 Mars 202336min