Our science predictions for 2025
Last year was full of unexpected science news, from a new strain of Mpox emerging in the DRC, to artificial intelligence dominating the Nobel prizes and two astronauts getting ‘stuck’ in space. So wha...
16 Jan 202518min
How weather ‘whiplash’ set the stage for the LA fires
As wildfires continue to cause devastation in Los Angeles, Madeleine Finlay speaks to Albert van Dijk, professor of water science and management at the Australian National University, about how rising...
14 Jan 202514min
Where did our attention spans go, and can we get them back?
The Oxford English Dictionary announced its word of the year at the end of 2024: brain rot. The term relates to the supposedly negative effects of consuming social media content, but it struck a chord...
9 Jan 202517min
Are we hardwired to commit ‘deadly sins’?
Scientists are increasingly finding that behaviours once seen as depraved often have a direct physical cause. To find out more, Ian Sample hears from Guy Leschziner, a consultant neurologist and sleep...
7 Jan 202520min
Revisited: does the evidence on glucose tracking add up?
You might have noticed that everyone has recently become a bit obsessed with blood sugar, or glucose. Wellness firms such as Zoe in the UK – as well as Nutrisense, Levels and Signos – claim to offer i...
2 Jan 202530min
Revisited: just how bad is alcohol for us?
For the regular drinker, the studies that say a daily tipple is better for a longer life than avoiding alcohol completely are a source of great comfort. But a new analysis challenges that thinking and...
31 Dec 202417min
Revisited: the endless sexual diversity of nature
In this episode from July, Ian Sample talks to Josh Davis, a science writer at the Natural History Museum in London and author of the book A Little Gay Natural History. A study published in June 2024 ...
26 Dec 202418min
Revisited: are the world’s oldest people really that old?
In this episode from September, Madeleine Finlay speaks to Dr Saul Newman, an interdisciplinary researcher at University College London and the University of Oxford, who has recently won an Ig Nobel p...
24 Dec 202416min
