Instant Genius

Latest Episodes:

Sue Black: What stories do our skeletons tell? Sep 21, 2020

Show notes

In today’s episode, we’re chatting to Professor Sue Black, an anatomist and forensic anthropologist. You might’ve seen characters doing her job on television, in shows like NCIS or Silent Witness – although, they’re not quite an accurate portrayal, as you’ll find out.

Over the course of her career, Sue has worked with the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the United Nations, helping to identify victims and perpetrators from only sections of their bodies – perhaps a finger found in a bin bag, or the back of an assaulter’s hand caught on film. Her work has taken her to places such as Kosovo, Sierra Leone, Iraq.

She talks to us about how science helps her piece together fragmented parts of a human jigsaw. This episode contains some graphic content, including descriptions of criminal acts and dissection, that some listeners might find upsetting.

Let us know what you think of the episode with a review or a comment wherever you listen to your podcasts.

Subscribe to the Science Focus Podcast on these services: Acast, iTunes, Stitcher, RSS, Overcast
Read the full transcription [this will open in a new window]

This podcast was supported by brilliant.org, helping people build quantitative skills in maths, science, and computer science with fun and challenging interactive explorations.

Listen to more episodes of the Science Focus Podcast:

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Professor Trevor Cox: Was Stonehenge an ancient acoustic chamber? Sep 14, 2020

Show notes

For decades, Stonehenge, the mysterious prehistoric circle of stones built on the Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, has left scientists scratching their heads. Who exactly built it and what was it used for?

In the latest attempt to get to the bottom of this mystery, a team of engineers based at the University of Salford have 3D-printed a scale model of the ancient monument in order to investigate the effect its unique structure would’ve had on conversations, rituals, and even music.

We spoke to Professor Trevor Cox, the acoustic engineer heading up the study, to find out more.

Let us know what you think of the episode with a review or a comment wherever you listen to your podcasts.

Subscribe to the Science Focus Podcast on these services: Acast, iTunes, Stitcher, RSS, Overcast
Read the full transcription [this will open in a new window]

This podcast was supported by brilliant.org, helping people build quantitative skills in maths, science, and computer science with fun and challenging interactive explorations.

Listen to more episodes of the Science Focus Podcast:

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dr Julia Shaw: Why do we do bad things? Sep 07, 2020

Show notes

Everyone does bad things. We know deep down are wrong, but we do them anyway. Sometimes, people do things so bad that we call them evil.

Criminal psychologist Dr Julia Shaw says there’s no such thing as evil. In her book Making Evil, she argues that we should ditch the idea altogether, and try to understand so-called “evil” people.

In this week’s episode of the Science Focus Podcast, she talks about psychopaths, mental illness and why we do bad things.

Let us know what you think of the episode with a review or a comment wherever you listen to your podcasts.

Subscribe to the Science Focus Podcast on these services: Acast, iTunes, Stitcher, RSS, Overcast
Read the full transcription [this will open in a new window]

This podcast was supported by brilliant.org, helping people build quantitative skills in maths, science, and computer science with fun and challenging interactive explorations.

Listen to more episodes of the Science Focus Podcast:

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

James Hamblin: Should we all stop showering? Aug 31, 2020

Show notes

We know how important good hygiene is. It protects us from viral infections and diseases, but what if, by washing, soaping and scrubbing, we’re actually damaging our health?

Dr James Hamblin, journalist and professor of public health, stopped showering five years ago. In his new book, Clean (£16.99, Bodley Head), he reveals how our skin is affected by the products we apply. The overuse of soap and cosmetic products – sold to us with the promise of caring for our skin – might even be causing some of the ailments we’re using them to try to treat.

It hasn’t always been this way. Historically, humans have gone from seeing bathing as something vaguely sinful and reserved for the wealthy, to a daily necessity that, if neglected, is a huge social blunder.

According to James, it’s time for a whole new perspective on cleaning. One that starts with a personal reflection of our relationship with our body.

Let us know what you think of the episode with a review or a comment wherever you listen to your podcasts.

Subscribe to the Science Focus Podcast on these services: Acast, iTunes, Stitcher, RSS, Overcast
Read the full transcription [this will open in a new window]

This podcast was supported by brilliant.org, helping people build quantitative skills in maths, science, and computer science with fun and challenging interactive explorations.

Listen to more episodes of the Science Focus Podcast:

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Katie Mack: How will the Universe end? Aug 24, 2020

Show notes

The end of the Universe may be a common feature in science fiction, but this one isn’t a crisis that can be averted by a team of superheroes. The Universe really will come to an end one way or another, and we have an idea how – five ideas, actually.

In this week’s episode of the Science Focus Podcast, astrophysicist Dr Katie Mack talks to us about the future of the cosmos. She dives into these five possible apocalypses, from the Universe gradually fading out to the ‘quantum bubble of death’.

Let us know what you think of the episode with a review or a comment wherever you listen to your podcasts.

Subscribe to the Science Focus Podcast on these services: Acast, iTunes, Stitcher, RSS, Overcast
Read the full transcription [this will open in a new window]

This podcast was supported by brilliant.org, helping people build quantitative skills in maths, science, and computer science with fun and challenging interactive explorations.

Listen to more episodes of the Science Focus Podcast:

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rana el Kaliouby: What if computers could read our emotions? Aug 17, 2020

Show notes

For many, the coronavirus pandemic and lockdown restrictions has isolated us from the people we love, reducing our social life to screens and Zoom meetings. But even with the added visual, communicating online still isn’t as straightforward as being in-person. It can feel like jokes fall flat when everyone has their microphone off, and the jittering of poor signal can make anyone’s face hard to read.

But what if our computers could read and respond to our emotions? If the engagement of a virtual meeting could be shown on-screen to generate a buzz like the one of a live audience?

That’s just one possibility of a future with emotionally intelligent machines. Researcher and CEO Rana el Kaliouby believes that by teaching computers to read facial expressions, they could detect early signs of Parkinson’s, prevent drivers from getting behind the wheel when tired, or help teachers design educational programmes that keep kids engaged.

Rana speaks to us about making machines empathetic, being named by Forbes as one of America's top 50 women in tech, and how her research into human emotions has affected her personal life.

Subscribe to the Science Focus Podcast on these services: Acast, iTunes, Stitcher, RSS, Overcast
Read the full transcription

This podcast was supported by brilliant.org, helping people build quantitative skills in maths, science, and computer science with fun and challenging interactive explorations.

Listen to more episodes of the Science Focus Podcast:

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dr Rachel Brown: Why are some COVID-19 patients suffering from neurological complications? Aug 10, 2020

Show notes

A recent study carried out at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, UCLH, on confirmed or suspected COVID-19 patients has found neurological complications of the virus can, in some rare cases include delirium, brain inflammation, stroke and nerve damage.

We spoke to Dr Rachel Brown, an MRC Clinical Research Training Fellow involved with the study to find out more.

Subscribe to the Science Focus Podcast on these services: Acast, iTunes, Stitcher, RSS, Overcast
Read an edited version of the interview below

This podcast was supported by brilliant.org, helping people build quantitative skills in maths, science, and computer science with fun and challenging interactive explorations.

Listen to more episodes of the Science Focus Podcast:

COVID-19 could cause delirium, brain inflammation and stroke

A study carried out on a small number of confirmed or suspected Covid-19 patients at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery has linked the coronavirus to a number of neurological conditions.

Can you tell us about your research?

COVID-19 is still predominantly a respiratory illness, but in a small subset of patients we’ve been seeing neurological symptoms and syndromes.

Some of the early studies from Wuhan showed that around a third of patients were having neurological symptoms. In those early descriptions a lot of the symptoms that people were describing included things like headache and dizziness, loss of smell and things that could just really be attributed to viral illness.

As we gained more experience, we noticed other cases appearing that looked a little bit different. We have information from...

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Urban Birder: What wildlife can city-dwellers see? Aug 03, 2020

Show notes

Many of us have found solace in nature over the last few months, relishing our time outdoors, especially when it was limited to one form of exercise a day. A recent report by the RSPB found that people see access to nature as being important for health and wellbeing during and in recovery from the coronavirus crisis.

One man who has always been connected to the natural world is David Lindo. Known by most as the Urban Birder, David is a champion for the wellbeing benefits of wildlife, encouraging us all to get outside and see what we can find, be it in the garden, the city, or the countryside.

In this week’s episode of the Science Focus Podcast, David tells us about the human benefits of biodiversity, the need for conservation education, and diversity within the birding community.

Let us know what you think of the episode with a review or a comment wherever you listen to your podcasts.

Subscribe to the Science Focus Podcast on these services: Acast, iTunes, Stitcher, RSS, Overcast
Read the full transcription [this will open in a new window]

This podcast was supported by brilliant.org, helping people build quantitative skills in maths, science, and computer science with fun and challenging interactive explorations.

Listen to more episodes of the Science Focus Podcast:

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dr Michael Mosley: Why is sleep so important? Jul 27, 2020

Show notes

If, like us, you love to read a good science book, (and thanks to this podcast we’ve read a fair few over the years), you’ll probably recognise the feeling of having more questions about its subject at the end of the book than before you even turned page one.

It’s because of this that we decided to launch the Science Focus Book Club, where we pick out what we think is an excellent, thought provoking science book and ask your questions to its author.

You can sign up for the newsletter to find out which book is coming up next, but to give you a taster, in May, our legion of science book fans read Fast Asleep, by Science Focus columnist and BBC presenter Dr Michael Mosley.

In this week’s podcast we’ve selected a few of our favourite Q&As where he explains everything you need to know about sleep; from what it is, why we need it and how to get more of it.

Let us know what you think of the episode with a review or a comment wherever you listen to your podcasts.

Subscribe to the Science Focus Podcast on these services: Acast, iTunes, Stitcher, RSS, Overcast
Read the full transcription [this will open in a new window]

This podcast was supported by brilliant.org, helping people build quantitative skills in maths, science, and computer science with fun and challenging interactive explorations.

Listen to more episodes of the Science Focus Podcast:

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ritu Raman: Can you build with biology? Jul 20, 2020

Show notes

If I asked you to build a robot, the first materials you would probably reach for would be some metal bits and plastic bobs.

However, mechanical engineer Ritu Raman designs machines made with biological material, and has created all manner of wonderful machines, including a walking robot made with muscle tissue.

In this week’s episode of the Science Focus Podcast, she tells us about how to integrate biology into engineering and what these remarkable devices can do that traditional machines can’t.

Let us know what you think of the episode with a review or a comment wherever you listen to your podcasts.

Subscribe to the Science Focus Podcast on these services: Acast, iTunes, Stitcher, RSS, Overcast
Read the full transcription [this will open in a new window]

This podcast was supported by brilliant.org, helping people build quantitative skills in maths, science, and computer science with fun and challenging interactive explorations.

Listen to more episodes of the Science Focus Podcast:

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected