Instant Genius

Latest Episodes:

Elisa Raffaella Ferrè: What happens to the brain in space? May 18, 2020

Show notes

Here on Earth, we take the force of gravity for granted. For years, researchers have neglected to study its influence because of this very reason, but with commercial spaceflight on the horizon, researchers are now racing to discover what living off-Earth might do to our bodies and our brains.

In this week’s episode, we hear from psychologist Dr Elisa Raffaella Ferrè.

She explains how her studies are revealing the impact of gravity on our cognition through her experiments in a zero-g environment aboard the so-called ‘Vomit Comet’– the aircraft used to train astronauts for the weightlessness in space.

Read the edited interview - This is your brain on space: how gravity influences your mental abilities

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

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Sonia Contera: How will nanotechnology revolutionise medicine? May 11, 2020

Show notes

This week we talk to one of the world’s leading pioneers in the field of nanotechnology, Sonia Contera.

Nanotechnology is the application of science at a truly nano scale. To put that in perspective, if a nanometre were the size of a cup of tea, a meter would cover the diameter of the whole Earth.

Being able to control the world at such an intricate level has the potential to revolutionise medicine - enabling us to target cancer cells, deliver drugs and fight antibiotic resistance – but how do we create technology to that size?

Sonia talks to our editorial assistant Amy Barret about how her work in nanotechnology began, building proteins unknown to nature, and why going nano is nothing like in the movies.

Her book Nano Comes To Life (£22, Princeton University Press), is out now.

Read the full transcription [this will open in a new window]

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

Listen to more episodes of the Science Focus Podcast:

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Neil Shubin: How do big changes in evolution happen? May 04, 2020

Show notes

The first time a fish crawled out of the water and onto land, it was a turning point that led to brand new kinds of life. But this couldn’t happen on its own: that fish would have needed both lungs and legs.

Neil Shubin, evolutionary biologist and author of Some Assembly Required (£18.99, Oneworld), says that fish didn’t evolve these traits to help them live on land. In fact, the reason they could live on land was that they repurposed the body parts they had already.

The same remarkable changes have happened all through evolutionary history, from the first vertebrate life to the first flying dinosaurs.

He speaks to our Online assistant Sara Rigby.

Read the full transcription [this will open in a new window]

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

Listen to more episodes of the Science Focus Podcast:

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Your questions – Everything You Wanted To Know About…Physics, episode six Apr 29, 2020

Show notes

Prof Jim Al-Khalili answers listeners’ questions about physics, the Universe and everything else.

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Mysteries in physics – Everything You Wanted To Know About…Physics, episode five Apr 28, 2020

Show notes

Prof Jim Al-Khalili reveals some of the biggest unsolved mysteries. We talk about the plausibility of time travel, whether there are multiple universes and what we need to discover a ‘theory of everything’.

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Energy – Everything You Wanted To Know About…Physics, episode four Apr 27, 2020

Show notes

Prof Jim Al-Khalili tackles thermodynamics – the study of energy. Together, we unravel the idea of entropy, talk about the direction of time and muse upon the inevitable heat death of the Universe.

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Quantum physics – Everything You Wanted To Know About…Physics, episode three Apr 26, 2020

Show notes

Prof Jim Al-Khalili demystifies the strange world of quantum physics. We discuss the key experiments, how quantum effects play out in the real world and, of course, Schrödinger's infamous cat.

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Space & Time – Everything You Wanted To Know About…Physics, episode two Apr 25, 2020

Show notes

Prof Jim Al-Khalili helps us get to grips with the big concepts in cosmology. We talk space time, relativity and, of course, the end of the Universe.

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The Fundamentals – Everything You Wanted to Know About…Physics, episode one Apr 24, 2020

Show notes

Prof Jim Al-Khalili breaks down the building blocks of the Universe and reveals what simplicity, beauty and elegance have to do with physics.

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Everything You Wanted To Know About Physics, with Prof Jim Al-Khalili Apr 22, 2020

Show notes

Let your curiosity run wild. No question is off-limits in this new podcast series from the team behind BBC Science Focus magazine. In Everything You Wanted To Know About… world-leading experts answer Google’s most searched for queries and tackle questions from our listeners.

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