The World, the Universe and Us

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#170 How Venice is confronting climate change and adapting to the rising seas Feb 20, 2023

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Venice, Italy, is often voted the world’s most beautiful city. Built across 120 small islands in a shallow lagoon, it’s been an important financial and cultural centre for over a thousand years. But it faces an existential threat from sea level rise caused by climate change.

Rowan Hooper visits the city’s new water defence system – a €6 billion sea barrier designed to defend Venice against high tides. But what does the barrier mean for the ecology of the lagoon, and what about people living on coasts around the world who don’t have the protection of a sea wall or barrier?

In a special episode of the podcast, Rowan discusses these issues with Ignazio Musu, professor of environmental economics at Venice International University, and Swenja Surminski, professor of climate adaptation at the Grantham Research Institute at the London School of Economics.

To read about subjects like this and much more, you can subscribe to New Scientist magazine at newscientist.com.

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#169 Why the US is shooting down UFOs; the science behind period cravings; saving the UK’s rivers Feb 16, 2023

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The UK’s rivers are in a dire state. Full of sewage, chemicals and prescription drugs, life in our rivers is suffering. New Scientist has teamed up with the i newspaper to launch the Save Britain’s Rivers campaign to raise awareness of the issue and get changes in the law. The team explores the problem, which includes question marks over illegal activity, and explains the aims of the campaign.

UFOs are on our radar, quite literally, as US fighter jets have suddenly been tasked with blowing them out of the sky over North America. But why now? The team explains how this hunt for flying objects was started by a suspicious Chinese balloon.

Can love be measured? While we may never figure out exactly what it is, a team of researchers has come up with a way of measuring where in the world people are most loved-up. From a list of 45 countries, the team shares the official winners and losers.

Did you know there may be an evolutionary advantage to having curly hair? The team shares the findings of the first study to examine hair type from an evolutionary perspective.

Why do some women get cravings for certain foods during their period? The team discuss a study of cis-women suggesting that inflammation could key us into what’s going on, and why cravings vary. Also, don’t miss our investigation of the vaginal microbiome - what an ecosystem!

On the pod are Rowan Hooper, Penny Sarchet, Graham Lawton, Alice Klein, Jeremy Hsu, Alexandra Thompson and Daniel Capurro. To read about these subjects and much more, you can subscribe to New Scientist magazine at newscientist.com.

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#168 Polar Sounds: Rare underwater noises from the Arctic and Antarctic Feb 13, 2023

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Hear the chattering sounds of a narwhal, the surprisingly tuneful tones of singing sea ice, and the alarming crashes of ice shelves collapsing in this special bonus episode of the podcast. These rare noises, captured by hydrophones in the Arctic and Antarctic, paint a fascinating image of two of our planet’s lesser-known regions.

Rowan Hooper catches up with Stuart Fowkes, the founder of Cities and Memory, one of the world’s biggest sounds projects, which has joined forces with scientists and musicians to present these sounds, and to interpret them.

To read about subjects like this and much more, you can subscribe to New Scientist magazine at newscientist.com.

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#167 Bird flu in mammals, the cause of sunquakes, and the entropy of consciousness – the latest news in science Feb 09, 2023

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The continuing avian flu epidemic is devastating bird populations. And now there are concerns over increasing numbers of mammals becoming infected. As reports rise, the team finds out whether this strain of bird flu may begin to pose a bigger threat to humans.

Everyone’s jumping on the AI chat bandwagon. As ChatGPT continues to make headlines, two big companies have just announced their contributions to the field. The team explains how both Google and Baidu are looking to change search engines as we know them with their AI models Bard and Ernie.

A new discovery has advanced our understanding of consciousness. It turns out that our brains produce less entropy when we’re asleep than when we’re awake. The team explains what’s going on.

Mysterious sunquakes may be caused by weird beams of electrons from solar flares. It’s long been debated whether flares could cause these ripples on the Sun’s surface, but the team looks at new research on the connection between the two.

A collection of rarely heard sounds recorded in the Arctic and Antarctic have been released as part of a project called Cities and Memories. The team shares the Clanger-like whistles of weddell seals and the chain-sawing sounds of crabeater seals. If you like what you hear, there’s a bonus episode coming up with loads more sounds.

On the pod are Penny Sarchet, Timothy Revell, Matt Sparkes, Madeleine Cuff and Karmela Padavic-Callaghan. To read about these subjects and much more, you can subscribe to New Scientist magazine at newscientist.com.

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#166 Immune systems: Is yours weak or strong and how can you boost your immune system to fight disease? Feb 07, 2023

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The immune system is the intricate constellation of cells and molecules in our bodies that defends us against disease and on this special bonus episode of New Scientist Weekly we delve into the latest science on how the immune system works.

Why do some people never seem to get ill? What was the effect of covid lockdowns on our immune system? Is it really possible to boost your immune system through eating certain foods? Do you have a naturally strong or weak immune system? And how can we engineer the immune system to seek and destroy cancers that have evaded treatment?

Discussing these issues are New Scientist journalists Rowan Hooper, Helen Thomson, Penny Sarchet and Michael Le Page. These stories and much more are explored in a special edition of New Scientist magazine, also available to download on our app.

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#165 Water dowsing to detect leaks; Astroforge going asteroid mining; AI discovers new bacteria-killing proteins – the latest news in science Feb 02, 2023

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An ancient and debunked method of searching for water leaks is still being used by some of the UK’s water companies. The team finds out why water dowsing is still in practice, despite being scientifically discredited. But they also find out how it might actually work - just not in the way you think.

People have sometimes complained that the chimps in the various Planet of the Apes films have unrealistic eyes - because they have whites around the iris, like humans. But it turns out real chimps actually do have whites too. We thought this white sclera was only a human thing - but as Rowan finds out, we were wrong.

An artificial intelligence called ProGen has designed bacteria-killing synthetic proteins, some of which actually work when inserted into cells. The team suggests this is a “short-cut to evolution” and is very promising for the development of new antibiotics.

Asteroid mining tech is being tested in space in April by satellite construction company AstroForge. Rowan speaks with their co-founder to hear what they’re hoping to achieve, and discusses the company’s second mission planned for later this year, when they’ll be doing a flyby of a near-Earth asteroid to look for platinum.

If you look up at the sky you may just see a rare green comet flying by. Comet C/2022 only heads this way every 50,000 years, so the team explains how you can seize the opportunity to see it for yourself.

On the pod are Rowan Hooper, Penny Sarchet, Matt Sparkes, Abby Beal and Karmela Padavic-Callaghan. To read about these subjects and much more, you can subscribe to New Scientist magazine at newscientist.com.

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#164 The Last of Us: the science of a fungal zombie apocalypse Jan 30, 2023

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The new HBO series The Last of Us is making waves, raking in a steady stream of high reviews. Based on a game of the same name, it’s set in a world where a parasitic fungus called Cordyceps has mutated to infect and zombify humans.

In this bonus episode of the podcast, Bethan Ackerley asks if this could actually happen in real life. She’s joined by fungal pathogens expert Professor Matthew Fisher of Imperial College London.

To read about these subjects, Beth’s review of The Last of Us, and much more, you can subscribe to New Scientist magazine at newscientist.com.

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#163 Antidepressants; Exoplanets; California’s megadroughts – the latest news in science Jan 26, 2023

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A vaccine for the respiratory virus RSV may be ready this year. In fact, after decades of efforts, successful vaccines have arrived like buses, with three of them on the way. As a particularly devastating virus for young children and the elderly, the team explains just how impactful these new vaccines will be.

You may have read headlines that Earth’s core is changing direction - but the team explains why it’s not all it’s cracked up to be. They also bring less-than-thrilling news for the existence of life in the universe, as we may have been overestimating how many planets are out there that have the right conditions for life.

Following intense rainfall, floods and disaster declarations, California finally has a dry forecast. But, the team asks, has all this water helped ease the State’s worst-in-a-century drought? And will we see more of these dramatic swings in weather as climate change worsens?

Science has shown what most people who take antidepressants already know - that they blunt both bad and good emotions. The team explores the implications of this new study.

You may be noticing a few bonus episodes popping up in your feed lately. The team shares a teaser of the latest ones, including a discussion about ‘tipping points’ with climate scientist Tim Lenton, and a chat with fungal pathogen expert Mat Fisher about the new fungal horror TV show The Last of Us.

On the pod are Rowan Hooper, Penny Sarchet, James Dinneen, Michael Le Page and Leah Crane. To read about these subjects and much more, you can subscribe to New Scientist magazine at newscientist.com.

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#162 How to trigger positive tipping points to tackle climate change Jan 25, 2023

Show notes

On this special episode of the show, host Rowan Hooper and environment reporter Madeleine Cuff chat with climate scientist Tim Lenton of the University of Exeter.

Tim has just contributed to a research paper that suggested governments could trigger a mass shift to plant-based diets, simply by serving more vegan burgers in schools and hospitals. We discuss with Tim the power of leveraging so-called positive tipping points to bring about large-scale change.

Topics in a wide-ranging and fascinating discussion include: green hydrogen, better fuel for ships, James Lovelock and negative tipping points. These are processes such as the drying of the Amazon rainforest or the melting of the Western Antarctic ice shelf, that, if triggered, would become irreversible and self-perpetuating and that would certainly speed up climate change. One such tipping point that Tim highlights is the Atlantic ocean conveyor belt, and in particular, the deep convection in the Labrador Sea. If the tipping point for this is reached, and models suggest it could happen at the warming we are now seeing, then Europe would shift to a far more seasonal climate, with extremes in both winter and summer.

To read about these subjects and much more, you can subscribe to New Scientist magazine at newscientist.com.

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#161 What they don’t tell you about the climate crisis with Assaad Razzouk Jan 23, 2023

Show notes

In this bonus episode of the podcast, hear Rowan Hooper’s extended interview with Assaad Razzouk, author of Saving the Planet Without the Bullshit: What they don’t tell you about the climate crisis.

For a refreshing take on the climate crisis, find out why Assaad believes we need to feel less guilty about our personal actions when it comes to tackling climate change. In this episode he argues things like going vegan and flying less are just distractions, and explains where he believes the real battle lies.

To read about these subjects and much more, you can subscribe to New Scientist magazine at newscientist.com.

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