Episode 282

Looking back at some of the best stories New Scientist has published in 2024, this episode is a treasure trove of knowledge that will serve you well over the holiday season. Rowan Hooper hosts a panel of New Scientist journalists, as they take it in turn to highlight their favourite moments from the year.

Head of features Josh Howgego kicks off by looking at the race to find an amazing and strange form of hydrogen, known as ‘gold hydrogen’ - a game-changer for sustainability which may be more abundant than we first realised. He also discusses the mystery of kimberlites, supersonic volcanoes that spew diamonds which went extinct millions of years ago.

Alison George takes on the story of Thorin the neanderthal, whose remains are shedding light on how the ancient species died out - and surprisingly, it may not have been our fault. She also explores the new science of tinnitus and how it might help us cure hearing loss one day.

Thomas Lewton looks at some mad physics stories from the year, including an unnerving idea that a quantum fluctuation involving the Higgs boson could cause the universe to vanish at any moment. They also explore an old theory that quantum effects explain consciousness, which has been revived thanks to new research into anaesthetics and brain organoids.

And Linda Rodriguez-McRobbie throws some nuance into the discussion about screen-time, something often blamed for the current youth mental health crisis - and why it might not be all bad. She also explains how researchers this year were able to reanimate a pig’s brain, four hours after it was separated from its body, upending our concept of death.

To read more about these stories, visit https://www.newscientist.com/

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