Babbage from The Economist (subscriber edition)

A new class of drugs for weight loss have become available and are showing promising results. That’s welcome news, as a recent report estimates that half of the world’s population is expected to be overweight or obese by 2035. Obesity is a disease which can lead to serious health complications–and most previous attempts at treating it have proven futile. Can the new weight-loss drugs turn the tide against this global threat?Louise Baur, president of the World Obesity Federation crunches the numbers on the global impact of overweight and obesity. Stephan Guyenet, a neurobiologist and author of “The Hungry Brain”, explains the neurological and genetic factors that influence weight gain. Chris van Tulleken, an infectious diseases doctor at University College London and author of the upcoming book “Ultra-Processed People”, explores how the modern diet is contributing to the obesity epidemic–and other health problems. Plus, host Alok Jha asks Natasha Loder, The Economist’s health editor, how important the new skinny jabs are in the fight against obesity.For full access to The Economist’s print, digital and audio editions subscribe at economist.com/podcastoffer and sign up for our weekly science newsletter at economist.com/simplyscience.

The Third International Summit on Human Genome Editing was held this week in London. It was the first such meeting since 2018, when a Chinese researcher announced that he had created the world’s first genetically edited babies—a move that was roundly condemned at the time. Host Alok Jha and Natasha Loder, The Economist’s health editor, report from the conference to explore the exciting future—and knotty challenges—of the world that gene-editing therapies could create.Robin Lovell-Badge, a leading scientist at the Francis Crick Institute in London and the organiser of the summit, explains how genome-editing technology has rapidly advanced in recent years. Claire Booth, a professor of gene therapy and paediatric immunology at Great Ormond Street Hospital and University College London discusses the hopes of gene-editing treatments. Plus, Kelly Ormond, a bioethicist from ETH-Zurich, explores the ethical dilemmas that are raised by the technology, and Filippa Lentzos of King’s College London, explains why human genome editing presents potential biosecurity risks.Listen to previous episodes of “Babbage” on the topic: the gene therapy revolution and an interview with Jennifer Doudna, the pioneer of CRISPR-Cas9 technology. For full access to The Economist’s print, digital and audio editions subscribe at economist.com/podcastoffer and sign up for our weekly science newsletter at economist.com/simplyscience.

There is a worrying amount of fraud in medical research. As many as one in 50 research papers may be unreliable because of fabrication, plagiarism or serious errors. Fabricated data can influence the guidelines which doctors use to treat patients. Misguided clinical guidelines could cause serious illness and death in patients. Fraudulent studies can also influence further research programmes—recent findings suggest that manipulated images may have resulted in scientists wasting time and money following blind alleys in Alzheimer’s research for decades. What can be done to combat scientific malpractice? Dorothy Bishop, a retired professor of psychology at the University of Oxford, explores the motivation behind fraudsters in research. John Carlisle, an anaesthetist and an editor of the journal Anaesthesia, explains the impact of fraud and how to detect it in research papers. Also, Elisabeth Bik, a former microbiologist and a full-time scientific image detective, discusses the consequences of whistle-blowing on both sleuths and the fraudsters. Plus, The Economist’s health-care correspondent, Slavea Chankova, investigates how to overcome the worrying unwillingness on all sides to do anything about fraud in research. Alok Jha hosts.For full access to The Economist’s print, digital and audio editions subscribe at economist.com/podcastoffer and sign up for our weekly science newsletter at economist.com/simplyscience.

Over the past few years, hundreds of rugby players have launched class-action lawsuits against the sport’s governing bodies, accusing them of failing to do enough to protect players from head injuries. They say that repeated blows to the head, sustained through years of playing rugby, or other sports, have caused neurodegenerative conditions like dementia, motor neurone and Parkinson’s diseases. But can scientific evidence prove a link between contact sports and these brain conditions? Alix Popham, a Welsh former professional rugby player, tells his story of head injuries on the pitch and his desired outcomes from the lawsuits. Plus, Lauren Pulling, who runs the Drake Foundation, explains the current state of neuroscientific research and what further studies are needed to investigate the connection. Alok Jha hosts with Natasha Loder, The Economist’s health editor, and Georgia Banjo, our Britain correspondent. For full access to The Economist’s print, digital and audio editions subscribe at economist.com/podcastoffer and sign up for our weekly science newsletter at economist.com/simplyscience.

Over the past 18 months, the largest-ever recorded avian influenza outbreak has decimated bird populations around the world. But recently bird flu has spread to mammals. Last week, Peru reported the deaths of 585 sea lions. If the virus has mutated to enable mammal-to-mammal transmission, that could be an intermediate step towards human-to-human transmission. How worrying is this threat?Susan Davies, CEO of the Scottish Seabird Centre, describes how the H5N1 avian flu has affected populations of wild birds. Ian Brown of Britain’s Animal and Plant Health Agency explains why the dynamics of this outbreak are concerning scientists. Plus, we ask Marion Koopmans, head of viroscience at Erasmus MC, why she’s more worried than ever about a human influenza pandemic. The Economist’s Slavea Chankova also compares the influenza threat to the covid-19 pandemic. Do we have enough tools in our arsenal? Alok Jha hosts. For full access to The Economist’s print, digital and audio editions subscribe at economist.com/podcastoffer and sign up for our weekly science newsletter at economist.com/simplyscience.

Engineers have spent decades trying to create functional humanoid robots, which look and act like humans. But these machines, which combine complex mechanics with generative artificial intelligence models, like ChatGPT, are finally coming-of-age. Are they good enough to sustain a human-like conversation, though?Host Alok Jha travels to Cornwall to meet Ameca, a robot made by Engineered Arts. Will Jackson, the company’s boss, explains how the technology behind Ameca works and the advantages of having robots that look and behave like people. Plus, Paul Markillie, The Economist’s innovation editor, assesses the state of the field and how to prepare for the rollout of humanoid robots. For full access to The Economist’s print, digital and audio editions subscribe at economist.com/podcastoffer and sign up for our weekly science newsletter at economist.com/simplyscience.

Alcohol is the most widely used drug in the world, but it is also the cause of three million deaths each year and has been linked to many other long-term illnesses. In addition, the loss of productivity due to hangovers has an outsized impact on some economies. People still want to have a good time, though, and innovators are dreaming up ways to enjoy the effects of alcohol, without the costs.Jason Hosken, our producer, visits Brixton Brewery to speak to co-founders Jez Galaun and Xochitl Benjamin about the rise of alcohol-free beer. Natasha Loder, The Economist’s health editor, investigates the herbal drinks that claim to mimic the effects of alcohol. Plus, David Nutt, a professor at Imperial College London explains how alcohol affects the brain and why his synthetic alcohol could reduce excessive drinking and end hangovers forever. For full access to The Economist’s print, digital and audio editions subscribe at economist.com/podcastoffer and sign up for our weekly science newsletter at economist.com/simplyscience.

Three firms are racing to become the first private company to land on the Moon. The potential commercial opportunities range from mining lunar resources to establishing a human base with communications infrastructure. But the commercialisation of the Moon raises tricky questions about who owns Earth’s closest neighbour.Steve Altemus, CEO of Intuitive Machines, explains what he hopes his company’s missions will achieve, while Ian Jones of Goonhilly Earth Station describes how the blossoming private space sector is boosting the economy. And Dhara Patel, an expert at Britain’s National Space Centre, explores how the international community has attempted to govern space. Alok Jha hosts with Tom Standage, The Economist’s deputy editor.For full access to The Economist’s print, digital and audio editions subscribe at economist.com/podcastoffer and sign up for our weekly science newsletter at economist.com/simplyscience.

Digital fakery, from the latest generation of deepfakes to lower-tech trickery, threatens to erode trust in societies and can prevent justice from being served. But how can technology be used to both detect deepfakes and authenticate real images?Patrick Traynor, a professor at the University of Florida, explains a novel method to expose audio generated by artificial intelligence. Ilke Demir of Intel Labs demonstrates how to spot visual fakery by analysing colour changes in the face. Plus, The Economist’s Benjamin Sutherland investigates the flipside of deepfakes: how to prove that footage is real. And Wendy Betts of eyeWitness to Atrocities explains how her technology is being used as evidence for war crimes. Alok Jha hosts.For full access to The Economist’s print, digital and audio editions subscribe at economist.com/podcastoffer and sign up for our weekly science newsletter at economist.com/simplyscience.

SpaceX’s Starlink was designed to provide off-grid high-bandwidth internet access to civilians. But the mega-constellation of satellites has become more famous for its role in Ukraine. In 2022, it became vital to the country’s war effort, revealing the military potential of near-ubiquitous communications. Now, with more companies and countries piling in to build their own mega-constellations, a new space race is on.Shashank Joshi,The Economist’s defence editor, and Tim Cross, our technology and society editor, examine how the satellites have saved Ukraine and changed warfare. Aaron Bateman of George Washington University explores the military history of satellite communications. And Herming Chiueh, Taiwan’s deputy minister for digital affairs, explains why the threat from China has led the island to pursue its own Starlink-like satellite system. Alok Jha hosts.For full access to The Economist’s print, digital and audio editions subscribe at economist.com/podcastoffer and sign up for our weekly science newsletter at economist.com/simplyscience.