The world, the universe and us

The delta variant of covid-19 has torn across India, and is making its way around the globe, forcing the extension of lockdown measures in the UK. The team explores its spread, and also digs into findings showing that “elimination countries” - those which enacted swift and extreme lockdown measures - have fared better across the board in the health, wealth and even freedom of their populations. They then discuss the Ice Memory Project, which is archiving and preserving material and data from glaciers - ancient relics that have been trapped in the ice for millennia, sadly thawing due to global warming. There’s a conversation with forensic psychiatrist and psychotherapist Gwen Adshead about the capacity we all have for evil - the subject of her new book ‘The Devil You Know’. On top of that, there’s the news that China has launched the first group of astronauts to its new space station and laid out its plans for an international moon base, and a story about monogamy in seahorses, where it is the males who get pregnant. On the pod are Rowan Hooper, Tiffany O’Callaghan, and Graham Lawton. To read about these stories and much more, subscribe at newscientist.com/podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For the first time in 18 years, a new drug for Alzheimer’s disease has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration. This is big news because rather than just treating the symptoms, the drug targets the amyloid plaques that are thought to cause the disease. But the team explains why there are still many reasons to remain cautious. They also discuss an exciting breakthrough in our understanding of the brain, as Google researchers have, for the first time, mapped all the connections in one cubic millimeter of human brain tissue, containing a whopping 50 thousand brain cells and 130 million connections. Then there’s the little story about how time can appear to violate the second law of thermodynamics, by running backwards instead of forwards. The team also celebrates the revival of an animal frozen in permafrost for 24,000 years, and they travel to the very edges of the galaxy where, for the first time, organic molecules have been detected. On the pod are Rowan Hooper, Tiffany O’Callaghan, Mike Marshall and Anna Demming. To read about these stories and much more, subscribe at newscientist.com/podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From a bat… or from a lab? It seemed the question of where SARS-CoV-2 originated had been settled, but recently it's been reignited. Amid lots of conflicting and confusing news stories, the team explores what we really know about the origins of covid-19. They then mark a historic tipping point in climate news, as three of the world’s biggest fossil fuel companies are forced to work harder and faster to reduce their environmental impact. They also speak to Elinor Cleghorn, author of a new book called ‘Unwell Women: A Journey Through Medicine And Myth in a Man-Made World’, which examines the origins of the gender pain gap. They dig into new findings from the Libyan civil war showing autonomous robot drones, for the first time in history, have used AI to identify and attack humans. And on the brighter side of robotics, the team finds out about a cafe in Tokyo staffed by robots acting as avatar bodies for remote workers, which is offering people with life-limiting diseases a chance to interact with the outside world. On the pod are Rowan Hooper, Cat de Lange, Graham Lawton and Anna Demming. To read about these stories and much more, subscribe at newscientist.com/podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A new variant of coronavirus which originated in India is spreading rapidly. The team explains how both this new mutation and the UK variant are capable of evading vaccines, causing huge concerns for the global fight against covid-19. They also discuss whether the risks of solar geoengineering outweigh the benefits, as new research in the journal Nature Food looks at the potential impact on agricultural yields. They discuss a revolution taking place in archaeology as the discipline absorbs modern techniques from genetics, speaking to anatomist Alice Roberts about her new book Ancestors: The Pre-History of Britain in Seven Burials. They hear the calls of red-handed tamarin monkeys who change their accents when they move in with a neighbouring species. And they discuss the extraordinary news that a man who was once blind has had his sight partially restored thanks to optogenetics. On the pod are Rowan Hooper, Tiffany O'Callaghan and Michael Le Page. To read about these stories and much more, subscribe at newscientist.com/podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When it comes to climate change, carbon dioxide usually gets the spotlight, but methane, although shorter-lived in the atmosphere, is more potent as a greenhouse gas - and levels have been mysteriously increasing. The team explains where the methane is coming from and how efforts to curb methane emissions could be important in tackling global warming. They then explore the peculiar discovery that pigs can breathe oxygen through the anus, and what that means for future applications in space travel. In coronavirus news, the team highlights the disparity between the rich and the poor in the global vaccine rollout. They also discuss the exciting arrival of a Chinese rover on Mars, and a story about the monogamous relationships of Californian mice. On the pod are Rowan Hooper, Tiffany O'Callaghan, Michael Le Page, and Adam Vaughan. Also check out the story of how the way you move can change the way you think, and how chemists are rethinking the way atoms stick together. To read about these and much more, subscribe at newscientist.com/podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Efforts to fight covid-19 won’t stop even when everyone is vaccinated. There’s a good chance we’ll need vaccine booster shots to keep on top of the disease. With Israel already planning to roll these out, and many other countries considering the same, the team explains what the booster shots will look like. They then explore the mind-melting discovery that simply by measuring time, humans are adding to the amount of entropy or disorder in the universe. They catch up with the neuroscientist David Eagleman who explains the concept of brain plasticity. They mark a very special year for the loudest insect in the world - cicadas - and they discuss how degrowth - a deliberate step down in economic activity - might be the safest way to keep global warming at 1.5 degrees. On the pod are Rowan Hooper, Tiffany O'Callaghan, Graham Lawton and Clare Wilson. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The most detailed analysis yet of global warming and sea level rise has been published. The paper’s lead author, Tamsin Edwards of King’s College London, explains that we now have a better understanding of the consequences of missing the 1.5 degrees target of the Paris Agreement. Later the team gets introspective as they learn about metacognition, and how brain scanners are now able to measure self-awareness: learn how to boost your own self-awareness here. They discuss how the digital currency Bitcoin will soon create more carbon pollution than the whole of Sweden. And they explain how the naming of a new species of ant has been used to champion gender diversity, and share some amazing findings about the crew from the wreck of Henry VIII’s warship the Mary Rose. Also, make sure to check out this piece from Jemma Wadham who spent two weeks living under a glacier in Norway. On the pod are Rowan Hooper, Tiffany O'Callaghan, Cat de Lange, Karina Shah and Matt Sparkes. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s been 35 years since the devastating explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. But new research shows there has been no increase in genetic mutations in people who worked to clean up the accident site, nor in their children. The team discusses communicating safety risks around radiation with the director of the Chernobyl Tissue Bank, Gerry Thomas. The team then talks about two stories in space exploration news, with another SpaceX launch to the ISS, and the start of the construction of a new Chinese space station. We also hear from legendary biologist Suzanne Simard. Simard discovered the wood wide web - revealing that trees live in a connected society, trading, collaborating and communicating in sophisticated ways through a shared underground network. The team also discusses a rapid rise of covid-19 infections in India, and they dig into the discovery of ancient structures in Arabia which predate Stonehenge and the Pyramids. On the pod are Rowan Hooper, Tiffany O'Callaghan, Michael Le Page, Leah Crane and Ibrahim Sawal. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

To mark Earth Day 2021, we’ve assembled a panel of experts to discuss climate change and biodiversity loss - “two runaway crises tightly interlinked that will mutually make each other’s effects worse”. New evidence shows 2021 really is a make-or-break year for the environment and the planet. In this episode the panel explores the disparity between our efforts to combat each issue, they explain how some attempts to help the environment can actually worsen the situation, and they discuss the limitations of carbon drawdown technologies. The discussion leans into the dangers of losing the Amazon rainforest, the importance of working with local communities, and the role billionaires play in advancing global climate goals. And while the scale of the problem seems insurmountable to many, the team says it’s important to remember that your actions are not futile - taking a personal stand and changing your habits is still absolutely critical. The Earth can recover, if we let it. On the pod this week: New Scientist journalists Rowan Hooper, Michael Le Page and Adam Vaughan, joined by Tilly Collins from the Centre for Environmental Policy and Bonnie Waring from the Grantham Institute for Climate Change and the Environment.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The vibrations of a spider’s web have been transformed into some spectacularly haunting pieces of music. The team shares the work of MIT researcher Markus Buehler, which gives us a glimpse into what life is like for a spider. The team then discusses new research suggesting psilocybin, the psychoactive component of magic mushrooms, might be an effective way of treating depression. The theme of sound continues as the team shares the work of molecular biologist and composer Mark Temple, who’s turned the genetic sequence of the coronavirus into beautiful and ethereal music. On top of this, the team brings news of a robot with an artificial nervous system that’s learnt to catch a ball, and they celebrate a new discovery about the world’s oldest animal, the comb jelly. On the pod are Rowan Hooper, Chelsea Whyte, Sam Wong and Donna Lu. To read more about all these stories, subscribe at newscientist.com/podcasts. And if you want to hear more of Markus Buehler’s work, visit his SoundCloud page. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices