CrowdScience

Why are some animals cute, cuddly, adorable – and some are slimy, creepy and downright weird? This edition of Crowdscience, recorded in front of a live audience, comes to you directly from the world-famous Green Man Festival in Bannau Brycheiniog National Park in Cymru (Wales). The programme recording was powered entirely by hydrogen. Our inbox has been bursting at the seams with questions about creepy crawlies, deep sea beasties, cheeky monkeys, endangered species and animals of all shapes and sizes. So, we rounded up a panel of experts to get some answers! Surrounded by 25,000 people trudging merrily through the mud, pelted with torrential rain, underscored by the warm hum of revelry, the BBC’s Marnie Chesterton speaks with Dr David Jones from the Natural History Museum, an expert on creepy crawlies and someone who spends a considerable amount of time thinking about earthworms, ants, and termites. Also joining us is Jess Savage, a researcher from the Institute of Zoology in London who’s an expert on ocean-dwelling animals and the impact of plastic pollution. Finally, we have Simon Watt, a biologist, comedian and founder of the Ugly Animal Preservation Society. Join us for this very special edition of Crowdscience, in partnership with Green Man Festival, where we bring the experts closer to you than ever before. Presenter: Marnie Chesterton Producer: Emily Bird Editor: Richard Collings Technical producer: Mike Cox Studio manager: Jackie Margerum Production co-ordinator: Jonathan Harris(Photo: Marnie and guests. Credit: Jonathan Harris)

This episode of CrowdScience compares the health benefits of farmed and wild salmon. They explore the differences between the two, including their life cycles and environments. The podcast also discusses the nutrient density, omega-3 content, and contaminant levels of each type of salmon. They delve into the unintended consequences of salmon farming and the environmental impacts. Additionally, they explore alternatives to fish-based feed and the potential of recirculating aquaculture systems for salmon production.

CrowdScience listener Kristine from Wisconsin in the USA wants to know why herbs and spices taste so good to so many of us. She’s intrigued to know if there's evidence that herbs and spices can keep us healthy. Anand Jagatia visits the historic naval city of Portsmouth in the UK, where exotic spices from around the world were first brought in from the East Asia more than 600 years ago. He’s on a journey to find out why many of us think spices are delicious. But are there also nutritional benefits to seasoning our food with them? Anand asks what science or studies are there to show that eating herbs and spices can be beneficial for our health? Presenter: Anand Jagatia Producer: Joanna Hall Assistant Producer: Jonathan Harris Editor: Richard Collings Studio Technicians: Bob Nettles & Steve Greenwood Contributors: Prof. Lindell Bromham, evolutionary biologist, Australian National University Dr. Kanchan Koya, Molecular Biologist and founder of the Spice Spice Baby website Dr. Beronda L. Montgomery, plant biologist and Dean at Grinnell College, Iowa, USA Dr. Lorenzo Stafford an olfactory researcher, Department of Psychology, University of Portsmouth, UK (Photo: A couple stand at a spice shop. Credit: Thomas Barwick / Getty Images)

Humans have an outsized impact on the planet: we’ve wreaked havoc on countless ecosystems and one study estimates only 3% of land on Earth remains untouched by our influence. CrowdScience listener Teri has witnessed the harmful effects of development on natural habitats near her home, and wonders whether we can ever function as part of a healthy ecosystem. We look for answers in Teri’s home state, California. Humans have lived here for over 10,000 years and its first inhabitants formed a connection to their landscape unlike the exploitative approach of many later settlers. Today, the beliefs and traditions of the Karuk Tribe of northern California still emphasise a symbiotic relationship with nature, seeing plants and animals as their relations. Over the past couple of centuries much of the Karuk’s land has been degraded by mining, the timber industry and the outlawing of traditional burning practices. Tribal members show us how they’re working to try to restore ecological balance.As for the rest of humanity: can we rein in our destructive relationship to nature; or even have a beneficial effect on our local ecosystems?Contributors: Kathy McCovey - Karuk Tribe member and cultural practitioner Dr Steward Pickett - Ecologist, Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies Bill Tripp - Karuk Tribe member and Director of Natural Resources and Environmental Policy, Karuk Tribe Department of Natural Resources Dr Frank Kanawha Lake - US Forest Service Research Ecologist and Tribal Liaison Will Harling - Co-lead, Western Klamath Restoration Partnership Presenter: Caroline Steel Producer: Cathy Edwards Editor: Richard Collings Production Co-ordinator: Jonathan Harris Studio Manager: Giles Aspen & Steve Greenwood (Image: Huckleberries and tanoak acorns gathered near a burn site. Credit: Stormy Staats)

It's pretty obvious to each of us that we are conscious, as we go about our days and feel the experience of just ‘being ourselves'. But how do we know that someone else is conscious? It’s something we lose during dreamless sleep, under anaesthesia or in a coma. But what exactly is consciousness? On the one hand, it’s pretty obvious - it’s what we all feel as we go about our daily lives. It's the experience of 'being you'. On the other hand, it gets pretty tricky when we try to pin down the science of it all. How do we know that someone (or something) else is conscious? CrowdScience listener Sylvester was wondering about this and he got in touch with a few questions on the subject. What is the relationship between our consciousness and reality? Is it all just a hallucination? When does it start and stop? Does consciousness reside in a particular part of the brain? Host Marnie Chesterton sets out to tackle this elusive but utterly fundamental quality of life and sees how researchers are attempting to conceptualise and study it. In the relatively young field of consciousness multiple theories have emerged. A new way of testing them - an adversarial collaboration - is offering a novel approach to not just consciousness research but science more broadly. We visit one lab in Frankfurt that's running experiments for the most recent adversarial collaboration and trying to test two theories of consciousness – Global Neuronal Workspace Theory (GNW) and Integrated Information Theory (IIT) – against each other. Looking at these and other concepts of consciousness like Qualia, Marnie tries to understand this central tenet of our human experience that, in many ways, remains one of the great mysteries of science. Presenter: Marnie Chesterton Producer: Sam Baker Editor: Richard Collings Production Coordinator: Jonathan Harris Studio Manager: Sarah Hockley Featuring: Anil Seth, Sussex Centre for Consciousness Science, University of Sussex in Brighton, England Lucia Melloni, Max Planck for Empirical Aesthetics in Frankfurt, New York University & Project Lead for COGITATE Nao Tsuchiya, Monash Data Futures Institute, Turner Institute for Brain & Mental Health, Monash University (Image: Active Human Brain. Credit: PM Images / Getty Images)

Scientists discuss the potential of growing a human brain using stem cells, exploring applications in neuroscience research, the generation of brain organoids, and the treatment of neurological disorders. The concept of consciousness and the ethical implications are examined, along with the challenges of measuring and defining consciousness. Realistic considerations and ethical concerns surrounding research with stem cells and brain organoids are also discussed.

Explore the origins of phobias, including fear of bridges. Discover the role of the amygdala in fear processing. Learn about treatment options for phobias, including exposure therapy. Reflect on personal experiences and the feeling of relief that comes from overcoming fears.

The podcast explores why parents experience stress even when there is no immediate danger, delving into the evolutionary basis of parental stress response and how it affects the brain. It also discusses the impact of physical activity on neuroplasticity, the use of saliva tests to measure cortisol levels for stress management, and the evolution of the parent-infant relationship. Additionally, the episode touches on the science of aging by studying worms.

Learn about the efforts of a remote Danish island to go carbon neutral and zero waste. Discover how they are turning nappies into compost, recycling waste glass, promoting sustainable consumption, and converting pig waste into bio gas. Explore the challenges of achieving sustainability and the potential impact of their actions.

This podcast explores the fascinating world of butterfly and moth flight, discussing their abilities to move erratically yet land precisely. It delves into the mechanics of their flight, including the vortexes of air generated by their wings and the complex muscle architecture inside their bodies. The podcast also explores how the scales on their wings reduce air resistance and reveals the incredible global migrations undertaken by some butterflies. Gerard Talavera's research on butterfly migration across Africa is also highlighted.