The Life Scientific

Professor Sarah Harper, an expert in Gerontology, discusses how population change is remodelling societies. Topics include the impact of demographic changes on society, the historical shift in retirement age, changing attitudes towards reproduction, and personal experiences with aging and retirement.

Our primate cousins fascinate us, with their uncanny similarities to us. And studying other apes and monkeys also helps us figure out the evolutionary puzzle of what makes us uniquely human. Sarah Blaffer Hrdy’s work brings a female perspective to this puzzle, correcting sexist stereotypes like the aggressive, philandering male and the coy, passive female.Sarah is Professor Emerita of Anthropology at the University of California, Davis, and studies female primate behaviour to create a richer picture of our evolutionary history, as well as what it means to be a woman or a parent today. Her overarching aim is to understand the human condition, a goal she initially planned to pursue by writing novels. Instead, she found her way into science: her groundbreaking study of infanticide among langur monkeys in northern India overturned assumptions about these monkeys’ murderous motivations.Later in her career, she looked into reproductive and parenting strategies across species. We humans are primed by evolution, she believes, to need a lot of support raising our children. And that’s a concern she found reflected in her own life, juggling family commitments with her career ambitions as a field researcher, teacher, and science writer.Produced by Cathy Edwards.

Physicist Edward Witten, known for M-Theory, discusses his career, fascination with quark confinement, pragmatic approach to research, and the discovery of the J.S.I. particle. He also explores the unification of string theory and supersymmetry, the relevance of Morse theory, and the ongoing quest for a theory of everything.

Alexandre Antonelli, a bio-geographer, discusses the importance of biodiversity and the need to protect it. He shares insights on the evolution of new species due to changes in Earth's landscape. He highlights the urgency to document and understand the richness of life to effectively protect it. The podcast also explores Antonelli's childhood memories in the Atlantic Rainforest and his journey through different research positions and job opportunities. Other interesting topics include the potential of neglected plant varieties and the impact of planting trees on biodiversity.

Paul Murdin, astronomer who identified the first black hole, discusses the role of imagination in science and his journey of discovery. He overcomes his disability through curiosity and vibrant imagination. Topics include the significance of X-rays in unraveling celestial mysteries, the speaker's battle with polio, and the measurement of Doppler shift leading to black hole discovery.

Bahija Jallal, CEO of Immunocore, shares her journey in developing biopharmaceutical cancer treatments, focusing on targeted therapies. She discusses the potential of new biotech therapies, advancements in T cell tracking, and the revolutionizing impact of Immunocore's treatment for metastatic uvial melanoma. She reflects on her personal background, the challenges faced by women in the industry, and the importance of diversity of thought in leadership. She serves as a role model for women in science and emphasizes the need for inspiration and humility.

How much more of our world could we understand, if we could take stock of it, one atom at a time? If we could see the structure of individual molecules, understand the complex ways they interact with one another, and witness first-hand how they move?These are questions for electron microscopy, and more broadly, for Materials Science. Materials scientists peer into the atomic structure of the stuff that makes up our world, to figure out the relationships between the structure of a material, and its resulting properties. They study how to change materials at the molecular level, to improve the way they function in the real world. It’s an interdisciplinary field that spans the physics and chemistry of matter, engineering, and industrial manufacturing. It’s led to an enormous number of advances, from nanotechnology to aerospace engineering, pioneering medical innovations to quantum computing.And SOME of these advances are thanks to the work of Professor Colin Humphreys. As Professor of Materials Science at Queen Mary University of London, and Distinguished Research Fellow at the Department of Materials Science at the University of Cambridge, Colin works on materials with fascinating properties that would be hard to understand without delving into their atomic structure: semiconductors, superconductors, nanoparticles, and ultra-high temperature aerospace materials.He’s also a committed student of Christianity and applies his scientific mind to questions of biblical scholarship: calculating the exact date of the crucifixion for example, or naturalistic explanations for miracles.Produced by Emily Knight

Professor Chris Barratt, Head of Reproductive Medicine, discusses the decline in worldwide sperm counts, his research on 'head-banging sperm', and the potential game-changing impact of a male contraceptive pill. He also explores the development of a home sperm analysis kit and the investigation of interrupting the cat's birth channel as a male contraceptive.

We’re used to hearing the stories of scientists who study the world as it is now but what about the study of the past - what can this tell us about our future?Gideon Henderson’s research focuses on trying to understand climate change by looking at what was happening on our planet thousands of years ago. His work has taken him all around the world - to the deepest oceans and the darkest caves - where he collects samples containing radioactive isotopes which he uses as “clocks” to date past ice ages and other major climate events. As a geochemist and Professor of Earth Sciences at the University of Oxford, his work deals with the biggest questions, like our impact on the carbon cycle and climate, the health of our oceans, and finding new ways to remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere.But in his role as Chief Scientific Adviser at the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, he also very much works on the present, at the intersection between the worlds of research and policy. He has overseen the decision to allow gene-edited food to be developed commercially in England and a UK surveillance programme to spot the Covid-19 virus in our waste-water.Produced by Gerry Holt.

If you’ve ever seen the ocean during a storm, you’ll understand the extraordinary power contained in waves. On an island nation like Britain, that power could well be harnessed to produce clean energy; so why have we barely begun to tap this bountiful resource?Deborah Greaves is trying to change that. As Professor of Ocean Engineering at the University of Plymouth, she combines physical wave tanks with sophisticated computer modelling to test how well wave power devices respond to stormy seas. And as Director of the Supergen ORE Hub, she brings together researchers in offshore renewable energy to imagine a future of widespread, eco-friendly ocean power.Deborah tells Jim Al-Khalili about growing up in Plymouth fascinated by the sea, and about breaking from the norm in her arts-focused family, to pursue a degree in engineering. But she spent years as a civil engineer building tunnels for the London Underground - and going on expeditions to the Arctic with her husband - before undertaking a PhD at Oxford University, exploring what happens when waves crash into solid structures.She eventually returned to Plymouth and set up the institute’s Coastal, Ocean and Sediment Transport (COAST) Laboratory - a building with a swimming-pool-sized wave tank for testing new technologies. As Jim hears, these wave devices have an extraordinary diversity of uses - and could help to propel Britain into a greener energy future.Produced by Phil Sansom.