In-depth stories about the science of life. Each week, we tell a story about ideas, trends and people, and how science and medicine affect our lives, our health and our society. More at mosaicscience.com Published by the Wellcome Trust.
More and more people are donating organs, but demand still far exceeds supply. What can the world learn from the country that does it best? Written by Chris Baraniuk Read and produced by Graihagh Jackson For more stories and to read this story, visit mosaicscience.com. Subscribe to our podcast: iTunes podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/mosa…ast/id964928211 RSS mosaicscience.libsyn.com/rss If you liked this story, we recommend Abortion, contraception, pregnancy: how women's bodies became a battlezone, by Sophie Cousins, also available as a podcast.
One in three French people think vaccines are unsafe, but across the country vaccine coverage is rising. Alex Whiting looks at how France is fighting back against vaccine scepticism. Written by Alex Whiting Read by Kirsten Irving Produced by Graihagh Jackson For more stories and to read this story, visit mosaicscience.com. Subscribe to our podcast: iTunes podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/mosa…ast/id964928211 RSS mosaicscience.libsyn.com/rss If you liked this story, we recommend Violent crime is like infectious disease – and we know how to stop it spreading, by Samira Shackle, also available as a podcast.
E-cigarettes were invented by business, not medicine. But as more smokers make the switch, some health experts believe we’ve finally hit on something that could stub out smoking for good. Written by Simon Usborne Read by Brian Yim Lim Produced by Graihagh Jackson For more stories and to read this story, visit mosaicscience.com. Subscribe to our podcast: iTunes https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/mosaic-science-podcast/id964928211 SoundCloud @mosaicscience RSS mosaicscience.libsyn.com/rss If you liked this story, we recommend Violent crime is like infectious disease – and we know how to stop it spreading, by Samira Shackle, also available as a podcast.
A million Rohingya refugees in crowded shelters with poor sanitation – ideal conditions for infections to spread. Here’s how to stop these deadly outbreaks. Written and read by Gaia Vince. Produced by Graihagh Jackson For more stories or to read this story, visit mosaicscience.com. Subscribe to our podcast: iTunes https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/mosaic-science-podcast/id964928211 SoundCloud https://soundcloud.com/mosaicscience If you liked this story, we recommend Why we still haven't stopped cholera, by Rose George, also available as a podcast.
Smiling is one of the fundamental ways people communicate, so what happens if your face can’t do it? Written by Neil Steinberg Read by Charlotte Hussey Produced by Graihagh Jackson For more stories and to read the text original, visit mosaicscience.com Subscribe to our podcast: Apple Podcasts itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/mosai…id964928211?mt=2 RSS mosaicscience.libsyn.com/rss If you liked this story, we recommend The engineer who fixed his own heart, by Geoff Watts, also available as a podcast.
You may not think of the buzz and whine of insects as musical, but the distinctive pitch of mosquito wingbeats could tell us how to fight malaria. Daniel A Gross meets the researchers who are pricking up their ears. Written by Daniel A Gross Read by Barry J Gibb Produced by Graihagh Jackson For more stories or to read this story, visit mosaicscience.com. Subscribe to our podcast: iTunes https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/mosaic-science-podcast/id964928211 SoundCloud https://soundcloud.com/mosaicscience If you liked this story we recommend How malaria defeats our drugs, by Ed Yong, also available as a podcast.
We now know there’s a cheap, safe treatment that could save thousands of lives each year. But those who need it can’t always access it. Written by Samira Shackle Read by Kirsten Irving Produced by Graihagh Jackson To read this story and more, go to mosaicscience.com Subscribe to our podcast: iTunes https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/mosaic-science-podcast/id964928211 RSS http://mosaicscience.libsyn.com/rss If you liked this story, we recommend Abortion, contraception, pregnancy: how women's bodies became a battle zone, by Sophie Cousins, also available as a podcast.
Researcher Áine Kelly is using her experience of growing up in care to help others in the system. What role does first-hand experience have in expertise, and how important is it in making health and social care better? Michael Regnier explores a new kind of expert. Written and read by Michael Regnier Produced by Graihagh Jackson For more stories and to read this story, visit mosaicscience.com Subscribe to our podcast: iTunes https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/mosaic-science-podcast/id964928211 RSS http://mosaicscience.libsyn.com/rss If you liked this story, we recommend How going hungry affects children for their whole lives, by Chris Baraniuk, also available as a podcast.
Traditionally, expectant mothers have been excluded from clinical trials, but could this practice be doing more harm than good? Emily Anthes investigates. Written by Emily Anthes Read by Charlotte Hussey Produced by Barry J Gibb For more stories and to read this story, visit mosaicscience.com Subscribe to our podcast: iTunes https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/mosaic-science-podcast/id964928211 RSS http://mosaicscience.libsyn.com/rss If you liked this story, we recommend Give and take: the ethics of donating breast milk, by Carrie Arnold, also available as a podcast.
Food poverty is on the rise in rich countries. And evidence suggests the impact can last for years afterwards. Written by Chris Baraniuk Read by Kirsten Irving Produced by Graihagh Jackson To read this story and more, visit mosaicscience.com Subscribe to our podcast: iTunes https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/mosaic-science-podcast/id964928211 RSS http://mosaicscience.libsyn.com/rss If you liked this story, we recommend Life and death under austerity, by Mary O'Hara, also available as a podcast.
What’s it like to hear voices? Are they hallucinations or a normal human experience? Chris Chapman explores what they are, why they happen and how they are being understood. For more stories and to read the transcript, visit mosaicscience.com Subscribe to our podcast: iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/mosaic-science-podcast/id964928211 RSS: mosaicscience.libsyn.com/rss If you liked this story, we recommend Postpartum psychosis: "I'm afraid of how you'll judge me, as a mother and as a person", by Catherine Carver, also available as a podcast.
General anaesthetic is supposed to make surgery painless. But now there’s evidence that one person in 20 may be awake when doctors think they’re under. Written by David Robson Read by Brian Yim Lim Produced by Graihagh Jackson To read this story and more, visit mosaicscience.com. Subscribe to our podcast: iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/mosaic-science-podcast/id964928211 RSS: mosaicscience.libsyn.com/rss If you liked this story, we recommend The mind readers by Roger Highfield, also available as a podcast.
Twenty-five years after the discovery of the gene behind Huntington’s disease, Peter Forbes reports on the potential first treatment for this devastating condition. Written by Peter Forbes Read by Brian Yim Lim Produced by Graihagh Jackson To read this story and more, visit mosaicscience.com. Subscribe to our podcast: iTunes https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/mosaic-science-podcast/id964928211 RSS http://mosaicscience.libsyn.com/rss If you liked this story, we also recommend The DNA detectives hunting the causes of cancer, by Kat Arney, also available as a podcast.
Who would risk their own safety tending to the injured and recovering the dead in one of the most violent cities on earth? Samira Shackle rides along with a driver from the world’s largest voluntary ambulance service. Written by Samira Shackle Read by Michael Regnier Produced by Barry J Gibb To read this story and more, visit mosaicscience.com. Subscribe to our podcast: iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/mosaic-science-podcast/id964928211 RSS: http://mosaicscience.libsyn.com/rss If you liked this story, we also recommend Fear and loathing in Thet Kal Pyin: Myanmar's healthcare crisis by Mike Ives.
Nobuaki Nagashima has Werner syndrome, which causes his body to age at super speed. This condition is teaching us more about what controls our genes, and could eventually help us find a way to slow ageing – or stop it altogether. Written by Erika Hayasaki. Read by Rebecca McIntosh. Produced by Graihagh Jackson. Read the story at mosaicscience.com If you liked this story, we recommend Can meditation really slow ageing? by Jo Marchant, also available as a podcast.
When a gentle glow feels like a spotlight and everyday sounds hurt your ears, life can get anxious and painful. But, discovers Emma Young, there may be an upside to being highly sensitive. Written by Emma Young Read by Kirsten Irving Produced by Geoff Marsh For more stories and to read the story, visit mosaicscience.com Subscribe to our podcast: iTunes itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/mosai…id964928211?mt=2 RSS mosaicscience.libsyn.com/rss If you liked this story, we recommend How the zebra got its stripes, with Alan Turing by Kat Arney, available as a podcast here: mosaicscience.com/story/how-zebra-…ipes-alan-turing
Emerging sign languages could reveal how all language evolved – but keeping these fragile languages isolated for research may mean the people who rely on them lose out. Written by Michael Erard. Read by Michael Regnier. Produced by Graihagh Jackson. iTunes itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/mosai…id964928211?mt=2 RSS mosaicscience.libsyn.com/rss To read this on our website, go to www.mosaicscience.com If you enjoyed this story, we recommend Why being bilingual helps keep your brain fit by Gaia Vince.
While it’s healthy to have a variety of bacteria in our guts, there’s one place where a single dominant type is best: the vagina. Meet the researchers trying to make the world healthier, one vagina at a time. Written by Kendall Powell. Read by Kirsten Irving. Produced by Barry J Gibb. iTunes itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/mosai…id964928211?mt=2 RSS mosaicscience.libsyn.com/rss For more stories about the science of life visit mosaicscience.com. If you enjoyed this story, we recommend Abortion, contraception, pregnancy: how women’s bodies became a battlezone by Sophie Cousins, also available as an audio podcast.
The East African country’s campaign to end cervical cancer through the HPV vaccine has had to overcome cultural taboos and rumours about infertility – but it’s saving lives. Written by Sophie Cousins. Read and produced by Graihagh Jackson. iTunes itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/mosai…id964928211?mt=2 RSS mosaicscience.libsyn.com/rss To read the text of this story, head to mosaicscience.com. If you enjoyed this story, we recommend Can America cope with a resurgence of tropical disease? by Carrie Arnold, also available as a podcast.
In the 1970s, radical scientists thought they could change the world – if they could change science first. As told to Alice Bell. Written by Alice Bell. Read by Nick Dent. Produced by Barry J Gibb. iTunes itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/mosai…id964928211?mt=2 RSS mosaicscience.libsyn.com/rss To read this story on our website, visit mosaicscience.com. If you enjoyed this we recommend Reinventing the toilet by Lina Zeldovich, also available as a podcast.
For those with breast cancer, a mastectomy may seem the best option. Joanna Moorhead thought so – until the last minute. Now she’s glad she chose less extensive surgery. Written and read by Joanna Moorhead. Produced by Graihagh Jackson. iTunes itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/mosai…id964928211?mt=2 RSS mosaicscience.libsyn.com/rss To read this story and others like it, head to mosaicscience.com. If you enjoyed this, we recommend Making sense of a miscarriage by Holly Cave, also available as a podcast.
"I am so accustomed to thinking of wheelchair use in binary terms: you either use one or you don’t. Now I’m struggling to unlearn that notion." In Canada, wheelchair basketball brings people together regardless of their abilities. Lesley Evans Ogden asks whether this kind of integration could help dispel stigma, discrimination and misconceptions about disability more widely. Written by Lesley Evans Ogden, read by Kirsten Irving, audio editing by Jen Whyntie. For more stories and to read the text original, visit mosaicscience.com Subscribe to our podcast: iTunes itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/mosai…id964928211?mt=2 RSS mosaicscience.libsyn.com/rss If you liked this story, we recommend City cycling: health versus hazard by Lesley Evans Ogden, also available as a podcast.
The rest of the world can learn from Puerto Rican communities rallying together to recover from a natural disaster fuelled by climate change. Written by Jane Palmer. Read by Michael Regnier. Produced by Graihagh Jackson. To read the story online, head to mosaicscience.com If you liked this story, try Climate change is turning dehydration into a deadly epidemic by Jane Palmer, also available as an audio podcast.
The basic chemistry of hair dyes has changed little over the last century, but what do we know about the risks of colouring our hair, and why do we do it? Written by Rebecca Guenard Read by Rebecca McIntosh Produced by Barry J Gibb iTunes itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/mosai…id964928211?mt=2 RSS mosaicscience.libsyn.com/rss To read the full story visit mosaicscience.com. If you enjoyed this story, try When cuteness comes of age by Neil Steinberg.
Whether hair pulling, skin picking or cheek biting, body-focused repetitive behaviours blight many people’s lives. How can science help us understand and treat these distressing conditions better? Written by Sara Talpos. Read by Kirsten Irving. Produced by Graihagh Jackson. For more stories and to read the text original, visit mosaicscience.com Subscribe to our podcast: Apple Podcasts itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/mosai…id964928211?mt=2 RSS mosaicscience.libsyn.com/rss If you liked this story, we recommend My sudden synaesthesia: how I went blind and started hearing colours, also available as an audio podcast.
In East Harlem, four times as many adults have diabetes as in the neighbouring Upper East Side. Meera Senthilingam meets the New Yorkers stopping poverty being a death sentence. Audio producer: Meera Senthilingam Fact checker: Laura Dawes Editor: Mun-Keat Looi See an accompanying photo tour of Harlem and read a full transcript for this story on Mosaic. For more stories visit mosaicscience.com If you liked this story, we recommend Voices in the dark: what it's like to hear voices, another Mosaic audio documentary also available on our podcast. Subscribe to the Mosaic podcast on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts. Please leave us a rating and review.
The manufacture and distribution of medicines is a global industry, tainted by fake and substandard products. Not only might these drugs not work as expected, but some are even contributing to antimicrobial resistance. So, what’s in your medicine cabinet? Written by Srinath Perur. Read by Charlotte Hussey. Produced by Graihagh Jackson. Read the story at mosaicscience.com If you liked this story, we recommend India is training "quacks" to do real medicine. This is why by Priyanka Pulla.
Ghana has plenty of water. So why do its people buy plastic pouches from street vendors? Shaun Raviv investigates. Written by Shaun Raviv. Read by Pip Mayo. Produced by Barry J Gibb. Audio editing by Geoff Marsh. Read the full text original and accompanying extras published on Mosaic. For more stories visit mosaicscience.com If you liked this story, we recommend How menstrual taboos are putting lives at risk by Rose George, also available on our podcast.
Governments around the world were slow to get to grips with HIV/AIDS. But a big change came when they started understanding it not just as a health issue but as a security threat too. Written by Alexandra Ossola. Read by Rebecca McIntosh. Produced by Graihagh Jackson. Read the story at mosaicscience.com If you liked this story, we recommend One virus, four lives: the reality of being HIV positive By Patrick Strudwick, also available as a podcast.
"The parasite has started to become resistant. The wonder drug is failing. It is the latest reprise of a decades-long theme: we attack malaria with a new drug, it mounts an evolutionary riposte." In the war against malaria, one small corner of the globe has repeatedly turned the tide, rendering our best weapons moot and medicine on the brink of defeat. Ed Yong reports. Written by Ed Yong, read by Pip Mayo, produced by Barry J Gibb, audio editing by Geoff Marsh. For more stories and to read the text original, visit mosaicscience.com Subscribe to our podcast: iTunes itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/mosai…id964928211?mt=2 RSS mosaicscience.libsyn.com/rss If you liked this story, we recommend DIY Diagnosis: how an extreme athlete uncovered her genetic flaw by Ed Yong, also available as a podcast.
Cancer rates vary wildly across the world, and we don’t know why. To solve this mystery, scientists are tracking down causes of cancer by the fingerprints they leave in the genome. Written and read by Kat Arney. Produced by Graihagh Jackson. To read the story, visit mosaicscience.com If you like this story, we recommend Searching for a diagnosis: how scientists are untangling the mystery of developmental disorders by Linda Geddes. Subscribe to our podcast: iTunes itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/mosai…id964928211?mt=2 RSS mosaicscience.libsyn.com/rss
Chrissie Giles on her generation’s climb to Peak Booze. "I didn’t feel that I had a problem with alcohol, nor did any of my friends. We got drunk, sometimes too drunk, and then suffered the consequences. We were just doing what young people did. But recently, with getting on for 20 years of drinking under my belt, I started to wonder if my generation’s relationship with alcohol was abnormal. When I looked into the numbers I realised that it was. I discovered that 2004 was Peak Booze: the year when Brits drank more than they had done for a century, and more than they have done in the decade since. Leading the way to this alcoholic apogee were those of us born around 1980. No other generation drank so much in their early twenties. Why us?" Written and read by Chrissie Giles, produced by Barry J Gibb For more stories and to read the text original, visit mosaicscience.com Subscribe to our podcast: iTunes itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/mosai…id964928211?mt=2 RSS mosaicscience.libsyn.com/rss If you liked this story, we recommend Breaking Bad News by Chrissie Giles, also available as a podcast.
Becoming allergic to meat turns your life upside down. Known as alpha-gal allergy, the condition dictates what you can eat, wear, how you relax, and even which medicines are safe. Is research finally starting to catch up? Editor: Chrissie Giles Copyeditor: Rob Reddick Art director: Charlie Hall Photographer: Daniel Stier Fact checker: Francine Almash For more stories and to read the original text, visit mosaicscience.com If you liked this story we recommend Sick building syndrome: is it the buildings or the people who need treatment? by Shayla Love.
In loving memory of Lyra McKee (1990-2019). This episode was originally broadcast in April 2016. In Northern Ireland, more people took their own lives in the 16 years after the Troubles than died during them. Why? Lyra McKee finds out. Written by Lyra McKee Read by Kirsten Irving Produced by Barry J Gibb Audio editing by Geoff Marsh For more stories and to read the text original, visit mosaicscience.com where you can also find more of Lyra's magnificent writing.
In the early 2000s, when there were just two psychiatrists serving over 12 million people, Zimbabwe had to get creative to treat depression. Now, one bright idea – the Friendship Bench – is spreading far and wide. Written by Alex Riley. Read by Kirsten Irving. Produced by Graihagh Jackson. To read the story, visit mosaicscience.com If you like this story, we recommend How To Get To A World Without Suicide by Simon Usborne. Subscribe to our podcast: iTunes itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/mosai…id964928211?mt=2 RSS mosaicscience.libsyn.com/rss
Can a grand vision of 4,000 free public gyms overcome inequality and fight Brazil’s health crisis? Catherine de Lange reports. Written by Catherine de Lange, read by Pip Mayo, produced by Barry J Gibb For more stories and to read the text original, visit mosaicscience.com If you liked this story, we recommend listening to City Cycling: Health Versus Hazard by Ian Birrell, also available as a podcast. Subscribe to our podcast: iTunes itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/mosai…id964928211?mt=2 RSS mosaicscience.libsyn.com/rss
New biomedical techniques, like next-generation genome sequencing, are creating vast amounts of data and transforming the scientific landscape. They’re leading to unimaginable breakthroughs – but leaving researchers racing to keep up. Editor: Rob Reddick Copyeditor: Tom Freeman Art director: Charlie Hall Fact checker: Francine Almash Illustrator: Dávid Biró To read the story, visit mosaicscience.com. If you liked this story, we recommend 'The DNA detectives hunting the causes of cancer' by Kat Arney.
Boxers know they risk injury in the ring. But there’s a more insidious danger they don’t often talk about: the long-term brain damage that repeated blows to the head can cause. Lyra McKee meets the families who are breaking the silence. Written by Lyra McKee. Read by Kirsten Irving. Illustrated by Gabby Laurent. Produced by Barry J. Gibb. To read the story, visit mosaicscience.com. If you liked this story, we recommend 'The Alzheimer's Enigma' by Michael Regnier.
Millions of people are left dead or disabled by surgical complications each year when one simple piece of kit could have saved them. Jane Feinmann discovers how it has helped transform medicine in Mongolia. Written by Jane Feinmann. Read by Rebecca McIntosh. Produced by Graihagh Jackson. If you liked this story, we recommend DIY prosthetics: the extreme athlete who built a new knee by Rose Eveleth, also available as a podcast.
Is there real science in the spiritualism of meditation? Jo Marchant meets a Nobel Prize-winner who thinks so. Written by Jo MarchantRead by Pip MayoProduced by Barry J Gibb For more stories and to read this story, visit mosaicscience.com Subscribe to our podcast: iTunesitunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/mosai…id964928211?mt=2 RSSmosaicscience.libsyn.com/rss If you liked this story, we recommend Mosaicscience – Secrets-of-the-strong-minded by Emma Young, also available as a podcast.
Half of people with Parkinson’s disease experience hallucinations, paranoia and delusions. Mary O’Hara reports on a new hope. Written by Mary O'Hara Read by Michael Regnier Produced by Graihagh Jackson
Priyanka Pulla asks if there can ever be legitimacy in ‘quackery’. Written by Priyanka Pulla, read by Kirsten Irving, produced by Barry J Gibb, audio editing by Geoff Marsh. If you liked this story, we recommend Can meditation really slow ageing? by Mary Rose Abraham, also available as a podcast.
One in ten people struggle to recognise their emotions. New research suggests a vital link between our ability to sense our physical bodies and knowing how we feel. Written by Emma Young Read by Charlotte Hussey Produced by Graihagh Jackson
Why is asbestos still killing people? Nic Fleming finds out in a twisting tale of industry cover-ups and misinformation that spans decades. Written by Nic Fleming, read by Pip Mayo, produced by Barry J Gibb
A network of compassionate volunteers caring for their terminally ill neighbours is allowing more people in Kerala, India, to end their days at peace and at home. Jeremy Laurance meets the man leading the movement. Written by Jeremy Laurance Read by Graihagh Jackson Produced by Graihagh Jackson If you liked this story, we recommend 'The sex workers who are stopping HIV', also available as an audiobook.
Having stamped out a number of tropical diseases – including malaria – decades ago, is America today complacent about a rising wave of infectious disease? By Carrie Arnold. Written by Carrie Arnold, read by Kirsten Irving, produced by Barry J Gibb, audio editing by Geoff Marsh
The need to mend broken hearts has never been greater. But what if we could simply manufacture a new one? Alex O’Brien studies the legacy of Texan surgeons and artificial hearts. Written by Alex O'Brien, read by Pip Mayo, produced by Barry J Gibb, audio editing by Ellie Pinney.
An early halt to a trial of deep brain stimulation for depression reveals little about the treatment but more about the changing nature of clinical trials. Written by David Dobbs Read by Brian Yim Lim Produced by Graihagh Jackson
Calories consumed minus calories burned: it’s the simple formula for weight loss or gain. But dieters often find that it doesn’t work. Cynthia Graber and Nicola Twilley of Gastropod investigate. Written by Cynthia Graber, read by Charlotte Hussey, produced by Graihagh Jackson. For more stories and to read the original text, visit mosaicscience.com If you liked this story, we recommend The fat city that declared war on obesity, by Ian Birrell, also available as a podcast.
Notoriously illegal and synonymous with hedonism, LSD and ecstasy started life as aids to psychotherapy. Sam Wong meets the band of psychiatrists who are looking to reclaim them for medicine again. Written by Sam Wong, read by Pip Mayo, produced by Barry J Gibb, audio editing by Geoff Marsh For more stories and to read the text original, visit mosaicscience.com If you liked this story, we recommend Saved: How addicts gained the power to reverse overdoses, also available as a podcast.
Telling cancer from non-cancer is tough for brain surgeons. Scorpions, Amazon.com and the legacy of a dying girl might change that, writes Alex O'Brien. Written by Alex O'Brien, read by Kirsten Irving, produced by Barry J Gibb For more stories and to read the text original, visit mosaicscience.com If you liked this story, we recommend listening to Decisions on a knife edge, by Charlotte Huff, also available as a podcast.
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