Science Weekly

It has been 25 years since Bill Clinton announced one of humanity's most important scientific achievements: the first draft of the human genome. At the time, there was a great deal of excitement about the benefits that this new knowledge would bring, with predictions about curing genetic diseases and even cancer. To find out which of them came to pass, and what could be in store over the next two-and-a-half decades, Madeleine Finlay is joined by science editor Ian Sample, and hears from Prof Matthew Hurles, director of the Wellcome Sanger Institute. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod

Ever since Pluto was demoted from planet to dwarf planet in 2006, astronomers have been wondering whether Neptune really is the most distant planet from the sun. Now, a new telescope could uncover what lies in the farthest reaches of the solar system. The Vera C Rubin Observatory released its first images this week, and soon the world's most powerful digital camera will be pointing across the whole of the night sky. Scientists are hopeful that if planet nine exists, the telescope will find it within its first year of operation. Ian Sample is joined by Dr Scott Sheppard, an astronomer at the Carnegie Institution for Science, to find out how Pluto lost its planetary status, why scientists think there could be another super-Earth, and why planet nine has been so hard to find. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod

More of us are turning to products containing mushroom extracts, with the medicinal fungi market now worth billions of pounds. Promises of benefits to mental and physical health have seen its popularity spill over from wellness influencers to the shelves of Marks & Spencer – but is there any scientific evidence behind these claims? Ian Sample chats to Madeleine Finlay about the appeal of mushroom drinks and supplements, and hears from the mycologist Prof Nik Money on what we really know about how fungi can affect our minds and bodies. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod

The chancellor, Rachel Reeves, has promised £14bn of investment to build the Sizewell C nuclear power plant, kicking off what the energy secretary, Ed Miliband, says will be a ‘golden age for clean energy abundance'. But for critics, the technology's high costs and lengthy construction times have always eclipsed the benefits of abundant low-carbon electricity. Ian Sample is joined by the Guardian energy correspondent Jillian Ambrose to find out why the UK government is backing nuclear and whether it will help Britain hit its target of net zero by 2050. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod

As a companion to the Guardian's Missing in the Amazon podcast, global environment editor Jon Watts goes in search of answers to the question Dom Phillips was investigating when he was murdered: how can we save the Amazon? In the final episode of a three-part series, Jon encounters a radical new view of the Amazon's history being uncovered by archaeologists. Far from an uninhabited wilderness, the rainforest has been shaped by indigenous peoples for thousands of years. Jon finds out how their expert knowledge could be harnessed to secure the Amazon's future. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod

As a companion to the Guardian's Missing in the Amazon, Jon Watts, global environment editor, goes in search of answers to the question Dom Phillips was investigating when he was murdered: how can we save the Amazon? In episode two, Jon meets the people trying to make sure the rainforest is worth more standing than cut down – from a government minister attempting to establish Brazil's ‘bioeconomy' to a startup founder creating superfood supplements and a scientist organising night-time tours hunting for bioluminescent fungi. Jon explores new ways of finding value in the forest and asks whether they will be enough to secure its future survival. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod

As a companion to the Guardian's Missing in the Amazon, the global environment editor Jon Watts goes in search of answers to the question Dom Phillips was investigating when he was murdered: how can we save the Amazon? In episode one of a three-part series, Watts explores what's at stake if we fail to act in time. He hears about the crucial role of the rainforest for South America and the global climate, and looks back at how cattle ranching came to dominate and destroy huge swathes of the forest – pushing it to a dangerous tipping point today. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod

The British journalist Dom Phillips and the Brazilian indigenous defender Bruno Pereira vanished three years ago while on a reporting trip near Brazil's remote Javari valley. The Guardian's Latin America correspondent, Tom Phillips, investigates what happened to them in a six-part podcast series. Find episode 2 and all future episodes by searching for Missing in the Amazon. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod

Vast areas of the ocean are getting darker, according to research based on satellite imaging. Marine ecosystems are governed by faint light changes – from mass nightly migrations to coral spawning cycles – so what happens when that light begins to fade? Ian Sample talks to Prof Tim Smyth from the Plymouth Marine Laboratory about why this darkening is happening and how life in the ‘photic zone' – the sunlit upper layer that is home to 90% of marine organisms – could be profoundly affected Planet's darkening oceans pose threat to marine life, scientists say. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod

Ian Sample meets Jaap de Roode, professor of biology at Emory University in Atlanta, and author of the book Doctors by Nature: How Ants, Apes and Other Animals Heal Themselves. De Roode explains how a chance discovery got him interested in animal medicine, the amazing ways that creatures use toxins to fight parasites and pathogens, and what humans have learnt about medicine from the animal world. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod

Ian Sample is joined by Dr James Kinross, colorectal surgeon and author of the book Dark Matter: The New Science of the Microbiome, to answer all your questions about gut health. In episode two, Kinross explains what else, beyond antibiotics, can damage our microbiome, how we can start to repair it, and gives his top tips for keeping our gut microbes happy. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod

Ian Sample is joined by James Kinross, colorectal surgeon and author of the book Dark Matter: The New Science of the Microbiome, to answer all your questions about gut health. In episode one, James explains how the gut microbiome gets set up, how it impacts our early development, and the effect antibiotics can have on our microbes. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod

Doctors in the US have become the first to treat a baby with a customised gene-editing therapy after diagnosing the child with a severe genetic disorder that kills about half of those affected in early infancy. Ian Sample explains to Madeleine Finlay how this new therapy works and how it paves the way for even more complex gene editing techniques. David Liu, a professor at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard and the inventor of these therapies, also describes the barriers that could prevent them reaching patients, and how he thinks they can be overcome. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod

In March 2021, the Toronto-based reporter Leyland Cecco heard about a memo sent by New Brunswick health officials that warned about a possible unknown neurological syndrome thought to be affecting about 40 people. Since then the story has taken many twists and turns, most recently with a peer-reviewed study that concludes there is no mystery illness after all. Cecco tells Madeleine Finlay about the devastating symptoms that patients experienced, and why the research is unlikely to resolve the conflict over what has been causing them. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod

Geoengineering, the controversial set of techniques that aim to deliberately alter the Earth's climate system, may be inching a step closer to reality with the announcement that UK scientists will be conducting real-world experiments in the coming years. To understand what's happening, Ian Sample is joined by the Guardian environment editor Damian Carrington. Damian explains what the experiments will entail and why scientists are so divided on whether pursuing this research is a good idea. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod

For a long time the appendix was considered disposable. After all, millions of people have theirs removed each year and go on to live healthy lives. But as Heather F Smith, a professor of anatomy at Midwestern University tells Ian Sample, researchers are increasingly understanding what this small worm-shaped organ may be bringing to the table in terms of our health. Smith explains how the appendix is linked to both our immune system development and gut health, and why she thinks an increasing interest in the microbiome may bring it to greater prominence. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod

Science correspondent Hannah Devlin joins Ian Sample to discuss three intriguing science stories from the week, from a global study that puts the UK third from bottom when it comes to flourishing, to a man who intentionally suffered more than 200 snake bites in the quest to find a universal antivenom and a breakthrough in the quest to understand the contents of the charred Herculaneum scrolls buried when Mount Vesuvius erupted. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod

Direct to consumer tests that claim to tell us our biological – as opposed to chronological – age are getting a lot of attention, but what can they really tell us about our health? Science editor Ian Sample talks to Dr Brian H Chen, an epidemiologist at the California Pacific Medical Center Research Institute, who has conducted research into a variety of these tests called epigenetic clocks. He explains what exactly they are measuring and whether, once we have the results, there are any evidence-based strategies we can adopt to lower our biological age. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod

Authorities are still trying to understand what triggered the massive power outage that left the majority of the Iberian Peninsula without electricity on Monday. To understand what might have been at play, and whether there's any truth to claims that renewable energy sources were to blame, Ian Sample hears from Guardian energy correspondent Jillian Ambrose. And Guardian European community affairs correspondent Ashifa Kassam explains what it was like to experience the blackout and how people reacted. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod

Just Stop Oil, the climate activism group behind motorway blockades, petrol station disruption and tomato soup attacks on major artworks, has disbanded after staging a final action in London this weekend. To find out why the group has decided to hang up the famous orange high-vis, Madeleine Finlay hears from our environment correspondent Damien Gayle who has been covering Just Stop Oil since its inception. He explains how policy wins and policing crackdowns combined to bring the movement to a close, and what the future of climate activism could look like in its wake. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod

Madeleine Finlay and Ian Sample discuss three intriguing science stories from the week. From a hint at alien life on a distant planet, to a clue in the search for answers over why colon cancer rates are rising in the under 50's, and news from a group of scientists who claim to have experienced a colour no one has ever seen before.. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod

The American biotech company Colossal Biosciences recently made headlines around the world with claims it had resurrected the dire wolf, an animal that went extinct at the end of the last ice age. But does what the company has done amount to ‘de-extinction' or should we instead think of these pups as genetically modified versions of the grey wolves that exist today? Science correspondent Nicola Davis tells Madeleine Finlay about the process that created these wolves, how other companies are joining the effort to use genetic modification in conservation, and why some experts have serious ethical questions about bringing back species whose habitats no longer exist. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod

As a measles outbreak expands across the US, comments by health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr have come under scrutiny. Kennedy has said that the best way to prevent measles is to get vaccinated – but he has also caused alarm among paediatricians, vaccine experts and lawmakers by promoting vitamin A and nutrition as treatments for measles and questioning the safety testing of the MMR vaccine. He also recently announced a US-led scientific effort to establish the cause of what he terms the ‘autism epidemic', with some experts concerned that this study will support the widely discredited association between autism and vaccines. US health reporter Jessica Glenza tells Ian Sample, the Guardian's science editor, how these mixed messages are already impacting scientific research.. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod

Robin McKie reflects on his 40 years as science editor for the Observer and tells Madeleine Finlay about the game-changing discoveries and scientific controversies that he's reported on during that time. He describes how the discovery of the structure of DNA revolutionised science, what he learned about misinformation from the HIV/AIDS pandemic and why cold fusion and the millennium bug failed to live up to their hype.. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod

Switzerland is leading the world in purifying its water of micropollutants, a concoction of chemicals often found in bodies of water that look crystal clear. They include common medicines like antidepressants and antihistamines, but have unknown and potentially damaging consequences for human and ecosystem health. In the second of a two-part series, Phoebe Weston travels to Geneva to find out how the country has transformed its rivers from sewage-filled health hazards to pristine swimming spots. She tells Madeleine Finlay how a public health disaster in the 1960s spurred the government to act, and what the UK could learn from the Swiss about taking care of a precious national asset.. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod

The UK is known for its national parks: areas of outstanding natural beauty with rolling hills and crystal-clear streams and lakes. But research has shown that England's most protected rivers are full of pharmaceuticals. In episode one of a two-part series, biodiversity reporter Phoebe Weston tells Madeleine Finlay about the problem of chemical pollution in our waterways, and how it could be contributing to what the World Health Organization has described as ‘the silent pandemic' – antimicrobial resistance.. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod

Invertebrates don't get the attention lavished on cute pets or apex predators, but these unsung heroes are some of the most impressive and resilient creatures on the planet. So when the Guardian opened its poll to find the world's finest invertebrate, readers got in touch in their droves. A dazzling array of nominations have flown in for insects, arachnids, snails, crustaceans, corals and many more obscure creatures. Patrick Barkham tells Madeleine Finlay why these tiny creatures deserve more recognition, and three readers, Sandy, Nina and Russell, make the case for their favourites. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod

While other diet fads come and go, the ultra low carbohydrate Keto diet seems to endure. But as scientists begin to understand how the diet works, more is also being discovered about its risks. To find out more, Madeleine Finlay speaks to Javier Gonzalez, professor in the department of health at the University of Bath, with a special interest in personal nutrition. He explains how the diet works, what it could be doing to our bodies and what could really be behind the weight loss people experience while on it. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod

The genetic testing firm 23andMe has filed for bankruptcy, another twist in the story of a company that promised a pioneering approach to precision health. Now users are scrambling to delete their personal data, with the future ownership of the firm uncertain. To understand the highs and lows of 23andMe's journey, Madeleine Finlay hears from the Guardian US tech reporter and editor Johana Bhuiyan, and from Timothy Caulfield, a professor of law at the University of Alberta, who has a special interest in health and biotechnology. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod

It's a mystery that has long puzzled researchers. Why can't we remember our early childhood experiences? Freud called the phenomenon infantile amnesia, and for many years scientists have wondered whether it's a result of failure to create memories or just a failure to retrieve them. Now new research appears to point to an answer. To find out more, Ian Sample talks to Nick Turk-Browne, a professor of psychology at Yale University.. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod

Dark energy, the mysterious force powering the expansion of the universe, appears to be weakening over time, according to a major cosmological survey that has thrown the laws of modern physics into doubt. Ian Sample tells Madeleine Finlay how this new finding could shed light on the ultimate fate of the cosmos, and Saul Perlmutter, who won a Nobel prize for his work proving the universe is expanding, describes how the new development could upend assumptions about how this mysterious force operates. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod

Before billionaires dreamed of setting up communities on Mars, the ocean was seen as the next frontier in human habitation. Reviving this dream is Deep, a project backed by an anonymous millionaire to the tune of more than £100m that aims to establish a ‘permanent human presence' under the sea from 2027. Guardian Seascape editor Lisa Bachelor visited the project just outside Chepstow on the Welsh border, and tells Madeleine Finlay what scientists hope to learn about the ocean by spending extended periods living underwater. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod

Many of us believe that cognitive decline is an inevitable part of ageing, but a new study looking at how our skills change with age challenges that idea. Ian Sample talks to Ludger Woessmann, a professor of economics at the university of Munich and one of the study's authors, to find out how the team delved into the data to come to their conclusions, and what they discovered about how we can all maintain our faculties for as long as possible.. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod

The Mars we know now is arid and dusty, with punishing radiation levels. But, as science correspondent Nicola Davis tells Madeleine Finlay, two new studies add weight to the idea that billions of years ago the red planet was a much wetter place. Nicola explains why researchers now think it was once home to sandy beaches, what a study looking into the type of rust on the planet has revealed about its damp past, and what all this might tell us about the former habitability of Mars. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod

Madeleine Finlay and Ian Sample discuss three intriguing science stories from the week. From two private moon landings to the controversy over Elon Musk's continued membership of the Royal Society, and a new study making a link between men's health and their sperm quality. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod

Beavers were once abundant in the UK, but hunting them for their fur, meat and scent oil drove them to extinction. Now they're back, with the news that the release of beavers into English waterways is to be allowed for the first time in centuries. To understand why this is seen as a huge win for the environment, Madeleine Finlay hears from the Guardian's environment reporter Helena Horton.. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod

When the palaeontologists of the future search for clues to understand how we lived, what might they find? Two scientists exploring this question have suggested that ‘technofossils' will be our lasting imprint on the Earth. To find out exactly what these are and what they could reveal about our lives, Madeleine Finlay hears from the Guardian's environment editor, Damian Carrington, and from Sarah Gabbott, a professor of palaeontology at the University of Leicester and one of the scientists behind the new book Discarded: How Technofossils Will Be Our Ultimate Legacy. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod

In his first month in office the US president has thrown science in the US into chaos, delaying projects and casting the future of research funding and jobs into doubt. To understand everything that has happened in the month since he took office and what its impact could be, Madeleine Finlay hears from science editor Ian Sample and Prof Harold Varmus, a Nobel prize winner and former director of the National Institutes of Health under Bill Clinton. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod

Science editor Ian Sample joins co-host Madeleine Finlay to discuss some of the most intriguing science stories of the week. From a concerning rise in hospital diagnoses of constipation in children, to research suggesting that the environment is far more important for ageing and longevity than our genes, and how squeaks from genetically engineered mice are providing insight into how human language may have emerged. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod

The Scottish first minister, John Swinney, was recently forced to deny plans to ban cats after a report from independent experts said the species was a threat to Scotland's wildlife. In the UK, it is estimated that cats kill or bring home 57 million mammals and 27 million birds every year. Ian Sample hears from cat-owner Madeleine Finlay and the ecologist Prof Robbie McDonald about the best ways to reduce our feline companions' impact on wildlife without affecting welfare. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod

Recently, a group of world-leading scientists called for a halt on research to create ‘mirror life' microbes amid concerns that the synthetic organisms would present an ‘unprecedented risk' to life on Earth. Ian Sample tells Madeleine Finlay about why this work initially seemed exciting for scientists and what the risks of it continuing could be. And Kate Adamala, assistant professor of genetics, cell biology and development at the University of Minnesota, describes what made her change her mind about pursuing her own research on mirror cells. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod

In a case of life imitating art, a 100-metre-wide asteroid has triggered global planetary defence procedures for the first time, after telescope observations revealed it had a chance of colliding with Earth in 2032. To find out what happens now and how worried we should be, Ian Sample hears from Richard Binzel, a professor of planetary sciences at MIT and inventor of the Torino scale, which is used to categorise the threat posed by objects such as asteroids and comets. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod