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We look at the impact of a new 10 year deal with Madrid - does it mean one of the longest-serving venues - Barcelona - will lose out?We speak to businesses and hotels in Barcelona who are looking to the future. Is it really sustainable for one country to host two F1 events each year?Produced and presented by Ashish Sharma.(Image: Max Verstappen drives by the crowd during the 2024 Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix at the Circuit De Catalunya in Barcelona, Spain. Image: Getty Images)

In February 2024, huge forest fires destroyed 90% of the land and plant species. Workers were killed and homes destroyed.We travel to the seaside town of Vina del Mar to find out how the country's oldest and most important botanical garden is recovering. The garden's described as the green lung of the region, and used to be home to hundreds of different plant species, many of them native to Chile. We've follow the gardens as they try to reopen and get visitors and tourists back through the gates.Produced and presented by Jane Chambers(Image: Park rangers clean roads after the fires in February 2024. Image: Getty Images)

We're used to fashion giants like adidas and Nike designing athlete uniforms for the Olympics and Paralympics. This year however, it's likely we'll see smaller labels on the podium. In this programme we hear from the diverse list of designers and learn why the fashion industry is so keen to work with sports stars. Presented and produced by Megan Lawton(Image: Portugal's Gabriel Ribeiro competes during the Skateboarding Men's Street Preliminaries of the Olympic Qualifier Series 2024.Image: Getty Images)

A local council in Hertfordshire in England has come under fire after issuing a number of fines to people who have urinated in rural areas, under littering bylaws. This has brought up a question as to whether so-called ‘wild peeing' should be categorised as littering or not. Sean was joined by Nick Freeman, a UK-based solicitor,to discuss...Image: Getty Images

A local council in Hertfordshire in England has come under fire after issuing a number of fines to people who have urinated in rural areas, under littering bylaws. This has brought up a question as to whether so-called ‘wild peeing' should be categorised as littering or not. Sean was joined by Nick Freeman, a UK-based solicitor,to discuss...Image: Getty Images

We look at why some governments are worried about TikTok. We hear about pregnancy discrimination in tech and an expert tells us about the future of noise. Image: Getty Images

This may surprise you, but Richard and Jonathan love Weezer. The boys decide to indulge themselves in a Weezer Day. They show off some highlights from Pinkerton and the "Blue" and "Green" albums. Image: Getty Images

The sound of the synthesizer is so entrenched in the music of the second half of the 20th century that it is hard to imagine the history of pop music without it. But where did it come from? A new book explores the life and times of its inventor. Sean was joined by Albert Glinsky, Author of ‘Switched On: Bob Moog and the Synthesizer Revolution'... Image: Getty Images

The sound of the synthesizer is so entrenched in the music of the second half of the 20th century that it is hard to imagine the history of pop music without it. But where did it come from? A new book explores the life and times of its inventor. Sean was joined by Albert Glinsky, Author of ‘Switched On: Bob Moog and the Synthesizer Revolution'... Image: Getty Images

A survey has found that 46% of workers have faced jibes about their accents, with 25% reporting jokes at work. Academics from the social mobility charity, The Sutton Trust, carried out detailed interviews with students and professionals. Some described being mocked for their accents. They said those with northern English or Midlands accents were more likely to worry about the way they spoke. Today's Amol Rajan speaks to Labour MP Jess Phillips and the broadcaster Adrian Chiles. (Image: Getty Images)

Early humans and Neanderthals had similar-sized brains but around 6 million years ago something happened that gave us the intellectual edge. The answer may lie in a tiny mutation in a single gene that meant more neurons could develop in a crucial part of the brain. Post-doctoral research scientist at the Max Plank Institute of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Anneline Pinson, did the heavy lifting on the research under the supervision of Wieland Huttner. They discuss with Roland how this finding offers a major development in our understanding of the evolutionary expansion of the all-important neocortex area of the brain. A central aspect of what it is to be human and how we use our intelligence is to care for one another. A burial site in Borneo from tens of thousands of years ago gives us fresh insights into how advanced our capacity to care was, millennia before the establishment of stable communities and agricultural life. Remains uncovered by a team of archaeologists from Australia have found one of the first examples of complex medical surgery. Finally, moving to a carbon-neutral society will involve developing huge battery potential, but that comes with its own environmental and social problems. Could a solution be found in the exoskeleton of crabs? Mathematics and our ability to describe the world in terms of number, shape and measurement may feel like a uniquely human ability. But is it really? Listener Mamadu from Sierra Leone wants to know: can animals count too? CrowdScience presenter Marnie Chesterton goes on a hunt to uncover the numerical abilities of the animal kingdom. Can wild lions compare different numbers? Can you teach bees to recognise and choose specific amounts? And if the answer is yes, how do they do it? Marnie tries to find out just how deep the numerical rabbit hole goes… and comes across a parrot named Alex who is perhaps the most impressive example of animal counting of them all. (Image: Getty Images)

Digging and excavating are bywords for archaeology. But why does history end up deep under our feet? This question struck CrowdScience listener Sunil in an underground car park. Archaeological remains found during the car park's construction were displayed in the subterranean stairwells, getting progressively older the deeper he went. How had these treasures become covered in so much soil over the centuries? CrowdScience visits Lisbon, the capital of Portugal – and home to the above-mentioned multi-storey car park. The city has evidence of human habitation stretching back into prehistory, with remnants of successive civilisations embedded and jumbled up below today's street level. Why did it all end up like this? Human behaviour is one factor, but natural processes are at work too. Over at Butser Ancient Farm, an experimental archaeology site in the UK, we explore the myriad forces of nature that cover up – or expose - ancient buildings and artefacts over time. Contributors: Dr Mariana Nabais, University of Lisbon Carolina Grilo, Lisbon Museum of the Roman Theatre Dr Matt Pope, University College London Presented by Marnie Chesterton, Produced by Cathy Edwards for the BBC World Service. IMAGE: Getty Images

Somerset complete a huge win over Gloucestershire in Bristol. Tom Abell reviews the game. Sophie Luff looks back on Somerset Women's season and ahead to the Charlotte Edwards Cup. There's another look at misogyny in the sport and we catch up with the county's disability squad who now field two different types of teams. Plus Charlie Taylor has been meeting the Bathford CC player who's been trying to break a world record for the longest run-up to a delivery. Image: Getty Images

Somerset men record their first win of the season and we hear concerns about misogyny in the game and online. Plus there's a chat with Alice Bird who has battled mental health issues to make her debut for Somerset women. Plus hear Mark Walker from Taunton Deane Cricket Club reminisce about the time Devon Conway lived with him in 2010. Image: Getty Images

Somerset men almost beat Essex against all odds and the women start with a derby double. Charlie reflects on two very different starts to the seasons for the sides. There's also a look at the new online archives of the Somerset Cricket Museum and we find out why an IPL team has joined up with an academy in the West Country. Image: Getty Images

Oleksiej Zorin is an American Football player and team owner. His family are in Poland under the care of the team he plays for, while he is unable to reach players based in Mariupol, who play on the team he owns, after the city came under heavy attack from Russia. He admits he is scared for the players he can't reach and grateful his team in Poland got his family out of Ukraine. He tells us about the work he is doing to help the people of Kyiv and how he has considered joining the army. Zorin says he doesn't fear death but he does fear for the future. Lowri Norkett joins us in a week which saw her make her debut for Wales and then be selected for their 6 Nations squad. Norkett only took up rugby union after her sister Elli – who was a Wales international – was killed in a car crash five years ago. Lowri tells us about wearing her sisters boots and how she is always with her. The incoming NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman tells us about rebuilding trust between the league and the players following allegations of sexual misconduct against a former coach last year. She also says demand for tickets for Angel City FC's first home game is akin to a Super Bowl and that bringing more new teams into the league is among her top priorities. And - In Sporting Witness, we hear from the cardiologist who saved Fabrice Muamba's life, ten years after he went into cardiac arrest and collapsed on the pitch in a Premier League match. Image: Getty Images

The Wuhan Institute of Virology has been at the centre of a controversy surrounding the origins of the virus which caused the Covid-19 pandemic. The work of the lab's previously obscure division looking at bat coronaviruses has been the subject of massive speculation and misinformation campaigns. Journalist and former biomedical scientist Jane Qui has gained unique access to the lab. She has interviewed the staff there extensively and tells us what she found on her visits. And Tyler Starr from the Fred Hutchinson Institute in Seattle, has looked at a range of bat coronaviruses from around the world, looking to see whether they might have the capability to jump to humans in the future. He found many more than previously thought that either have or are potentially just a few mutations away from developing this ability. Nuclear fusion researchers at the 40-year-old Joint European Torus facility near Oxford in the Uk for just the 3rd time in its long history, put fully-fledged nuclear fuel, a mixture of hydrogen isotopes, into the device, and got nuclear energy out – 59 megajoules. They used a tiny amount of fuel to make this in comparison with coal or gas. A survey of Arctic waters under ice near the North pole has revealed a colony of giant sponges, feeding on fossilised worms. Deep-Sea Ecologists Autun Purser at the Alfred-Wegener-Institut and Teresa Maria Morganti from the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology tells us about the discovery. And, Climate change and biodiversity loss are two of the biggest threats humanity has ever faced - and tackling them is going to take a whole lot of collaboration and putting others before ourselves. But are humans cut out for this level of cooperation? Or are we fundamentally too self-interested to work together for the common good? Listener Divyesh is not very hopeful about all this, so he's asked CrowdScience if humans have a “selfish gene” that dooms us to failure when trying to meet these challenges. He's worried that humans are destined by our evolution to consume ever more natural resources and destroy the environment in the process. But while it's true that humans often act in our own interest, we also show high levels of cooperation and care. Could tapping into these beneficial behaviours help us solve our global problems? Marnie Chesterton goes on the hunt for the best ways to harness human nature for the good of planet Earth - from making sure the green choice is always the cheaper and easier option, to encouraging and nurturing our better, altruistic and collaborative sides. We visit a rural mountain community in Spain to see the centuries-old system they have for sharing common resources; while in the city, we meet activists figuring out how to live a more community-spirited and sustainable urban life. And we speak to experts in evolution, ecology and psychology to find out what helps nudge us into greener habits. (Image: Getty Images)

Studies using swabs from coronavirus patients seem to contradict earlier findings from cell cultures which showed Omicon replicated faster than earlier variants. As Benjamin Meyer from the centre for Vaccinology at the University of Geneva, explains there may be other reasons why omicron is spreading faster not just how quickly it reproduces. Predicting how the pandemic will develop is not possible, however predicting what individual mutations in the virus may develop and the impact they might have individually and collectively is getting closer, Cyrus Maher and Amalio Telenti of the biotech company Vir, have developed a way to model potential future viral mutations which they hope will now be used by many scientists worldwide looking to understand the virus. There are concerns that other viruses may be on the rise, bird flu in particular, which as Nicola Lewis of the Royal Veterinary College explains is now spreading to part of the world where it is not usually seen, and infecting other animals as well as birds. And we've news of a massive collection of nests – at the bottom of the sea, Deep sea Ecologist Autun Perser describes how he found them in Antarctica. Also, Are big heads smarter? We live in a world where bigger is often seen as better - and the size of someone's brain is no exception. But a listener in Nairobi wants to know, does size really matter when it comes to grey matter? CrowdScience presenter Marnie Chesterton is on a mission to find out if the physical attributes of our head and brain can tell us anything about what's going on inside. We certainly thought so in the past. In the 1800s, phrenology – determining someone's characteristics by their skull shape – was very fashionable and curator Malcolm MacCallum gives us a tour of the extensive phrenological collection of death masks and skulls in Edinburgh's anatomy museum. It's a 'science' that's now been completely debunked. Yet there's no escaping the fact that over our evolutionary history, human brain size has increased dramatically alongside our cognitive capabilities. But is it the whole story? Rick Potts, Director of the Human Origins Program at the Smithsonian tells of the point in time when human brains expanded the most; a time when the climate was changing, resources were unreliable and the intelligence to be adaptable might mean the difference between life and death. Adaptability is also key to Professor Wendy Johnson's definition of intelligence, although she points out that IQ test, flawed as they are, are still the best predictor we have for intelligence… and that, yes, there is a weak correlation between having a larger head, and doing better at IQ tests. Why is that? We don't know, says Dr Stuart Ritchie from KCL. According to him, neuroscientists are only in the foothills of understanding how a physical difference in the brain might underpin a person's psychology. But researching this could offer valuable insights into how our amazing brains work. (Image: Getty Images)

Now being produced in India CORBEVAX is grown in yeast in a similar way to several other widely available vaccines. The technology used to make it is far simpler and much more readily available than that used to produce mRNA vaccines. In theory, CORBEVAX could be produced cheaply in large quantities and go a long way to addressing the problems of Covid19 vaccine availability globally. It was developed by a team from Baylor College of Medicine in Texas including Maria Elena Bottazzi. Antibiotic-resistant superbugs are thought to have emerged in repose to the use of antibiotics, however, the discovery of a superbug living on the skin of hedgehogs has challenged this view. The superbug is thought to have been living with hedgehogs long before antibiotics were discovered. Jesper and Anders Larsen at the Danish State Serum Institute in Copenhagen explain. Modifying viruses, using them to infect or kill pest organisms is an attractive proposition. However, there are concerns over what might happen when they are released, particularly over their ability to mutate and evolve says Filippa Lentzos from Kings College Department of Global Health and Social Medicine in London. And The Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew have released the names of over 200 new species of plants and fungi discovered last year. Mycologist Tuula Niskanen and botanist Martin Cheek tell us more. Also... “I'm bored!” We can all relate to the uncomfortable - and at times unbearable - feeling of boredom. But what is it? Why does it happen? And could this frustrating, thumb-twiddling experience actually serve some evolutionary purpose? CrowdScience listener Brian started wondering this over a particularly uninspiring bowl of washing up, and it's ended with Marnie Chesterton going on a blessedly un-boring tour through the science and psychology of tedium. She finds out why some people are more affected than others, why boredom is the key to discovery and innovation, and how we can all start improving our lives by embracing those mind-numbing moments. (Image: Getty Images)

Everything you need on your doorstep: a radical plan to improve our cities. Imagine if everything you needed - your work, leisure and essential services - was just a 15-minute walk or cycle from where you live. With no need to drive, there'd be less time sitting in traffic jams, the air would be less polluted and maybe we would all be a bit less stressed. That's the vision that many cities around the world are now trying to achieve - a new concept called the “15-minute city”. As more and more of us join the urban sprawl, the aim is to make city life healthier, happier and better for the environment. We visit Paris to see the plan in action. Produced and presented by Richard Kenny. Image: Getty Images

On this week's episode, Alison Mitchell, Sunil Gupta and Jim Maxwell react to the speculation that Indian legend Rahul Dravid looks set to replace Ravi Shastri as head coach of the national team after the T20 World Cup and discuss what Shastri's legacy will be. Plus in the wake of comments made by India all-rounder Hardik Pandya about how money is extremely important for pushing a player to succeed in professional cricket, the team discuss the role of money as motivation. With the Men's T20 World Cup up and running we go behind the scenes in the Irish camp and speak to Shane Getkate. He is a reserve in the team and will tell us about the mood in the side and also his comeback story from cardiac arrest to playing for Ireland. Finally, in 1994, a well-known chocolate brand created an advert in India which would become iconic - it saw a woman sat on the side-lines of a cricket match watching her male friend score a winning boundary and then running onto the field and dancing with delight. But fast forward to 2021 and the advert has been reimagined by swapping the gender roles and ending with the powerful message of #GoodLuckGirls as a tribute to women athletes. We speak to one of the stars of the new advert, Kavya Ramachandran. Photo: India A coach Rahul Dravid during a tour match between ECB XI v India A at Headingley on June 17, 2018. (Image: Getty Images)

n December 2020, China's Chang'e-5 mission returned to earth carrying rock samples collected from the moon – the first lunar samples to be collected since the American Apollo and Luna missions to the moon in the 1970s. Laboratory analysis has revealed that these are the youngest samples of rocks to be collected from the moon. Lunar geologist Katherine Joy explains what this tells us about the moon's volcanic past. Also on the programme, a recent study reveals that the hepatitis B virus has been infecting humans for at least 10,000 years. Denise Kühnert from the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History shares what the evolution of the virus tells us about human evolution, as well as the rise and fall of civilisations. In the wake of Cyclone Shaheen, we also speak to Princeton University's Ning Lin about how climate modelling can help us predict tropical storms in the Arabian Sea, and Fredi Otto joins us to discuss the 2021 Nobel Prizes for Science. Snails are a major enemy of gardeners around the world, invading vegetable patches and gobbling prize plants. CrowdScience listener Alexandre reckons he's removed thousands of them from his garden, which got him wondering: apart from eating his garden to the core, what's their wider role in nature? Would anyone or anything miss them if they suddenly disappeared? And for that matter, what about other creatures? We all know how complex biodiversity is, but it seems that some animals are more important than others in maintaining the balance of life on earth. Is there anything that could go extinct without having knock-on effects? CrowdScience heads to the Hawaiian mountains, a snail diversity hotspot, to discover the deep value of snails to native ecosystems there. Researchers and conservationists are working together to protect these highly endangered snails, and their natural habitats, from multiple threats. We hear why all snails – even the ones munching Alexandre's petunias – have their role to play in the natural world, and get to grips with cascading extinctions: how the loss of a single species can trigger unpredictable effects on a whole ecosystem. (Image: Getty Images)

On this week's episode, Alison Mitchell, Sunil Gupta and Jim Maxwell speak with incoming Marylebone Cricket Club president Clare Connor about becoming the first woman to take up the role in the 233-year history of the club. She discusses her hopes of using her one-year term to modernise the club to ensure better gender parity. Connor also remains the managing director of women's cricket at the ECB, and discusses the “unbelievably disappointing” cancellation of England joint men's & women's tour of Pakistan which she says was “absolutely the right decision at that time”. The team also hear from one of the busiest women in cricket - Emily Windsor - who juggles a full time job working for the National Health Service in the UK, cricket commentary for the BBC AND plays for the Southern Vipers in the South of England. Last week she was named player of the match in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint trophy final and reflects on the Vipers win. And we reflect on England all-rounder Moeen Ali's decision to retire from red-ball cricket, and in the aftermath of India women ending Australia's 26-match unbeaten ODI run, the team analyse whether the time is right for a women's IPL-style tournament in the country. Photo: Former England women's cricketer Claire Connor rings the five-minute bell ahead of day four of the 2nd Ashes Test match between England and Australia at Lord's Cricket Ground. (Image: Getty Images)

This week the UK parliament voted to accept the Government's continued cap on Official Development Aid. This disappointed many researchers around the world, funded directly and indirectly through various scientific funding structures enabling international collaboration on some of the global challenges facing all of us. These funding mechanisms make for a small fraction of the overall amount, but they have been hit hard, with many projects closing altogether. There had been hope amongst the scientific community that the cap – from 0.7% down to 0.5% of the UK's Gross Domestic Income – might have been in place just for a year. But it seems like the criteria set to judge when the level of aid might rise again imply that it is unlikely to happen for several years at the earliest. What, asks Science in Action, does that mean to the world of scientific collaboration on such topics as climate change, contagious disease, and emergency planning? Researchers Chris Trisos and Jenni Barclay, with journalist Robin Bisson of Research Professional News, update us on the story. Also, In Zambia, where covid testing remains scarce, a project run by Boston University's Christopher Gill has been estimating the prevalence of covid in the capital Lusaka by taking nasal swab samples from the noses of around one in five of those recently deceased, in the morgue of a major hospital. Tantalisingly, his team have seen over the last few months a sharp rise in cases to the extent that in June, nearly 90 percent of the cadavers tested positive for covid. But as Chris describes, unrelated to the UK cuts, their funding has now run out, so where the graph leads from here we may not learn for a long time. Anyone who has ever taken the Christmas lights out of the cupboard, only to discover they're hopelessly tangled, will sympathise with this week's listener Eric. He has a 45m garden hose that always seems to snarl up and snag when he waters his garden, and he wonders what he's doing wrong? Marnie starts by discovering the important difference between tangles and knots, as she scales a cliff with an experienced climber who explains the way you tie rope is a matter of life and death. Physicists are also fascinated in how string becomes jumbled up and one man has even won an IgNobel award for his work in this field. Doug E Smith discovered that if you put a piece of string in a box then spin it around, its length, thickness and how long you shake the box for, all determine whether it will tie itself up. Not only that, the more the string becomes twisted, the more likely it is to cross over itself and become impossible to untangle. While tangles might be annoying in hair or cables, they're also a fundamental part of human life. Our DNA is constantly folding itself to fit inside tiny spaces – there are two metres of the stuff inside every cell, where it's packed down tightly, before it must untangle and duplicate for those cells to divide. It does this with the help of specific enzymes, and when the process goes wrong it leads to cell death. But scientists are also studying molecular tangles that might benefit us humans, and creating nano-sized knots that can be turned into nets or meshes with incredible properties. (Image: Getty Images)

In today's Daily Pickle segment the guys discuss the Yankees and whether or not it is panic time.Image: Getty Images

In this Daily Pickle segment the guys discuss Brian Cashman's latest comments on the Yanks season, some of the latest news in baseball, and what's going on with Josh Donaldson and Lucas Giolito.Image: Getty Images

In this Daily Pickle segment the guys discuss Hector Santiago being the first MLB pitcher ejected for foreign substances.Image: Getty Images

We preview the knockout stages at the Euros. As the Tour de France begins, we're on the start line with former England footballer Geoff Thomas, as he attempts to complete the exact course of cycling's greatest competition, a week ahead of the race. We'll look at the environmental impact of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. We'll hear from ‘ecoathletes', one group of athletes who are at the forefront of bringing attention to climate change thought their sporting platform. After Pele called for snooker to be included in the Olympics we speak with Igor Figueiredo, the only professional snooker player from Brazil. As the Women's PGA takes place in Atlanta, Georgia, we look at why some sports are shunning the state and others aren't. Image: Getty Images.

This week Jesse Bloom of Seattle's Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research has published an account of some DNA sequence data he located in an internet archive, despite it having been removed from the US NIH's Sequence Read Archive. He tells Roland Pease of its significance to our understanding of the beginning of the Covid pandemic, but also, of more general interest, to what it might tell scientists about the full availability of relevant virological evidence. Elsewhere, Elena Zavala of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig has been using new techniques for sequencing tiny fragments of mitochondrial DNA found in layers of mud to trace a long narrative of different evolutionary species of human and animal and their changing fortunes. As she describes in a paper published in Nature, sediments from different depths of the floor of the famous Denisova cave tell a long story of different humans (Denisovan and Neanderthal), bears, hyenas and other animals living there over different periods in the last 250 thousand years. Over in the journal Science, several papers describe a new type of early hominin found in Nesher Rambla, Israel, that may be yet another instance of a human species that didn't quite make it. As Marta Lahr, professor in human evolutionary biology at Cambridge University tells Roland the new findings all point to the bigger question – given the similar ages, technologies and even neighbourhoods that all these types of hominin shared, just what was it about our own direct ancestor species that enabled us to take over the world? Since almost the beginning of the Covid pandemic, in some parts of the world, the drug Ivermectin has been repurposed as a therapy against the disease, with some even believing it to convey protection against infection – a situation not without tragic consequences. The evidence for any meaningful effect has been less than obvious to most scientists and health authorities. Not the first controversial drug in the story of Covid-19, the discourse has led to abuse directed at scientists and officials, and scathing arguments across social media. As Oxford University's PRINCIPLE trial this week begins to include Ivermectin in its investigations, BBC Reality Check's Jack Goodman reports on the Ivermectin's tortuous path. It took a while before it was officially recognised as a major symptom of Covid-19, but loss of smell has affected up to 60 percent of people who have had the virus. And for a significant portion, smell continues to be an issue for weeks or months after their recovery. So what's going on and how can you get your sense of smell back? We tend to think of our sense of smell as something universal – if it smells bad to me, it probably does to you but that is not the case for CrowdScience listener Annabel, who wonders why things other people love to sniff, she finds disgusting. Anand Jagatia investigates the science of smell, gets up close to the world's smelliest plant and finds out if smell training can help those with long-term issues after Covid. (Image: Getty Images)

In today's Daily Pickle segment the guys discuss last night's PUI Checkpoints including Sergio Romo stripping and Max Scherzer vs Joe Girardi.Image: Getty Images

In this Daily Pickle segment, the guys discuss the first day of "PUI" Checkpoints, the Blue Jays benches clearing, Joey Votto suspension, and Max Fried's injury.Image: Getty Images

In today's Daily Pickle segment the guys discuss the Yankees weekend and another triple play, and we get our first Pitching Under the Influence or PUI Checkpoint of the MLB season.Image: Getty Images

It's the morning after the night before and we'll get the analysis you really need from the England Scotland game with Comedians Justin Moorhouse and Susie McCabe. We'll also preview the days action focusing in on France and looking at what the make-up of their squad says about multiculturalism in the country. Are they still, as talk show host Trevor Noah stated, Africa's team?! We look at the devastating effects gambling addiction can have, and why one group of fans are calling for betting advertising to be banned during the Euro's. We focus in on the particular issues that affect female gambling addicts. Are mixed events the future of Golf? We look at the success of last week's Sacndi Mixed tournament and discuss if one day there might be a mixed Solheim/Ryder Cup competition with The Jazzy Golfer. Image: Getty Images.

In this Daily Pickle segment the guys discuss the Yankees making their second triple play of the season, the horrible base running around the league, and how bad the Diamondbacks have been.Image: Getty Images

In this Daily Pickle segment, the guys discuss lack of offense in baseball and the Yankees recent trade.Image: Getty Images

In this Daily Pickle segment, the guys discuss Tyler Glasnow's injury and his claim it was due to lack of sticky substances.Image: Getty Images

Dr. Clare Jolly and colleagues have been looking at how the first of the major covid variants – alpha - evolved to be more transmissible. Whilst a lot of attention has been on the spike binding areas of the virus and the effectiveness of antibodies from either vaccine or prior infection, their preprint paper this week reports how the virus evolved an ability to inhibit our bodies' innate virus response once it has infected a cell. Prof Dan Shugar and colleagues have been studying the conditions that led to the tragic rock and ice avalanche in February in Chamoli, Uttarakhand. 27 million cubic meters of rock and ice broke off the steep mountainside and plummeted almost two km down into the valleys below. Using satellite, seismic and video data the scientists have investigated the sequence of events that led to the tragic deaths of 204 people in the floods that followed. It was a thankfully rare combination of geography and geology and events, but highlights the care that should be taken when building the growing number of hydroelectric plants in high mountainous areas. But avalanches don't just happen in mountains. A year before in a canyon under the sea near the outflow of the Congo river, a sediment avalanche rumbled on for almost 2 days along some 1,100km of the ocean floor. And as Prof Pete Talling describes, whilst it didn't trigger a tsunami, it did sever cables supplying internet connectivity between South Africa and Nigeria. And the BBC's Samara Linton reports on research into a type of DNA you perhaps haven't heard of – Z-DNA. It winds the other way to what we consider normal DNA, and scientists are finally beginning to understand its role in many human diseases, including cancer, with some future promise of novel therapeutics. Also, Why do I have such a sweet tooth? They say life is sweet. Well that's certainly the case for CrowdScience listener Trevor in Poland who wonders why he can't stop reaching for the cookie jar. He grew up drinking fruit juice with added sugar but wonders whether his genes could be as important as his environment when it comes to his sweet tooth, especially since his wife seem to be satisfied with mainly savoury snacks. The World Health Organisation says added sugar should constitute a maximum of 5% of our daily energy intake because it can contribute to diabetes, heart disease and obesity. But that's tricky when you consider it's now in everything from salad dressings, to savoury sauces. Manufacturers have been promoting sugar alternatives for decades but recreating the unique taste and feel of it in the mouth are a challenge. Marnie Chesterton gets to try a brand new innovation – a so-called ‘rare' sugar that has 70 percent of the sweetness but almost none of the calories. In nature, allulose is found in figs, but one producer has discovered a way to make it in the lab. Does it taste as good as it claims? Whilst switching to alternative sugars and sweeteners may reduce the calories, some researchers claim that tasting sweetness, wherever it comes from, can disrupt the body's mechanism for regulating blood-sugar levels, increasing the risk for conditions like diabetes. (Image: Getty Images)

In today's Daily Pickle segment the guys discuss the Mets-Padres series starting with deGrom vs Snell and what the Yankees should do at the trade deadline.Image: Getty Images

On Science in Action this week Nasa scientists have observed that the Earth's Energy Imbalance has doubled in just 15 years. As greenhouse gas atmospheric concentrations have risen, so too has the difference between the total amount of energy being absorbed from the sun, and the total amount being re-radiated back into space. Meanwhile, as we all heat up, scientists at the LIGO Gravitational Wave Observatory have managed to do something very cool with their mirrors. Such is the precision with which the detectors have been engineered, they have managed to effectively reduce the temperature of one of the big 10kg reflectors to such an extent that it betrays its quantum state as if it were simply one big subatomic particle. So what? Roland Pease finds out. Also, Scales don't come planet-sized, so answering a question from David in Ghana may require some ingenuity, after all, calculating the weight of the Earth is a huge task. Using a set of weighing scales and a 400 year-old equation, Marnie Chesterton attempts to find out just how much the Earth weighs and is it getting heavier or lighter over time? But how would a planet gain or lose mass? Which tips the scales: meteorites falling from space or gases constantly escaping from our atmosphere? And does the answer have any implications for the future of Earth? Could the atmosphere eventually run out? (Image: Getty Images)

In this Daily Pickle segment, the guys continue to discuss Spider Tack, pitchers using substances, and Pete Alonso's comments on the situation. Image: Getty Images

In this Daily Pickle segment, the guys discuss pitchers using sticky substances, spin rate, and much more pitching science.Image: Getty Images

In this Daily Pickle segment, the guys discuss MLB cracking down on doctored baseballs.Image: Getty Images

Graphs are everywhere. That has been the motto of graph afficionados for years, and now it seems that the world is waking up to this. How would you feel if you saw demand for your favorite topic, which also happens to be your line of business, grow 1000% in two-years time? Vindicated, overjoyed, and a bit overstretched in trying to keep up with demand, probably. Although Emil Eifrem never used those exact words when we discussed the past, present and future of graphs, that's a reasonable projection to make. Eifrem is the CEO and co-founder of Neo4j, a graph database company which lays claims to having popularized the term "graph database", and to leading the graph database category. Eifrem and Neo4j's story and insights are interesting because through them we can trace what is shaping up as a foundational technology stack for the 2020s and beyond: graphs. "Graph Relates Everything" is how Gartner put it, when including graphs in its top 10 data and analytics technology trends for 2021. Interest is expanding as graph data takes on a role in master data management, tracking laundered money, connecting Facebook friends and powering Google, in search and beyond.  Think Panama Papers researchers, NASA engineers, and Fortune 500 leaders: they all use graphs. Here's why, and how. Article published on VentureBeat. Image: Getty Images

In this Daily Pickle segment the guys discuss Javier Baez baserunning and the Pirates terrible defense.Image: Getty Images

In this Daily Pickle segment the guys discuss Mickey Callaway being placed on ineligible list, deGrom's strong return and much more.Image: Getty Images

In this Daily Pickle segment the guys discuss the power of the AL East and how close the race has gotten. Image: Getty Images

In this Daily Pickle segment, the guys discuss Yermin Mercedes getting thrown at and what's next for the White Sox.Image: Getty Images

In this Daily Pickle segment the guys discuss, Yermin Mercedes teeing off on a 3-0 pitch from a position player, Gerrit Cole setting a new record, and the inability for pitchers to control their pitches. Image: Getty Images

In this Daily Pickle segment the guys discuss the Phillies dugout argument and recap the MLB Weekend. Image: Getty Images

In this Daily Pickle segment, the guys discuss the Yankees win over the Rays, Astros providing housing for minor leaguers, Mariners calling up two top prospects, and today's games.Image: Getty Images

In this Daily Pickle segment, the guys discuss the Covid positives for the Padres and Yankees, Jordan Zimmermann retiring, and tonight's games.Image: Getty Images

In this Daily Pickle Segment the guys discuss the Lindor - McNeil incident, the Yankees playing well, and the Red Sox offense looking like the best in baseball.Image: Getty Images

In this Daily Pickle segment the guys discuss the Mets - Phillies weekend series, Jesus Luzardo breaking his finger playing video games, and Mike Tauchman doing well with the Giants.Image: Getty Images

In this Daily Pickle segment, the guys discuss the Phillies-Cardinals beef, Matt Olson almost losing his eye, and this weekend's matchups.Image: Getty Images

In this Daily Pickle segment the guys discuss the Red Sox-Mets series, Mike Tauchman trade, and scores around the league.Image: Getty Images

In this Daily Pickle segment the guys discuss the Yankees struggles and the disaster that is replay.Image: Getty Images

In this MLB Segment, Rob and Jon discuss the new proposed rule changes by MLB that will start in the Atlantic League this season. Image: Getty Images

In this MLB segment the guys discuss the Red Sox first win of the season, the Mets pulling deGrom after 77 pitches, and today's games.Image: Getty Images

“Our profession began with infectious diseases,” says Professor Tony Blakely. “So, if I break it down and say epidemic and -ology, which equals study, we are the study of epidemics – epidemiology,” he says. “My day job is to model the effect of interventions on the population's health. “Sometimes I look in the rear vision mirror of the car and sometimes I look out the front window and I actually forecast the future, under business as usual. Then I layer an intervention over that, like a tax on sugary drinks or a colorectal cancer screening program. “Then we estimate the health gains (from those interventions) and report back to our academic and policy end users on which interventions appear to have a big impact, versus a small impact, and which are cost effective.” Professor Blakely explains that this particular skillset also applies to modelling COVID-19 infection control and exit strategy models. “We have three exit strategies out of this COVID epidemic. One, we eliminate, we lock our borders and we hunker down until a vaccine arrives. The second strategy is the one people call suppression or controlled adaptation because you really are adapting,” he says. “The third option is we'll protect our elderly, we'll protect those with co-morbidities, we'll get the best treatments possible, but we're going to let this infection wash through society until such time we get to a number of people being infected that they're therefore immune - we have what we call herd immunity. “There are different pros and cons of each of those three strategies.” Episode recorded: April 20, 2020. Interviewer: Dr Andi Horvath. Producer, audio engineer and editor: Chris Hatzis. Co-production: Silvi Vann-Wall and Dr Andi Horvath. Image: Getty Images.

Lupus isn't well known, but the currently incurable autoimmune disease often marked by a ‘butterfly' rash on the face, is highly prevalent, affecting five million people globally. Treatments are few and far between and few researchers are focused on it. But award winning medical researcher Professor Fabienne Mackay has concentrated much of her career on tackling lupus, and in 2011 her genetic research work led to the approval of the first new treatment for the disease in more than 50 years. And while that is good news for some patients, the treatment isn't effective for all patients, and she says more research work and breakthroughs are needed. “I would love the public to realise that lupus is actually very prevalent; that the therapies we have at the moment, even though I worked towards one, are not serving everybody. It helps some patients but not all of them,” says Professor Mackay who in October 2019 received a Distinguished Innovator Award from the US-based Lupus Research Alliance. The good news is that we are still unravelling the secrets of the human body, which means there continues to be research leads to follow, including for instance the potential role of diet and the gut microbiome – the bacteria in our digestive system. “There is a whole story we didn't realise was there and now it's excitement all over again finding out how these layers are working on top of the layers we've already unravelled,” says Professor Mackay. “That is what fascinates me – you think you know it all and then there's always something that comes and surprises you.” And her advice to her medical research students is to think big. “Always be bold. Think blue sky. It is a bit of risk and I know it's never something that students are comfortable to do, but I think that where you find the most valuable discoveries.” Episode recorded: November 11, 2019. Interviewer: Dr Andi Horvath. Producer, audio engineer and editor: Chris Hatzis. Co-producers: Silvi Vann-Wall and Dr Andi Horvath. Image: Getty Images.

The teenage brain is very interesting. According to Dr Katherine Canobi, author and cognitive developmental psychologist at the Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, it's a time when young people are starting to work out who they are, as well as looking to form meaningful and authentic relationships. “During this stage, their brains are still developing in various ways, for example executive function like decision making isn't fully developed yet and neither is impulse control.” Combining novel writing and research, Dr Canobi is interested in how teenagers respond to the technology in their lives. Her novel Mindcull, explores how technology can be used to disguise and escape from reality. “It's probably fair to say that there are links between extensive screen use and symptoms of depression and anxiety, but not every study has found that. Some studies have found positive results for social media for a sense of connection with others,” she says. Dr Canobi says we need to look at how we use technology. In particular, think about the vulnerabilities of young people and how we can use technology well. “Technology is with us and it does many, many wonderful things but we also need to be aware of the risks.” Episode recorded: October 8, 2019. Interviewer: Dr Andi Horvath. Producer, editor and audio engineer: Chris Hatzis. Co-production: Silvi Vann-Wall and Dr Andi Horvath. Image: Getty Images.

Now a professor of biochemistry at the University of Cambridge, in 1969 Sir Thomas Blundell was one of the first people to see what the hormone insulin looked like. As part of the team led by Nobel Prize winner Dorothy Hodgkin, it was a medical breakthrough for diabetes patients everywhere. “I was always interested in doing a range of different things,” Professor Blundell says. “I came from a family where my grandfather was a very gifted artist and musician. And although my parents left school when they were 14 and 15, they always encouraged me to think more broadly.” “So I may be a little bit unusual because I've ended up doing things in politics, music and science, and that of course led me to advise prime ministers and to run organisations and found companies.” Professor Blundell's research has focussed on understanding the structure and function of molecules for targets to improve drug design. “By using X-rays with very short wavelength, I can see these very tiny molecules. Add in other methods like electron microscopy and the individual molecules can be revealed. His work has contributed significantly to stopping the progression of HIV into AIDS and to developing new drugs for cancer treatment in both his academic career and through a spinoff company he initially founded with two former students. “In Europe, Australia and the United States, we are lucky, we have access to medicines that research has developed, but the real challenge is to make sure that it's available not just to the rich, but to the world in general.” Episode recorded: September 26, 2019. Interviewer: Dr Andi Horvath. Producer, audio engineer and editor: Chris Hatzis. Co-production: Silvi Vann-Wall and Dr Andi Horvath. Image: Getty Images.

A lot of Aboriginal people don't necessarily feel comfortable accessing health services, explains Gwenda Freeman, Associate Lecturer in Aboriginal Health at the University of Melbourne. “Whereas you might have been brought up to go to the doctor when you are unwell, for Aboriginal people (going to a doctor) might be a much bigger issue,” she says. “There might be issues of racism, there might be history of difficulties, there might be hesitancy about western medicine and all sorts of cost and other anxieties that often prevent people from being able to access what we would consider basic health services.” As a lecturer in the Specialist Certificate qualification in ‘Empowering Health in Aboriginal Communities', Gwenda says the course provides a pathway for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to undertake the Master of Public Health degree, opening possibilities for Indigenous people to be at the table in organising health services for their own community. “There's been a lovely coming together recently of traditional healers – traditional Aboriginal healers – and what you might call western medicine.” For example some Indigenous healers – the Ngangkari – have been recruited by the South Australian Health Department to work in hospitals and health services in Adelaide alongside mainstream medicine. “They're very happy to because Aboriginal people can see that western medicine offers some things that traditional medicine doesn't. But also, that traditional medicine covers things that western medicine neglects. So, it's a good coming together.” Episode recorded: October 7, 2019. Interviewer: Dr Andi Horvath. Producer, editor and audio engineer: Chris Hatzis. Co-production: Silvi Vann-Wall and Dr Andi Horvath. Image: Getty Images.

Music has this unique ability to connect with emotion, and with memory, so they're very intricately linked, says Professor Felicity Baker, Head of Music Therapy and Director of the International Research Partnerships for the Creative Arts and Music Therapy Research Unit at the University of Melbourne. “When you hear a piece of music and then the memories become evoked as a result of that, the neural network is activated, and it also then leads to the activation of more positive moods.” Professor Baker studies how music, especially singing and songwriting, can be used to treat people with a range of conditions – from young people with traumatic brain injuries to adults with substance abuse issues and, especially, people with dementia. “We're actually showing the family carers how to use music in really strategic ways to support the care of the person that they're looking after. But we're also interested in preserving the relationship between the carer and the person that they're caring for,” Professor Baker says. “So, using music in a way that helps to bring that person to the present.” Special thanks to the Dandenong Ranges Music Council, Caladenia Dementia Care, Melbourne, the Musical Memories Choir from the Continuing Care Clinical Service Unit, Austin Hospital, Melbourne, Judy and John Kearney, Sue Mountain and Betty Hamilton. For more information about Felicity Baker's work and the Music Heals Minds And Hearts appeal, click here or email annual-appeal@unimelb.edu.au. Episode recorded: August 29, 2019. Interviewer: Dr Andi Horvath. Producer, editor and audio engineer: Chris Hatzis. Co-production: Silvi Vann-Wall and Dr Andi Horvath. Image: Getty Images.

Impaired memory is a symptom of schizophrenia and University of Melbourne PhD student Cassandra Wannan has identified areas of the brain that give us new clues as to what's going on. Up to 1 in 100 people worldwide will experience schizophrenia. It can stem from a number of factors, including genetics, trauma, and substance abuse. For centuries there's been limited understanding of how schizophrenia operates, leading to misdiagnosis or insufficient treatment. In order to better our understanding of schizophrenia, Cassandra Wannan recently authored a paper on schizophrenia and memory impairment. Confirming the role of memory loss in schizophrenia may be a major step towards fully understanding the illness. Interview recorded: July 23, 2019. Interviewer: Dr Andi Horvath. Producer, editor & audio engineer: Chris Hatzis. Co-producers: Silvi Vann-Wall & Dr Andi Horvath. Image: Getty Images.

Following his uncle's brain injury, Dr David Gonsalvez studied neuroscience and now researches the connections between brain cells and how they change in diseases like Multiple Sclerosis. “The cells that I study make the insulating material myelin, that covers all of the wires in the brain,” says Dr Gonsalvez. Our ‘wiring' is formed by axons, the long stalks that grow out of the brain's neurons and carry electrical signals to other neurons. Myelin is wrapped around axons to insulate the signals, just like wires in a house. By studying the impact of the environment on myelin and how it forms, Dr Gonsalvez and his team hope to also understand what happens when it degrades and the electrical signal is disrupted, as happens in Multiple Sclerosis (MS). “I'm starting to get really interested in whether or not those features of growth are impacted by your environment and conditions,” Dr Gonsalvez says. “Any situation that you're put in, any interaction you're having with the environment, and any interaction you have with other people and anybody, will have an impact on your brain.” Episode recorded: June 19, 2019. Interviewer: Dr Andi Horvath. Producer, audio engineer and editor: Chris Hatzis. Co-production: Silvi Vann-Wall and Dr Andi Horvath. Image: Getty Images.

What should Wisconsin use for the new Motto on license plates?Image Getty Images

In a special edition recorded at the BFI London Film Festival, Francine Stock talks to Ian McEwan about his screen work - the films he's adapted, the movies made from his novels, the Hollywood thrillers he's penned, and the ones that got away. The author of Atonement and On Chesil Beach reveals why he prefers to leave film-makers to do what they want with his novels and why the worst thing is to become the bad conscience of a film set, drifting around, saying "that's not what I meant". And why as an author you're treated as a god, but as a screenwriter you're treated like the cleaning lady. Image: Getty Images.

HARDtalk's Stephen Sackur speaks to Qubad Talabani, Deputy Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government. The Kurds are key fighters in the war against so-called Islamic State. But does their ambition for independence threaten even more instability in Iraq?(Photo: Qubad Talabani. Image: Getty Images)