Episódios

  • The sweeping reorganisation of the brain in pregnancy, and why it matters

    The sweeping reorganisation of the brain in pregnancy, and why it matters
    Sep 19 2024
    Ian Sample talks to Dr Laura Pritschet, a postdoctoral fellow of psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania, about her research using precision scans to capture the profound changes that sweep across the brain during pregnancy. She explains what this new work reveals about how the brain is reorganised in this period, whether it could it help us better understand conditions like pre-eclampsia and postnatal depression, and why women’s brains have often been overlooked by neuroscience. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod
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    14 minutos
  • From dementia to heart disease: could weight-loss jabs transform chronic conditions?

    From dementia to heart disease: could weight-loss jabs transform chronic conditions?
    Sep 17 2024
    They were developed as diabetes drugs, then their potential for promoting significant weight loss became apparent. And now study after study seems to suggest that drugs such as Ozempic and Wegovy could have all sorts of health benefits, leading some scientists to hail them a breakthrough that could transform many chronic diseases of ageing. But what’s the mechanism for these effects and is it caused by more than weight loss? The Guardian’s science correspondent Nicola Davis tells Madeleine Finlay what is known so far. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod
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    17 minutos
  • Transparent skin, bird flu, and why girls’ brains aged during Covid: the week in science

    Transparent skin, bird flu, and why girls’ brains aged during Covid: the week in science
    Sep 12 2024
    Ian Sample and science correspondent Hannah Devlin discuss some of the science stories that have made headlines this week, from a new technique that uses food colouring to make skin transparent, to the first case of bird flu in a person with no known contact with sick animals, and a study looking at premature brain ageing in young people during Covid. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod
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    17 minutos
  • Into the abyss beneath Greenland’s glaciers

    Into the abyss beneath Greenland’s glaciers
    Sep 10 2024
    Environment editor Damian Carrington tells Madeleine Finlay about his recent trip to Greenland on board a ship with a group of intrepid scientists. They were on a mission to explore the maelstrom beneath Greenland’s glaciers, an area that has never been studied before, and were hoping to find answers to one of the world’s most pressing questions – how quickly will sea levels rise?. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod
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    16 minutos
  • The race to understand mpox

    The race to understand mpox
    Sep 5 2024
    Last month the World Health Organization declared the recent mpox outbreak that began in the Democratic Republic of the Congo a public health emergency of international concern. As scientists race to find out more about the new strain, Ian Sample talks to Trudie Lang, professor of global health research and director of the global health network at the University of Oxford, to find out what we still need to learn in order to tackle and contain the virus. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod
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    17 minutos
  • The arrest of Telegram’s founder, and what it means for social media

    The arrest of Telegram’s founder, and what it means for social media
    Sep 3 2024
    The arrest of Telegram’s founder and CEO in Paris last month has thrown the spotlight on the messaging app and its approach to content moderation. Madeleine Finlay hears from Russian affairs reporter Pjotr Sauer and technology journalist Alex Hern about how the case could influence how social media companies approach problematic content on their platforms. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod
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    18 minutos
  • Summer picks: the science of ‘weird shit’

    Summer picks: the science of ‘weird shit’
    Aug 29 2024
    The psychologist Chris French has spent decades studying paranormal claims and mysterious experiences, from seemingly impossible coincidences to paintings that purportedly predict the future. In this episode from April 2024, Ian Sample sits down with French to explore why so many of us believe in what he terms ‘weird shit’, and what we can learn from understanding why we are drawn to mysterious and mystic phenomena. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod
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    19 minutos
  • Summer picks: what can our dogs teach us about obesity?

    Summer picks: what can our dogs teach us about obesity?
    Aug 27 2024
    Labradors are known for being greedy dogs, and now scientists have come up with a theory about the genetic factors that may be behind their behaviour. In this episode from April 2024, the Guardian’s science correspondent and flat-coated retriever owner Nicola Davis visits the University of Cambridge to meet Dr Eleanor Raffan and Prof Giles Yeo to find out how understanding this pathway could help treat the obesity crisis in humans. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod
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    21 minutos