The World, the Universe and Us

Episode 390

In a special episode recorded live at Latitude Festival in England, we open with the finding that orcas in the Gulf of California have been making fish explode like piñatas. Sunfish are too large for orcas to get their teeth around, but they’ve been seen working together to tackle them - another amazing display of their ability to coordinate.

We also discuss a surprising new way to clear proteins linked to Alzheimer’s disease from the brain. An early-stage experiment shows that inhaling carbon dioxide could boost your brain’s waste disposal system and clear out harmful proteins. But don’t try this at home.

Also on the agenda, the clouds on distant exoplanets are now being studied - and they are made of incredible materials. Some are made of sand, molten iron and even rubies and sapphires. As we explain how materials like this can stay suspended in the air, we also discuss the importance of clouds on Earth.

And we wrap up with the finding that  festivals protect the brain and help keep us young. A study involving 3500 people found that those who attended social gatherings like festivals and concerts showed clear reductions in their biological age. Discover why this happens, plus the wider benefits of music on brain health.

Rowan Hooper and Penny Sarchet are joined by:

Astrophysicist  Hannah Wakeford

Neuropsychologist Catherine Loveday

Musician Steve Pretty

To read more about these stories, visit https://www.newscientist.com/
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Episode 389

Europe is burning through another summer of extreme heat. Temperatures are soaring across the continent, wildfires are forcing mass evacuations in France and Spain, and scientists warn that heatwaves are becoming more frequent, more intense and longer-lasting as the climate warms.

The fires are changing too. Hotter, drier conditions are creating larger and more destructive wildfires. Some are even generating their own weather systems, pyrocumulonimbus thunderstorms, in regions we’d never seen before.

Find out what is driving Europe’s escalating heat and wildfire crisis, and whether district cooling networks could help cities stay livable in a much hotter future.

Rowan Hooper and Penny Sarchet are joined by Alec Luhn and Michael Le Page.

To read more about these stories, visit https://www.newscientist.com/

Image credit: Death Valley: Mikenorton, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
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Episode 388

Two extraordinary breakthroughs have been made in transplant surgery. First, scientists have found a way of keeping human eyes alive for up to 10 hours after death, opening up the possibility of eye transplants in the future.

And in a second controversial surgery, another team has managed to restore severed spinal cords in pigs, allowing them to walk again after being paralysed. While it’s hoped this will eventually allow people with spinal injuries to walk again, one of the scientists involved is a proponent of human head transplants - or body transplants as they should really be known. Is that the ultimate goal?

Find out how the scientists achieved these feats - and what’s required to take both surgeries to the next level.

Rowan Hooper and Penny Sarchet are joined by Alexandra Thompson.

To read more about these stories, visit https://www.newscientist.com/
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Episode 387

Two big interstellar discoveries have hit the headlines. One is the discovery of the first atmosphere ever found on a small, rocky exoplanet that could host alien life.

The planet LHS 1140b is about 50 light years from Earth and sits in the “Goldlocks” zone, meaning it’s close enough to its star to be habitable. So what do we know about its atmosphere – and could it be just like Earth?

The second story is of sugar molecules discovered in interstellar space for the first time – detected in a cosmic cloud nearly 27 light years away. Researchers believe this sugar could have formed before the solar system itself.

Find out more with Senior Editor Chelsea Whyte and Space Reporter Leah Crane.

To read more about these stories, visit https://www.newscientist.com/

Image credits:

Chester Harman, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0 via Wikimedia Commons

ESO/spaceengine.org, CC BY 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
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Episode 386

The climate crisis is having a significant impact on yields of crucial food crops. Losses of maize, wheat and soybeans alone are costing $20 billion a year due to heat and drought. New estimates expect this to rise to $160 billion per year by 2100 - although that could be an underestimate.

While this means food prices will keep on rising in developed countries, the majority of the population in the world’s least developed regions work in farming, so crop losses have the potential to destabilise them, creating social unrest and increased migration.

But beyond getting emissions under control, do we need to completely rethink how we produce food globally in order to combat this?

Rowan Hooper and Penny Sarchet are joined by Michael Le Page to discuss this new prediction and the action needed to stop it coming true.

To read more about these stories, visit https://www.newscientist.com/
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