Welcome to CultureLab, from New Scientist podcasts. In this episode, culture and comment editor Alison Flood speaks with composer Sarah Angliss. Sarah has written a new opera called Giant, which is based on the true story of the 18th-century “Irish giant” Charles Byrne, who had an undiagnosed benign tumour of his pituitary gland which caused him to grow to be 2.31m tall. Byrne’s corpse was stolen and later put on public display by the surgeon John Hunter, despite his explicit wishes to be buried at sea. Giant premieres in June at the Aldeburgh Festival, 240 years since Byrne’s death.To read about subjects like this and much more, you can subscribe to New Scientist magazine at newscientist.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A species of ancient human with a brain the size of a chimpanzee’s is upending what we thought we knew about human cognition and culture. Recent findings from Lee Berger and his team of palaeontologists suggest our extinct relative, Homo naledi, may have engraved symbols on cave walls and deliberately buried its dead. These people lived some 300,000 years ago and the team discusses the dramatic new findings.Air quality across northern parts of the United States, including New York City, has reached dangerous levels following record-breaking wildfires in Canada. The team in London chat with New York-based reporter James Dinneen about the implications of climate-change-induced events like these. Think a flower can’t be scary? Think again! Rowan meets botanical horticulturalist Arnau Ribera-Tort at Kew Gardens in London to discuss the beautiful and ghoulish Ghost Orchid - a plant with no leaves and sheet-white flowers that appear to float in mid-air, and which is blooming in the UK for the first time. Pregnancy sickness is not just unpleasant, it can be dangerous. But new findings are bringing us closer to putting an end to this nauseating part of pregnancy. A large recent study further supports the idea that the hormone responsible for pregnancy sickness, GDF15, may also be the key to preventing it.Finally, Clare and Rowan discuss the growing need for AI to self-identify as non-human, with Chatbots becoming increasingly difficult to distinguish from people…On the pod are Rowan Hooper, Clare Wilson, Alice Klein, Michael Le Page and James Dinneen. To read more about the stories, subscribe at newscientist.com/podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What does it mean to eat and live ethically in today’s world? In 1975, Australian philosopher Peter Singer published his landmark book Animal Liberation, in which he advocated for a vegan diet and the improved treatment of animals, sparking a global movement for animal rights. Almost 50 years on, amid scientific and ethical advancements, Singer has released an updated version of his book: Animal Liberation Now.New Scientist reporter Madeleine Cuff asks Singer how his views on eating ethically have changed, particularly as the science around climate change has solidified.To read about subjects like this and much more, you can subscribe to New Scientist magazine at newscientist.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Suspended animation - the stuff of science-fiction, or a real-world solution to surviving long voyages into deep space? Actually it’s neither, but researchers have now successfully induced hibernation in mice and rats, suggesting that the same may be possible for humans... The team explores what this could mean for future medical treatments.Sand martins – known as bank swallows in North America - have returned to their breeding grounds. Ornithologist Bill Haines takes Rowan under his wing at the London Wetland Centre and introduces him to these remarkable tunnel-digging birds…Wharton earth…? New research shows that Wharton Jelly, the stem-cell-rich goo found in umbilical cords can have important therapeutic benefits for those suffering from certain autoimmune diseases. The team discusses its recent success in treating Type 1 Diabetes. The Clarion-Clipperton Zone, deep in the Pacific Ocean, is of great interest to biologists and industrialists alike, as it is home to thousands of previously-unknown marine species… and replete with the likes of nickel, cobalt, copper, titanium and rare earth elements. As Matt explains, many of these species could be lost to deep-sea mining before we have a chance to discover them all.Finally, the team discusses a major nuisance to lunar travel: moon dust! Moon landings will kick up millions of these tiny, razor-sharp particles, even blasting them out of lunar orbit where they could pose a risk to orbiting space stations. On the pod are Rowan Hooper, Chelsea Whyte, Michael Le Page, Alexandra Thompson and Matt Sparkes. To read more about the stories, subscribe at newscientist.com/podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The world is undergoing a catastrophic biodiversity crisis, and the UK is one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world. The problems are big, but there are solutions. On this special episode of the show, host Rowan Hooper reports from the Knepp Estate in southern England, a large estate owned by Isabella Tree and Charlie Burrell, who have become pioneers in the rewilding movement. Rowan spent the night wild camping in the beaver enclosure and being serenaded by nightingales. He speaks with Isabella and Charlie about their new book, The Book of Wilding; to beaver reintroduction expert Derek Gow about the magic of this keystone species, and to ecologist Andy Hector of the University of Oxford. To hear a livestream of the sounds of nature from Knepp, listen to Wilding Radio here.To read about subjects like this and much more, you can subscribe to New Scientist magazine at newscientist.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.