New Scientist Podcasts

Auteur(s): New Scientist
  • Résumé

  • Podcasts for the insatiably curious by the world’s most popular weekly science magazine. Everything from the latest science and technology news to the big-picture questions about life, the universe and what it means to be human. For more visit newscientist.com/podcasts
    © 2024 New Scientist Podcasts
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Épisodes
  • Weekly: Life-saving mice perform first aid; tiny lab-grown human brains; making skyscrapers and hair condition from wood
    Feb 21 2025
    Episode 290 Mice have been found saving the lives of their cagemates by performing a resuscitation technique similar to CPR. After opening the mouth of an unconscious mouse, the “attending mouse” yanks up its tongue to clear the airways and dislodges anything that’s stuck. This remarkable discovery shows that empathy and consolation behaviour is more widespread in mammals than we thought, and hints at a mouse theory of mind. Tiny, lab-grown bits of human brain are being combined to create something that resembles a more complete organ. This “multi-region brain organoid” contains 80 per cent of the cell types found in a 40-day-old fetal brain. The team behind it aims to study conditions like autism and schizophrenia - with some suggesting they could one day be used in artificial intelligence. But this all throws up major ethical issues…at what point do these brains start feeling pain, or gain consciousness? From wooden skyscrapers to wooden batteries, wood is being used in many innovative and surprising ways. Cross-laminated timber and densified wood are proving to be durable, sustainable alternatives to a range of other materials. And now a team has gone one step further, by creating a wood-based hair conditioner. But will this pitch black, funny smelling alternative catch on? Chapters: (00:29) Mice performing CPR (10:58) Lab-grown human brains (17:10) Making skyscrapers, cars and hair conditioner from wood Hosted by Rowan Hooper and Penny Sarchet, with guests Michael Le Page and Madeleine Cuff. To read more about these stories, visit https://www.newscientist.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    26 min
  • Weekly: Resurrecting frozen brains; giant asteroid heads to Earth; you really do have a ‘dessert stomach’
    Feb 14 2025
    Episode 289 Slices of mouse brains have been revived after being in deep freeze, hinting at the future possibility of reanimating humans who have been cryogenically preserved. While this is just a first step, researchers say the technique could one day be adapted to bring frozen human brains out of stasis. This may be good news for the more than 200 bodies currently in deep freeze in the US. But what kind of world will they wake up to if we do find a way? An asteroid named 2024 YR4 is threatening to smash into Earth in just over 7 years’ time. Alarm bells are ringing and several international bodies are stepping in to take action. Astronomers will assess the threat with the James Webb Space Telescope, so we can get a measure of how big - and on how dangerous an orbit - it really is. A technique used to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere is showing huge promise in the fight against climate change. Scientists have enhanced a natural process called rock weathering, getting farmers to spread crushed rocks on their fields. If this was done the world over, the climate impact could be dramatic. Hear from a farmer in Virginia who’s been testing the method. Have you ever been completely stuffed at the end of a meal, only to miraculously find room for a slice of cake? This is the mysterious phenomenon known as ‘dessert tummy’ - and it turns out it’s actually a real thing. Discover the science behind why you can always find extra room for a sweet treat. Timestamps: (00:34) Mouse brain resurrection (11:51) Asteroid threat (21:03) Enhanced weathering (27:20) Science of ‘dessert tummy’ Hosted by Rowan Hooper and Penny Sarchet, with guests Michael Le Page, Leah Crane, James Dinneen and Grace Wade. To read more about these stories, visit https://www.newscientist.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    32 min
  • Weekly: Trump’s war on science; How whale song resembles human language; How to boil the perfect egg with science
    Feb 7 2025
    Episode 288 President Trump has launched what’s being described as an all-out assault on science and medicine. Given America’s impact on global science, this affects the entire world. Web pages referencing climate change and global warming are being deleted, words like “transgender” are being banned from medical publications and USAID has been labelled evil. As access to fundamental scientific information is put at risk, we find out how anxiety is rising among US scientists - and what it means for the rest of us. Two studies of whale songs have uncovered striking similarities to the patterns of human language. In one study, researchers analysed and encoded around 150 unique sounds used by the males in their songs, while another study examined the length of whale “words”. What does this say about whale language - will we be able to understand what they’re saying one day? Want to boil the perfect egg? Got 30 minutes to spare? Researchers have been rigorously testing the most scientific way to boil an egg, to ensure perfect consistency of the white and yolk - and it seems they hit the jackpot. Alex Wilkins tests the method for himself and compares it to your regular 7 minute job. The question is, is this new method worth the extra effort? Hosted by Rowan Hooper and Chelsea Whyte, with guests James Dinneen, Grace Wade, Nancy Maclean, Gretchen Goldman, James Woodford and Alex Wilkins. To read more about these stories, visit https://www.newscientist.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    24 min

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