Deborah Greaves on wave power and offshore renewable energy
If you’ve ever seen the ocean during a storm, you’ll understand the extraordinary power contained in waves. On an island nation like Britain, that power could well be harnessed to produce clean energy;...
View ArticleGideon Henderson on climate ‘clocks’ and dating ice ages
We’re used to hearing the stories of scientists who study the world as it is now but what about the study of the past - what can this tell us about our future? Gideon Henderson’s research focuses on...
View ArticleChris Barratt on head-banging sperm and a future male contraceptive pill
Reproductive science has come a long way in recent years, but there's still plenty we don't understand - particularly around male fertility. The reliability and availability of data in this field has...
View ArticleSir Colin Humphreys on electron microscopes, and the thinnest material in the...
How much more of our world could we understand, if we could take stock of it, one atom at a time? If we could see the structure of individual molecules, understand the complex ways they interact with...
View ArticleBahija Jallal on the biotech revolution in cancer therapies
Some of the most complex medicines available today are made from living cells or organisms - these treatments are called biopharmaceuticals and in this episode of The Life Scientific Dr Bahija Jallal,...
View ArticlePaul Murdin on the first ever identification of a black hole
Astronomer Paul Murdin believes a good imagination is vital for scientists, since they're so often dealing with subjects outside the visible realm. Indeed, over a long and successful career his...
View ArticleAlex Antonelli on learning from nature's biodiversity to adapt to climate change
With the world's biodiversity being lost at an alarming rate, Alexandre Antonelli, Director of Science at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, has made it his life's mission to protect it. He is a...
View ArticleEdward Witten on 'the theory of everything'
The Life Scientific returns with a special episode from the USA; Princeton, New Jersey, to be precise. Here, the Institute for Advanced Study has hosted some of the greatest scientific minds of our...
View ArticleSarah Blaffer Hrdy on human evolution and parenthood
Our primate cousins fascinate us, with their uncanny similarities to us. And studying other apes and monkeys also helps us figure out the evolutionary puzzle of what makes us uniquely human. Sarah...
View ArticleProfessor Sarah Harper on how population change is remodelling societies.
People around the world are living longer and, on the whole, having fewer children. What does this mean for future populations? Sarah Harper CBE, Professor in Gerontology at the University of Oxford,...
View ArticleSir Michael Berry on phenomena in physics' borderlands
Professor Jim Al-Khalili meets one of Britain's greatest physicists, Sir Michael Berry. His work uncovers 'the arcane in the mundane', revealing the science that underpins phenomena in the world around...
View ArticleCathie Sudlow on data in healthcare
“Big data” and “data science” are terms we hear more and more these days. The idea that we can use these vast amounts of information to understand and analyse phenomena, and find solutions to problems,...
View ArticleSir Harry Bhadeshia on the choreography of metals
The Life Scientific zooms in to explore the intricate atomic make-up of metal alloys, with complex crystalline arrangements that can literally make or break structures integral to our everyday...
View ArticleMercedes Maroto-Valer on making carbon dioxide useful
How do you solve a problem like CO2? As the curtain closes on the world’s most important climate summit, we talk to a scientist who was at COP 28 and is working to solve our carbon dioxide problem....
View ArticleMichael Wooldridge on AI and sentient robots
Humans have a long-held fascination with the idea of Artificial Intelligence (AI) as a dystopian threat: from Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, through to the Terminator movies.But somehow, we still often...
View ArticleJonathan Van-Tam on Covid communication and the power of football analogies
Sir Jonathan Van-Tam, or ‘JVT’ as he's arguably better known, first came to widespread public attention in his role as Deputy Chief Medical Officer during the Covid-19 pandemic.But even before that,...
View ArticleSir Charles Godfray on parasitic wasps and the race to feed nine billion people
Professor Charles Godfray, Director of the the Oxford Martin School tells Jim Al-Kahlili about the intricate world of population dynamics, and how a healthy obsession with parasitic wasps might help us...
View ArticleSheila Willis on using science to help solve crime
Dr Sheila Willis is a forensic scientist who was Director General of Forensic Science Ireland for many years. She has spent her life using science to help solve cases, working on crime scenes and then...
View ArticleNick Longrich on discovering new dinosaurs from overlooked bones
We are fascinated by dinosaurs. From blockbuster hits to bestselling video games, skeleton exhibitions to cuddly plushies, the creatures that once roamed the planet have fully captured our imagination,...
View ArticleFiona Rayment on the applications of nuclear for net zero and beyond
The reputation of the nuclear industry has had highs and lows during the career of Dr Fiona Rayment, the President of the Nuclear Institute. But nowadays the role of nuclear science and engineering has...
View ArticleHannah Critchlow on the connected brain
With 86 billion nerve cells joined together in a network of 100 trillion connections, the human brain is the most complex system in the known universe. Dr. Hannah Critchlow is an internationally...
View ArticleMike Edmunds on decoding galaxies and ancient astronomical artefacts
What is the universe made of? Where does space dust come from? And how exactly might one go about putting on a one-man-show about Sir Isaac Newton? These are all questions that Mike Edmunds, Emeritus...
View ArticleConny Aerts on star vibrations and following your dreams
Many of us have heard of seismology, the study of earthquakes; but what about asteroseismology, focusing on vibrations in stars?Conny Aerts is a Professor of Astrophysics at the University of Leuven in...
View ArticleAnne Child on Marfan syndrome and love at first sight
Marfan syndrome is a genetic disorder that makes renders the body’s connective tissues incredibly fragile; this can weaken the heart, leading to potentially fatal aneurysms. What’s more, anyone with...
View ArticleJanet Treasure on eating disorders and the quest for answers
From anorexia nervosa to binge-eating, eating disorders are potentially fatal conditions that are traditionally very difficult to diagnose and treat - not least because those affected often don’t...
View ArticleRaymond Schinazi on revolutionising treatments for killer viruses
In recent decades, we've taken huge steps forward in treating formerly fatal viruses: with pharmacological breakthroughs revolutionising treatment for conditions such as HIV, hepatitis and herpes....
View ArticleDawn Bonfield on inclusive engineering, sustainable solutions and why she...
The engineering industry, like many other STEM sectors, has a problem with diversity: one that Dawn Bonfield believes we can and must fix, if we're to get a handle on much more pressing planetary...
View ArticleVicky Tolfrey on parasport research and childhood dreams of the Olympics
It's summer - no really - and although the weather might have been mixed, the sporting line-up has been undeniably scorching - from the back-and-forth of Wimbledon, to the nail-biting Euros, to the...
View ArticleKip Thorne on black holes, Nobel Prizes and taking physics to Hollywood
The final episode in this series of The Life Scientific is a journey through space and time, via black holes and wormholes, taking in Nobel-prize-winning research and Hollywood blockbusters!Kip Thorne...
View ArticleBill Gates on vaccines, conspiracy theories and the pleasures of pickleball
Bill Gates is one of the world's best-known billionaires - but after years at the corporate coalface building a software empire and a vast fortune, his priority now is giving that wealth away. And his...
View ArticleDarren Croft on killer whale matriarchs and the menopause
Darren Croft studies one of the ocean’s most charismatic and spectacular animals – the killer whale. Orca are probably best known for their predatory behaviour: ganging up to catch hapless seals or...
View ArticleIjeoma Uchegbu on using nanoparticles to transform medicines
Imagine a nanoparticle, less that a thousandth of the width of a human hair, that is so precise that it can carry a medicine to just where it’s needed in the body, improving the drug’s impact and...
View ArticlePeter Stott on climate change deniers and Italian inspiration
In the summer of 2003, Europe experienced its most intense heatwave on record - one that saw more than 70,000 people lose their lives. Experiencing the effects whilst on holiday in Tuscany, climate...
View ArticleRosalie David on the science of Egyptian mummies
Rosalie David is a pioneer in the study of ancient Egypt. In the early 1970s, she launched a unique project to study Egyptian mummified bodies using the techniques of modern medicine. Back then, the...
View ArticleAnna Korre on capturing carbon dioxide and defying expectations
As the famous frog once said, it's not easy being green. And when it comes to decarbonising industry, indeed, reducing emissions of all sorts, the task is a complex one. Fossil fuels are used to...
View ArticleTim Peake on his journey to becoming an astronaut and science in space
What's it like living underwater for two weeks? What's the trickiest part of training to be an astronaut? What are the most memorable sights you see from space? Several extreme questions, all of which...
View ArticleSir Magdi Yacoub on pioneering heart transplant surgery
What does it take to earn the nickname, ‘The Leonardo da Vinci of heart surgery’?That's the moniker given to today's guest - a man who pioneered high-profile and often controversial procedures, but...
View ArticleTori Herridge on ancient dwarf elephants and frozen mammoths
Elephants are the largest living land mammal and today our plant is home to three species: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant.But a hundred thousand years...
View ArticleDoyne Farmer on making sense of chaos for a better world
Doyne Farmer is something of a rebel. Back in the seventies, when he was a student, he walked into a casino in Las Vegas, sat down at a roulette table and beat the house. To anyone watching the wheel...
View ArticleJonathan Shepherd on a career as a crime-fighting surgeon
Surgeons often have to deal with the consequences of violent attacks - becoming all too familiar with patterns of public violence, and peaks around weekends, alcohol-infused events and occasions that...
View ArticleJacqueline McKinley on unearthing bones and stories at Britain's ancient...
How much information can you extract from a burnt fragment of human bone? Quite a lot, it turns out - not only about the individual, but also their broader lives and communities; and these are the...
View ArticleBrian Schmidt on Nobel Prize-winning supernovae and the joys of making wine
Have you ever pondered the fact that the universe is expanding? And not only that, it's expanding at an increasing speed - meaning everything around us is getting further and further away? If that...
View ArticleAnthony Fauci on a medical career navigating pandemics and presidents
Welcome to a world where medicine meets politics: a space that brings together scientific research, government wrangling, public push-back and healthcare conspiracies…Dr Anthony Fauci was the Director...
View ArticleLiz Morris on Antarctic adventures and the melting polar ice sheets
A frozen, white world at the far-reaches of the globe, where you're surrounded by snow and silence, might sound rather appealing. Factor in temperatures that drop to -57°C and a few of us might be put...
View ArticleNeil Lawrence on taking down the 'digital oligarchy' and why we shouldn't...
When you think of Artificial Intelligence, does it inspire confidence, or concern?Although it's now generally accepted that this technology will play a major role in our future, a lot of conversations...
View ArticleClaudia de Rham on playing with gravity
Claudia de Rham has rather an unusual relationship with gravity. While she has spent her career exploring its fundamental nature, much of her free time has involved trying to defy it - from scuba...
View ArticleTim Coulson on how predators shape ecosystems and evolution
As a young man, traveling in Africa, Tim Coulson - now Professor of Zoology at the University of Oxford - became seriously ill with malaria and was told a second bout would probably kill him. Aged only...
View ArticleCatherine Heymans on the lighter side of the dark universe
Have you ever considered the lighter side of dark matter? Comedy has proved an unexpectedly succesful way to engage people with science - as today's guest knows first-hand. Astrophysicist Catherine...
View ArticleDame Pratibha Gai on training atoms to do what we want
Chemical reactions are the backbone of modern society: the energy we use, the medicines we take, our housing materials, even the foods we eat, are created by reacting different substances together. If...
View ArticleKevin Fong on medical planning for Mars and Earth-based emergencies
There can't be many people in the world who've saved lives in hospital emergency rooms and also helped care for the wellbeing of astronauts in space – but Kevin Fong’s career has followed a singular...
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