Science In Action
Science In Action
BBC World Service
The BBC brings you all the week's science news.
Impacts of global warming
After a twelve-month set of climate records driven by global warming it is time to take stock of how we’re impacting the planet as a species. Coral biologist Kate Quigley, of the Minderoo Foundation and James Cook University, dives into the 8th mass bleaching event at the Great Barrier Reef. We explore how deadly heat stress continues to threaten this underwater paradise and induce mass sickness in the corals that call it home. Heading onto land we reunite with Mike Flannigan, Professor of Fire Science at Thompson Rivers University, after a record-breaking Canadian forest fire season in 2023 we ask if conditions are set for a repeat. And what about the human cost of these climbing temperatures? In the future 800 million outdoor workers in the tropics may be exposed to intolerable heat stress. However, Yuta Masuda, director of science at the Paul G Allen Family Foundation, advises that options for individual action may be limited for workers to protect themselves. One of the driving forces behind a record year of global warming is the now waning El Niño system. With its counterpart, La Niña, due to pick up in 2024, we ask NOAA oceanographer Mike McPhaden what to expect from this transition and if we are headed for a turbulent hurricane season. Presenter/producer: Roland Pease Researcher: Katie Tomsett Production co-ordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth (Photo: The McDougall Creek wildfire burns in the hills West Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada, on 17 August, 2023. Credit: Darren Hull/ AFP)
Mar 14
28 min
The first stars in the universe
Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope think they have seen the glow from the first generation of stars after the Big Bang. Newton Kavli Fellow Hannah Übler discusses. The Anthropocene is meant to mean the latest geological era in which humanity is shaping the rocks and environment of our planet. But an unexpected vote by a commission has declined the idea of making this an official definition. Roland hears from one of its leading proponents, geologist Jan Zalasiewicz, about what happened and why it matters. And, new research indicates that bumblebees can show each other how to solve puzzles too complex for them to learn on their own. Professor Lars Chittka put these clever insects to the test and found that they could learn through social interaction. How exactly did the experiment work, and what does this mean for our understanding of social insects? Reporter Hannah Fisher visits the bee lab at Queen Mary University in London. Plus, the subterranean South American snake, or rather snake-like amphibian, that feeds its hatchlings milk from specially evolved glands. Brazilian biologist Carlos Jared explains more about this species’ nurturing behaviour. Presenter: Roland Pease Producer: Roland Pease Production Coordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth(Photo: A portion of the GOODS-North field of galaxies, highlighting the galaxy GN-z11, which is seen at a time just 430 million years after the Big Bang. Credit: Nasa/ESA/CSA/B. Robertson (UC Santa Cruz), B. Johnson (CfA), S. Tacchella (Cambridge), M. Rieke (University of Arizona), D. Eisenstein (CfA))
Mar 7
29 min
One million genomes in two dimensions
The All of Us Research Program is undergoing the herculean task of gathering genomic data from over one million people living in the United States, from widely different backgrounds, in the hopes of accelerating health care research. However, within the scientific community many, including Ewan Birney, deputy director general of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory, are concerned that the way some of this data has been framed in a recent paper could reinforce racist beliefs. We also learn about the program and hear a response to the criticism from Josh Denny, the CEO of the All of Us Research Program. Over the past two years, a deadly version of bird flu, H5N1, has been spreading around the globe, killing hundreds of thousands of birds and mammals in the process. Isolated from the rest of the world, animals in Antarctica have been safe from the virus so far. But, virologist Antonio Alcamí, who is located on the continents Spanish base, confirms that bird flu has reached them, infecting Antarctic skua seabirds. And, on a less serious note, can the smell of a female cause premature death? Maybe in mice. Researcher Mike Garratt goes over the intriguing results in his new mouse study. Presenter: Roland Pease Producer: Ella Hubber Production co-ordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth(Image: Colorful diverse crowd in modern collage. Credit: Dedraw Studio via Getty Images)
Feb 29
26 min
Largest ever covid safety study
A monumental Covid vaccine safety study of 99 million vaccinated people confirms just how rare adverse effects are and combats growing vaccine misinformation. Co-director of the Global Vaccine Data Helen Network goes through the results of this massive study. This week, Science in Action is bringing you not one, but two extraordinary astronomical discoveries. First, Webb Fellow Olivia Jones on the star hidden in the heart of only supernova visible from Earth. Second, astrophysicist Samuel Lai on what is possibly the brightest object in our universe – a whopping 500tn times brighter than our sun – a star eating quasar. And Roland chats with biologist Charlotte Houldcroft who was one of the first to blow the whistle on an absurd, AI generated image which somehow made it through the peer review process.Presenter: Roland Pease Producer: Ella Hubber Production Coordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth(Image: A health worker injects a man with a shot of the Inavac vaccine for Covid-19. Credit: BAY ISMOYO/AFP via Getty Images)
Feb 22
29 min
Climate scientist wins defamation case
High-profile climate scientist Michael Mann has been embroiled in a 12-year battle against conservative commentators who claimed his data was fraudulent. Last week, he was awarded $1m in a defamation lawsuit. Michael joins Science in Action to discuss the case and the impact it may have. Also, this week, Karyn Rode from the US Geological Survey has been using cameras on collars to track polar bear movement and diet. She tells Roland how the data reveals the devastating effect of sea ice loss on the bears. Widescale blackouts in Africa, known as loadshedding, are getting worse. Chemist and winner of The Royal Society Rising Star Africa Prize 2023, Wade Peterson, has an innovative chemical solution to the problem. And using a forest to detect the most violent astrophysical sources in our universe? Physicist Steven Prohira thinks it’s possible. Presenter: Roland Pease Producer: Ella Hubber Production Coordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth(Image: Dr. Michael E. Mann is seen outside of the H. Carl Moultrie Courthouse on February 5, 2024 in Washington, DC. Credit: Pete Kiehart for The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Feb 15
26 min
Particle physics v climate change
Should CERN be spending $17 billion on a new atom smasher whilst we face, climate change, the most pressing crisis of our time? Materials-turned environmental scientist Mark Miodownik and CERN physicist Kate Shaw debate the issue. One of the issues Mark argues more people should be tackling are the climate change driven forest fires which recently ravaged Chile and killed more than 100 people. Chilean climate scientist Raul Cordero discusses the factors which led to the devastating fires. And Nasa physicist and oceanographer Susanne Craig explains their freshly launched satellite PACE, which hopes to get a better picture of our changing oceans and use this information to tackle climate change. A quest Nasa manages to achieve whilst also trying to answer the big questions about our universe. Presenter: Roland Pease Producer: Ella Hubber Production co-ordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth(Photo: Firefighters work at the Botanical Garden after a forest fire in Viña del Mar, Chile, 4 February, 2024. Credit: Javier Torres/AFP)
Feb 8
27 min
Unethical data gathering in China
Starting upbeat this week, engineer Teddy Tzanetos, team lead of NASA’s Ingenuity mission, talks on the Mars-based helicopter which defied all expectations. Our big story this week is on the scientific papers and research databases which contain the DNA profile of thousands of people from persecuted ethnic minorities in China. This data is often collected in association with security forces. Computational biologist and campaigner Yves Moreau now leads the call for scrutiny and the retraction of these papers and databases, which lack evidence of free and informed consent. We often cover the ever-growing threat of bird flu to mammalian populations on Science in Action. But how does the virus make the successful leap from bird to mammal cells? Virologist Wendy Barclay discusses the potential tricks the virus uses to adapt and grow. And, finally, zoologist Sam Fabian has been trying to answer the question everyone thinks they already know: why are moths attracted to artificial light? Presenter: Roland Pease Producer: Ella Hubber Production Coordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth(Image: Protest in Urumqi in China's far west Xinjiang province on July 7, 2009. Credit: PETER PARKS/AFP via Getty Images)
Feb 1
29 min
Drilling into the past
Molecular biologist Prof Jason Chin tells us about his research into accelerated evolution and how it could help create new substances to be used in medicine, chemistry and more. In South America, palaeogeneticist Dr Verena Schuenemann has been extracting genetic material from human remains to find out more about treponemal diseases, which include syphilis, yaws and bejel. And moving across the Atlantic to the Mediterranean, volcanologist Professor Timothy Druitt has discovered new evidence of a massive volcano that erupted beneath the sea near Santorini around 500,000 years ago. Staying in the Mediterranean, we speak to Professor Rachel Flecker, co-chief scientist on Expedition 401 of the International Ocean Discovery Program. She and her team are drilling down into the seabed to establish how the Gibraltar Strait has altered over time. As well as influencing the Mediterranean's salinity, this changing movement of water has impacted the entire planet's oceans and climate. Presenter: Roland Pease Producer: Alice Lipscombe-Southwell Production co-ordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth(Image Credit: Thomas Ronge)
Jan 25
31 min
Swine fever in South East Asia
African swine fever has now reached Southeast Asia.This part of the world has high diversity in wild pigs, some of which are endemic to their native islands. In Borneo, pigs are a hugely important food source for indigenous populations, and are a vital prey species for many big cats. In some regions, the pig populations have now dropped by 90 to 100 per cent due to swine fever. Conservationist Dr Erik Meijaard explains what this could mean for Borneo. Sticking with diseases, the World Mosquito Program breeds mosquitoes infected with Wolbachia. Why? Because mosquitoes infected with this bacteria are unable to become carriers of dengue, Zika and other mosquito-borne diseases. Dr Scott O'Neill of the World Mosquito Program talks about their latest research and the massive mosquito factory they're building in Brazil this year. Finally this week, Dr Nitzan Gonen discusses her new study, where mouse testes organoids have been grown in the lab. She tells us about the potential applications for this research. Presenter: Roland Pease Producer: Alice Lipscombe-Southwell Production co-ordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth(Photo: Bornean bearded pig. Credit: Sylvain Cordier/Getty Images)
Jan 18
28 min
Seeking supernovas
The James Webb Space Telescope has revealed the clearest ever view of the stunning Cassiopeia A supernova, complete with a weird feature called 'the green monster'. Professor Dan Milisavljevic, an astronomer at Purdue University, tells us all about his research into this space-based beauty. Professor Tamara Davis from the University of Queensland has been turning her eye to far more distant supernovas, and explains how they have given us new insight into the Universe's expansion. Moving on to human history, William Barrie from the University of Cambridge tells us about a new study that explores the reason for high levels of multiple sclerosis in northern Europe. And going further back in time, researcher Ethan Mooney has studied a sample of fossilised skin, which may be the oldest ever discovered. Presenter: Roland Pease Producer: Alice Lipscombe-Southwell Editor: Martin Smith Production co-ordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth(Photo: Cassiopeia A Supernova. Credit: Nasa, ESA, CSA, STScI, Danny Milisavljevic, Purdue University, Ilse De Looze, UGent, Tea Temim, Princeton University)
Jan 11
31 min
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