The UK government has announced that virtually all COVID restrictions will be removed in England on Monday 18th July. This will do away with social distancing requirements, allow businesses to...

Why heat waves disproportionately impact minorities in US cities, and the researcher that critiqued his whole career on Twitter.In this episode:00:45 How heat waves kill unequallyResearchers are...

For much of the pandemic, the greatest burden of disease has been felt by older generations. But now, for the first time, vaccine roll outs are starting to skew the average age of those infections...

Addressing the problem of sudden food scarcity in US cities, and the up-and-coming field of computational social science.In this episode:00:45 Food shocksClimate change, the COVID-19 pandemic, and...

Since the beginning oft he pandemic, researchers have searched for a biomarker which indicates immune protection from COVID-19 known as a correlate of protection. Now, the team developing the...

A historian reflects on the life of Chinese crop scientist Yuan Longping, and the possible influence of geothermal energy production on earthquake aftershocks.In this episode:00:46 Remembering Yuan...

A deluge of trials has stress-tested the systems that produce evidence.Around the world, researchers have raced to test therapies to treat COVID-19. The speed and urgency of this task has revealed...

Early vaccine trials did not include pregnant or breastfeeding people which left some people asking whether COVID vaccines are safe and effective for those who are breastfeeding. The latest data...

Researchers isolate the protein thought to allow birds to sense magnetic fields, and astronomers pinpoint the stars that could view Earth as an exoplanet.In this episode:00:45 Homing in on the...

After a slew of wildly successful vaccine trials, this week marked a more underwhelming result. The third mRNA vaccine to complete phase three trials, developed by CureVac, is just 47% effective at...

The pros and pitfalls of collaboration, with insights from researchers and beyond.This week, Nature has a special issue on collaborations, looking at the benefits to science and society that...

The global burden of COVID-19 has predominantly been measured using metrics like case numbers, hospitalisations and deaths. But the long term health impacts are more difficult to capture. In this...

An AI that designs computer chips in hours, and zooming in on DNA’s complex 3D structures.In this episode:00:46 An AI computer microchip designerWorking out where to place the billions of...

Since the beginning of the pandemic, there have been allegations that SARS-CoV-2 could have originated in a Chinese lab. A phase one WHO investigation concluded that a 'lab-leak' was "extremely...

The cross-discipline effort to work our how ancient humans learned to count.In this episode:00:45 Number originsAround the world, archaeologists, linguists and a host of other researchers are...

A vaccine candidate for a neglected tropical disease, and calls to extend the 14-day limit on embryo research.In this episode:00:46 A vaccine candidate for an important livestock diseaseAfrican...

Scientists are trying to figure out whether these pervasive plastic specks are dangerous.Wherever they look – from the bottom of oceans to the top of mountains – researchers are uncovering tiny...

Smouldering fires lay dormant before bursting back into flame in spring.In this episode:00:56 The mysterious overwintering forest firesResearchers have shown that fires can smoulder under snow in...

Over the past few weeks, India has been experiencing a devastating second wave of COVID-19, recording hundreds of thousands of new cases a day.Evidence is growing that a new variant of the...

A new neural interface lets people type with their mind, and a crafting journey into materials science.In this episode:00:45 A brain interface to type out thoughtsResearchers have developed a...