Technically Speaking | a science and engineering discussion

Known as GLP-1, they've been all over our news feed! Ellie, Jasmin and Laura look at how these drugs work, how effective they are, whether they could live with the side-effects, and consider whether they should be advertised. Fact check: How they work in the body Some history, including when they were first used for type 2 diabetes Evidence that most people regain a lot of weight when they stop using GLP-1 Side effects observed in clinical trials How they're made from venom

Also known as orcas, these large mammals have been observed doing some really weird stuff. Laura, Ellie and Jasmin talk about orca massages, wearing salmon as hats, hunting and more. They discuss how these behaviours might have started and consider what other weird behaviour we might not have seen yet. Fact check: Newly observed behaviour of making a dead fish explode Using seaweed for massaging and grooming Unintentionally sinking ships Fun facts from the WWF Being a fish specialist means orcas don't tend to roam too far for food A clip on YouTube of orcas attempting to flip prey from ice floes  How much food they need The law of the tongue

Trails of condensation in the wake of an air plane might look pretty, but some of them contribute significantly to the climate emergency. Laura speaks to Jasmin about her research group's latest project to predict how they form, how to avoid them, and what else the aviation sector needs to consider to make air travel more sustainable.

Antonia, Ellie and Emma explore the nature of altruism from examples with mammals and insects, to human studies and the pop culture take on the term. Could donating a kidney be seen as an altruistic act or is there always some hidden benefit that makes even the most generous of gifts a tiny bit selfish?Fact check: Ants signal sickness to save others Dolphins help lost whale Chimpanzees help each other... some of the time Are the brains of altruistic people different?

New research has found an unusual link between immune cells in the liver and the ability of homing pigeons to navigate using the earth's magnetic field. Laura, Antonia and Ellie dive into the research and put themselves in the shoes of the scientist making this surprising discovery. They also ask how we can make use of this research and consider what might be discovered next. Read the original research article at science.org or read a news summary in Scientific American. You can show your support for the podcast by leaving a tip in our coffee jar.

Antonia and Ellie discuss the first ever Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report. We explore what lead to the report being created, what the predictions for climate change looked like in the 90s and whether the world has taken any steps to mitigate the effects suggested by the report.Fact check: First IPCC report 1990/1992 IPCC Reports over the years Laws after the Paris agreement USA leaves the Paris agreement

They're fast and floaty, but sadly we don't have them in the UK. Laura, Emma and Antonia look at the cool use of physics that makes them levitate and compare energy use and infrastructure requirements to other forms of transport. Fact check: Usual train speeds, and the record speed How maglevs work Energy use compared to traditional trains

Antonia, Ellie and Tom discuss the history of the Moon missions, including the Apollo programme that started it all and the past and future of the ISS. The team explores the media hype and the differences surrounding the Artemis missions in comparison to those first voyages to space over 50 years ago. Fact check:• The best photographs• Records broken• The capsule returns• Meet the crew• Things get nuts in space

And how did they learn to do it? Ellie and Emma discuss what tool use actually is and the species that have adapted specific instruments to achieve a desired goal. From Veronika the cow to Jane Goodall we explore how far tool use has come and what the possibilities are for species and tools of the future. Fact check: Research about ravens Evidence that humans are better than chimps at solving puzzles News about Veronika the cow An overview of animals using tools News of wolves using tools too A mason bee carrying objects as it flies A video of fish doing stuff

The battery in electric vehicles makes them much heavier than traditional vehicles. Laura and Jasmin discuss how steel car components can be made lighter to offset this increased weight, what implications that has for other industries, and whether this would make the steel industry more sustainable.  Fact check: Some ways that steel car components are made lighter Stats about the Nissan Leaf and how it compares to a similar spec car with an internal combustion engine How steel makers can use maths to understand how the microstructure affects mechanical properties Research using AI to predict mechanical properties based on composition More research using AI, this time looking at processing variables during manufacture Different generations of high strength steel

Ellie, Antonia and Emma discuss their personal experiences with cold water and the science behind whether there is any benefit in dunking yourself in a chilly loch. They also discuss studies related to sauna usage, if cold showers make any difference, and if the Nordic countries have got the right idea 💡 Fact check: Research shows that cold plunges can lead to heart attacks A scientific review of winter swimming Research on the ideal sauna temperature A news article about Wimhoff breathing A review of research on saunas and ageing showing that 4-7 saunas a week can decreased the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease

Some gemstones are desired for their sparkle and rarity while others have practical applications in engineering and electronic components. Laura and Antonia look at different ways gems can be made in the lab, how valuable they are and consider how you could potentially make a lot of money from them. Fact check: The composition of sapphire and ruby A list of valuable diamonds The most expensive lab grow gems News about growing bigger gems from small ones already used as jewellery A research article on the same thing as above Synthetic sapphire More on synthetic sapphire Yet more on synthetic sapphire, in a YouTube video

Researchers were surprised to find that moss spores germinated after nine months hanging out on the outside of the International Space Station. Ellie and Laura dive into their research and go beyond it to look at why some things survive in space, the benefits of doing this sort of research and what it might mean for a more resilient ecosystem here on Earth. Fact check: News about the space moss More news The original research article on the space moss The basics about radiation in space Tardigrades can survive some types of UV radiation How tardigrades have a genetic response to repair radiation damage The BBC Future article Laura mentions about various experiments on tardigrades

Different nations have different approaches to testing and using chemicals to see how they can cause diseases. Antonia, Laura and Jasmin look at how chemicals are tested for toxicity, how harmful substances are controlled, and whether dose limits are important. They look at asbestos, radioactive substances, and more. Fact check: Manufactured chemicals have led to an increase in childhood disease and shouldn’t automatically be presumed safe Safety data sheets for waterproofing spray and household bleach A history of bioaccumulation of mercury in fish News about banning and restricting sales of fish in some nations in relation to wastewater discharge from the Fukushima-Daichii site Statistics on global deaths per year due to asbestos exposure Statistics on deaths in the UK from asbestos exposure

And is it a good idea? Laura, Jasmin and Antonia look at various scientific studies on growing crops and raising livestock in fields of solar panels to see what the effects are. They also look at some solar farms that are used in arid regions and the benefits they can have for crops and the environment. Fact check: The random broccoli study A study of crop growing in arid regions One of the review articles/papers The other review article, this one on small ruminants The study that reported an improvement in the quality of sheep’s wool

And can we learn to live longer? Ellie, Jasmin and Emma discuss telomeres that form the ends of DNA strands, the long-lived members of the animal world, supplements and products to fight the signs of aging, and even the idea of living forever.

It takes a long time for medicines to be developed. Looking at drugs used in women's health and more, Laura and Ellie look at what goes into their development, how the risks are weighed against the benefits, and how the known benefits of a drug can change as we learn more about them. Fact check: A review of paracetamol/Tylenol development Statistics on drug development How much paracetamol is consumed in the UK in a year Thalidomide is still in use, but not for treating morning sickness Quinine for leg cramps should maybe be a last resort Statistics on use of the contraceptive pill Side effects of the contraceptive pill

Saving endangered species is vital for a healthy planet and cloning individual animals can help. Ellie and Laura look at the black-footed ferret, discuss some other endangered species that cloning is helping to save, and look at the history and challenges of cloning. Fact check: Cloning the black-footed ferret Prairie dogs A history of cloning Controversy around claims of human cloning Dolly the sheep Endangered wild sheep in the Mediterranean

When you care about sustainability, you can bet that becomes your focus. Laura and Antonia look at how to solve climate change through social engineering and behavioural science that involves brain chemistry as well as solving the problem of having finite resources that create inequality. Fact check: MRI scans can lead to better understanding of the brain One gene variation can affect serotonin signalling in the brain

We’re using more energy and in the UK a lot of this goes into heating or cooling our homes but can we use natural processes to make this happen? Laura, Rwayda and Antonia discuss how using traditional clay in the Caribbean keeps houses cool while a smart architect in India has used fundamental physics to achieve the same feat. In the UK, passive houses with thick insulation are a thing but could we use these smart ideas to work with natural processes, rather than against them? Fact check: Building houses out of clay in the Caribbean The science behind why clay is cooler than concrete Using thermodynamics and natural wind direction to keep a house in India cool What makes a passive house

In the UK it feels like winters are getting warmer but the entire year is usually rainy. We remember things being a bit different when we were younger. Laura, Antonia and Ellie discuss evidence for changing of the seasons and look at the effect this has globally on extreme events such as wildfires, animal migration and plant growth. They also look at some research that identified new seasons and suggests humans should change their relationship with them. Fact check: Seasons on a social level Summers getting hotter in the northern hemisphere Wildfire season in California is almost all year round New record high temperature in continental Europe There is less difference between UK summers and winters now compared to the 1700s Mouse-ear cress could be better adapted to warmer winters than we thought Some crops need a cold spell Some species of wales are altering their migration patterns Trees lose their leaves because falling temperatures halt chlorophyll production

A special type of in-vitro fertilisation, that uses material from three people, has made some interesting headlines recently. Laura and Ellie discuss the technique and consider some of the major advancements that went into in-vitro fertilisation, also known as creating test-tube babies, and uncover some surprising facts. Did you know that research began in the 19th century?  Fact check: Recent news coverage with what we think is a sensible headline News on the first baby born using the three-parent technique What mitochondria do The role of mitochondria during fertilisation Some scientific background on eggs and the role of the cytoplasm More information on the cytoplasm The history of IVF A journal publication summarising some of the advancements in IVF Some more history of IVF A blog about safety and ethics Even more history of IVF News on the latest research using IVF to save an extinct species

From unintentional acidification to fishing and conservation, there’s a lot going on. Antonia, Laura and Ellie talk about the link between greenhouse gas emissions and changing ocean chemistry which is affecting the delicate balance of marine life, speculate about what a rather nifty deep-sea research station could uncover as well as how biochemistry discovered in the deep sea has already proven useful, and discuss why trawling the sea bed for food is bad whereas marine conservation can actually be beneficial for the fishing industry. Fact check: An opinion piece about how the problem of acid rain was solved Some details about removing nitrogen oxides from industrial process emissions News about acid rain and PFAS (forever chemicals) Specific news about clown fish More news about clown fish, this time looking at their sense of smell Another news article: deep sea exploration in the South China Sea Information on cold seeps Some novel discoveries from biochemistry in the deep sea that we’ve found a use for More fishy news: Marine animals flee from trawlers Even more news: Marine conservation can benefit the fishing industry

It’s due to be retired on 2030 when it will crash back to Earth so was it worth it? Ellie, Antonia and Laura look at just some of the scientific discoveries it’s helped with, including the many processes involved in ageing, getting a clearer understanding of how plaques form in the brain, the fundamental physics of water boiling and some nifty science of scent molecules. Fact check: Cost of keeping the ISS alive Low gravity water boiling The NPR article Laura mentioned which gives an overview of the ISS  Research using bed rest as an alternative to microgravity Research using random orientation machines to simulate microgravity Research proposed by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency to look at a straightforward partial explanation of how bone and muscle loss accelerates ageing A study that mentions cells respond to mechanical forces NASA’s 20 breakthroughs, which mentions research in to plaques that form in the brain

New research has found a startling link between types of bacteria that live in our gut and whether we become addicted to food. Laura, Jasmin and Emma discuss this, wonder about the connection between the gut and the brain which seems to provide two way communication, and speculate about the challenges of doing this research as well as what the future might hold. Fact check: The research that shows the correlation between gut microbe communities and addiction A quick summary of some ways the gut and brain communicate The gut-brain connection and some clinical trials that have shown probiotics can affect your mood How your immune system is involved

Tech has advanced rapidly and the future hold exciting possibilities, even some of the stuff that’s now obsolete was pretty nifty. Ellie, Laura and Antonia start off by looking at cathode ray tubes, which are a pretty old way of generating moving pictures. They also look at the large hadron collider and consider what sort of technology we might have in the future, whether that is teleportation or autonomous plants. Fact check: Particle acceleration at CERN The particle accelerator with the largest circumference National Health Service advice on mobile phone safety Research to give plants the power to feed themselves

Why would you do it and how does it compare to other alternatives to cow hide? Ellie, Laura and Antonia look at the process of growing skin in the lab to turn in to leather, so-called vegan alternatives, and what animal skins you can make leather from. They also consider ethics and sustainability. Are we better off continuing to make leather from livestock or should humanity pursue alternatives? Fact check: News about making T-rex leather because the collagen has endured for millions of years A scientific journal review article about lab-grown leather Vegan alternatives to leather A journal article comparing the properties of alternatives to traditional leather Leather as a by-product of the meat industry Sustainable leather made from invasive fish Historic walrus leather boats

Taking a deeper dive into the biology behind how cows produce methane, and the two methods being researched to reduce production. Jasmin and Laura discuss feed additives, the importance of hydrogen and the various ways it can be used to make things that aren't methane. They also review some genetics research that focusses on the microbiome and how hereditable traits of the cow can influence it. They draw on experience of chemical engineering to consider how the microbiome can be optimised for energy production in the same way that you'd optimise an anaerobic digestion plant. Fact check: An overview of the main biochemical pathways in the microbiome Research into how to optimise the microbiome to utilise food more efficiently Research showing that using a food suppliment that includes 3-NOP and fumarate is beneficial in reducing methane emissions A quick summary of one research group's take on probiotics and why they're developing sensors to go inside a cow Researchers in Scotland look at genetics of the microbiome to understand how its affected by the cow's own genetics

With an audience from the Engineering Development Trust’s virtual routes to STEM course, Laura, Emma, Antonia and Rwayda talk about their diverse careers in physics and engineering to find common ground. They talk about how they chose what to study at university and provide details on what some engineers do beyond applying scientific principles to solve a challenge. Emma talks about how a degree in physics led her to study a doctorate in DNA and cancer, Antonia explains how chemical engineering led her to help companies make more sustainable energy choices and Rwayda talks about how a desire to build things led her to become a university lecturer in civil engineering. Laura talks about her varied career path that partly involved studying physics, becoming a nuclear scientist, working with engineers,  supervising project management students in a civil engineering department at university, and working as a science communications specialist.

Methane is a potent greenhouse gas which contributes to the climate emergency. Intensive farming can lead to cows contributing significantly to levels of this gas in the atmosphere. Antonia, Ellie and Jasmin discuss the latest research to reduce the amount of methane cows produce through burps and flatulence. They look at additives to cow feed, using seaweed as an alternative feed, and selectively breeding the cows. They consider whether people should eat less meat and look at cultural and geographical challenges to doing so. Fact check: Estimates of greenhouse gas emissions from livestock vary The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change shows that methane has 81 times the global warming potential of carbon dioxide Here’s how cows produce methane as part of their digestion News about the Bovaera additive produced by Arla News about Hilda the cow, selectively bred over 16 generations to produce less methane Denmark’s plan to introduce a tax for cows The article Ellie mentions in The Conversation

Most clothes are made of a mix of natural and synthetic fibres which makes them difficult to recycle back into clothing once they’re worn out. Antonia and Laura discuss an exciting new research project that has separated four different types of fibre from a single scrap of cloth using microwaves. They compare this to an alternative method which uses enzymes found in bacteria to recycle polyester and consider what these efforts might mean for a future circular economy where clothing is infinitely recyclable. Will we ditch cotton and start wearing completely synthetic fibres? Fact check: Research using microwaves, and a news article about it The latest news on using enzymes to break down polyester (PET). A perspective on using enzymes to recycle PET, published in a biochemistry journal The pilot plant operated by Carbios, that Antonia mentions News about mountains of clothing waste in the Atacama Desert

And what does it take to win an award for it? Ellie, Rwayda and Laura discuss the Dalian Bay Undersea Tunnel in China which won Global Project of the Year 2024 for its novel construction methods and use of first-of-a-kind technologies, including floating giant concrete tubes into the bay to submerge and then connect them, an on-site laboratory so that experiments can inform the construction, and use of sensors in the specially developed cement which is designed to last an impressive 100 years in the frigid water of the bay. References: Read about why it was awarded Global Project of the Year in Engineering News-Record News coverage on chinadaily.com More news coverage at ctgn.com A journal article about testing the special design of cement which used the manufactured sand

Science is always finding new ways to harness nature. Antonia, Ellie and Laura discuss what the blood from a certain type of sea creature is used for, and how scorpion venom is being studied for a whole host of medical research. They also look at Pangolin scales used to treat some ailments and a giant tuna which sold for a small fortune, but might not necessarily be worth their price tag. Fact check: The cost of crab blood The news article from NPR about crab blood Facts about bacterial toxins News about scorpion venom More news about scorpion venom The journal article explaining the many potential uses of scorpion venom Pangolin scales in the news Some behavioural science used by the UK Government communications service to help change behaviours, which underscores Antonia and Laura's perspectives Possibly the world's most expensive tuna

And can natural genetic changes lead us to develop superpowers? Laura, Emma and Jasmin talk about different natural processes can lead to mutations, how our bodies detect and repair some mutations, and how some changes can lie hidden. The article that inspired this episode: We are all genetic mosaics, from Knowable Magazine. Fact check:How many cells are in the adult human bodyHow long it takes for most cells in the human body to divideSome more background on cell divisionThe DNA molecular clockRepair mechanisms during normal cell functionDifferent types of DNA damageEvidence for repairs taking less than a second, simple repairs taking minutes, and more complex taking hours as well as research that mentions why more complex repairs take longer.Mutations you might want

The UK has plans to change how drinks containers are collected from consumers for recycling, but recent news stories indicate that glass could be excluded from this scheme. Laura, Antonia and Jasmin discuss what responsibilities packaging producers have, how glass and plastic are currently recycled, and consider what changes need to be made. There were a lot of references in this fact-filled episode: Government target for recycling rates at gov.uk Amounts of litter, from Keep Britain Tidy (2020) Household recycling rates, from gov.uk Amount that a deposit return scheme can reduce littering by, from Actions to Protect Rural Scotland A report stating cost savings of a deposit return scheme, from DEFRA Statistics on local authority costs, from gov.uk Evidence from European Union countries on the deposit return scheme News article about charges that could be applied to glass bottle producers, in The Chronicle An overview of the Extended Producer Responsibility, from Ecoveritas Potential fees to be paid by companies under the extended producer responsibility scheme, suggested by UK government The main steps in plastic recycling using mechanical methods, from the British Plastics Federation The journal article Laura mentions where sorting facilities were analysed, in the journal Waste Management An overview of some chemical recycling method, from the British Plastics Federation Some more information on chemical recycling, from CAS – a division of the American Chemical Society Legislation on minimum recycled plastic content, from gov.uk The journal article Jasmin refers to when considering glass recycling rates, in the journal Sustainable Futures Articles explaining glass quality limitations from BBC Future and British Glass The energy saving by using recycled glass to make new glass bottles, from the US National Renewable Energy Laboratory

Is the internet really a useful tool for learning or is it a place where you shouldn’t believe what you see or read? Laura, Antonia and Ellie discuss what they have learned online, from detailed scientific information to practical skills like fixing a bicycle, and what they struggle to find. Laura and Ellie also share their insight as professional science communicators while Antonia explains how she finds information in her job as an energy analyst where she focusses on sustainability. There's a lot of information out there, but how useful is it and is everything that humanity knows easy to find online? If you'd like to help us celebrate one hundred episodes, we'd love it if you left us a tip.

What is cyber hacking and what can we do about it? Jasmin, Ellie and Antonia explore the different types of cyber hacking, compare it to the movies, and consider whether it can ever be ethical or "good"? They also discuss the best ways to combat cyber-attacks personally, and what companies are doing to protect us and their client information.

You might know that nuclear reactors are used along with turbines to generate electricity but what else could nuclear technology power? While battling brain fog brought on by fatigue, Laura and Antonia discuss future uses of high temperature heat to feed industrial clusters and look at two novel uses of nuclear power production that don't require reactors, but could be used to power space missions. Read about heat requirements of smelting metals, power requirements of the experimental rig known as ALSEP as well as  the fateful Apollo 13 mission to the moon and the fuel cells for the command module, and diamond batteries.

How do we debunk myths and see through fake news? Ellie, Antonia and Emma come together to discuss common myths and how they resist change both in academia and in a general population. They also discuss the impact of social media, AI and how we can learn to look at things with a critical eye. Watch the video from Münecat. Read research about countering misinformation and how one research group has tackled misinformation in real time during a US presidential election. Antonia mentioned research about mothers recognising the cry of a new born baby.

And how are researchers tackling it? Antonia, Emma and Ellie discuss how we got here and what might be done in the future to counteract these drug resistant bacterial strains. Plus we take a sneak peak into the life of PhD student Emma and explore how computational simulations could be helping develop the antibiotics of the future.

We’ve seen how science can rapidly alter how nations respond to emergencies like a pandemic, but why is the response to the climate emergency so slow? Laura and Antonia discuss multiple ways that scientists can help shape national policy, how people’s beliefs and behaviours are accounted for, and how the general public can have a voice too. A guide by the British Ecological society helps explain how policy relates to legislation. You can read more about how many civil servants we have in the UK, read a report from the House of Commons library about what led to the Climate Change Act 2008, and read about how research from universities influenced the UK’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Everything humanity does has an impact on the natural world, but we’re also highly dependent on it. Laura, Ellie and Jasmin discuss how panda populations have declined and then improved, the work of zoos, instances of adapting nature to live with us, and how research is uncovering complex way that wildlife, farming, fishing and garden birds interact with us. Here’s the study that Ellie mentions about artificial reefs dramatically improving marine species numbers. Read news of some specific studies into how feeders affect garden birds and statics on UK bird populations, both mentioned by Laura Read news about squirrel train travel and contraception mentioned by Laura.

Could mining on the Moon become a future industry? Ellie and Jasmin hold a "Dragons Den" style discussion in which the pros and cons and of course the financial details of what it would take to set up a Moon mining operation are discussed. They take a look at private space as it looks today and consider the legal implications. They even explore whether the mining practices could be expanded to other planets and asteroids in Solar System.

They come up in some surprising places and movies have been made about them but why should we care? Antonia, Jasmin, Laura and Soo-Mei talk about a type of forever chemical called PFAS, discuss the important aspect of their chemistry, talk about the environmental and health impacts, and make a decision about actions they will take.

Technology has changed a lot, but does it make our lives better? Ellie, Laura and Antonia discuss the differences between invention, product development and scientific discovery. They take a look at some technology we use today including the internet, music platforms, air conditioning and sewing machines. They also speculate about what we might have in the future based on current scientific discoveries including a tiny gallium person that can melt though bars (watch the video here), semi-transparent photovoltaic cells that could be used in windows while also generating electricity, and fundamental work using giant lasers to look at tiny crystal structures. Antonia mentioned Simone Giertz video about why she spent three years working on a coat hanger. This episode was recorded in front of a live audience from the Engineering Development Trust's Insight into University programme.

The Paris Olympic Games are well underway so of course we have questions! Ellie, Antonia and Jasmin debate whether skill or physical ability is more important and consider whether equipment, psychology, or other factors affect them. Read more: Here’s the blog Antonia mentions about gymnasts getting older A research article about the perfect age to compete Jasmin’s guide to shoes for track and field A news article based on research that controversially showed spikes on athletic shoes make runners faster More research-based news: sleeping-in compared to early-bird athletes A BBC blog about what makes Michael Phelps so special Altitude training tips from wordathletics.org The differences between track and road bikes A BBC news article about banned marathon running shoes

They get a bad rap in the movies but just how dangerous are they really? Laura, Ellie and Jasmin compare human-shark interactions to other – seemingly less dangerous – activities, and talk about shark behaviour as well as their senses and evolutionary history to figure out their tactics for swimming with sharks. Read more: London’s Natural History Museum for a selection of sharkey facts NOAA fisheries for some more fun facts The Australian Institute of Marine Science for data on shark attacks and deaths by falling coconuts News from the BBC on cocaine sharks Statistics from Florida museum about sharks attacking people News from the Smithsonian about sharks being scared of orcas News from IFL Science about sharks making friends

Did you know you have fungi living in your gut? Ellie and Laura share recent improvement in anti-fungal drugs, the relatively new discovery that fungi are found in many types of cancer and speculate on what this might mean for future cancer therapies. They also consider their own experiences with fungus and how they can bias a person's point of view. Ellie mentions a book in relation to how fungi in the gut affect mental health: The Immune Mind by Dr. Monty Lyman. Read more about antifungal drugs as well as fungi in cancer: The podcast episode from the journal, Nature, which provides a transcript and excellent summary of antifungal drug development A news story in The Guardian about lethal fungal infections Well known research about fungi and pancreatic cancer from 2019 Research from 2022 which surveyed 35 different types of cancer and found evidence of fungi in all of them Research from 2023 that replicated the study from 2019 but found no evidence of fungi causing cancer An in-depth summary from BBC Future about the effects of bacteria and fungi in cancer

As the world tries to wean itself of fossil fuels, alternative ways of producing and storing energy are being developed. Antonia, Jasmin and Sophie talk about how hydrogen can be used to store energy, different ways it can be created, how developed the technology is, and what hydrogen is currently used for.

Ever wondered what society would look like if we lose our entire infrastructure? Antonia, Jasmin and Ellie discuss how they might survive based on their own science and engineering knowledge combined with inspiration from film and TV. They discuss movies such as Water World, consider where they would look for information if the internet were affected, and examine how global society could be rebuilt in the absence of modern infrastructure that many of us take for granted. It turns out there isn’t a lot of science or engineering to learn from fiction so, perhaps consider this a review of how not to rebuild society.

Do you ever think about how technology like your smartphone has improved with time and wonder how science made it happen? In this episode with an audience from the Engineering Development Trust, Antonia, Laura and Jasmin talk about metals needed in clean energy technology as well other technologies such as hard disk drives and display screens. They debate whether we're replacing fossil fuels with other finite resources and consider efforts to start mining on the moon. Antonia refers to a report from the International Energy Agency. Laura mentions critical elements identified by the American Chemical Society and by Birmingham University. Read more about ruthenium used to increase data storage density at Science Daily, Tanaka Precious Metals and a metals trading company. For other uses, see Johnson Matthey's excellent overview, For uses of indium, see the Royal Society of Chemistry, an overview from a coatings company, and research published in the journals ACS Nano and Nature Electronics. To find out more about yttrium, read research published in the journal Nanoscale Advances.

They're used in lots of things but you don't often hear about it. Antonia, Laura and Emma discuss their use in medicine for radiation therapy, electronics and sun screen. They also explain why these tiny particles are so interesting to scientists. References: The study about zinc nanoparticles and lung cells was summarised for the media in 2012 but advice from experts explains why you should wwar suncreen. The Antibacterial Mechanism of Silver Nanoparticles and Its Application in Dentistry, published in the International Journal of Nanomedicine in 2020 The fascinating world of nanoparticle research, published in Materials Today in 2013 Nanoparticle-based radiosensitization strategies for improving radiation therapy, published in Frontiers In Pharmacology in 2023 A review on nanoparticles: characteristics, synthesis, applications, and challenges, published in Frontiers in Microbiology in 2023 Gold Nanoparticles as Radiosensitizers in Cancer Radiotherapy, published in the International Journal of Nanomedicine in 2020  Biological mechanisms of gold nanoparticle radiosensitization, published in Cancer Nanotechnology in 2017

Do you find activists like Extinction Rebellion and Just Stop Oil annoying or do you support their fervour? Laura, Antonia and Jasmin discuss whether there is any evidence that their disruptive tactics will convince companies and governments to take more drastic action to curb the climate emergency. They look at why people might join a cause and whether facts or emotion are the most powerful tool an activist can use to persuade. The team mention a report from the Tyndall Centre for Friends of the Earth which shows that plans for expansion of air travel contradicted targets for greenhouse gas emissions and became the basis for a peer-reviewed journal publication and was also used by protestors at the Heathrow Airport Climate Camp in 2007. They also mention expert insight from social scientists shared in a news article, a commentary in a journal and analysis of the anti-vaccination movement as well as how celebrities like Joe Lycett hold organisations to account.

We've seen lots of news stories about a global sand shortage but what's really going on? Ellie, Antonia and Laura (joined by Ellie's cat Sparkles) analyse the facts, look at what sand is used for, discuss the effect that sand supplies have on people and the environment and speculate on what should be done next. Read some of the news coverage, digest some sandy facts explained using handy graphics, read the most recent report from the United Nations, or read the research that uncovers how sand mining is affecting porpoise.

Many breakthroughs in medicine have been made from studying rats. Antonia, Laura and Ellie discuss several studies of rat behaviour that have mapped how parts of the brain work and discuss how the results could be applied to humans to develop prosthetic limbs or help recover memory after a brain injury. They look at studies where rats are tickled until they laugh, learn to drive cars, navigate virtual reality and perform a Jedi mind trick.

Ever watch an action movie where someone is hurled across the screen during an explosion and wondered how likely that is? Antonia, Laura, Nick and Ellie talk about movie portrayals, nuclear weapons, disaster investigations, and exploding animals.

In an earlier episode on apex predators we had a bit of a tech fail! Here's a big chunk of speculative conversation from Antonia, Ellie and Jasmin that that follows some sort of weird logic but somehow arrives at a sensible conclusion.

To help tackle the climate crisis, we'll need a lot of new technology to reduce the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Ellie, Jasmin and Laura share a load of facts about the chemicals, energy requirements and land use involved in technology to capture carbon dioxide from the air. They also look at how planting trees compares to this technology and answer questions from a live audience from the Engineering Development Trust about Taylor Swift's private jet and why we're spending money on projects that aren't tackling the climate emergency.   Read the review article that Laura mentions in the journal MRS Energy & Sustainability.

If you could take a pill to halt ageing and become immortal, would you? Laura, Jasmin and Ellie take a look at some long-lived species, discuss just some of the science behind ageing and decide, if they could, whether they'd want to stay in their biological bodies forever or upload themselves to live digitally. Read more about the science stories they discuss: Determining how long the Greenland shark lives for Jonathan the tortoise Ming the clam Earth's longest living organism Some other long-lived animals and plants Benefits of intermittent fasting studied by Cambridge scientists Genetics studies based on a tiny worm https://dogagingproject.org/ https://www.quantamagazine.org/cells-across-the-body-talk-to-each-other-about-aging-20240108 Blue zones An anti-ageing pill for dogs Read some of the books they've read: Jellyfish Age Backwards: Nature's Secret to Longevity The Code Breaker

We've been around for a while and we have a lot of influence over our environment but are we really better than a lion or an orca? Antonia, Jasmin and Ellie discuss whether humans the top of the food chain or whether nature still does it better than we do.

You might be surprised to know that new species are discovered pretty much every day. Laura and Ellie talk about how these discoveries are made and debate whether it's easier to find an exctinct, fossilised species or one that's still alive. You can send your spare pennies to our ko-fi fund to support the podcast here. Read about the discoveries that Ellie and the team at IFL Science have reported on including the Carlsberg beetle, a dinosaur in Utah, a dinosaur hand, the golden mole, a fossilised baby turtle that was mistaken for a plant, and Attenborough's rediscovered echidna. The Natural History Museum publishes annual stats on discoveries. The article from Scientific American that Laura mentions is What Makes Us Different.

The COVID pandemic led to rapid development of vaccines. Laura, Emma and Antonia look at the history of vaccine development, the rapid development of the mRNA vaccine, and speculate on whether future vaccines could be so quickly developed. Read about how viruses are weakened to be used as vaccines, some mechanisms of vaccination, how smallpox vaccines were developed in the 18th century, whether mRNA vaccines could be used to fight HIV, and the recent Nobel prize for the mRNA vaccine used against SARS-COV-2.

We may not know it, but pop culture is pretty good at influencing our views. Antonia and Laura discuss several action films that rely on radiation for plot points and discuss whether these plot points could be backed-up by science. They talk about using radiation to trace chemical leaks, environmental changes and to find things in the human body. Is there any way of using radiation to trace money the way thta Batman does? Can injecting yourself with a substance protect you from radiation like they do in Star Trek? Is there any way you could use a spray to neutralise radiation like they do in Die Hard 5? Read about some uses of radiation to trace aspects of engineering projects in this report by the International Atomic Energy Agency. Read about uses in medicine and more. Read about the use of radioiodine in medicine.

It's contributing to the climate emergency but you don't usually hear about it. Laura, Jasmin and Antonia discuss where it comes from, why it's important, and what can be done to reduce emission of this gas into the atmosphere. Jasmin's research involves methane. Check out her research profile at Imperial College London. Antonia mentions the gates of hell firepit in Turkmenistan.

AI is rapidly evolving and we want to know what will happen next. Antonia, Ellie and Jasmin discuss their experience of AI, what intelligence actually means, how AI works, and how it could affect their individual careers as zoologists, science communicators and analysts. Jasmin talks about her experience with chatbots and references a study on whether people trust them. Antonia references some opinions of experts shared by Pew Research Centre, The World Economic Forum and AI Experts as well as a video from Answers in Progress. Ellie mentions a bot that was trained to discover new supernovae.

Like it or not, plastic is a big part of our lives. Laura, Jasmin and Antonia discuss how different plastics are made, how bioplastics are different to ones made from fossil fuels, what is really meant by biodegradable plastics, and whether plastic can be sustainable. The discussion is also peppered with more weird offshoots than normal as real-life examples add to the conversation. Did you know that lots of clothes include plastic fibres? Ever wondered how easy it is to recycle them? Are you better off just burning them for energy? And what does the great British tradition of bonfire night have to do with it? To find out a little bit more about the market for different types of plastic, check out this article on European-bioplastics.org.

The dinosaurs might take all the glory but well before they existed there was a very important period. Laura and Ellie discuss the 'explosion' in animal biodiversity that started around 541 million years ago and how we know it happened. They also speculate on what sort of animal might be missing from the fossil record and somehow come to the strange conclusion that balloon animals might have been real. Sources of information for the factual stuff: Rocks (iron) absorbed free oxygen from britannica.com The study suggesting that animals left the seas as their eyes evolved and got bigger was reported on quantamagazine.com The study on the oldest animal (the floppy sea-dwelling bath mat) was reported on inverse.com

Whether you're a scientist or engineer you'll probably handle a lot of data. Laura, Emma and Antonia discuss how they use various data analysis techniques in their different disciplines of energy analysis and physics. They highly recommend towards data science as a resource to learn more and discus a specific example of principal component analysis (the rotating graph) from builtin.com.

A lot of effort goes in to studying birds and their habits. Laura, Ellie and Antonia talk about nesting habits, what we can learn from them and why it’s important for scientists to know about them. They also talk about what you can do at home to help birds survive as climate and their environment changes.

An audience from the Engineering Development Trust's Insights to University course quizzes Antonia, Jasmin, Alasdair and Sophie about how they chose their degree course, what sort of research they worked on, if they got to choose modules about climate change, and whether it’s better to do undergraduate masters or a bachelor’s degree. They also discuss how their individual choices led each of them to work in different aspects of the energy industry and whether they would change anything about how they got there.

Although carbon capture technology is in use now, there are quite a few hurdles to jump before it becomes widely used. Laura, Jasmin and Antonia are joined by a live audience from the Engineering Development Trust's Routes to STEM course to talk about industrial applications of carbon capture in various industries. They field questions from the audience about the wider energy industry, discuss how options for storage compare to using the gas in a circular carbon economy and consider whether planting trees really can make a company carbon negative. They mention several other episodes during the conversation, possibly more than ever before (because everything is connected!): Ep 18. Why can't we such carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere? Ep 59. What are E-fuels? Ep 32. What is sustainability? Ep 11. Is battery technology ready for widespread use in electric cars? Ep 03. How can nuclear power help beat climate change? Ep 23. How is fusion energy portrayed in Spider-Man? Ep 17. Is plastic a good thing? Ep 24. How do you build a skyscraper? Ep 26. Should we control the weather or get better at predicting it?

It’s a weird mash-up of biology and physics and it really is useful. Antonia, Emma and Laura talk about how to simulate biology on a computer, how physics is involved, and speculate on how artificial intelligence could help improve the simulations and lead to speedier, cheaper drug development.

It’s not often you hear about a new discovery of theory in science that makes you say 'wow!' Laura and Antonia talk about some of their moments of astonishment when they've learned something about black holes or dinosaurs.

Meteor showers are well worth staying up late for but how often do heavenly bodies fall to Earth and what do they look like? Ellie and Laura discuss this, what to do if you find one, how they compare to terrestrial objects like gold, and discuss whether they're valuable. They also get interrupted by various animals and can't help mention rewilding.

Could artificial intelligence take some of the most highly skilled jobs? Would you want to see an AI for healthcare and get a diagnosis? Would you trust it more than a real life person? Laura, Antonia and Sarah discuss all this and more. Sarah uses her considerable experience as a medical doctor and teaching of surgery to guide us through the pros and cons of AI in healthcare and the team speculate on what the future might hold. Ever thought about what you'd want your ideal doctor to act like?

The technology to print in 3D has been around for a while and it’s used to do some really cool stuff. Laura and Rwayda discuss an amazing new type of material that can be given different properties simply by turning tiny mechanical gears which could be used to make robots and more. They look at how houses can be printed out of concrete to create visually appealing designs that can outlast traditional construction techniques and they speculate on what the future might hold. Could we use artificial intelligence to help print new materials?

Hydrocarbons have been really helpful to humankind and some technology relies so heavily on them that we'll not stop using them any time soon. Antonia, Jasmin, Sophie and Alasdair discuss eFuels which are a new source of hydrocarbons that could replace fossil fuels. Sophie and Alasdair talk about the company they have founded called Carbon Neutral Fuels which aims to suck carbon dioxide out of the environment and turn it into fuel for airplanes. The team discusses the different technologies to do this as well as what else it could be used for.  They also touch on TRLs (Technology Readiness Levels - a way of describing how mature a technology is) and explain some of the terminology used in this new and fast-growing industry.

We've seen it used a lot in the movies so Antonia, Laura and Emma discuss what chaos theory menas to physicists along with uses in weather prediction, biochemistry, economics and more. They also have a bit of wild speculation about how it could be used to produce some uplifting storylines.

Recent news has reported that the sale of collagen supplements is making a huge contribution to deforestation. Antonia, Ellie and Laura talk about what collagen is, why we need it, how our bodies make it and whether supplements can help. They also dive into the news articles that link this beauty product to deforestation and question just how big the link is.

Nuclear waste is hugely important for society; the UK has used nuclear power for decades and now we need to safely and responsibly dispose of the waste. Laura talks to Penny Harvey and Petra Tjitske Kalshoven, two anthropologists at the University of Manchester and part of The BEAM research network. They discuss how nuclear waste can be locked away deep underground in a specially engineered facility, the process to find a site for the facility, and how communities can learn more about this process. They also talk about glass as art and its use in other practical applications, and our relationship with this material. Heart of Glass is an exhibition at Florence Arts Centre in Egremont, West Cumbria, UK. The exhibition is on 24th March to 30th June and features images taken at a microscopic scale of nuclear waste glass. The exhibition is supported by The University of Manchester and involves The BEAM nuclear and social research network.

You may not realise it but scientists are just as creative as artists. Laura is joined by Tamas Zagyva, a research associate at Imperial College London, and Bridget Kennedy, an artist and lecturer in fine art at Newcastle University, to talk about how they find inspiration, what sort of emotions their work evokes, and what sort of skills are required in their respective disciplines. Heart of Glass is an exhibition at Florence Arts Centre in Egremont, West Cumbria, UK. The exhibition is on 24th March to 30th June and features images taken at a microscopic scale of nuclear waste glass. The exhibition is supported by The University of Manchester and involves The BEAM nuclear and social research network.

Vitrification – the process of making glass – is used to immobilise nuclear waste and also happens naturally in the earth. Laura talks to Tracey Taylor from the UK’s National Nuclear Laboratory about the glass making process and to Brian O’Driscoll, a geologist from the University of Ottawa in Canada, about natural glass and why researching this material is so important. Heart of Glass is an exhibition at Florence Arts Centre in Egremont, West Cumbria, UK. The exhibition is on 24th March to 30th June and features images taken at a microscopic scale of nuclear waste glass. The exhibition is supported by The University of Manchester and involves The BEAM nuclear and social research network.

We're part of an exhibition where science becomes art! Heart of Glass is an exhibition at Florence Arts Centre in Egremont, West Cumbria, UK. The exhibition is on 24th March to 30th June and features images taken at a microscopic scale of nuclear waste glass. The exhibition is supported by The University of Manchester and involves The BEAM nuclear and social research network.

It may not be a very well-known discipline but materials science is really important. Laura, Jasmin and Emma discuss how graphene is made, what makes it a wonder material, what it can be used for and how it can contribute to making environmentally friendly products. They also talk about a much more mature material which influenced the second industrial revolution: steel. This alloy might be old technology but it’s vital for modern life. This episode was recorded with an audience from the Engineering Development Trust's Routes to STEM course.

There’s a technology boom (!) and loads of buzzwords surround it including I4.0, big data, and digital twin. Laura and Antonia are joined by special guest Matt, from the Nuclear Institute, to talk about what these things really mean and to try and define them. They also talk about how the nuclear industry is starting to embrace these new technologies, ushering a renaissance of nuclear power that builds on the vast expertise gained since the original reactors were built in 1950s and combines it with cutting edge technology.

To mark our 50th episode we're revisiting the topic of our first ever episode with a fresh perspective. Laura, Antonia, Rwayda and Jasmin talk about how much the climate will change, how we can have confidence in the climate models, and what civil engineers must do to adapt infrastrucutre like roads and buildings to minimise future risks from the changed climate. They also discuss the perception of risk and how this can influence the decisions that are made.

Loads of alternatives to meat are appearing but what's in them and how are they made? Laura, Ellie and Jasmin discuss their preferences, look at how minced beef is made, compare nutritional factors and speculate on what the future might hold. They also ask existential questions like what is meat anyway and when is a sausage not a sausage? Laura did way more research than the team could include in this episode. Read it here.

Ever wondered what it’s like to work on a documentary? Antonia asks Ellie and Laura about their experiences of working on TV or as a consultant science communicator. They talk about how they got into science communication, what their role was on the various shows they’ve worked on, and how you tell a compelling story.

Some power stations in the UK that originally burned coal have switched to burning wood pellets. These are usually imported and of course, cutting down forests can lead to loss of habitat. Laura, Antonia and Jasmin discuss greenhouse gas emissions from burning wood and coal, talk about responsible forest management, and discuss how important biomass is for the UK's electricity supply. These discussion points, and more, were inspired by a recent BBC Panorama documentary, "The Green Energy Scandal Exposed". Read a summary of this episode here.

The TIGRR lab in Melbourne has recently announced plans to use genetic material from an extinct animal – the thylacine or Tasmanian tiger – to bring this species back while some crime fighting organisations are investing in genetic technology that could bring back the woolly mammoth. Weird right? Antonia, Ellie and Laura discuss extinction, climate change, and habitat loss while also debating whether this genetic research is a good idea or whether efforts should focus on saving the species that are about to go extinct. Just why is the FBI investing in genetics research? Ellie mentions the IUCN: the International Union for Conservation of Nature.Antonia mentions the IPCC: the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.Laura mentions COP26: the Conference of the Parties 26th annual climate change conference.

In the last episode Antonia mentioned that some champions of sustainability have been awarded the Nobel Prize. The team got a bit distracted by this so here's the raw, unedited snippet of the conversation that didn't make the final cut for the episode.

It's possibly the most well known prize that a scientist can be awarded! Ellie, Laura, Antonia and Emma disucss how the nominations and awards are made, what the award means and how science has changed since the first Nobel Prizes were awarded over 100 years ago. They also talk about some of their favorite Nobel Prize wining discoveries and whether they would give out extra awards in the future. They focus on prizes in physics and chemistry and briefly mention Nobel Prizes in peace, literature, physiology/medicine and the Nobel Memorial Prize in economic science.

We see it a lot in films where someone's life splits into two timelines and it features in the Marvel universe, but is the mutiverse real? Laura and Emma T. talk about quantum physics and the various theories that predict the multiverse as well as discussing practical applications of concepts related to physics such as finding probabilities and quantum entanglement. They also talk about some of the ways that multiverses are represented in the movies and whether they match with what physics predicts.

At least twenty volcanoes are erupting as you read this but for many, it's not something we often think about. Laura, Antonia and Ellie discuss animals that live near volcanoes, what you would need to know to predict a volcanic eruption, how likely one is to erupt and whether we'd like to live near one. Just how does the galapagos land iguana sense that their volcano is about to blow?

There are loads of things that we eat and drink that can be harmful if you have too much, and lots of ways that plants and animals protect themselves using toxins. Laura, Ellie and Priyanka discuss venomous snakes, and how they differ to poisonous creatures, and talk about what exactly happens in our bodies. What’s the difference between a neurotoxin and chemotherapy? Are apple pips really poisonous? What happens if a venomous snake bites itself? Listen in to find out.

Trends show that an increasing number of people would prefer to drive cars with an automatic gear box. Is that because they're better to drive or because everyone will be driving electric cars which don't tend to need to change gears? Laura, Rwayda and Antonia discuss current advances in car technology, share their own experience of driving, and speculate about what the future might hold. Will we all be using flying cars in the future? What about self driving cars? And why do cars even need gearboxes anyway? Want to learn more about electric motors and internal combusion engines? Read on to learn about how they work, what the gears really do for a car with an internal combusion engine, and why torque is so important.

You hear a lot about it, but what is cryptocurrency, how do you get hold of it and what's it useful for? Laura finds out from Aneeqa and Jennifer what things like blockchain and mining bitcoin are about and how you can own a non-fungible token (NFT). They also discuss whether this decentralised currency is sustainable or if its all really a pyramid scheme. Read more about this in Laura's article.

Ever thought about changing your career path? Are you just starting your career journey? Wondering what the difference is between science and engineering? Antonia, Rwayda and Ellie talk about their careers in these different disciplines, how they got started and whether they've changed their mind about what they want to do. They share the highs and lows of exam results days and how they recovered from what seemed, at the time, to be a setback. Recorded with a live audience from the Engineering Development Trust's Insight into University programme, this discussion definitely was not biased towards the host's own disciplines. Ellie does a great job of flying the flag for science while Antonia explains how her engineering experience helps her as a consultant in the energy industry and Rwayda reveals a childhood passion for architecture that led her to civil engineering.

With the expense of the James Webb Space Telescope and the ever worrying climate emergency, we're wondering what the benefit of space travel and space exploration is. Ellie, Antonia, Laura and Emma discuss this from the point of view of climate science, discovery, collaboration, what inspired us to become scientists, and space tourism. We talk about what the future might hold. What would you do if you were in charge of a planet's space programme? Read a summary of this episode here.