Science Weekly
Twice a week, the Guardian brings you the latest science and environment news
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On 28 March it’s the 60th anniversary of the discovery of Epstein-Barr virus, the most common viral infection in humans. The virus was first discovered in association with a rare type of cancer located in Africa, but is now understood to be implicated in 1% of cancers, as well as the autoimmune disease multiple sclerosis. Ian Sample meets Lawrence Young, professor of molecular oncology at Warwick Medical School, to hear the story of this virus, and how it might help us prevent and treat cancer and other illnesses.Podcast
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The sun is currently ramping up to hit the peak of its 11-year activity cycle. In the past few days, powerful solar eruptions have sent a stream of particles towards Earth which are set to produce spectacular auroras in both hemispheres. But these kinds of geomagnetic storms can also have less appealing consequences. Madeleine Finlay speaks to Dr Lisa Upton, a solar scientist at the Southwest Research Institute, about how the mysterious inner workings of the sun create space weather, how solar events can significantly disrupt Earth’s infrastructure, and whether we are prepared for the worst-case scenarioPodcast
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In late 2016, US officials in Cuba’s capital began experiencing a mysterious and often debilitating set of symptoms that came to be known as Havana syndrome. Ian Sample speaks to the Guardian’s Julian Borger and consultant neurologist Prof Jon Stone about what could be behind the conditionPodcast
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A growing movement of ecologists, lawyers and artists is arguing that nature should have legal rights. By recognising the rights of ecosystems and other species, advocates hope that they can gain better protection. Madeleine Finlay speaks to the Guardian’s global environment editor, Jonathan Watts, about where this movement has come from and why the UK government has dismissed the concept, and hears from Cesar Rodriguez-Garavito of NYU School of Law about how he is finding creative ways to give rights to naturePodcast
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Ian Sample and science correspondent Hannah Devlin discuss some of the science stories that have made headlines this week, from a new theory challenging the existence of dark matter to an alarming study about the possible impact of microplastics on our health and a glimpse of a ‘waterworld with a boiling ocean’ deep in spacePodcast
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Madeleine Finlay speaks to one man about how it affected him and to hair specialist Dr Sharon Wong about what is going on when our hair thins and what treatments are available to helpPodcast
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Ian Sample speaks to health editor Andrew Gregory about the worrying global rise in cancers in under-50s, and hears from Yin Cao, an associate professor in surgery and medicine at Washington University in St Louis, who is part of a team conducting a huge study into why young people are developing bowel cancer at record ratesPodcast
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Madeleine Finlay meets Dr Julia Rohrer, a personality psychologist at the University of Leipzig, to unpick the science behind our intuition about birth orderPodcast
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The prologue to our new series about Artificial Intelligence, Black BoxPodcast
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It’s thought that about 15% of us are affected by tinnitus, and despite its potentially debilitating impact on mental health and quality of life, there isn’t any cure for the condition. Madeleine Finlay speaks to John, who has used CBT techniques to learn to live well with his tinnitus, and Dr Lucy Handscomb, a tinnitus researcher who is involved in trialling a new app that could hold promise for sufferers.Podcast
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Electric cars might seem like a no-brainer on a warming planet, but there are plenty of people who remain sceptical about everything from their battery life to their carbon impact and the environmental and human rights costs of their parts. Madeleine Finlay consults Auke Hoekstra, known as the internet’s ‘EV debunker in chief’, to unpick the myths, realities and grey areas surrounding electric carsPodcast
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A record 10,000 research papers were retracted in 2023. To find out what’s driving this trend, Ian Sample speaks to Ivan Oransky, whose organisation Retraction Watch has been monitoring the growing numbers of retractions for more than a decade, and hears from blogger Sholto David, who recently made headlines when he spotted mistakes in research from a leading US cancer institute.Podcast
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Social affairs correspondent Robert Booth tells Madeleine Finlay why a class of synthetic opioids called nitazenes, first developed in the 1950s, is leading to a worrying number of fatal overdoses in the UK. And she hears from toxicology and addiction specialist Dr Joseph D’Orazio about a tranquilliser called xylazine that has been showing up in alarming volumes in the US illegal drug supply and is now starting to appear in toxicology reports in the UKPodcast
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Ian Sample talks to prof Erica Cartmill about her work on apes and teasing and asks, given how annoying teasing is, why do apes, and humans, do it?Podcast
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Dermatologists warn children as young as eight years old are using potentially damaging anti-ageing skin care products. Madeleine Finlay discusses this trend, and alternative skincare, with Dr Emma WedgeworthPodcast
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Ian Sample speaks to bioethicist Prof Lisa Campo-Engelstein of the University of Texas and Prof Chris Barratt from the University of Dundee to find out why male contraceptives have been so difficult to develop, and what kind of options are in the pipelinePodcast
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The Guardian’s biodiversity reporter, Phoebe Weston, tells Ian Sample why the spread of bird flu through the Antarctic’s penguin colonies would be so catastrophicPodcast
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Ian Sample and science correspondent Hannah Devlin discuss the big science stories of the week – from news that Elon Musk’s Neuralink has implanted its first chip into a human, to research suggesting Alzheimer’s can pass between humans in rare medical accidents, and the revelation that Rishi Sunak begins each week with a 36-hour fastPodcast
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Ian Sample meets professor in cutaneous biology Julie Thornton who tells him how it helps with everything from wound healing to immunityPodcast
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Madeleine Finlay meets Ina Schuppe Koistinen, associate professor at the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, and author of the book Vulva: Facts, Myths and Life-Changing Insights. Ina explains what makes the vaginal microbiome special, why it could hold the key to understanding pregnancy complications, and how we can better care for and protect itPodcast