BBC Inside Science
BBC Radio 4
Categories: Science & Medicine
Listen to the last episode:
A strain of highly pathogenic bird flu, H5N1, has been spreading unchecked through wild bird, and some mammal, populations for the past few years. Last week, news of a large number of dairy cows in the USA being infected with bird flu has alarmed the public and virologists alike. One farm worker has also picked up the virus and although they are not seriously ill, the jump between cattle and humans raises serious concerns over how the virus is moving and adapting. Virologist Dr Tom Peacock has the details.
Also this week, thousands of eyes across America were turned to the skies to catch a glimpse of the total solar eclipse. But this event isn’t just a spectacle for the eyes – it’s a real scientific opportunity. Space physicist and electrical engineer Dr Nathaniel Frissell reveals his unusual approach to studying the eclipse via radio. And BBC reporter Georgina Rannard, who has been following the eclipse this week, tells Vic what other research scientists investigated during the four-minute window of darkness.
And don’t turn your eyes away from the sky just yet, as another celestial spectacle is set to occur. About 3,000 light-years away, a pair of orbiting stars called T Coronae Borealis are not normally visible from Earth. But every 80 years or so, one of the stars in the binary system explodes, creating a ‘new’ star in our night sky. But you’ll only have a day or two to spot it. Astrophysicist Dr Rebecca Smethurst joins Vic in the studio to talk about this once-in-a-lifetime star explosion.
And to close the show, the life and work of a legend. Nobel Prize-winning physicist Peter Higgs has died at the age of 94. Higgs’s biographer Professor Frank Close tells us how Higgs predicted the existence of a particle that’s fundamental to our understanding of the Universe and reveals the legacy he’s left behind.
Presenter: Victoria Gill Producers: Alice Lipscombe-Southwell and Ella Hubber Editor: Martin Smith Production Co-ordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth
Previous episodes
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910 - Bird flu outbreak in cows Thu, 09 May 2024
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909 - 200 years of dinosaur science Thu, 02 May 2024
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908 - Inside Your Microbiome Thu, 25 Apr 2024
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907 - Our Accidental Universe Thu, 18 Apr 2024
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906 - World’s oldest forest fossils Thu, 11 Apr 2024
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905 - Human Consciousness: Could a brain in a dish become sentient? Thu, 26 Apr 2018
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904 - Plastic-eating bacteria, Foam mattresses for crops, The evolved life aquatic, The Double Helix Thu, 19 Apr 2018
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903 - Pesticides in British Farming Thu, 12 Apr 2018
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902 - Stephen Hawking Tribute Thu, 05 Apr 2018
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901 - Genes and education, John Goodenough, Caring bears and hunting Thu, 29 Mar 2018
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900 - Data Scraping Thu, 22 Mar 2018
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899 - Buzz kill Thu, 15 Mar 2018
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898 - Russian Spy Poisoning Thu, 08 Mar 2018
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897 - Weird Weather? Thu, 01 Mar 2018
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896 - Science after Brexit Thu, 22 Feb 2018
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895 - Shipping air pollution; Cheddar Man; Millirobots in the body;Dog brain training Thu, 15 Feb 2018
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894 - Democracy in Space Thu, 08 Feb 2018
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893 - Scientists on Trial Thu, 01 Feb 2018
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892 - Did typhoid kill the Aztecs, DNA stored in Bitcoin, Glow-in-the-dark plants and levitating humans Thu, 25 Jan 2018
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891 - African swine fever, Oil spill update, CRISPR gene editing, Rat eradication in New Zealand, Chimp kin recognition Thu, 18 Jan 2018
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890 - Sanchi oil tanker, Gut gas-monitoring pill and Chimpanzee portraits Thu, 11 Jan 2018
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889 - Tabby's Star, Space 2018, Mosquito sounds, C diff and food additive link Thu, 04 Jan 2018
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888 - Ancient DNA and Human Evolution Thu, 28 Dec 2017
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887 - Antisense RNA therapy, Fossils vs Trump, Printing mini-kidneys, Electric eel power Thu, 21 Dec 2017
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886 - The Future of Coral Reefs, Little Foot, Arthur C Clarke Thu, 14 Dec 2017
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885 - Trophy hunting, Gene drives, Nuclear lightning, Peregrine falcons and drones Thu, 07 Dec 2017
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884 - Prehistoric Strong Women, Semi-synthetic Life, Listener Feedback, Artificial Superintelligence Thu, 30 Nov 2017
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883 - Interstellar visitor, Svante Paabo, Synthetic biology, Plight of the Axolotl Thu, 23 Nov 2017
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882 - Can we forecast earthquakes?, Britain's space race rocket Skylark, Francis Galton Thu, 16 Nov 2017
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881 - Boy gets New Skin, The York Gospels, Stephen Hawking's Thesis Thu, 09 Nov 2017
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880 - Climate Change and Health; Moth Snow Storm Feedback; Whale Brain Evolution; Pharoah's Serpent Thu, 02 Nov 2017
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879 - Insects disappearing, DNA Biosensor, Dog faces, Bandit dinosaur Thu, 26 Oct 2017
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878 - Colliding Neutron Stars, Krakatoa, Centigrade vs Celsius Thu, 19 Oct 2017
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877 - HiQuake, Plate Tectonics@50, Sonic Weapon Puzzle, The Chinese Typewriter Thu, 05 Oct 2017
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876 - Gravity wave breakthrough, The antibiotic pipeline, Microbial waste recycling, Fausto - an AI opera Thu, 28 Sep 2017
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875 - Cassini's finale; Science and Technology Select Committee; Crick's lecture; Cave acoustics Thu, 21 Sep 2017
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874 - Farewell to Cassini, the epic 20 year mission to Saturn Thu, 14 Sep 2017
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873 - North Korea Bomb Tests, Warming Antarctic Sea Life, the Microbiome, Cuckoo Chuckle Thu, 07 Sep 2017
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872 - Noxious haze over south coast; In Pursuit of Memory book; technosphere; Big Wasp Survey Thu, 31 Aug 2017
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871 - Killer robots; Myths and superstitions and conservation; Science book prize nominee - Cordelia Fine; Taxidermy Thu, 24 Aug 2017
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870 - Antarctica's volcanoes, science book prize nominee - Mark O'Connell, US solar eclipse and 40 years of NASA's Voyager mission Thu, 17 Aug 2017
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869 - European heatwave and climate change, Eugenia Cheng, Next generation batteries for electric cars, Joseph Hooker exhibition. Thu, 10 Aug 2017
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868 - Gene-editing human embryos, Spaceman's eyes, Science book prize, Sexual selection in salmon Thu, 03 Aug 2017
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867 - Cod fisheries, Our connection to nature, Domestic electricity and Gamma ray bursts Thu, 27 Jul 2017
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866 - Genetics and privacy, Global plastic, Great Ape Dictionary, Ocean Discovery X Prize Thu, 20 Jul 2017
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865 - Genetic testing; Pugs on treadmills; Frankenstein Thu, 13 Jul 2017
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864 - Neonics dispute, Hygenic bees, Hip-hop MRI Thu, 06 Jul 2017
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863 - Sex bias in biology, Engineering prize, Olympic bats, Angry Chef Thu, 29 Jun 2017
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862 - Forensics Centre in Dundee; D'Arcy Thompson centenary; Scottish science adviser; Coffee and climate Thu, 22 Jun 2017
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861 - Science in Fire Prevention Thu, 15 Jun 2017