The World, the Universe and Us

What’s in our food? By now you’d think we’d have a pretty firm handle on that question, but it turns out we don’t know the half of it.In the pod this week are New Scientist journalists Rowan Hooper, Valerie Jamieson and Graham Lawton. They discuss what’s been called nutritional dark matter: the massive void in our understanding of the biochemicals that make up the food we eat. Our standard guidelines neglect to take into account thousands of molecules and compounds, which might explain why nutritional recommendations tend to flip-flop: chocolate and red wine is good for us one week, and vilified the next.The team also visits Mars as NASA prepares to send a rover called Perseverance on a new life-finding mission, and they explore how a form of vaccination was being used as far back as the 18th century, later adopted by soldiers in the US civil war, in the fight against smallpox. They also celebrate DNA, as a quadruple-stranded form of the molecule has been discovered for the first time in healthy human cells, and herald a polystyrene-eating beetle which may help solve our plastic waste crisis.To find out more, subscribe at newscientist.com/podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Contracting covid-19 isn’t the only thing that’s making coronavirus deadly - the outbreak could lead to a jump in the number of deaths from diseases like tuberculosis, malaria and HIV. With healthcare systems at capacity, issues with drug supply chains, and with people unwilling to visit hospitals, the knock-on effects could be devastating.In the pod this week are New Scientist journalists Rowan Hooper, Cat de Lange, and Adam Vaughan. Bringing you the latest news about the pandemic, the team also hear about the mental health implications of lockdown on our children, and the possibility of increased hospital deaths if the UK suffers a bad winter.The team also attempts to vindicate sitting down - it might not be as bad for us as we think, but as always there’s a caveat! They discuss whether it’s possible to radically engineer crops in the face of climate change and population growth, chat about the introduction of bison to the UK, and explain how advanced alien civilisations could avoid cosmic catastrophes by moving their entire solar systems!To find out more, subscribe at newscientist.com/podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s been half a year since coronavirus and covid-19 emerged and the world dramatically changed. Our understanding of the virus and the disease has also hugely changed in those six months, and it’s time to take stock on our understanding of how it spreads, its symptoms and how to tackle it.In the pod this week are New Scientist journalists Rowan Hooper, Valerie Jamieson and Cat de Lange. They explore the various methods being used in the fight against coronavirus, why some countries have seen second waves while others haven’t, and explain why horror movie fans seem to be more mentally resilient during the pandemic.The team also discusses yet another piece of evidence showing the world’s need to cut down on meat and dairy production, this time because of the industry’s massive contribution to global nitrogen emissions. They talk about the possibility of gravitational rainbows with the news that gravity itself may have a weight, celebrate the anniversary of the discovery of the Higgs boson, and share exciting news about two debut missions to Mars, one from United Arab Emirates, another from China.To find out more, subscribe at newscientist.com/podcasts.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Coronaviruses don’t usually produce a strong “immune memory”, and that has been worrying scientists, because it spells trouble for long-term immunity and the development of a vaccine. But, thankfully, the coronavirus that causes covid-19 doesn’t seem to be typical.In the pod this week are New Scientist journalists Rowan Hooper, Penny Sarchet and Graham Lawton. They explore new research that suggests people are developing immunity to the disease.The team also discusses how CRISPR gene editing has been used to treat two inherited genetic diseases in humans for the first time, they reveal the startling news that some snakes can fly (sort of), and from Donald Trump to Jacinda Ardern, they hear about possible evolutionary reasons behind the two types of leader in today’s world. All that, and positive news about some nearby exoplanets. To find out more, subscribe at newscientist.com/podcasts.Please vote for New Scientist Weekly for the Listeners’ Choice award at the British Podcast Awards: https://www.britishpodcastawards.com/vote Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If your brain was put in a vat and supplied with food and oxygen, would it be able to think? Would it be you? For much of the 20th century, people assumed the answer to this thought experiment was yes. But there is growing evidence suggesting the brain needs the body to work properly, and even to create consciousness. In the pod this week are New Scientist journalists Rowan Hooper, Penny Sarchet and Catherine de Lange. They discuss whether artificial consciousness in a robot or computer is even possible if consciousness requires a body, and what this “embodied cognition” means for people with autism and post-traumatic stress disorder. In other stories, they hear about a whale without a tail, news of the world’s fastest supercomputer, and explore what the long term impact of covid-19 on people who caught coronavirus might be. The team also discuss the worrying news that the highest ever temperature (38°C) has been recorded in the Arctic. To find out more, subscribe at newscientist.com/podcasts.Please vote for New Scientist Weekly for the Listeners’ Choice award at the British Podcast Awards: https://www.britishpodcastawards.com/vote Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There are now more than 8 million confirmed cases of coronavirus worldwide, and at least 450,000 deaths. Given the lack of preparation for this pandemic, it’s clear that we need to start preparing for the next one. One glimmer of light is that an existing drug has been found that reduces the mortality of covid-19.In the pod this week are New Scientist journalists Rowan Hooper, Penny Sarchet, Graham Lawton and Layal Liverpool. They discuss the politics of the response to the pandemic and the problems we need to solve before the next one.They also report on what black academics have to say about tackling systemic racism in science, and ask what action universities and institutions can take to be better in the future. The team explore a ‘switch’ in the brain that could trigger a human hibernation-like state, share what culture they’ve been digesting during lockdown, and hear about an intergalactic web stretching vast distances through space. To find out more, subscribe at newscientist.com/podcasts.Please vote for New Scientist Weekly for the Listeners’ Choice award at the British Podcast Awards: https://www.britishpodcastawards.com/vote Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Scientists have discovered a fascinating new way that women might choose between men to father their babies - and the choice may happen after having sex. It turns out that a woman’s egg can itself choose between the sperm of different men - and the egg may not always agree with the woman’s choice of partner.In the pod this week are New Scientist journalists Rowan Hooper, Penny Sarchet, Donna Lu and Valerie Jamieson. They discuss how a form of mate choice seen in many kinds of insects and other animals has now been shown in humans.They also bring you up to speed on the breakthroughs that are bringing the long-awaited dream of nuclear fusion closer to reality, they explore a macroscopic-sized quantum entity that has been created on board the International Space Station, hear about the biggest land animal ever to exist, and they discuss the disturbing rise of online misinformation and vitriol around covid-19. To find out more, subscribe at newscientist.com/podcasts.Please vote for New Scientist Weekly for the Listeners’ Choice award at the British Podcast Awards: https://www.britishpodcastawards.com/vote Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The UK now has the highest number of covid-19 deaths in Europe, and worldwide, the total number of confirmed covid-19 deaths is second only to the US. So how did the UK get it so wrong? We discuss why slowness to get testing seems to have been a real problem, and if it is even possible to vaccinate against covid-19. In the pod this week are New Scientist journalists Rowan Hooper, Penny Sarchet, and Adam Vaughan. They delve into the ethics of vaccine development, and why hopes of seeing one in September are now vanishingly unlikely. They also discuss new research which suggests Parkinson’s disease may spread from the gut to the brain, they hear about why Mars’s moon Phobos may someday turn back into a ring around the planet, and they celebrate that astrophysicist Brian May - better known as the guitarist from Queen - has published a paper on asteroids. Not only that, but Greta Thunberg turns up on the new 1975 album. To find out more, subscribe at newscientist.com/podcasts.Please vote for New Scientist Weekly for the Listeners’ Choice award at the British Podcast Awards: https://www.britishpodcastawards.com/vote Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The coronavirus pandemic is a human disaster that is dominating the news right now, but climate change is going to be worse and longer-lasting. The two crises may seem to be completely separate, but there are parallels that can be drawn between the two in our reaction and response to them, our ability to change behaviour and the possibility of bending the curve of their impact.In the pod this week are New Scientist journalists Rowan Hooper, Penny Sarchet, and Graham Lawton. They discuss the views of the chief of the World Meteorological Organisation, Peterri Taalas, that our environmentally unfriendly ways might change as a result of the pandemic - and if the last few months might reset our climate damaging norms or will we slip back into old habits. The team also hear how bumblebees can force plants to flower early if they are struggling to find food, they discuss how to stay safe from the coronavirus as lockdown eases, and they explore the new space race between private companies rather than global superpowers. They debate whether NASA outsourcing space travel is wise, given they are potentially putting their faith in the hands of companies with controversial CEOs such as Elon Musk SpaceX - even if they are getting a good deal on price. To find out more, subscribe at newscientist.com/podcasts.Please vote for us for the Listeners’ Choice Award at the British Podcast Awards: https://www.britishpodcastawards.com/vote Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rather than simply eating until we are full, humans selectively try to eat the right amounts of three macronutrients – protein, carbs and fat – plus two micronutrients, sodium and calcium. It turns out we have five separate appetites that drive us to eat the right amount of each.In the pod this week are New Scientist journalists Rowan Hooper, Penny Sarchet, and Graham Lawton. They discuss an evolutionary explanation for the obesity epidemic: the fact humans will gorge on carbohydrates to try and get enough protein if they find themselves deprived of this nutrient.The team also discuss an implant that lets blind people ‘see’ letters traced on their brain’s surface, they analyse how the coronavirus is impacting conservation efforts around the world, and they delve into mud on Mars. If what we thought was lava pouring out of Martian volcanoes is actually mud, it has implications for life on the planet - which leads to a message from Elon Musk. To find out more, subscribe at newscientist.com/podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices