Science Weekly

Science Weekly

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Revisited: is curiosity the key to ageing well?

Psychologists have typically believed that we become less curious as we age, but recent research has shown curiosity actually becomes more targeted and specific in our later years. In this episode from September, Madeleine Finlay hears from Dr Mary Whatley, an assistant professor ...  Show more

Revisited: why do we age in dramatic bursts, and what can we do about it?

Scientists are beginning to understand that ageing is not simply a linear process and we age, according to recent research, in three accelerated bursts: at about 40, 60 and 80 years old. In this episode from July, Ian Sample talks to Stanford University’s Prof Michael Snyder, who ...  Show more

Life beyond Earth? Dame Maggie Aderin-Pocock on the mysteries of space

Dame Maggie Aderin-Pocock is a space scientist and science educator who has worked on a number of instruments that are revolutionising our view of the cosmos, including the James Webb Space Telescope. This year she will be giving the Royal Institution Christmas lectures, Britain’ ...  Show more

What’s worse for us, sugar or sweeteners?

We all know eating too much sugar is bad for our health – but would we be better off replacing it with artificial sweetener? It’s a question Science Weekly listener Marion posed recently and, as Madeleine Finlay tells Ian Sample, the answer is complicated. She explains what the s ...  Show more

The Birth Keepers: I choose this, episode one

The Free Birth Society was selling pregnant women a simple message: they could exit the medical system and take back their power by free birthing. But Nicole Garrison believes FBS ideology nearly cost her her life. This is episode one of a year-long investigation by the Guardian ...  Show more