Discovery

It's a rare thing to encounter a medical specialist who has experience of his field from the expert and the patient perspective - but not unheard of... Jim Ashworth-Beaumont is an orthotist and prosthetist who spent years helping people adapt to life with artificial limbs and musculoskeletal supports, before a near-fatal accident left him relying on both. This twist of fate might have derailed many - but Jim drew on reserves of resilience and determination forged long before his accident; initially in the army, then by returning to education to earn the qualifications he missed out on as a youngster. He put himself through night school before earning a place to study Prosthetics and Orthotics at the University of Strathclyde. Later, while working at London's Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital, Jim completed a Master's in Neurorehabilitation, and a PhD in Health Studies – driven by a fascination with how the human body adapts under pressure. But in 2020, while training for a triathlon, Jim was involved in a catastrophic cycling accident that nearly killed him - and cost him an arm. He tells Jim Al-Khalili how the incident gave him a whole new insight into his patients' experience and made him more determined than ever to achieve his goals.

Explorations in the world of science.

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Explorations in the world of science.

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Explorations in the world of science.

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The London Anatomy Office accepts around 350 human bodies donated for medical research and education annually. You may imagine that these bodies are persevered in chemicals for medical students to study over weeks and months. And some are. But many are used - almost fresh - to train surgeons in the procedures which may one day save your life.

Journalist Jenny Kleeman gains rare access to a surgical training course at Brighton and Sussex Medical School which uses these 'fresh' donor bodies. She talks to the people who work with them every day and the surgeons who have come to be trained to find out how they feel about the people who have given the ultimate gift and if we still need real human cadavers in medical education.

For further information on body donation please search for the Human Tissue Authority to find your nearest medical school.

Presenter: Jenny Kleeman

Producer: Ella Hubber

Editor: Martin Smith

Production Coordinator: Jana Holesworth

A rare window into what happens to the bodies donated for medical education.

Jenny Kleeman is granted a rare window into what happens to the bodies donated for medical education and used for surgical training.

The London Anatomy Office accepts around 350 human bodies donated for medical research and education annually. You may imagine that these bodies are persevered in chemicals for medical students to study over weeks and months. And some are. But many are used - almost fresh - to train surgeons in the procedures which may one day save your life. Journalist Jenny Kleeman gains rare access to a surgical training course at Brighton and Sussex Medical School which uses these 'fresh' donor bodies. She talks to the people who work with them every day and the surgeons who have come to be trained to find out how they feel about the people who have given the ultimate gift and if we still need real human cadavers in medical education.

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The reliability and availability of data in this field has become more of a concern in light of a study published this year, suggesting that sperm counts worldwide have dropped 62% in the past 50 years. As yet there is no clear answer as to why that is.

Professor Chris Barratt is one of the scientists working to change that. He's the Head of Reproductive Medicine at Ninewells Hospital and the University of Dundee Medical School, and has dedicated his career to better understanding male infertility; driving breakthroughs in how to study sperm dysfunctions – and most recently spearheading advances in developing a male contraceptive pill.

Chris talks to Professor Jim Al-Khalili about his academic struggles as a youngster, the lecture that changed his life, his research into 'head-banging sperm' and why he believes a new male contraceptive could be a game-changer.

Chris Barratt on head-banging sperm and a future male contraceptive pill.

In July 2024 a startling scientific paper was published.

Headlined ‘Evidence of dark oxygen production at the abyssal seafloor', scientists told how they had discovered oxygen being made two and a half miles down, at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean.

Their claim centred on small polymetallic nodules on the seafloor, and the key question - could these lumps of metal somehow be making oxygen in complete darkness?

It was an extraordinary finding that, if proven, could overturn hundreds of years of scientific knowledge about how this crucial ingredient for life is made. It prompted global headlines and split scientists.

But a year and a half on, are we any closer to knowing the answer... Is dark oxygen really possible?

BBC News science correspondent Victoria Gill investigates for BBC Radio 4, and finds so much more than a scientific anomaly.

Dark Breath is the story of a scientific controversy played out in real time. A row about science that became personal. And a discovery that crashed headlong into the debate about whether we should mine metals from the deep sea.

What does the story tell us about the messy and human scientific process? And what bearing does it have on the decision to exploit some of the last untouched parts of our planet?

Presenter: Victoria Gill

Producer: Gerry Holt

Editor: Ilan Goodman

The story of a scientific surprise and what happened next.

Explorations in the world of science.

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What's it like to wake up with a brand new voice?

For those with foreign accent syndrome, this is their reality. Patients who develop this rare speech disorder start speaking in a brand new accent that they often have no connection to.

So how does losing the voice you've known your entire life shape, or break, your identity?

Presenter Ella Hubber speaks to Althia Bryden, who developed foreign accent syndrome last year, and Sarah Colwill, who has lived with the condition for the past 15 years. They share the deep impact it has had on their identity and connection to those around them.

And to understand what is happening in the brain to cause this complete change in accent, and whether it's really even an accent at all, Ella speaks to professor Nicholas Miller, who has been unpicking the mystery of foreign accent syndrome for decades. And professor Stefanie Keulen shares that there are actually multiple types of the condition.

Even though foreign accent syndrome is rare, it is found around the world, can affect anyone, and highlights just how deeply our voices influence all aspects of our lives.

Producers: Sophie Ormiston, Ella Hubber

Assistant Producer: Minnie Harrop

Editor: Martin Smith

What's it like to wake up with a brand new voice? We investigate foreign accent syndrome.

We investigate a rare speech disorder, foreign accent syndrome, and learn what role our voice plays in shaping our identity.

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Physicist Edward Witten on M-Theory, the leading contender for a 'theory of everything'.

100 years ago this was a scrawny, egg-laying bird, only good for a stew once her eggs ran out – no one ate chicken meat. Fast forward to today and it's the most consumed protein on the planet. How did we come to eat it in the first place, and what are the consequences of producing chicken meat on the vast, industrial scales we now consume it?

Dr Chris van Tulleken uncovers the extraordinary accident of history that birthed a new industry, and changed the way we eat – and think about – meat forever.

How human innovation turned chicken from backyard bird to multi-billion dollar industry.

Chris explores the rise of the alternative protein industry – plant-based meat alternatives, lab-grown meat, or most shocking of all for some, actual meat abstinence, Veganism.

And it is time to revisit that initial question: what's influencing our choices when it comes to eating chicken, what impact is that having – and are we bothered?

Dr Chris van Tulleken wrestles with the thorny issue of animal slaughter

So we've got a comprehensive overview of the chicken planet we live on... Do we still want to eat it? And if not, what are the alternatives?

Dr Chris van Tulleken wrestles with the final dilemma: slaughter. Could he bring himself to dispatch an animal himself? Is he happy supporting an industry which kills animals in his name? And if not, what could he eat instead?

We explore the rise of the alternative protein industry – plant-based meat alternatives, lab-grown meat, or most shocking of all for some, actual meat abstinence. Veganism.

Where should we go from here?

And it's time to revisit that initial question: what's influencing our choices when it comes to eating chicken, what impact is that having – and are we bothered?

While some cite it as a shining example of a super-efficient food production system, one that could help drive food security around the world, others say it is a cruel, destructive and outdated structure that makes a few people richer while exploiting others – along with animals and the environment.

In Brazil, one of the world's biggest chicken and soya producers, our reporter Leonardo Milano hears accusations of threats and pollution relating to the feed sector; while in Africa, Dr Chris van Tulleken learns about poultry-farming initiatives helping to make struggling nations more food-secure.

There are also other challenges that the industry is wrestling with: from antimicrobial resistance to the threat of another major global pandemic - bird flu. So is there a ‘big business bad guy' to blame – or does responsibility lie closer to home, with unquestioning consumers like Chris?

Dr Chris van Tulleken ponders the global cost of keeping the world in wings

As Chris wrestles with how he personally feels about this weird and wonderful bird, he decides to take a look at the business as a whole: a global industry that's cited by some as a shining example of a super-efficient food production system, one that could help drive food security around the world.

But others say it's a cruel, destructive and outdated structure that makes a few people richer while exploiting others – along with animals and the environment.

In Brazil, one of the world's biggest chicken and soya producers, our reporter Leonardo Milano hears accusations of threats and pollution relating to the feed sector; while in Africa, Chris learns about poultry-farming initiatives helping to make struggling nations more food-secure.

And then there are the other challenges that the industry is wrestling with: from antimicrobial resistance to the threat of another major global pandemic, potentially stemming from chicken farms -

Dr Chris van Tulleken is keen to make good food choices, and buy the best chicken possible for his dinner. High welfare, tasty, and good for the environment, ideally. But it's not as easy as that. How CAN he make good food choices if he has no idea what he's buying?

Chris explores what we actually know about the food we buy, and to what extent we can trust what's on a label.

He also uncovers the startling truth about two very different ways that we buy chicken - lifting the lid on why sometimes, even the most moral meat shoppers turn a blind eye...

Dr Chris van Tulleken asks if we can trust what's on the label when it comes to food.

Dr Chris van Tulleken finds out what it takes to produce the most eco-friendly chicken meat possible. And makes a devastating discovery. Welfare concerns, and environmental credentials, often pull in OPPOSITE directions. Does he want to eat the happiest birds, or the ones kindest to the planet?

Halfway through his poultry quest, Chris remains massively conflicted: he loves chicken, but some of what he's discovered makes him question how much he eats it. Will he still be able to look at it the same way as he goes deeper down the rabbit hole? And more importantly, should he keep serving it up to the family?

Dr Chris van Tulleken asks whether we can raise a chicken that's good for the planet.

Chicken is at the very heart of this industry. As a cheap meat that does not have a strong taste, can easily take on other flavours and does not have any religious restrictions, it's the ideal takeaway ingredient; from nuggets to chow mein to tikka masala.

And although we might be careful about chicken choices when buying it raw, somehow we don't seem to mind turning a blind eye to the origins and nutritional content of our fast food favourites, especially if we're hungry.

Chris discovers just how bad this food can be for both us and the planet, and why we are powerless to resist it.

Dr Chris van Tulleken gets a taste of a guilty pleasure - sinful yet delicious fast food

Chris has learned how to make better chicken choices, and what those choices really mean.

So why is he STILL eating RUBBISH?

Like many of us, Chris is always trying to eat better food: healthy, high welfare, good for the environment. This kind of consumer demand is making the chicken industry better, in tiny increments. So why do so many of us give ourselves a pass when it comes to the food we KNOW we shouldn't be eating, yet we do in absolutely vast amounts - fast food?

Chicken is at the very heart of this industry. As a cheap meat that doesn't have a strong taste, can easily take on other flavours and doesn't have any religious restrictions, it's the ideal takeaway ingredient; from nuggets to chow mein to tikka masala.

And although we might be careful about chicken choices when buying it raw to prepare at home, somehow we don't seem to mind turning a blind eye to the origins and nutritional content of our fast food favourites, especially if we're hungry -

Chris discovers just how bad this food can be for both us and the planet, and why we're powerless to resist it.

He's recently been forced to confront a serious gap in his food knowledge - what happens before it gets to our plates - and has decided this, the world's most popular meat, is an ideal starting point.

Chris' initial investigations reveal the vast scale of modern chicken consumption; and how a once revered jungle fowl was manipulated to become a modern food success story, a fast-growing heavy-breasted beast to feed the masses.

Now, he's torn: is this a triumph of human ingenuity – or the creation of a monster?

Dr Chris van Tulleken discovers how we changed chicken, and how chicken changed us

After witnessing first-hand the reality of indoor chicken farming - how most of the chicken we eat is raised - Dr Chris van Tulleken wants to know: are the birds happy enough, or is our method of rearing cheap chicken actually cruel?

If so, what's the ‘happier' alternative – and do carnivores like Chris care enough to pay the price for that, or does a love of meat ultimately trump ethics?

Chris battles with his conscience, and finds the answer hard to stomach.

Dr Chris van Tulleken explores what it takes to make a chicken happy.

The very latest developments in the world of Earth science with Roland Pease, recorded at the American Geophysical Union (AGU) meeting in New Orleans, where thousands of Earth, atmospheric, ocean and hydrologic scientists come together to promote discovery in Earth science for the benefit of humanity.

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The very latest developments in the world of space science with Roland Pease, recorded at the American Geophysical Union (AGU) meeting in New Orleans, where thousands of space and planetary scientists come together to promote discovery in space science for the benefit of humanity.

Roland talks to Andy Rivkin, planetary astronomer at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, about planetary defence from asteroids, including the small potential for asteroid 2024 YR4 to hit the moon in 2032.

We hear from Craig DeForest, principle investigator for the PUNCH mission (Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere), which is a constellation of four small satellites that aim to learn how the Sun's corona becomes the solar wind. And Lara Waldrop, principle investigator of the Carruthers Geocorona Observatory, discusses the Earth's exosphere which plays an important role in Earth's response to space weather caused by the Sun.

We also talk lunar earthquakes, or moonquakes, and plans to put seismometers on the moon to measure them with Philippe Lognonné, professor at Université Paris Cité and planetary seismologist at Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris, and Ceri Nunn, lunar seismologist from NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Presenter: Roland Pease

Producer: Jonathan Blackwell

The very latest developments in the world of space science with Roland Pease, including solar storms, lunar seismology and planetary defence from asteroids.

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Gideon Henderson's research focuses on trying to understand climate change by looking at what was happening on our planet thousands of years ago.

His work has taken him all around the world - to the deepest oceans and the darkest caves - where he collects samples containing radioactive isotopes which he uses as “clocks ? to date past ice ages and other major climate events.

As a geochemist and Professor of Earth Sciences at the University of Oxford, his work deals with the biggest questions, like our impact on the carbon cycle and climate, the health of our oceans, and finding new ways to remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere.

But in his role as Chief Scientific Adviser at the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, he also very much works on the present, at the intersection between the worlds of research and policy. He has overseen the decision to allow gene-edited food to be developed commercially in England and a UK surveillance programme to spot the Covid-19 virus in our waste-water.

(Photo: Gideon Henderson. Credit: Gideon Henderson)

Gideon Henderson on climate 'clocks' and dating ice ages.

With 86 billion nerve cells joined together in a network of 100 trillion connections, the human brain is the most complex system in the known universe.

Dr Hannah Critchlow is an internationally acclaimed neuroscientist who has spent her career demystifying and explaining the brain to audiences around the world. Through her writing, broadcasting and lectures to audiences – whether in schools, festivals or online – she has become one of the public faces of neuroscience.

She tells Prof Jim Al-Khalili that her desire to understand the brain began when she spent a year after school as a nursing assistant in a psychiatric hospital. The experience of working with young patients - many the same age as her - made her ask what it is within each individual brain which determines people's very different life trajectories.

In her books she explores the idea that much of our character and behaviour is hard-wired into us before we are even born. And most recently she has considered collective intelligence, asking how we can bring all our individual brains together and harness their power in one ‘super brain'.

And we get to hear Jim's own mind at work as Hannah attaches electrodes to his head and turns his brain waves into sound.

Hannah Critchlow on the connected brain.

She tells Professor Jim Al-Khalili that her desire to understand the brain began when she spent a year after school as a nursing assistant in a psychiatric hospital. The experience of working with young patients - many the same age as her - made her ask what it is within each individual brain which determines people's very different life trajectories.

In her books she's explored the idea that much of our character and behaviour is hard-wired into us before we're even born. And most recently she's considered collective intelligence, asking how we can bring all our individual brains together and harness their power in one ‘super brain'.

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Dr Chris van Tulleken shares stories from the making of his chart-topping podcast, Fed. In conversation with Leyla Kazim, at Hay Festival 2024.

In Fed, Dr Chris van Tulleken, investigated the entangled web of forces that shape what ends up on our plates. And he focused his investigation around one foodstuff in particular. The most widely eaten meat on our planet, a staple of nearly every diet and a global food production phenomenon: the humble chicken, Chris dug into the history of our relationship with this extraordinary animal, to try to get to the truth of why we eat so much of it, and what that means for the birds, for us, and for the planet.

In this lively conversation, recorded live at Hay festival 2024, Chris talks to Leyla Kazim about the hidden stories behind the globalised food networks of today. From industrial-scale farming, to food labelling, to ethical dilemmas, environmental quandaries, and the complexities of the world of fast food. Plus tales from the adventure that ran through the whole series: raising his own tiny flock of broiler chickens, in his back garden.

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Perhaps you couldn't drift off, or maybe you woke in the middle of the night and then couldn't nod off again.

In this edition of Inside Health we're talking all about insomnia. It's an issue that may affect many of us at some point in our lives – but for some it goes beyond a short period of not being able to sleep and becomes something more serious.

James is joined by a trio of experts ready to answer to them: Dr Allie Hare, president of the British Sleep Society and consultant physician in sleep medicine at the Royal Brompton Hospital, Colin Espie, a professor of sleep medicine at Oxford University and Dr Faith Orchard, a lecturer in psychology at Sussex University. We're going to find out why we get insomnia, when to seek help and how much factors like ageing, menopause, needing the loo or shift work matter. And we'll look at the latest advice and treatments. Can insomnia be fixed?

How did you sleep last night?

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From the Hay Festival, James and a panel of experts explain what we can all do to help ourselves age well.

We discover what's going on in our bodies when we age, the difference between biological and chronological age, as well as getting the audience moving for a physical test.

James is joined by gerontologist Sarah Harper from the University of Oxford, biomedical scientist Georgina Ellison-Hughes from King's College London, and doctor Norman Lazarus to understand how exercise, diet, and mental health all have a part to play in how we age.

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In 2016, Niall McCann was left with a bruised spinal cord when he crashed his speed glider into the side of a mountain at 50mph.

He shares his journey to recovery and some unexpected life lessons he has had to navigate, from soiling himself in inconvenient places and not being able to control his flatulence, to having to re-learn how to have sex again.

We also hear from a Mountain Rescue medic on what looked like an “unsurvivable ? situation and Niall's surgeon on fixing his “exploded ? spine.

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“I shall largely speak of mice, ? the paper begins “but my thoughts are on man. ?

So begins a truly extraordinary scientific paper, and an equally extraordinary story.

“Death Squared: The Explosive Growth and Demise of a Mouse Population. ? was published in 1973 by John Calhoun, and it detailed his increasingly bizarre research into the psychological effects of overcrowding. Over two decades he built a series of ‘rodent utopias', where he could keep a population of rats or mice, meet all their basic food and shelter needs, but mess around with population levels. He wanted to see how they responded to having to live, cheek-by-tiny-jowl, with far more other rats than they were used to. And it wasn't pretty. Social orders melted into chaos, rodents fought indiscriminately, or shut themselves away at the top of the enclosure. Mating orders collapsed, population numbers tanked, and eventually, every single rat was dead.

His work came at a prescient time. In the 60s and 70s, the exponentially expanding human population was a hot-button topic, and ‘population panic' was in full swing. Alongside the expansion of cities, creeping urban sprawl, rising city-centre crime rates and 'urban sinks', there grew a concern that human living conditions were about to take an interminable dive. How would we live, with so many of us on earth? Calhoun's work was leapt on by the press and public as a dire prediction of our own coming collapse. His rodent utopias became a subject of great interest among architects and city planners, psychologists and sociologists, and anyone fascinated by the human condition. But has his work been misunderstood?

50 years on, what lessons can we take from the work of a ground-breaking but often misunderstood scientist, in the face of a human population now exceeding 8 billion. Emily Knight explores his extraordinary work, its implications for humanity, and the possibility of a human utopia, that might not look anything like you expect.

Presented and Produced by Emily Knight in Cardiff

What we can learn about the psychology of crowding from one man, and two thousand mice?

Explorations in the world of science.

What we can learn about the psychology of crowding from one man, and two thousand mice? Emily Knight looks at the life and legacy of the groundbreaking scientist John B Calhoun.

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In the first few days, Roger had intimate encounters with the whales but most of the time, he was sat on the back of the boat, waiting to find a heat run. After two unsuccessful weeks, he started to wonder whether they would ever see one.

But a few days later somebody spotted a heat run, and everything sprang into action. Roger got in position and dove down ten meters underwater on a single breath. From then on, his job was just to wait and hold his camera ready. In a moment that seemed to stretch out time, he waited, nervously, for a group of 40-ton bus-sized whales to speed past him -

And Victor Vescovo describes his adventures into the deep, diving to the deepest parts of all five oceans.

Victor's longest dive was solo to the lowest point on Earth - the Challenger Deep at the bottom of the Marianas trench in the western Pacific. On reaching the bottom, some 35,853 feet below the ocean surface, should something have gone wrong, there was no hope of rescue.

Victor describes his feelings before making this historic descent and on the way down. Touching down on the sea bed, he was astounded by the abundance of marine life. Victor describes how he hopes that the mapping, observations and sample collections he has made on his dives will advance scientific understanding of the deep oceans, and where his eternal quest to explore might take him next.

Produced by Florian Bohr and Diane Hope

Credits:

Humpback whale mother and calf sounds - Acoustic Communications CNRS team & CETAMADA

Humpback whale calf sounds - Lars Bejder (MMRP Hawaii), Peter T. Madsen (Aarhus University) & Simone Videsen (Aarhus University)

Filming the humpback heat run and exploring the deepest points of our oceans.

Roger Munns describes filming the humpback heat run, the animal kingdom's biggest courtship ritual. And Victor Vescovo recounts his journey to the deepest points in our oceans.

It turns out that life in a chimpanzee troupe is every bit as gripping as a soap opera. But there are many more moments of beauty, revelation and the joy of discovery, as Catherine pursues her continuing, multi-decadal quest to understand what it means to be a chimpanzee.

And when Sara Dykman set out to bicycle with the monarch butterfly migration, from the mountains of central Mexico, across the USA to Canada, she didn't think about the 10,201 miles that she would cover. Coping with headwinds, heavy rain storms, and everything from dirt roads to busy highways were not the challenge for Sara though. It was seeing how little of the Monarch's only food plant, milkweed, was left for them to feed on during their amazing, multigenerational, multinational migration.

However, Sara found solace in the many conservationists and backyard butterfly gardeners she met along the way, and in the 9000 schoolchildren she gave talks to en route. The most emotional part of the journey for Sara was the last three miles - arriving successfully back at the monarch's overwintering site in Mexico.

Produced by Diane Hope.

Credits:

Monarch butterfly recordings - Robert Mackay

What does it mean to be a chimpanzee? And following the monarch butterfly migration.

Catherine Hobaiter explains her quest to understand what it means to be a chimpanzee and Sara Dykman recounts her 10,201-mile journey following the monarch butterfly migration.

Take a trip around the supermarket and you'll see shelves of products claiming to be 'high in protein'. Scroll through your social media and you'll find beautiful, sculpted people offering recipes and ideas for packing more protein into your diet.

Science presenters Dr Julia Ravey and Dr Ella Hubber have noticed this too. They wanted to unpick the protein puzzle to find out what it does in our bodies and how much we really need. Can this macronutrient really help us lose weight, get fit and be healthier?

Along the way, they speak to Professor Giles Yeo from the University of Cambridge, Bridget Benelam from the British Nutrition Foundation, Paralympian hopeful Harrison Walsh, and food historian Pen Vogler.

Producer: Alice Lipscombe-Southwell

Editor: Martin Smith

Protein is having a moment in the spotlight. Should you be worried about getting enough?

Supermarket shelves are groaning with high-protein products, while social media feeds are filled with uber-fit people urging us to eat more protein. We find out how much we need.

Credits: @thefitadam/@TSCPodcast/@tadhgmoody/@meg_squats/@aussiefitness

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Jim Al-Khalili discusses monkey infanticide and human parenting with Sarah Hrdy.

She has spent her life using science to help solve cases, working on crime scenes and then analysing material in the lab, and presenting scientific evidence in court.

It's a complicated business. Forensic science relies on powerful technology, such as DNA analysis, but it cannot be that alone - it's also about human judgement, logical reasoning and asking the right questions.

It is these fundamentals of forensic science that Sheila has fought for through her long career and what she fears may be becoming lost from the field now.

We find out what happens when the two very different worlds of science and the law clash in the courtroom. How to walk the line of presenting scientific evidence where there is pressure to be definitive where often science cannot be - and what this part of the job has in common with food packaging.

And what makes a good forensic scientist?

We'll turn the studio at London's Broadcasting House into a live crime scene to see if host Professor Jim Al-Khalili would be any good as a forensic investigator -

The rapid spread of antibiotic resistant bacteria is already claiming lives and a far greater global crisis is on the horizon. In the first episode of a three-part series, reporter Roland Pease traces the rise of resistance since the discovery of penicillin, its consequences for patients, and how bacteria are getting widening the treatment gap.

Antibiotic resistant bacteria is rising - is a great global crisis on the horizon?

Explorations in the world of science.

In this three part series for Discovery, reporter Roland Pease traces how we reached this point, uncovers the forces driving resistance ever faster, and meets the scientists racing to outpace evolving superbugs before our lifesaving medicines fail for good.

Episode 1 - The rise of resistance since the discovery of penicillin, its consequences for patients, and how bacteria are getting widening the treatment gap.

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The rapid spread of antibiotic resistant bacteria is already claiming lives and a far greater global crisis is on the horizon.

In this three part series for Discovery, reporter Roland Pease traces how we reached this point, uncovers the forces driving resistance ever faster, and meets the scientists racing to outpace evolving superbugs before our lifesaving medicines fail for good.

Episode 2 - The chemists' challenge. With all the low-hanging fruit in the antibiotic search space gone, chemists are having to work harder and be cleverer to top up the antibiotic pipeline. The chances of finding even one successful compound in a working life are low, but can new approaches like AI or genetics make the difference?

Antibiotic resistant bacteria is rising; is a great global crisis on the horizon?

Explorations in the world of science.

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The rapid spread of antibiotic resistant bacteria is already claiming lives - and a far greater global crisis is on the horizon.

In this three part series for Discovery, reporter Roland Pease traces how we reached this point, uncovers the forces driving resistance ever faster, and meets the scientists racing to outpace evolving superbugs before our lifesaving medicines fail for good.

Episode 3 - Failed market. A successful new antibiotic must not only treat bacteria that resist existing therapies, it must be kept in reserve for only the hardest cases lest new kinds of resistance evolve, and yet it must pay back the developers' investment. No wonder several leading antibiotic companies have failed financially in the past 8 years. Is there a way to make antibiotic development pay?

Antibiotic resistant bacteria is rising; is a great global crisis on the horizon?

Explorations in the world of science.

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We live in a time of automation and robotics; the machines run the factories, and AI will soon take all the jobs. Yet, even today, there are certain niche jobs where only an animal will do. Comedian and biologist Simon Watt meets some of them and the people who train them, study them, and love them.

He starts with a business of ferrets (yes, that is their collective noun) at the National Ferret School in Derbyshire, who have swapped rabbit holes and trouser legs for drain-clearing, rewiring, and laying fibre optic cables. Ferret Trainer James McKay demonstrates why they are perfect for the job, as he casually folds one trainee into a tight pretzel.

Simon visits the HQ of Medical Detection Dogs, a training facility in Milton Keynes where dogs are being trained to sniff the tell-tale signs of a host of diseases. You may have heard of their 'cancer dogs', but it goes much further - epilepsy, malaria, Parkinson's, even Covid-19. Dr Claire Guest explains.

Although we have no real idea exactly how dogs do what they do, AI may be on the cusp of solving this puzzle for us. Simon speaks to Dr Andreas Mershin from start-up Realnose, which is developing “electronic noses'.

Finally, Simon meets some real heroes - HeroRats, to be precise. Not the same species that haunts our sewers, these are African Giant Pouched Rats, and their job as landmine detection specialists is saving lives across Thailand, Mozambique, Cambodia and Zimbabwe. Dr Cynthia Fast from UCLA trains them for the job.

Presenter: Simon Watt

Producer: Emily Knight

How ferrets, dogs and rats are being trained to perform niche jobs

How ferrets, dogs and rats are being trained to perform niche jobs from drain cleaning to laying fibre optic cables to detecting cancer and locating landmines.

We live in a time of automation and robotics; the machines run the factories, and AI will soon take all the jobs. And yet, even today, there are certain niche jobs where only an animal will do. Comedian and biologist Simon Watt is out to meet some of them, and the people who train them, study them, and love them. And he asks the key questions: HOW do they do what they do, and WHY, with all our ingenuity, haven't we invented anything that can compete with them?

We start with a business of ferrets (yes, that is their collective noun) at the National Ferret School in Derbyshire, who have swapped rabbit holes and trouser legs for drain-clearing, re-wiring, and laying fibre optic cables. Ferret Trainer James McKay demonstrates why they're perfect for the job, as he casually folds one trainee into a tight pretzel.

Can technology keep up? Maybe. Although we have no real idea exactly HOW dogs do what they do, AI may be on the cusp of solving this puzzle for us. Simon speaks to Dr Andreas Mershin from start-up Realnose, which is developing “electronic noses'.

Presented by Simon Watt, and produced in Cardiff by Emily Knight

Meet the creatures with a career path - in niche jobs where only an animal will do

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A top secret little-known mission that changed the outcome of World War II. Not Alan Turing's Enigma code-breaking mission but a daring foray, conducted behind enemy lines on the shores of Normandy. Harrison Lewis and wetland scientist Christian Dunn re-enact one of the most remarkable feats of the Second World War and discover the intricate details of the daring but forgotten science that underpinned D-Day.

The scientific mission that ensured the success of the D-Day landings

A top secret little-known mission that changed the outcome of World War II. Not Alan Turing's Enigma code-breaking mission but a daring scientific foray, behind enemy lines

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From humble beginnings in his native Sri Lanka, to a more than 40 year academic career at Queen's University Belfast, Prof. AP (Amilra Prasanna) De Silva's research into molecular photosensors has led to a pioneering career in that's evolved from chemistry to medical diagnostics on one hand, to information processing on the other. Prof. De Silva challenged cultural expectations and overcame the lack of opportunities in chemistry that were available in Sri Lanka in the early 1970s. He first moved to Belfast to pursue research in photochemistry at Queen's University. Inspired by his grandmother's struggle with high blood pressure he engineered a unique sodium photosensor by marrying fluorescent molecules with chemical receptors. As a result of his international collaborations, a commercial, portable sensor was developed to detect salts and minerals in the blood. Its speed of analysis has since saved countless lives and improved healthcare around the world. AP talks to Jim Al-Khalili about his passion for engineering molecules and how his photochemical innovations have since crossed into computer science. They've been developed to perform molecular computations far inside the human body - where silicon microchips fear to tread. A new deeper understanding of life inside our tissues and cells beckons.

Photochemist AP De Silva on engineering molecular sensors to revolutionise healthcare

Pioneering photochemist AP De Silva on building molecular photo sensors for urgent medical diagnosis and to compute activity inside cells and tissues.

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Caroline Smith is passionate about space rocks, whether they're samples collected from the surface of asteroids and the Moon and hopefully Mars one day soon, or meteorites, those alien rock fragments that have survived their fiery descents through our atmosphere to land here on Earth. She is Head of Collections and Principal Curator of Meteorites at the Natural History Museum, home to one of the finest meteorite collections in the world. Her interest in rocks began while wandering the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, as a child, picking up the ones that caught her eye and bashing them with a hammer, hoping to find treasure inside, whether it's gold, diamonds or dinosaur fossils. Her work today, studying rocks that have landed here on Earth or those still out there in space, is no less ambitious. She analyses their chemical composition looking for tantalising clues that might reveal how our Solar System formed, and potentially the presence of the chemical building blocks necessary for life itself.

Caroline Smith on meteorites, rocks on Mars and the potential for ancient life there.

Caroline Smith talks to Jim Al-Khalili about what meteorites and other space rocks reveal about the early solar system and the potential for ancient life on Mars.

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In July 1545, King Henry VIII watched from Southsea Castle on England's south coast as his fleet sailed out to face the French - only to witness his prized warship, the Mary Rose, sink before his eyes. Raised from the Solent in 1982, the ship is now the centrepiece of the Mary Rose Museum, along with thousands more artefacts that were recovered from the seabed. But keeping the 500-year-old ship and its associated Tudor relics in good condition is no small task, which is where Dr Eleanor Schofield comes in. As Director of Collections at the Mary Rose Trust and a materials engineer by training, Eleanor has spent years tackling the unique scientific challenges of conserving centuries-old wood and metal. From the United States to Portsmouth, Eleanor's research is helping ensure this iconic vessel remains 'ship-shape' for generations to come. In a special edition of The Life Scientific, recorded in front of an audience at the museum in Portsmouth's Historic Dockyards, Professor Jim Al-Khalili discovers how cutting-edge science is keeping history afloat.

Materials scientist Eleanor Schofield on conserving a 500-year-old wooden warship.

Materials scientist Eleanor Schofield on the challenges of studying and protecting ancient wooden warships, and the enlightening process of conserving the mighty Mary Rose.

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Ever heard of the unsuccessful Dutch painter who decided to humiliate his critics by forging Vermeers, which the artworld subsequently dubbed 'masterpieces'? Or the businessman who bought a Marc Chagall painting that he displayed with pride for years, before a television investigation revealed to his horror that it was a fake? Today we're exploring the scientific techniques used to reveal forged artworks - and bring down scammers still trying to make millions from fake masterpieces. Jehane Ragai is an Emeritus Professor of Chemistry at the American University in Cairo, with a passion for science matched by her love of arts and culture. Early in her career Jehane helped analyse the Great Sphinx of Giza and later became fascinated by the world of art forgery, leading to her acclaimed book, ‘The Scientist and the Forger'. Her life has not been without its difficulties, but - perhaps unsurprisingly, as the daughter of renowned Egyptian feminist Doria Shafik - she's not one to shy away from a challenge. And as she tells Professor Jim Al-Khalili, Jehane feels priveleged to have been able to integrate her twin passions into a career; advice she now passes on to her students

Egyptian chemist Jehane Ragai on proving forged paintings and uncovering masterpieces.

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Imagine if you were listening to an opera or a Taylor Swift concert, and as the lights in the auditorium dimmed, the music was accompanied by a rainbow of colours only you could see. Perhaps while listening to your friends talking, you simultaneously experience a smorgasbord of tastes, with different words evoking different flavours, maybe a delicious ice cream, or something as disgusting as ear wax...

This merging of the senses is known as synaesthesia, and it's the rich research world of neuropsychologist Professor Julia Simner. Julia runs the Multisense lab at the University of Sussex and has pioneered research into understanding how special brains process our sensory world in special ways. In the studio she tests Jim to see if he might be a synaesthete or have aphantasia, which is the inability to view images in the mind's eye. The results are surprising.

Julia's discovered links to autism, and to different personality types, as well as a number of previously unknown sensory differences.

She describes her career and her life as a series of swerves, or sliding door moments, that have led her to study the subject and the people she's passionate about. She says that the more she looks for these unusual traits in us the more she finds.

Professor Julia Simner tests Jim for synaesthesia with surprising results.

Synaesthesia is a merging of the senses, where words have tastes and letters have colours. Professor Julia Simner tests Jim in the studio with surprising results.

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There are problems and tasks so hard and complicated that it would take today's most powerful supercomputers millions of years to crack them. But in the next decade, we may well have quantum computers which could solve such problems in seconds.

Professor Sir Peter Knight is a British pioneer in the realms of quantum optics and quantum information science. During his three decades as a researcher at Imperial College London, he has advanced our understanding of the physics which underpins how quantum computers work.

Quantum optics was a new field of physics at the start of Peter Knight's career in the early 1970s and he tells Jim Al-Khalili about the excitement and opportunities for a young scientist at the birth of a new scientific discipline. He also talks about the UK National Quantum Technologies Programme. Since his retirement in 2010, Peter Knight has been the driving force behind this £1 billion government-funded endeavour which has positioned the UK as a world leader in the development and commercialisation of quantum computing and other revolutionary quantum inventions.

Peter Knight on quantum computing and the strange physics of light.

Jim Al-Khalili talks to Prof Peter Knight about his life in quantum physics and the dawn of the new quantum technological age.

There are problems and tasks so hard and complicated that it would take today's most powerful supercomputers millions of years to crack them. But in the next decade, we may well have quantum computers which could solve such problems in seconds. Professor Sir Peter Knight is a British pioneer in the realms of quantum optics and quantum information science. During his three decades as a researcher at Imperial College London, he has advanced our understanding of the physics which underpins how quantum computers work. Quantum optics was a new field of physics at the start of Peter Knight's career in the early 1970s and he tells Jim Al-Khalili about the excitement and opportunities for a young scientist at the birth of a new scientific discipline. He also talks about the UK National Quantum Technologies Programme. Since his retirement in 2010, Peter Knight has been the driving force behind this £1 billion government-funded endeavour which has positioned the UK as a world leader in the development and commercialisation of quantum computing and other revolutionary quantum inventions.

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The COP30 climate summit is taking place in the Brazilian city of Belém, a gateway to the Amazon rainforest, which continues to face widespread deforestation. We all know that our climate is changing and that we are largely responsible for this, but we can't tackle the problem unless we understand what's going on.

One scientist who's done more than most to rectify this is Professor Pierre Friedlingstein. He's a prominent climate scientist and Chair in Mathematical Modelling of the Climate System at Exeter University. His models have transformed our understanding of climate change, revealing a complex dynamical system with carbon at its centre, cycling between the atmosphere, oceans and land, to directly influence the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

Pierre is actively involved in assessing the state of our climate through the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and, as director of the Global Carbon Budget, estimates the remaining amount of carbon dioxide that can be emitted before we breach our global climate targets. It's the ultimate test of effective climate action and the latest annual update will be released at COP.

Pierre explains how we can all play our part to reduce carbon emissions, and he practises what he preaches - he won't be flying to COP this year so as to minimise his own carbon footprint.

Pierre Friedlingstein on the pivotal role of carbon in predicting climate change.

Pierre Friedlingstein talks to Jim Al-Khalili about the pivotal role carbon dioxide plays in predicting future climate change, as it cycles through the atmosphere, land and oceans

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Tony Juniper is an environmentalist who has worn many hats, over the course of his career. After developing a passion for birds in childhood, his first job saw him working to save endangered parrots - including a successful effort to bring back the Spix's macaw from the edge of extinction. Tony went on to hold leading campaigning roles with some of the world's best known environmental organisations, from Friends of The Earth to the World Wildlife Fund. He also acted as an advisor to King Charles's International Sustainability Unit and co-authored three books with the monarch. Today, Tony has swapped lobbying and campaigning for advising the government, as head of the advisory body Natural England: not without its challenges, but he says they are still outweighed by the positives. Talking to Professor Jim Al-Khalili about his enduring love for nature and hopes for the future, Tony explains his optimism that we can and will recognise the urgent need to protect and restore our planet; and why ultimately, that means saving ourselves.

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Built for high speed chases, these spotted cats are slender, with semi-retractable claws for good grip, and a flexible spine and long tail for balance and manoeuvrability. Cheetahs are able to make tight, quick turns to shift course in fast pursuit of their prey, as they rely on their speed over brute strength when hunting. But with a shrinking population cheetahs are classified as vulnerable – what is being done to conserve them and are the conservation projects having any success?

Presented by Adam Hart.

Produced by Jonathan Blackwell for BBC World Service.

Adam Hart investigates the fastest land animal in the world - the cheetah!

Adam Hart investigates the fastest land animal in the world – the cheetah! Built for high speed chases, the population of these spotted cats is shrinking and they are vulnerable.

Adam Hart investigates the fastest land animal in the world – the cheetah! Built for high-speed chases, these spotted cats are slender, with semi-retractable claws for good grip and a flexible spine plus a long tail for balance and manoeuvrability. Cheetahs rely on speed over brute strength when hunting – and can make tight, quick turns to shift course in fast pursuit of their prey. But with shrinking populations cheetahs are classified as vulnerable – so what's being done in terms of conservation and are these projects having any success?

Adam hears how cheetahs differ from lions and leopards and learns about their relationships with other predators. He looks at their unique adaptions and behaviours, as well as the different approaches that conservationists are undertaking to try and reverse the population decline. And we also hear about the re-introduction of cheetahs to India.

Contributors:

Professor Sarah Durant is from the Zoological Society of London and is project leader of the Africa Range-Wide Cheetah Conservation Initiative.

Vincent van der Merwe is director of The Metapopulation Initiative and is cheetah metapopulation coordinator for Southern Africa and India.

Presenter: Professor Adam Hart

Producer: Jonathan Blackwell

Editor: Holly Squire

Production Coordinator: Jonathan Harris

Studio Manager: Andrew Garratt

(Photo: Cheetah, Credit: Paul & Paveena Mckenzie via Getty Images)

The fastest land animal in the world - Adam Hart investigates the cheetah!

Adam hears what it's like to see these sharks up-close and in person for the very first time. He learns more about how great whites detect and hunt their prey, as well as the challenges they've been facing due to another ocean predator.

Contributors:

Dr Alison Towner is a postdoctoral researcher at Rhodes University in South Africa. She has a PhD in white shark ecology and has been studying the displacement of great whites due to orcas (killer whales) in South Africa.

Professor Gavin Naylor is Director of the Florida Program for Shark Research. He is a biologist who has specialised in evolutionary and population genetics, focusing on sharks.

Presenter: Professor Adam Hart

Producer: Jonathan Blackwell

Editor: Holly Squire

Production Coordinator: Jonathan Harris

Studio Manager: Jackie Margerum

(Photo: Great White Shark, Credit: Todd Winner/Stocktrek Images via Getty Images)

Adam Hart investigates the most famous and feared predator in all the ocean, the great white shark! But is it really the ultimate predator as we've been led to believe?

This week it's the turn of the most famous and feared predator in all of the ocean – the great white shark! In Tooth and Claw, Adam Hart explores our complex and challenging relationships with Earth's greatest predators - through the people who have spent their lives studying, protecting and, at times, narrowly escaping them!

With rows of large serrated teeth, it's often thought of as a ferocious man-eater and was the villain of a film that frightened a generation of beachgoers. This star of the silver screen may be the subject of fascination and fright for many, but is this animal really the ultimate apex predator of the ocean that films such as Jaws have led us to believe? Could it be that the great white is becoming prey to another super-predator?

Presented by Adam Hart

Produced by Jonathan Blackwell for BBC World Service

It's the turn of the most famous and feared predator in all of the ocean – the great white shark! But is it really the ultimate apex predator that we have been led to believe?

Named after a beast from Greek mythology, the harpy eagle is widely considered to be the most powerful bird of prey due to its strong legs and huge talons. With a crown of feathers atop its head, and known for eating monkeys and sloths, this regal-looking raptor dominates the rainforest canopies across much of South and Central America.

Presenter Adam Hart looks into the folklore and cultural importance of these imposing birds, as well as finding out why these apex predators of the treetops are having to increasingly search for ground-dwelling prey such as armadillos. He also hears how harpy eagle researchers were the pioneers for biological applications of GPS in order to study and track these animals in the dense rainforest.

Contributors:

Dr. Helena Aguiar-Silva, biologist and associate research scientist at the National Institute for Amazonian Research and a member of Projeto Harpia Brasil.

Dr. Eduardo Alvarez founder of a non-profit organisation called EarthMatters.org, to concentrate on the study and conservation of harpy eagles and to preserve their rainforest habitat.

Presenter: Professor Adam Hart

Producer: Jonathan Blackwell

Image: Harpy eagle and nest with chick

Credit: João Marcos Rosa

Named after a mythological beast, this raptor is the apex predator of rainforest canopies

Named after a beast from Greek mythology, this raptor dominates rainforest canopies and is considered to be the most powerful bird of prey due to its strong legs and huge talons.

In this episode we're talking about a predator which is often considered the most powerful bird of prey – the harpy eagle! In Tooth and Claw, Adam Hart explores our complex and challenging relationships with Earth's greatest predators - through the people who have spent their lives studying, protecting and, at times, narrowly escaping them!

Found across Central America into South America this bird of prey is named after the mythological beast, the harpy. With huge talons, this large eagle is known for preying on sloths and monkeys.

Presented by Adam Hart.

In this episode we're talking about the most powerful bird of prey - the harpy eagle!

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Investigating the black-and-white apex predator of the sea – the killer whale! Able to predate even great white sharks, this marine mammal is the largest member of the dolphin family. From tropical seas, to the Arctic and Antarctic, killer whales (or orcas) are found across the world. Living in family groups and often led by a post-menopausal matriarch, killer whales have passed on their hunting methods, which vary depending on which prey they specialise in hunting, through the generations.

Presenter Adam Hart finds out about the killer whales incredible social behaviours (such as wearing salmon as hats) and hears how a dog is helping killer whale researchers access a gold mine of information about this predator. He also hears what challenges killer whale populations are facing and why killer whales may be attacking boats off the coast of the Iberian peninsula.

Contributors:

Dr. Leigh Hickmott, whale biologist and conservationist, who is an expert on Pack Ice killer whales, and whose research uses them as indicators to assess human disturbance of marine habitats.

Dr. Deborah Giles, who is an expert on Southern Resident killer whales, based with the SeaDoc Society, a program of the Karen C. Drayer Wildlife Health Center at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine.

Presenter: Professor Adam Hart

Producer: Jonathan Blackwell

(Photo: Killer Whales, Credit: Serge MELESAN via Getty Images)

This black-and-white marine mammal is the undisputed apex predator of the sea

Investigating the black-and-white apex predator of the sea. Able to predate even great white sharks, this marine mammal is the largest member of the dolphin family.

In this episode we're talking about a black-and-white apex predator of the sea – the killer whale! In Tooth and Claw, Adam Hart explores our complex and challenging relationships with Earth's greatest predators - through the people who have spent their lives studying, protecting and, at times, narrowly escaping them!

From tropical seas, to the Arctic and Antarctic, killer whales (or orcas) are found across the world and prey on fish, seals, dolphins, penguins and even great white sharks! Living in family groups and led by a matriarch, killer whales have passed on their hunting methods, which vary depending on which prey they specialise in hunting, through the generations.

Presented by Adam Hart.

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In this episode we're talking about a big cat which can be found from the south of Africa to the far east of Asia – the leopard! In Tooth and Claw, Adam Hart explores our complex and challenging relationships with Earth's greatest predators - through the people who have spent their lives studying, protecting and, at times, narrowly escaping them!

With dark sports grouped into rosettes and known for their tree climbing abilities, this elusive predator stalks its prey and ambushes them!

Presented by Adam Hart.

Investigating an elusive big cat known for its excellent tree climbing abilities - the leopard! This master of camouflage is found from the south of Africa to the far east of Asia – a spotted predator that stalks and ambushes its prey!

Presenter Adam Hart will investigate their relationships with tigers and lions, as well as learning about a recent discovery that leopards each have their own unique roar. He'll also discuss the future of the Arabian leopard and the potential for a reintroduction to Saudi Arabia, and find out about the role of synthetic fur capes known as ‘Heritage Furs' in leopard conservation.

Contributors:

Dr. Gareth Mann, who is based in South Africa, is Leopard Program Director for Panthera, the global wild cat conservation organisation.

Dr. Charlotte Searle, postdoctoral researcher and conservationist based in Tanzania, who is associated with the Wildlife Conservation Research Unit at the University of Oxford.

Presenter: Professor Adam Hart

Producer: Jonathan Blackwell

Photo: Leopard in tree

Credit: Valentin Wolf via Getty Images

An elusive big cat known for its tree climbing abilities, it stalks and ambushes its prey

An elusive big cat known for its tree climbing abilities. This master of camouflage, found from the south of Africa to the far east of Asia, stalks and ambushes its prey!

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Said to be able to strip their prey to the bone in mere minutes – what role did former United States President Theodore Roosevelt have in creating the piranha's reputation? From feeding frenzies to bubbling bloodbaths there are plenty of gruesome stories about shoals of these hardy fish in the freshwaters of South America – but are these tales true? Adam dispels myths with two piranha experts who work closely with these ferocious fish, including out in the Amazon!

Presented by Adam Hart.

Produced by Jonathan Blackwell for BBC World Service.

Adam Hart investigates a frenzied and voracious fish from South America - the piranha!

Adam Hart investigates a frenzied and voracious fish from South America – the piranha! But what role did a former United States President have in creating their reputation?

Adam Hart investigates a frenzied and voracious fish from South America – the piranha! Said to be able to strip their prey to the bone in mere minutes, there are plenty of gruesome tales about the bubbling bloodbaths that occur when shoals of these hardy fish feed in the freshwaters across South America - from up in Venezuela in the Orinoco River, to the Amazon and down to the Paraná River in Argentina. What role did former United States President Theodore Roosevelt have in creating the piranha's fearsome reputation? And is this reputation misguided?

Adam hears what piranhas are really like, both in the wild and in captivity. He learns about how these fish hunt, the impact that humans are having on them and tries to establish if they really are as bloodthirsty as we've been led to believe.

Contributors:

Marcelo Ândrade is a professor at the Federal University of Maranhão in Brazil. He researches the environments that piranha live in and their behaviour, as well as plastic ingestion by piranhas.

Hannah Thomas is the aquarium team manager at Chester Zoo in the UK where they care for 40 red-bellied piranhas.

Presenter: Professor Adam Hart

Producer: Jonathan Blackwell

Editor: Holly Squire

Production Coordinator: Jonathan Harris

Studio Manager: Neva Missirian

(Photo: Red-Bellied Piranha, Credit: Ed Reschke via Getty Images)

Adam Hart investigates, do these South American fish deserve their frenzied reputation?

Investigating an insect known for eating its prey alive – including, at times, its own species - the praying mantis! With bulging eyes and a triangular head, this predator uses it specially adapted front legs to trap its prey.

Able to predate animals of a size much larger than themselves, including birds, lizards and even fish, presenter Adam Hart hears about their cultural significance to human populations all around the world, as well as addressing their reputation for sexual cannibalism. We also hear about their biomaterial qualities and potential importance in agriculture, and also look into a parasitic relationship the praying mantis has with a worm in South America which has given them the name ‘the mother of snakes'.

Contributors:

Dr. Julio Rivera, entomologist and researcher at the Université de Montréal in Canada and research associate at the Montréal Insectarium.

Dr. Bianca Greyvenstein, postdoctoral fellow at North-West University in Potchefstroom and an expert in the praying mantises of South Africa.

Presenter: Professor Adam Hart

Producer: Jonathan Blackwell

(Photo: Praying Mantis, Credit: Paul Starosta via Getty Images)

An insect known for eating its prey alive – including, at times, its own species! With bulging eyes and a triangular head, it uses specially adapted front legs to trap its prey.

Exploring our complex and challenging relationships with Earth's greatest predators.

[LISTEN NOW]

Contributors:

Rebecca Watters is founder and director of the Mongolian Wolverine Project, as well as the executive director of the Wolverine Foundation, a non-profit that's dedicated to advancing science-based conservation of wolverines.

Jenny Mattisson is a researcher at the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, who is involved in the monitoring of wolverines in Scandinavia. She has studied interactions between wolverines and Eurasian lynx, as well as their predation of reindeer.

Presenter: Professor Adam Hart

Producer: Jonathan Blackwell

Editor: Holly Squire

Production Coordinator: Jonathan Harris

Studio Manager: Donald MacDonald

(Photo: Wolverine, Credit: Arterra/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Adam Hart investigates, do wolverines deserve their reputation for gluttony and ferocity?

Adam Hart investigates the largest terrestrial member of the weasel family - the wolverine! Do they deserve their reputation for gluttony and ferocity?

A small, informal survey leads to shocking revelations about the US justice system, with its truths only uncovered decades later. Meanwhile, an ambitious portfolio manager discovers a perfect graph outlining eye-watering profits. But something doesn't seem right. Could the graph be accurate, or is it hiding a far more sinister truth? This story delves into the power of data, the hidden forces behind it, and the unexpected revelations that can change everything

Hannah Fry explores two tales of data and discovery.

A small, informal survey leads to shocking revelations about the US justice system, with its truths only uncovered decades later. Meanwhile, an ambitious portfolio manager discovers a perfect graph outlining eye-watering profits. But something does not seem right. Could the graph be accurate, or is it hiding a far more sinister truth? This story delves into the power of data, the hidden forces behind it, and the unexpected revelations that can change everything

[LISTEN NOW]

A young researcher gains access to a secretive data set and discovers a system causing harm to the very people it is supposed to help.

One day a student makes a discovery which, if true, could shake the intellectual foundations of a global movement, and undermine politicians around the world.

Producer: Lauren Armstrong Carter

What happens when a system designed to help people harms them instead?

What happens when a system designed to help people harms them instead? And, a PhD student discovers an anomaly which undermines a global movement.

A mathematician searching for love discovers that relationships aren't always as simple as equations—are his calculations the issue, or is there something deeper at play? Meanwhile, at an engineering conference, a young researcher's seemingly minor mistake uncovers a scandal of epic proportions. Can numbers find love or unveil problems? From personal dilemmas to professional revelations, this episode dives into the unexpected ways numbers can change lives.

Hannah Fry explores two tales of data and discovery.

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A PhD student with a passion for whales stumbles upon a strange, eerie sound deep beneath the ocean waves, something that will soon rock her world. Meanwhile, a fisherman is stranded in the ocean late at night, completely alone. With time running out, can he be rescued before it is too late? From mysterious discoveries to life-or-death struggles, this story delves into the power of the ocean and the determination to survive.

Hannah Fry explores two tales of data and discovery

A PhD student with a passion for whales' stumbles upon a strange, eerie sound deep beneath the ocean waves—something that will soon rock her world. Meanwhile, a fisherman is stranded in the ocean late at night, completely alone. With time running out, can he be rescued before it's too late? From mysterious discoveries to life-or-death struggles, this story delves into the power of the ocean and the determination to survive.

[LISTEN NOW]

Two couples are brought together by a tragedy and a tatty piece of paper, which reveals a serial murderer hiding in plain sight.

And, across the world in Singapore, a metro system is misbehaving wildly. The rail engineers and company officials are flummoxed. Can data save the day?

Produced by: Ilan Goodman and Lauren Armstrong Carter

Two couples brought together by a tragedy and a tatty piece of paper with a serial number

At a conference in Mexico, one scientist's outburst sparks a global quest to find a ‘golden spike' - the boundary marking the shift into a new geological period dominated by humans, not volcanoes or asteroids. From plastics and concrete to nuclear fallout, the data they uncover reveals a planet profoundly altered. But can they convince their colleagues and the world of the extent of this transformation? Meanwhile, in a small Italian city nestled in the Apennine mountains, a series of low-level tremors raise the question: Is this just a passing phase, or a warning of something much more devastating?

Hannah Fry explores two tales of data and discovery

[LISTEN NOW]

Gossip and rumour are plaguing a tile manufacturing company. The chatter is pulling morale to new lows, and amid it all, a question hangs in the air: who is spreading it? Can the science of networks find out?

And, what is the secret to ageing well? One man believes he may have found the beginnings of an answer, and it is hiding in a convent.

Produced by: Ilan Goodman and Lauren Armstrong Carter

Gossip and rumour can affect morale but can the science of networks explain why?

A manufacturing company is in trouble as gossip and rumour affects morale. Can the science of networks explain why? And, what a room full of nuns reveal about ageing with grace.

Amid the desperation of war-starved Netherlands, a doctor defies conventional wisdom to save gravely ill children, uncovering a treatment that sparks both hope and controversy. Years later, in 1967, a young female researcher detects a strange, pulsing signal. Could it be mundane interference or evidence of alien life? From lifesaving breakthroughs to cosmic discoveries, this story celebrates the determination of pioneers who challenge convention and pursue truth against the odds.

Hannah Fry explores two tales of data and discovery

[LISTEN NOW]

Do orangutans - or humans - experience a midlife crisis? Hidden deep in the data, two economists have found a surprising pattern: happiness is U shaped.

And, John Carter has a terrible choice to make. One path offers glory, the other to death. His decision hinges on one graph, but can it help him take the right road?

Produced by: Ilan Goodman and Lauren Armstrong Carter

Do orangutans, or humans, experience a midlife crisis? And, why happiness is U shaped

In a few specific years across the 20th Century, the proportion of boys born, mysteriously spiked. We follow one researcher's obsessive quest to find out why.

And next, a tale of science and skulduggery. Michael Mann was a respected climate scientist, unknown outside of a small academic circle, until he produced a graph that shocked the world and changed his life forever.

Producer: Ilan Goodman

Uncharted with Hannah Fry

Hannah Fry follows one researcher's obsessive quest to discover why in one year more boys were being born than girls.

In a lab in 1950s Kolkata, Asima Chatterjee laboriously extracts chemicals from the Indian snakeroot plant. She knows she will have to send the products away – she does not have the money or resources to analyse them in India. But the tireless and uncompromising chemist perseveres, and her work paved the way for modern-day chemotherapy treatments.

Asima grew up in a time when it was uncommon for women in India to have an education, but went on to become a hugely influential figure in her field whose work is still repurposed and cited today. Dr Ella and Dr Julia take us through her inspirational journey, joined by Prof Sivapriya Kirubakaran and Dr Sarah O'Connor.

Producer/presenter: Dr Ella Hubber and Dr Julia Ravey

Assistant producer: Sophie Ormiston

Production co-ordinator: Elisabeth Tuohy

Editor: Holly Squire

How Indian chemist Asima Chatterjee's work paved the way for modern-day chemotherapy

How Indian chemist Asima Chatterjee's pioneering work paved the way for modern-day chemotherapy.

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What's it like to wake up with a brand new voice? For those with foreign accent syndrome, this is their reality. Patients who develop this rare speech disorder start speaking in a brand new accent that they often have no connection to.

So how does losing the voice you've known your entire life shape, or break, your identity?

Presenter Ella Hubber speaks to Althia Bryden, who developed foreign accent syndrome last year, and Sarah Colwill, who has lived with the condition for the past 15 years. They share the deep impact it has had on their identity and connection to those around them.

And to understand what is happening in the brain to cause this complete change in accent, and whether it's really even an accent at all, Ella speaks to professor Nicholas Miller, who has been unpicking the mystery of foreign accent syndrome for decades. Also, professor Stefanie Keulen shares that there are actually multiple types of the condition.

Even though foreign accent syndrome is rare, it is found around the world, can affect anyone, and highlights just how deeply our voices influence all aspects of our lives.

Producers: Sophie Ormiston, Ella Hubber

Assistant Producer: Minnie Harrop

Editor: Martin Smith

What's it like to wake up with a brand new voice? We investigate foreign accent syndrome

We investigate a rare speech disorder, foreign accent syndrome, where patients start speaking in a brand new accent that they often have no connection to.

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Quantum theory – our best understanding of the world at the smallest level – is famously weird and notoriously confusing. It's a theory that seems to say particles can be in two places at once, or somehow “know ? if you're looking at them. Or at least, that's what you might have heard. But is that really what quantum theory tells us about reality?

To find out, presenter Marnie Chesterton travels to the birthplace of quantum theory: the remote, windswept island of Helgoland. Here, a century ago, a young scientist called Werner Heisenberg made a leap of understanding that laid the foundations of quantum mechanics, and changed the world.

To mark a century of quantum, leading physicists from across the globe have gathered on Helgoland for a conference, and Marnie joins them with an unconventional plan. She's allowed to ask them JUST ONE QUESTION, in the hope it can get to the heart of what this strange and difficult subject is really about: “What IS quantum? ?

Producer: Anand Jagatia

Editor: Martin Smith

Production Co-ordinator: Jazz George

Marnie Chesterton travels to the birthplace of quantum theory armed with one question

Marnie Chesterton travels to Helgoland, a remote island where quantum theory was born a century ago. Can a single question help her understand this notoriously tricky topic?

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(Photo: Elderly man going for a run. Credit: Charday Penn / Getty Images)

James Gallagher tries to understand what holds us back from exercise as we age.

(Photo: Woman sitting at desk in office. Credit: Richard Drury / Getty Images)

Co-Presenters: Ben Garrod and Jess French

Executive producer: Adrian Washbourne

Producer: Ella Hubber

Editor: Martin Smith

Production co-ordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth

Insights into the anatomy and physiology of the tiny sap-sucking aphid

Insights into the anatomy and physiology of the tiny sap-sucking aphid and how we could curtail its damaging impact.

The tiny sap-sucking aphid, at just a few millimetres long, is the scourge of many gardeners and crop-growers worldwide, spreading astonishingly rapidly and inflicting huge damage as it seeks to outwit many host plants' natural defences. With insights and guidance from aphid expert George Seddon-Roberts at the John Innes Centre, Norwich, some delicate dissecting tools, and a state of the art microscope, Professor Ben Garrod and Dr Jess French delve inside this herbivorous insect to unravel the anatomy and physiology that's secured its extraordinary reproductive success, whilst offering new clues as to how we could curtail its damaging impact in the future.

Professor Ben Garrod, evolutionary biologist from the University of East Anglia, and expert veterinary surgeon Dr Jess French, open up and investigate what makes each of these animals unique, in terms of their extraordinary anatomy, behaviour and their evolutionary history. Along the way, they reveal some unique adaptations which give each species a leg (or claw) up in surviving in the big, wild world.

The series begins with an icon of the outback – known best for its hopping, boxing, and cosy pouch – the red kangaroo. Despite the immense heat and lack of water, these marsupials dominate Australia, with their evolutionary history driving them to success. From the powerful legs which allow them to hop up to 40km an hour, to an unexpected reproductive system that keeps their populations plentiful, Ben, Jess and marsupial expert Dr Jack Ashby reveal a mammalian anatomy which holds many surprises.

Co-Presenters: Ben Garrod and Jess French

Producer: Ella Hubber

Editor: Martin Smith

Production co-ordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth

Ben Garrod and Jess French get under the skin (and blubber) of the California sea lion

Executive Producer: Adrian Washbourne