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BBC Radio 4

A weekly programme that illuminates the mysteries and challenges the controversies behind the science that's changing our world.

BBC Inside Science

"Make Pluto a planet again" was the call this week from Donald Trump’s NASA Administrator, Jared Isaacman. 

The icy body was first seen in 1930 and was the only planet whose discovery was claimed by the United States. In 2006, though, it was officially stripped of its planet status. 

Tom Whipple is joined by astronomer Chris Lintott to discuss the debate that has raged ever since over whether Pluto should or shouldn’t be reinstated as the solar system’s 9th planet.

We also hear about the big money scientific prize hoping to lead to breakthroughs in how humans can communicate with animals. Head judge Professor Yossi Yovel, from Tel Aviv University, and finalists Dr Catherine Crockford, from the CNRS Institute for Cognitive Sciences in Lyon, and Professor Nicolas Mathevon, from the University of Saint-Etienne, tell us what the Coller Dolittle Challenge is hoping to uncover.

Plus, Penny Sarchet from New Scientist brings us the science news that might have slipped under the radar this week, including why there’s a scientific gap in the dating lives of over 50s.

Presenter: Tom Whipple
Producer: Alex Mansfield
Editor: Ilan Goodman
Production Co-ordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth

Should Pluto become a planet again?

The latest European State of the Climate report has found that Europe is once again getting warmer, and at a rate that is twice as fast as the global average. Tom Whipple is joined by Dr Samantha Burgess, deputy director of the Copernicus Climate Change Service, to understand the driving forces behind this stark difference and anticipate what Europeans can expect in the coming years as a result.

We also remember Dr J Craig Venter, one of the famous founders of what we might now call the genomic age of science who dies this week. 

In the lead-up to the 100th birthday of the world-famous broadcaster Sir David Attenborough, Inside Science is shining a spotlight on a species of scientific importance that has been named after him. This week, Dr Leonidas-Romanos Davranoglou shares his treacherous search for a unique species of echidna previously thought to be extinct. 

Plus, science journalist Caroline Steel fills us in on the latest science news that you might have missed - from the surprising growth rates of Neanderthal babies to 10,000 newly discovered planets. 

Presenter: Tom Whipple
Producer: Alex Mansfield
Assistant Producer: Katie Tomsett
Editor: Martin Smith
Production Co-ordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth

Why is Europe the fastest-warming continent?

A phase 3 clinical trial is underway to determine the effectiveness of an mRNA vaccine for H5N1, a strain of influenza that is currently of concern. The virus, which is commonly found in birds across the world and is rarely transmitted to humans. However, when it is transmitted, the disease is often fatal, and scientists fear that if the virus were to mutate, it could lead to rapid, widespread infection. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, governments around the world are keen to be better prepared for future threats. These latest efforts aim to develop an mRNA vaccine that could be rolled out on an unprecedented scale if the worst were to happen. John Tregoning, author of Infectious: Pathogens and How We Fight Them and Professor of Vaccine Immunology at Imperial College London, joins Tom to explain how these mRNA vaccines could revolutionise preparedness. 

In the lead-up to the 100th birthday of the world-famous broadcaster and behavioural ecologist Sir David Attenborough, Inside Science is shining a spotlight on a species of scientific importance that has been named after him. This week, Dr Frankie Dunn describes her discovery of a fossil that we now know to be the earliest animal predator. 

And Lizzy Gibney, senior reporter at Nature, shares the latest science news that may have slipped under the radar but is well worth your attention. 

Presenter: Tom Whipple 
Producer: Harrison Lewis & Katie Tomsett 
Editor: Martin Smith 
Production Co-ordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth

Can we prevent the next pandemic?

For 40 years scientists have been fascinated by the exclusion zone surrounding the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine. Professor Jim Smith from the University of Portsmouth is one of those scientists, a frequent visitor over the past 20 years. He joins Inside Science to explain whether the region still suffers after the nuclear fallout and how how it has shaped European energy production.

It is a month for anniversaries, and with David Attenborough turning 100, each week we take a look at a species which has found itself named after the behavioural ecologist.

And finally, the latest science news in the world of astronomy brought to you by astronomer Dr Jeni Millard.

Forty years on from nuclear disaster

This week, humans once again looked down on the magnificent desolation of the lunar surface, from the orbit of the moon itself. They saw earth rise and earth set. They named the craters on the far side. They travelled further from Earth than any human has travelled before. Now, the Artemis mission returns home. Libby Jackson, Head of Space at the Science Museum, joins Inside Science to illuminate whether this lunar flyby is nothing but a test ride or significant for the future of human spaceflight and science. 
 
Nasa believes Artemis II will pave the way to not only land on the moon but establish a lunar base. Kelly Weinersmith, author of A City on Mars, joins Tom to discuss the complications that are likely to arrive when and if humans attempt to establish a semi-permanent presence on the lunar surface. Is it really possible?

Presenter: Tom Whipple 
Producer: Harrison Lewis and Katie Tomsett 
Editor: Martin Smith

Return to the moon

This week, we’re letting you run the airwaves. Victoria Gill puts your science questions to Catherine Heymans, Astronomer Royal for Scotland and Professor of Astrophysics at the University of Edinburgh, Mark Maslin, Professor of Earth System Science at University College London, and Penny Sarchet, Managing editor of New Scientist. 

If you’ve ever wondered why men have nipples, how gravity slingshots work, or whether photosynthesis could solve our energy problems, that’s all on this week’s BBC Inside Science.

Presenter: Victoria Gill 
Producers: Ella Hubber & Debbie Kilbride 
Editor: Martin Smith 
Production Co-ordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth

Responding to your science questions

Are we, at last, getting the spacefaring future we were promised back in the 1960s? This week, NASA has been outlining ambitions for a base on the Moon and, perhaps more surprisingly, the development of a new class of spacecraft powered by nuclear electric propulsion. Dr Hannah Sargeant at the University of Leicester explains the potential of nuclear-powered space travel, how it could take us further into the solar system than ever before, and why it has taken decades for the technology to reach this point. 

Meanwhile, a lorry carrying a very unusual cargo has been making careful laps around the campus of CERN in Switzerland. This week science reporter Caroline Steel has been enthralled by the controlled transportation of antimatter. With insights from Dr Harry Cliff at the University of Cambridge, explore why trapping and moving antimatter is such a milestone for physicists.

Plus, rising beaver populations in the UK and the science of brain preservation. Caroline Steel joins Tom for her pick of the week’s science news. 

Presenter: Tom Whipple 

Producer: Harrison Lewis and Katie Tomsett 

Production co-ordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth 

Editor: Martin Smith

The future of space travel

In a bid to invest in the future of computing and keep emerging quantum companies on their shores, the UK government has announced a £2 billion ‘Quantum Leap’ fund. Tom Whipple heads to ORCA Computing in London to find out exactly how close we are to realising that quantum future and the industries that may be revolutionized in the process.
 
After Iranian missiles have hit a key helium production plant in Qatar, stability of the global supplies of the element have been called into question. Dr Rebecca Ingle from University College London clues us in on just how much of the world relies on Helium and why it is the irreplicable “cryogenic king” of the elements.
 
Plus, can potatoes grow on the moon? And what can pythons tell us about weight loss? Reporter Gareth Mitchell joins Tom for their pick of this week's science news. 

Presenter: Tom Whipple 
Producer: Alex Mansfield and Katie Tomsett
Production co-ordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth
Editor: Martin Smith

Is quantum computing having its moment?

This week new research suggests that in recent years the Earth has been warming faster than we predicted. But scientists are undecided on whether this change is going to be permanent. Laura Wilcox, Professor of Aerosol-Climate Interactions at the University of Reading explains. 

Tom Whipple is joined by Kit Yates, Author and Professor of Mathematical Biology and Public Engagement at the University of Bath. They mark the ten year anniversary of a game of ‘Go’ in which a computer programme called AlphaGo beat human Go champion Lee Sodol. Computer scientist at Google DeepMind Thore Graepel was witness to the game and talks about why the event has become a crucial moment in the story of AI. 

Kit also brings Tom his pick of the science news.

To discover more fascinating science content, head to bbc.co.uk, search for BBC Inside Science and follow the links to The Open University.

Presenter: Tom Whipple
Producers: Clare Salisbury and Alex Mansfield
Editor: Martin Smith
Production Co-ordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth

Is the Earth warming faster than we expected?

This week Inside Science comes from Space Comm Expo in London, one of the biggest space conferences in the world. Tom Whipple explores the conference with Suzie Imber, Professor of Planetary Science at the University of Leicester. 

Tom also speaks to Dr Everett Dolman, Professor of Space Strategy at John Hopkins University in the USA, about the role of space in modern warfare. 

Jodie Howlett, who oversees in-orbit manufacturing at the UK Space Agency talks about why the unique physics of space could be the perfect environment in which to manufacture the next generation of medicines. 

And Daniela Schmidt, Professor of Earth Sciences at Bristol University tells us why new research shows how we’ve drastically underestimated our measurements of sea level.

To discover more fascinating science content, head to bbc.co.uk, search for BBC Inside Science and follow the links to The Open University.

Presenter: Tom Whipple
Producer: Kate White, Katie Tomsett, Alex Mansfield and Clare Salisbury
Production co-ordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth
Editor: Martin Smith

Why is Europe the fastest-warming continent?

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