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The Guardian

Twice a week, the Guardian brings you the latest science and environment news

Science Weekly

The Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool in Washington DC has hardly been out of the news since April when President Trump vowed to have it renovated, and painted ‘American flag blue’ by 4 July. Despite the pool being stripped, cleaned, coated and refilled, within days the algae that has plagued it for decades was back. To find out why these blooms happen, what makes them so difficult to tackle and what Trump could try next, Ian Sample hears from co-host Madeleine Finlay, and from Dr Linda May, a freshwater ecologist at the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology.. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod

Reflecting pool algae: the science Trump needs to know

How much do our genes determine about our lives, and could they influence traits like risk-taking, antisocial behaviour or even violence? Ian Sample talks to Kathryn Paige Harden, a behavioural geneticist and professor of psychology at the University of Texas at Austin who studies how genetic factors shape human behaviour. In her book Original Sin she explores how nature and nurture combine to influence our likelihood of committing crimes, and asks whether the ‘cause’ of our actions matters for how we think about culpability. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod

Nature or nurture: can genes make us behave ‘badly’?

Met Office forecasters have issued a rare red weather warning for England, with temperatures potentially reaching 40C (104F) in some places. Europe is also dealing with a debilitating heatwave, with schools closed, trains cancelled and France even restricting the consumption of alcohol outdoors to take pressure off the emergency services. The high temperatures coincide with the coming El Niño, which some scientists have nicknamed Godzilla for its predicted strength. To find out whether the two are linked, Ian Sample hears from our Europe climate correspondent, Ajit Niranjan. He explains why it’s so hot, why we could be in for even worse and how we can keep as cool as possible. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod

Extreme heat: is the UK becoming a 40C country?

Sea ice is melting fast and worsening the climate crisis. But what if there were a way to thicken it again? Madeleine Finlay is joined by environment editor Damian Carrington to discuss a bold attempt to refreeze the Arctic which is showing early signs of success. He visited the project to find out how it will work, how much it will cost and whether it really has potential to improve the fate of the Arctic’s ice. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod

The audacious plan to refreeze the Arctic

The UK prime minister, Keir Starmer, has announced a social media ban for under-16s, as part of an online safety drive that aims to go even further than the world’s first ban, introduced by Australia last year. Many parents have welcomed the proposals, but scientists have pointed to the lack of strong evidence for the efficacy of bans, and some campaigners have argued that the proposal allows social media companies to avoid making meaningful changes on their platforms. Ian Sample is joined by co-host Madeleine Finlay to explore what the evidence indicates about the harms of social media and the impact of banning it outright. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod

Should we ban social media for under-16s?

A daily pill can double survival time in patients with the world’s deadliest cancer, according to the results of a clinical trial that experts are saying is a gamechanger and one of the biggest breakthroughs in decades. To find out more about how daraxonrasib works and how life-changing it could be for patients, Madeleine Finlay speaks to Prof Naureen Starling, consultant medical oncologist at the Royal Marsden hospital. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod

‘The undruggable became druggable’: a gamechanging treatment for the world’s deadliest cancer

While many dinosaurs were wiped out when a colossal asteroid struck Earth 66m years ago, one group survived: birds. Prof Steve Brusatte, a palaeontologist at the University of Edinburgh, has written a new book, The Story of Birds, tracing the evolution of our feathered friends from their dinosaur origins. He joins science correspondent Nicola Davis to discuss how scales first became feathers, how winged dinosaurs survived the impact of the asteroid and why their extreme adaptability offers hope that birds might also make it through the current environmental crisis. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod

The dinosaurs who survived the asteroid

It’s just a week until the first whistle of the 2026 World Cup. To mark the occasion, Madeleine Finlay talks to Ian Sample about the science behind the tournament. It’s likely to be one of the hottest ever World Cups, and scientists have written to Fifa asking it to reconsider its heat mitigations for players and referees. Dr Oliver Gibson of Brunel University outlines their concerns. Also on the agenda is the huge fossil-fuel impact of the tournament, and the effect of VAR on the psychology of referees and fans. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod

Heatstroke, sports washing and VAR psychology: the science of the World Cup

Humans have been wondering why we sleep for thousands of years. Is sleep’s purpose rest and relaxation, memory consolidation or maybe cognitive processing? In the last 15 years, scientists have discovered another possible explanation – waste disposal. In 2012 neuroscientist Maiken Nedergaard’s lab discovered that the brain has its own cleaning process, the glymphatic system, which clears away unhelpful proteins and metabolic byproducts, and only switches on at night. Since that groundbreaking discovery we’ve learned more about what drives this system and, importantly, how it could be impacting dementia. To understand more, Ian Sample talks to Prof Nedergaard about how she made the original discovery and how subsequent work is building a picture of sleep as anything but a quiet and inactive state. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod

The incredible science of the sleeping brain

Last month at Beijing’s half marathon, a robot named Lightning beat the human world record by nearly seven minutes. It’s the latest in a string of AI-powered milestones that have got people wondering whether robots are about to enter our everyday lives, just as chatbots have. And the country leading the charge is China, where the government has pledged to invest more than £100bn in robotics over the next 20 years. To find out how robots are already entering the workforce, and what needs to happen to get them cleaning our homes and weeding our gardens, Ian Sample hears from the Guardian’s senior China correspondent, Amy Hawkins, and from Nathan Lepora, professor of robotics and AI at Bristol University, who researches how robots can achieve human-like dexterity. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod

The dinosaurs who survived the asteroid

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