In this episode, we’re looking at research from an interdisciplinary network named COSY, funded by the European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST) agency. 

Their workgroup researching ‘Confined systems in Astrochemistry’ is led by Professors Lauri Halonen from Helsinki University in Finland and Malgorzata Biczysko from Wroclaw University in Poland. They are engaged in laboratory and computational experiments on new molecules detected in the interstellar medium. 

Visit their site: https://cost-cosy.eu/

Storage plays an important role in managing global resources, from energy and water to carbon and data, shaping landscapes, supply chains, and environmental systems.

Sayd Randle from Singapore Management University investigates resource storage, examining its types—including stockpiling, warehousing, and containment—and their impacts on socio-economic and environmental systems. Her research highlights how storage is not just a logistical necessity but a key force in addressing modern challenges like climate change and resource sustainability.

Read the original research: doi.org/10.1111/gec3.12733

The directions of Chinese politics and economics echo restrictive practices that may hinder China’s technological and economic competitiveness.

Professor Yasheng Huang’s The Rise and Fall of the EAST has shaken perspectives outside academia. He focuses on how exams, autocracy, stability, and technology (EAST) have historically shaped China’s governance, impacting both prosperity and creativity.

Read more in Research Features

Read the book: yalebooks.co.uk/9780300274912/the-rise-and-fall-of-the-east

Comedian, performer, and writer Robin Ince has been asking questions about the world around him for as long as he can remember. 

Perhaps most famous for his radio show The Infinite Monkey Cage which he co-hosts on BBC Radio 4 with Professor Brian Cox, Ince has been bringing science to the masses in new and hilarious ways since the 90s. 

In this interview with our sister publication, Research Features, we discover what it's like performing 'science' at Glastonbury, why people may be frightened of science, and neurodivergence in STEM.

In this International Women’s Day episode, we chat to Professor Gene Feder OBE, Professor of Primary Care at the Centre for Academic Primary Care, Bristol Medical School, about the Healthcare Responding to Violence and Abuse (HERA) programme.

For the past five years, HERA has been co-developing and testing women-centered and culturally-appropriate domestic violence and abuse (DVA) healthcare interventions in low-and middle-income countries – Brazil, Nepal, occupied Palestinian territories and Sri Lanka – with an aim to improve the rates of identification and reporting of DVA, and create more effective healthcare responses.

Professor Feder talks about the co-development of care models specific to each country, the outcomes and surprising findings of the study to date – and what working on HERA means to him as a health researcher.

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The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Global Health Research Group was co-led by the University of Bristol and London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. The Group reported their findings and published a PolicyBristol report in 2024

Read more about HERA on the University of Bristol Centre for Academic Primary Care webpage and the University of Bristol News page.

Professor Feder is Director of VISION, a UK Prevention Research Partnership focused on violence prevention.

Humans are social creatures; we live in family groups, socialise with friends, and work with colleagues both in person and online. Yet, how many friends do you really have? 

Evolutionary psychologist Professor Robin Dunbar says it won’t be more than 150. Proposed in the 1990s, ‘Dunbar’s number’ puts a limit on the number of stable relationships humans can maintain at any given time, and his ‘social brain hypothesis’ suggests that brain size is directly related to social group size in mammals. In short, the bigger the group, the bigger the brain. 

In this interview with our sister publication, Research Outreach, we find out how Dunbar’s education moved from philosophy to psychology and how his research moved from primates to people, as well as why size matters when it comes to social groups and evolution.

Read more in Research Outreach 

Humanity is overwhelmed by planetary tragedies: climate crisis, widespread hunger, desertification, migrations, destruction of biodiversity, corruption and many more. They are out of control because they are too complex for common-sense approaches like analysis and committees.  

But now there are grounds for hope. Dr Alfredo del Valle’s method, ‘Participatory Innovation Praxis’, can make tragedies governable through new forms of social interaction, fostering ‘strong participation’ and ‘future-building communities’. It has saved thousands of lives and could positively impact millions globally. 

Read more in Research Features

Read the original research: doi.org/10.1016/j.socimp.2023.100004

In Switzerland, young adults face major challenges when transitioning from school to the workplace—especially those with special educational needs. How can peer support help them navigate career choices and build resilience?

Professors Claudia Schellenberg and Annette Krauss explore this question through the Empower Peers 4 Careers project, and examine how structured peer discussions can foster social-emotional skills, strengthen community, and support students’ career development.

Read the original research: doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.806103

In East Asia, high marriage rates coexist with some of the world’s lowest fertility rates. So, why are so few children born in these societies?  And  how is this related to the strongly embedded cultural and Confucianist influences?

Professors Sunha Myong, Jungjae Park, and Junjian Yi investigate the cultural and socioeconomic factors shaping these trends. Using a mathematical model, the team explore how deeply rooted social norms – like unequal childcare and stigma against out-of-wedlock births – impact fertility decisions. Importantly, they examine how shifts in gender roles and government policies could hold the key to reversing declining birth rates.

Read the original research: doi.org/10.1093/jeea/jvaa048

The knowledge gained during the COVID-19 pandemic and other health emergencies could prove invaluable for devising responses to and planning for future health crises.

Dr Landry Ndriko Mayigane and Dr Stella Chungong from the Health Security Preparedness Department of the World Health Organization’s Health Emergency Programme recently devised the ‘Nuggets’ of Knowledge (NoK) platform, an open-source platform, to facilitate effective knowledge management and knowledge continuity during health emergencies.

Read more in Research Outreach

Read the original research: doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2024.1427223