There are increasing reports of people experiencing delusions after intensive use of AI chatbots. The phenomenon, dubbed ‘AI psychosis’, has raised concerns that features built into large language models may contribute to some users losing touch with reality. Madeleine Finlay speaks to Dr Hamilton Morrin, a psychiatrist and researcher at King’s College London, about his recent preprint exploring who is at risk and how models could be made safer. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod

For more than a decade, scientists have been puzzling over what was causing billions of starfish to dissolve into piles of white goo. Sea star wasting disease has ravaged starfish populations, wiping out 90% of the once common sunflower sea star. Now, researchers have finally identified the culprit. Madeleine Finlay speaks to Dr Melanie Prentice, one of the team to crack the case. She explains the impact the disease has had on the marine environment, how they found the pathogen responsible, and what it means for sea stars’ recovery. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod

Scientists have found the first robust evidence that people’s genes affect their chances of developing myalgic encephalomyelitis or chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), a mysterious and debilitating illness that has been neglected and dismissed for decades by many in the medical community. To find out more, Madeleine Finlay speaks to science editor Ian Sample and to Nicky Proctor, who has ME and took part in the research. She also hears from Beth Pollack, a research scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who studies ME/CFS and related conditions, about how scientific understanding of the illness has improved and how scientists are transforming this knowledge into ideas about future treatments. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod

After three years of negotiating, talks over a global plastics treaty came to an end in Geneva last week with no agreement in place. So why has it been so difficult to get countries to agree to cut plastic production? Madeleine Finlay hears from Karen McVeigh, a senior reporter for Guardian Seascapes, about a particularly damaging form of plastic pollution causing devastation off the coast of Kerala, and where we go now that countries have failed to reach a deal. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod

Europe is suffering from another heatwave as deadly temperatures of up to 44C hit the continent and wildfires blazed across the Mediterranean. To find out why Europe is heating faster than anywhere else, Madeleine Finlay speaks to the Guardian’s Europe environment correspondent, Ajit Niranjan, and to Adam Taylor, professor of anatomy at Lancaster University, to find out how we can try to stay cool as the temperature rises. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod

For many of us, slathering on sunscreen to protect our skin in the summer months is a no-brainer. But recently social media has been awash with influencers airing their concerns about the potential dangers of this seemingly innocuous product. So is there anything to the claims that sunscreen is toxic? To find out, Madeleine Finlay is joined by the Guardian’s science editor, Ian Sample. He explains where the science stands on the safety of sunscreen and what we can do to protect our skin all year round. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod

It’s a mystery that has long puzzled researchers. Freud called the phenomenon infantile amnesia, and for many years scientists have wondered whether it’s a result of failure to create memories or just a failure to retrieve them. In this episode from March 2025, Ian Sample speaks to Nick Turk-Browne, a professor of psychology at Yale University, whose research appears to point to an answer. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod

Recently, a group of world-leading scientists called for a halt on research to create ‘mirror life’ microbes amid concerns that the synthetic organisms would present an ‘unprecedented risk’ to life on Earth. Ian Sample tells Madeleine Finlay about why this work initially seemed exciting for scientists and what the risks of it continuing could be. Kate Adamala, assistant professor of genetics, cell biology and development at the University of Minnesota, describes what made her change her mind about pursuing her own research on mirror cells. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod

In this episode from January 2025, Ian Sample speaks to Keon West, a professor of social psychology at the University of London, whose new book explores what science can reveal about racism, the inventive methods scientists have used to study it and the scientifically proven ways of tackling racism and discrimination. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod

In 2024, the Oxford English Dictionary announced its word of the year was ‘brain rot’. The term relates to the supposedly negative effects of consuming social media content, but it struck a chord more widely with many who feel they don’t have the mental capacity they once had. Gloria Mark, a professor of informatics at the University of California, Irvine, has been studying our waning attention spans for 20 years. In this episode from January 2025, she tells Madeleine Finlay why she believes our powers of concentration are not beyond rescue, and reveals her top tips for finding focus. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod