Science Weekly

By The Guardian

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

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Why are food allergies on t...

06.01.2023

Food allergies appear to be increasing globally, but as scientific understanding improves, some experts believe we may one day be able to eliminate them altogether. Ian Sample speaks to Dr Kari Nadeau, an allergy specialist at Harvard School of Public ...

Science Weekly episodes:

06.01.2023 Why are food allergies on the rise and is a cure on the horizon? Food allergies appear to be increasing globally, but as scientific understanding improves, some experts believe we may one day be able to eliminate them altogether. Ian Sample speaks to Dr Kari Nadeau, an allergy specialist at Harvard School of Public ...
05.30.2023 Six months to Cop28: will the most vital summit yet make meaningful progress? Every year, the world’s leaders gather for the UN climate change conference. At Cop28, they will be faced with two stark warnings from scientists: we are likely to breach 1.5C warming above pre-industrial levels in the next five years, and ...
05.25.2023 Japanese knotweed: why is it so damaging and can it be stopped? Since it was introduced to the UK in 1850, Japanese knotweed has gone from novel ornamental plant to rampant invasive species. Madeleine Finlay speaks to journalist Samanth Subramanian about the huge costs associated with finding it on a property, and ...
05.23.2023 What will we eat in a post-1.5C world? We now know that global temperatures are likely to temporarily rise by more than 1.5C above pre-industrial levels in the next five years. Breaching this crucial threshold will give humanity an insight into what the next few decades could bring. ...
05.18.2023 Menopause: could a new brain-based treatment cure hot flushes? A first-of-its-kind non-hormonal drug to treat hot flushes has been approved in the US. Targeting connections in the brain that change during menopause, the drug, called fezolinetant, could provide relief for those who aren’t able to take hormonal replacement therapy. ...
05.16.2023 Is it the beginning of the end for scientific publishing? More than 40 leading scientists have resigned en masse from the editorial board of a top science journal in protest at what they describe as the ‘greed’ of the publisher. Ian Sample speaks to correspondent Hannah Devlin about the remarkably ...
05.11.2023 First UK baby born with DNA from three people: what happens next? The pioneering IVF procedure known as mitochondrial donation therapy (MDT) could prevent children from being born with devastating mitochondrial diseases. Madeleine Finlay speaks to Prof Darren Griffin, an expert in genetic diseases and reproduction, about how MDT works, the ethical ...
05.09.2023 Will psychedelic drugs transform mental health treatment? Psychedelic drugs have long been been used for their mind-altering effects. Now, they are making their way into western medicine as a treatment for mental health disorders. From July, psychiatrists in Australia will be able to prescribe MDMA for post-traumatic ...
05.04.2023 How AI is making non-invasive mind reading a reality For the first time, researchers have found a way to non-invasively translate a person’s thoughts into text. Using fMRI scans and an AI-based decoder trained on a precursor to ChatGPT, the system can reconstruct brain activity to interpret the gist ...
05.02.2023 Can cities help us fight climate change? As the planet warms, and intense heatwaves become the norm, our urban environments need a radical rethink to keep them habitable. So what do we want the cities of the future to look like? In the first of our special ...
04.27.2023 Europe’s ‘carbon bomb’ petrochemical plant: can it be stopped? The environmental law charity ClientEarth and 13 other groups headed into a Flemish court this week in an effort to stop Ineos building a petrochemical plant that would be the biggest project of its kind in Europe for 30 years. ...
04.25.2023 Why are black women four times more likely to die from childbirth? Experts and campaigners have been pointing out the racial disparities in maternal healthcare for years. The latest report to highlight the issue comes from the House of Commons women and equalities committee. MPs behind the report have condemned the government’s ...
04.20.2023 How did ultra-processed foods take over, and what are they doing to us? Sliced supermarket bread, ham, cheese, crisps, a fruit-flavoured yoghurt and a fizzy drink. If this sounds like a standard lunch, you’re not alone. The average person in the UK gets more than 50% of their calories from ultra-processed foods – ...
04.18.2023 Could virtual reality gaming help people overcome anxiety? Madeleine Finlay speaks to science correspondent Linda Geddes about trying out a virtual reality game that challenges you to keep your heart-rate down while facing a terrifying monster, why it could help with tackling anxiety, and whether the gamification of ...
04.13.2023 Juice Mission: why has the search for alien life moved to Jupiter’s moons? The European Space Agency’s long-awaited Juice Mission is about to blast off for Jupiter’s moons. Its goal: to find out whether the oceans below their icy surfaces could be capable of supporting life. Madeleine Finlay speaks to Dr Stuart Clark ...
04.11.2023 Should we ban artificial grass? Installing artificial grass is becoming an increasingly popular way to achieve a neat, green lawn without much effort. But with environmental and potential health costs associated with plastic turf many campaigners and gardeners would like to see it banned. Madeleine ...
04.05.2023 What’s feeding the 5,000-mile blob of seaweed growing in the Atlantic? A giant mass of seaweed is heading towards beaches in Mexico, Florida and the Caribbean, bringing with it toxic gases and a smell similar to rotting eggs. Visible from space, the Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt stretches from the coast of ...
04.04.2023 Why does the UK government want to ban laughing gas? The UK government recently announced plans to make the possession of laughing gas for recreational use a criminal offence. Nitrous oxide, also known as “nos”, is hugely popular among young people, and doctors have raised concerns about a rise in ...
03.30.2023 Glass beads full of water on the moon: what does the discovery mean for space exploration? More than half a century after humans last walked on the moon, researchers have made a discovery that makes lunar living an increasing possibility. The moon’s surface is littered with tiny glass beads containing water, which could be extracted and ...
03.28.2023 Could faecal transplants be the next frontier in health? Madeleine Finlay hears from science correspondent Linda Geddes about her experience becoming a faecal transplant donor, how getting a dose of someone else’s gut bacteria could treat illnesses like arthritis, diabetes and cancer, and asks whether a pill made from ...
03.23.2023 Three years on: are we any closer to understanding long Covid? Ian Sample hears from Scotland’s Astronomer Royal Catherine Heymans about her experience of long Covid and how it has impacted her life. He also speaks to Professor Danny Altmann, an immunologist at Imperial College London, about the current scientific understanding ...
03.21.2023 Willow Project: what could the ‘carbon bomb’ mean for the environment? Madeleine Finlay speaks to Guardian West Coast reporter Maanvi Singh about the Biden administration’s approval of a controversial new oil drilling project on Alaska’s North Slope. She also hears from Kristen Monsell, a senior attorney at the Center for Biological ...
03.16.2023 How will gene editing change medicine and who will benefit? Ian Sample speaks to Guardian science correspondent Hannah Devlin about the latest developments and debates about gene editing to emerge from a summit at the Francis Crick Institute in London. The summit heard from the first person with sickle cell ...
03.14.2023 The Last of Us: could the next pandemic be fungal? Madeleine Finlay speaks to Guardian science correspondent Linda Geddes about the possibility of a fungal pandemic like the one depicted in apocalyptic thriller The Last of Us. They discuss the strange world of fungi, the risks of infections and treatment ...
03.09.2023 Everything Everywhere All at Once: could the multiverse be real? The film Everything Everywhere All at Once has enjoyed critical acclaim and awards success. Ahead of the Oscars, where it’s tipped to sweep the board, Ian Sample speaks to theoretical physicist and philosopher Sean Carroll about why we seem to ...
03.07.2023 Matt Hancock’s messages: how scientifically literate should our politicians be? Ian Sample speaks to mathematical biologist Kit Yates about what Matt Hancock’s leaked WhatsApp messages reveal about scientific understanding at the heart of government during the pandemic, and what should be done to prepare for the future. Help support our ...
03.02.2023 What should we do about the rise in children vaping? Madeleine Finlay speaks to former Guardian health editor Sarah Boseley about the rise in vaping among under-18s and what can be done to discourage more children from taking up the habit. She also hears from Prof Linda Bauld about the ...
02.28.2023 What are ‘forever chemicals’ and why are they causing alarm? Madeleine Finlay speaks to environmental journalist Rachel Salvidge about PFAS, also known as ‘forever chemicals’, which have been found at high levels at thousands of sites across the UK and Europe. Rachel explains what they are, how harmful they can ...
02.23.2023 15-minute cities: mundane planning concept or global conspiracy? Madeleine Finlay speaks to the Guardian’s architecture and design critic, Oliver Wainwright, about why the relatively obscure concept of the 15-minute city has become a magnet for conspiracy theories in recent weeks. And hears from Dr Richard Dunning about how ...
02.21.2023 Are weight loss injections the solution to the obesity crisis? Ian Sample speaks to Guardian science correspondent Nicola Davis about the news that Wegovy, an appetite suppressant popular with celebrities in the US, will soon be sold at UK pharmacies. It’s a prescription drug aimed at helping people with obesity ...
02.16.2023 Online misogyny: what impact is it having on children? According to new research by the children’s commissioner for England, one in 10 children have watched pornography by the time they are nine years old. And teachers say the effects are being felt in schools. So what makes young people ...
02.14.2023 Antibiotic resistance: where do we go next? Climate change and pollution are the latest factors contributing to a global rise in antibiotic-resistant superbugs, according to a report from the UN environment agency. Given that no new class of antibiotics has been discovered since the 1980s, what are ...
02.09.2023 What can we really learn from home blood testing kits? Companies selling private blood tests offer customers a way to check their health – from measuring cholesterol levels to thyroid hormones – from the comfort of their home. But what happens if there’s an abnormal result? Madeleine Finlay speaks to ...
02.07.2023 How has the Russia-Ukraine war disrupted science? As we approach the anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Ian Sample talks to physicist Prof John Ellis, and Arctic governance expert Svein Vigeland Rottem, about how the world of science has had to adapt. Help support our independent journalism ...
02.02.2023 Can we restore England’s lost wildlife? This week the government published a major environmental improvement plan for England. It has pledged that every household will be within a 15-minute walk of green space or water, the restoration of 1.2m acres of wildlife habitat, and that sewage ...
01.31.2023 How to spot the exotic green comet (and what might get in the way) This week star gazers will be hoping to catch sight of an exotic green comet that last passed by Earth 50,000 years ago. But, unlike the view our Neanderthal ancestors would have had, light pollution will make witnessing this celestial ...
01.26.2023 How will ChatGPT transform creative work? ChatGPT has been causing a stir since its launch last year. The chatbot’s ability to produce convincing essays, stories and even song lyrics has impressed users, and this week attracted a multibillion-dollar investment from Microsoft. Ian Sample speaks to Prof ...
01.24.2023 Overcoming burnout: a psychologist’s guide Last week, New Zealand’s prime minister Jacinda Ardern announced her resignation, saying that she “no longer had enough in the tank” to do the role justice. Madeleine Finlay speaks to cognitive scientist Prof Laurie Santos about the symptoms of burnout, ...
01.19.2023 Could the return of El Niño in 2023 take us above 1.5C of warming? Scientists have predicted the return of the El Niño climate phenomenon later this year. Its arrival will result in even higher global temperatures and supercharged extreme weather events. Ian Sample speaks to environment editor Damian Carrington about what we can ...
01.17.2023 What’s the reality behind the ‘Love Island smile’? As the ninth series of ITV show Love Island kicked off yesterday, viewers may have noticed contestants’ perfectly straight, white teeth. But are there risks associated with achieving a flawless smile? Madeleine Finlay speaks to dentist Paul Woodhouse about some ...
01.12.2023 How did we save the ozone layer? A UN report has found the Earth’s ozone layer is on course to be healed within the next 40 years. What was once humanity’s most feared environmental peril is now an example of how the world can take collective action. ...
01.10.2023 Our science predictions for 2023 Last year saw several major science breakthroughs – from the first time a nuclear fusion experiment produced more energy than it used, to Nasa smashing a spacecraft into an asteroid in a mission that demonstrated the possibility of redirecting any ...
01.05.2023 Best of 2022: James Webb space telescope – thousands of galaxies in a grain of sand When Nasa unveiled the first images from the long-awaited James Webb space telescope, they revealed our universe in glorious technicolour. The $10bn space science observatory will help scientists answer fundamental questions in astronomy and look back to the dawn of ...
01.03.2023 Best of 2022: Why aren’t women being diagnosed with ADHD? It’s estimated that 1 million women in the UK could have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder – but according to the ADHD Foundation, 50% to 75% of them do not know they have it. So why are women being left behind? ...
12.29.2022 Are we finally nearing a treatment for Alzheimer’s? Back in November, researchers hailed the dawn of a new era of Alzheimer’s therapies. After decades of failure, a clinical trial finally confirmed that a drug, lecanemab, was able to slow cognitive decline in patients with early stages of the ...
12.27.2022 Exploded heads and missing fingers: Dame Sue Black on her most memorable cases From a fragment of skull in a washing machine to a finger bone found by a dog walker, the forensic anthropologist Prof Dame Sue Black has helped solve many strange and mysterious cases. This year, she will be giving the ...
12.22.2022 The science of how to give better gifts As Christmas approaches, many of us will have spent the last few weeks trying to pick out the perfect presents for friends, family and colleagues. For both giver and receiver, exchanging gifts can be filled with delight – or dread, ...
12.20.2022 What does Cop15’s buzzword ‘nature positive’ mean? A historic deal has been struck at the UN’s biodiversity conference, Cop15, which will set a course for nature recovery from now until 2050, including a target to protect 30% of the planet for nature by the end of the ...
12.15.2022 ‘Nothing is impossible’: the major breakthrough in nuclear fusion This week, researchers at the US National Ignition Facility in California achieved a major breakthrough in nuclear fusion. For the first time, humans have harnessed the process that powers the stars to generate more energy from a fusion reaction than ...
12.13.2022 Will Cop15 tackle the growing problem of invasive species? Invasive non-native species are on the rise around the world and, despite efforts to tackle the issue, their numbers are higher than ever. They have become one of the key driving forces behind biodiversity loss, posing an even greater threat ...

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Science Weekly

What's Science Weekly about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

Science Weekly episodes:

Why are food allergies on the rise and is a cure on the horizon?

Six months to Cop28: will the most vital summit yet make meaningful progress?

Japanese knotweed: why is it so damaging and can it be stopped?

What will we eat in a post-1.5C world?

Menopause: could a new brain-based treatment cure hot flushes?

Is it the beginning of the end for scientific publishing?

First UK baby born with DNA from three people: what happens next?

Will psychedelic drugs transform mental health treatment?

How AI is making non-invasive mind reading a reality

Can cities help us fight climate change?

Europe’s ‘carbon bomb’ petrochemical plant: can it be stopped?

Why are black women four times more likely to die from childbirth?

How did ultra-processed foods take over, and what are they doing to us?

Could virtual reality gaming help people overcome anxiety?

Juice Mission: why has the search for alien life moved to Jupiter’s moons?

Should we ban artificial grass?

What’s feeding the 5,000-mile blob of seaweed growing in the Atlantic?

Why does the UK government want to ban laughing gas?

Glass beads full of water on the moon: what does the discovery mean for space exploration?

Could faecal transplants be the next frontier in health?

Three years on: are we any closer to understanding long Covid?

Willow Project: what could the ‘carbon bomb’ mean for the environment?

How will gene editing change medicine and who will benefit?

The Last of Us: could the next pandemic be fungal?

Everything Everywhere All at Once: could the multiverse be real?

Matt Hancock’s messages: how scientifically literate should our politicians be?

What should we do about the rise in children vaping?

What are ‘forever chemicals’ and why are they causing alarm?

15-minute cities: mundane planning concept or global conspiracy?

Are weight loss injections the solution to the obesity crisis?

Online misogyny: what impact is it having on children?

Antibiotic resistance: where do we go next?

What can we really learn from home blood testing kits?

How has the Russia-Ukraine war disrupted science?

Can we restore England’s lost wildlife?

How to spot the exotic green comet (and what might get in the way)

How will ChatGPT transform creative work?

Overcoming burnout: a psychologist’s guide

Could the return of El Niño in 2023 take us above 1.5C of warming?

What’s the reality behind the ‘Love Island smile’?

How did we save the ozone layer?

Our science predictions for 2023

Best of 2022: James Webb space telescope – thousands of galaxies in a grain of sand

Best of 2022: Why aren’t women being diagnosed with ADHD?

Are we finally nearing a treatment for Alzheimer’s?

Exploded heads and missing fingers: Dame Sue Black on her most memorable cases

The science of how to give better gifts

What does Cop15’s buzzword ‘nature positive’ mean?

‘Nothing is impossible’: the major breakthrough in nuclear fusion

Will Cop15 tackle the growing problem of invasive species?