The world, the universe and us

Weekly: Antimatter falls down; Virtual healthcare comes with a price; What’s causing Europe’s insect apocalypse?


Listen Later

#217

Antimatter is the counterpart to regular matter, but with an opposite electric charge, as well as other differences. So if it’s the opposite of normal matter, does it fall up instead of down? Studying antimatter is notoriously difficult, but scientists at CERN have scraped together just enough to take a closer look at its behaviour under gravity – their results are consistent with Albert Einstein’s predictions

With remote school and work during the covid-19 pandemic, it’s no wonder telehealth startups popped up all over the US. With telemedicine, you don’t even need to leave your house to get a prescription – medicine can be delivered straight to your door, a boon for people who live in remote areas or have other difficulties in accessing a doctor’s office. But does this convenience come at a price?

An “apocalypse” of declining insect populations was first reported in 2017 . But what is to blame? New research finds a culprit that’s neither habitat loss nor pesticides, but something potentially more fickle.

Move over cows, there’s a new ‘moo’ in town. It turns out crocodiles can moo too – African dwarf crocodiles to be exact. In an effort to monitor their populations remotely, scientists have been recording the surprising noises they make.

Plus: The best crater to set up a base on the Moon, why classroom therapy dogs are so helpful and how carrots became orange.

Hosts Christie Taylor and Chelsea Whyte discuss all of this with guests Alex Wilkins, Grace Wade, James Dinneen and Sofia Quaglia. To read more about these stories, visit newscientist.com.

Events and Links:

The Royal Institution’s exciting autumn season of public science talks is on. To book, visit www.rigb.org/

New Scientist Live tickets



Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

The world, the universe and usBy New Scientist

  • 4.4
  • 4.4
  • 4.4
  • 4.4
  • 4.4

4.4

90 ratings


More shows like The world, the universe and us

View all
More or Less: Behind the Stats by BBC Radio 4

More or Less: Behind the Stats

892 Listeners

In Our Time: Science by BBC Radio 4

In Our Time: Science

722 Listeners

Friday Night Comedy from BBC Radio 4 by BBC Radio 4

Friday Night Comedy from BBC Radio 4

2,120 Listeners

The Infinite Monkey Cage by BBC Radio 4

The Infinite Monkey Cage

1,916 Listeners

The Naked Scientists Podcast by The Naked Scientists

The Naked Scientists Podcast

615 Listeners

Ask the Naked Scientists by Dr Chris Smith

Ask the Naked Scientists

73 Listeners

Discovery by BBC World Service

Discovery

963 Listeners

BBC Inside Science by BBC Radio 4

BBC Inside Science

426 Listeners

Science Weekly by The Guardian

Science Weekly

415 Listeners

Curious Cases by BBC Radio 4

Curious Cases

814 Listeners

The Life Scientific by BBC Radio 4

The Life Scientific

244 Listeners

Science In Action by BBC World Service

Science In Action

346 Listeners

Unexpected Elements by BBC World Service

Unexpected Elements

355 Listeners

CrowdScience by BBC World Service

CrowdScience

483 Listeners

The Supermassive Podcast by The Royal Astronomical Society

The Supermassive Podcast

322 Listeners

New Scientist Escape Pod by New Scientist

New Scientist Escape Pod

1 Listeners

New Scientist Weekly by New Scientist

New Scientist Weekly

7 Listeners

New Scientist CultureLab by New Scientist

New Scientist CultureLab

6 Listeners

New Scientist Colab Podcasts by DMG Media

New Scientist Colab Podcasts

0 Listeners