Ellie Sans

The podcast examines Moltbook, a social media site designed for AI assistants to chat, compare experiences and discuss their human users. It explores whether reports of bots badmouthing humans and plotting an uprising indicate genuine artificial intelligence developments or merely reflect exaggerated interpretations of bot interactions, while considering what the phenomenon reveals about AI and human behavior.

Madeleine Finlay and Guardian science editor Ian Sample discuss research identifying four distinct types of thinker, an unprecedented US cyclosporiasis outbreak linked to two deaths, and funding cuts threatening Jodrell Bank Observatory and its Lovell Telescope. Artists, writers and scientists are urging the UK government to protect the world heritage site.

Madeleine Finlay and Guardian science editor Ian Sample discuss research identifying four distinct types of thinker, an unprecedented cyclosporiasis outbreak in the United States linked to two deaths, and funding cuts threatening Jodrell Bank and its iconic Lovell Telescope.

The first person has received an experimental gene therapy designed to make ageing retinal cells behave more like young cells and potentially improve vision. The treatment is part of an early trial focused on safety; if successful, it could support wider development of cellular-rejuvenation therapies. Madeleine Finlay discusses the research with Guardian science editor Ian Sample and cell biology professor Paul Knoepfler.

Britain has lost an estimated 73 million wild birds over the past 50 years because of habitat loss, pesticides, disease, cats and the climate crisis. The resulting decline can be hard for younger generations to recognize because of shifting baseline syndrome. Despite this, Gen Z is increasingly embracing birdwatching, helped by social media and the Merlin Bird ID app, as a way to reconnect with nature and take a break from digital scrolling. Madeleine Finlay explores the trend with writer Robert Macfarlane and RSPB youth council member Jess Painter.

A clinical trial suggests that the daily pill daraxonrasib can double survival time for patients with the world’s deadliest cancer. The podcast examines how the drug targets a protein long considered “undruggable,” and Madeleine Finlay discusses its potential impact with consultant medical oncologist Naureen Starling of the Royal Marsden. Experts describe the results as a major breakthrough in cancer treatment, though the findings come from a clinical trial and the treatment’s broader implications for patients remain to be established.

The podcast explores why humans sleep and how sleep may support more than rest, including memory consolidation, cognitive processing and the removal of waste from the brain. Neuroscientist Maiken Nedergaard discusses her laboratory’s 2012 discovery of the glymphatic system, a brain-cleaning process that becomes active at night, and subsequent research into how deep sleep and this system may be connected to dementia.

Ian Sample discusses the popularity of home red-light therapy devices with Madeleine Finlay and dermatologist Jonathan Kentley. They explain how red-light therapy may interact with skin collagen, examine claims that masks reduce wrinkles, redness and acne, and consider other potential benefits being investigated by scientists.

Madeleine Finlay and Ian Sample discuss three science stories: an update on hantavirus and warnings about possible additional cases, the Pentagon’s release of previously secret documents concerning UFO reports, and research linking participation in cultural activities with a slower pace of biological ageing.

Madeleine Finlay speaks with natural history writer Patrick Barkham to mark David Attenborough’s centenary. They discuss how the natural world has changed during Attenborough’s lifetime and how his television programming has increasingly highlighted the climate crisis, biodiversity loss and other threats to nature.

Madeleine Finlay and Guardian science editor Ian Sample discuss three science stories: the decline in the number of years people in the UK spend in good health compared with a decade ago, the science, technology and nutrition behind two runners attempting to break the two-hour threshold at the London Marathon, and research suggesting that boiler sounds may help explain why some old houses feel spooky.

Madeleine Finlay and Ian Sample discuss research suggesting that conversations about dull topics may be more enjoyable than people expect, the possibility of a particularly strong El Niño event bringing extreme weather, and a review of evidence on a new class of Alzheimer’s drugs once described as a game-changer for slowing disease progression.

Guinea worm disease cases fell to a record low of 10, but completely eradicating the parasite remains difficult. Ian Sample, Madeleine Finlay and tropical disease expert David Molyneux examine why guinea worm has resisted eradication efforts and whether it could become only the second human disease eliminated worldwide after smallpox.

The podcast examines the evidence behind the claimed mental and physical benefits of saunas and cold plunges as these practices become increasingly popular in the UK. Madeleine Finlay speaks with Guardian science journalist Ian Sample and Heather Massey of the University of Portsmouth’s extreme environments laboratory. The episode was amended to correct an inaccurate reference to Finnish fjords.

Scientists at CERN conducted a world-first experiment transporting antimatter in a carefully secured box moved by lorry across the campus. Madeleine Finlay discusses the milestone with Guardian science editor Ian Sample and CERN physicist Christian Smorra, explaining why antimatter is exceptionally expensive and volatile and what the journey demonstrated.

A meningitis outbreak among university and school students in Kent has killed two young people and left others seriously ill. Some cases have been identified as meningitis B. Madeleine Finlay discusses the outbreak, symptoms, transmission, groups most at risk and questions about access to the meningitis B vaccine with infectious-disease specialist Eliza Gil of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

Ian Sample and Madeleine Finlay discuss three science stories: research into the relationship between exercise and brain health, evidence that hedgehogs can hear high-frequency ultrasound and the possible use of ultrasound repellers to keep them off roads, and findings that biased AI autocomplete tools may influence users’ beliefs.

The podcast examines the changing scientific understanding of body fat, which was once viewed as inert tissue but is now recognized as a dynamic system that communicates with the rest of the body and may function as an organ. Ian Sample discusses the subject with Madeleine Finlay and Declan O’Regan, a professor of cardiovascular AI at Imperial College London, focusing on fat’s complex role in health and obesity.

Ian Sample and Madeleine Finlay investigate whether widely promoted magnesium supplements genuinely improve anxiety, sleep, brain fog and other aspects of health. Katherine Tucker explains magnesium’s role in the body and discusses the best ways to obtain enough of the nutrient, with the episode assessing popular online claims against scientific evidence.

Ian Sample and Madeleine Finlay discuss three science stories: research suggesting that positive thinking may improve the immune response to vaccines, the unexplained rise of scabies in the UK, and evidence that cows can use tools more effectively than previously believed, prompting a reassessment of bovine intelligence.