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Discovery

BBC World Service

Explorations in the world of science.

science

All Episodes

26:30

The Life Scientific: Kevin Fong

Discovery ·

2025/11/10

There can't be many people in the world who've saved lives in hospital emergency rooms and also helped care for the wellbeing of astronauts in space – but Kevin Fong’s career has followed a singular path: from astrophysics and trauma medicine, to working with NASA, to becoming an Air Ambulance doctor.Kevin is a consultant anaesthetist and professor of public engagement and innovation at University College London. He’s worked on the front line in hospitals, dealing with major incidents and helping

26:28

The Life Scientific: Dame Pratibha Gai

Discovery ·

2025/11/03

Chemical reactions are the backbone of modern society: the energy we use, the medicines we take, our housing materials, even the foods we eat, are created by reacting different substances together. If we zoom in, it’s the atoms within these substances that rearrange themselves to give rise to new substances with the properties we need.However, chemical reactions are far from perfect. They're often inefficient and their waste products can be harmful to the environment. Getting to grips with what goes

26:29

The Life Scientific: Catherine Heymans

Discovery ·

2025/10/27

Have you ever considered the lighter side of dark matter?Comedy has proved an unexpectedly succesful way to engage people with science - as today's guest knows first-hand.Astrophysicist Catherine Heymans is a Professor at the University of Edinburgh and the current Astronomer Royal for Scotland. She’s spent her career studying dark matter and dark energy: the mysterious ingredients that make up an estimated 95% of our cosmos, but which we still know surprisingly little about. Using increasingly

26:28

The Life Scientific: Tim Coulson

Discovery ·

2025/10/20

As a young man, traveling in Africa, Tim Coulson - now Professor of Zoology at the University of Oxford - became seriously ill with malaria and was told a second bout would probably kill him. Aged only 20, this brush with his own mortality led him to promise himself he would write a complete guide to science: life, the universe and everything. His aim was to understand the existence of all living things - no mean feat!Over the course of a colourful career, Tim's work has taken him all over the

26:27

The Life Scientific: Brian Schmidt

Discovery ·

2025/10/13

Have you ever pondered the fact that the universe is expanding? And not only that, it's expanding at an increasing speed - meaning everything around us is getting further and further away? If that isolating thought makes you feel slightly panicked, don't worry: this programme also contains wine! Brian Schmidt is a Distinguished Professor of Astrophysics at the Australian National University, known for his work on supernovae: massive explosions that take place when stars come to the ends of their

26:29

The Life Scientific: Jane Goodall

Discovery ·

2025/10/06

The celebrated primatologist Jane Goodall died last week at the age of 91. In tribute, we’re re-sharing this interview from 2020, where she reflects on the years she spent living with the wild chimpanzees in Gombe in eastern Tanzania and why she believes the best way to bring about change is to ‘creep into people’s hearts’. Jane shot to fame when she appeared on the cover of National Geographic magazine in 1963 and appeared in a documentary film directed by Orson Welles. Her ground breaking

26:28

The Life Scientific: Jacqueline McKinley

Discovery ·

2025/09/29

How much information can you extract from a burnt fragment of human bone?Quite a lot, it turns out - not only about the individual, but also their broader lives and communities; and these are the stories unearthed by Jacqueline McKinley, a Principal Osteoarchaeologist with Wessex Archaeology.During her career, Jackie has analysed thousands of ancient burial sites across the British Isles, bringing to life the old traditions around death via often cremated human remains. She's also assisted criminal

26:29

The Life Scientific: Jonathan Shepherd

Discovery ·

2025/09/22

Surgeons often have to deal with the consequences of violent attacks - becoming all too familiar with patterns of public violence, and peaks around weekends, alcohol-infused events and occasions that bring together groups with conflicting ideals.Professor Jonathan Shepherd not only recognised the link between public violence and emergency hospital admissions, he actually did something about it.As a senior lecturer in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery in the early 1980s, Jonathan started looking into

26:28

The Life Scientific: Doyne Farmer

Discovery ·

2025/09/15

Doyne Farmer is something of a rebel. Back in the seventies, when he was a student, he walked into a casino in Las Vegas, sat down at a roulette table and beat the house. To anyone watching the wheel spin and the ball clatter to its final resting place, his choice of number would’ve looked like a lucky guess. But knowing the physics of the game and armed with the world’s first wearable computer, which he’d designed, a seemingly random win was actually somewhat predictable.Doyne is an American

26:30

The Life Scientific: Tori Herridge

Discovery ·

2025/09/08

Elephants are the largest living land mammal and today our planet is home to three species: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant.But a hundred thousand years ago, in the chilly depths of the Ice Age, multiple species of elephant roamed the earth: from dog-sized dwarf elephants to towering woolly mammoths.These gentle giants' evolutionary story and its parallels with that of humankind has long fascinated Dr Tori Herridge, a senior lecturer in evolutionary

26:29

The Life Scientific: Sir Magdi Yacoub

Discovery ·

2025/09/01

What does it take to earn the nickname, ‘The Leonardo da Vinci of heart surgery’?That's the moniker given to today's guest - a man who pioneered high-profile and often controversial procedures, but also helped drive huge medical progress; carrying out around 2,000 heart transplants and 400 dual heart-lung transplants during his 60-year career.Sir Magdi Yacoub is Emeritus Professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Imperial College London, and Director of Research at Harefield Hospital’s Magdi Yacoub

26:29

The Life Scientific: Claudia de Rham

Discovery ·

2025/08/25

Claudia de Rham has rather an unusual relationship with gravity.While she has spent her career exploring its fundamental nature, much of her free time has involved trying to defy it - from scuba diving in the Indian Ocean to piloting small aircraft over the Canadian waterfalls. Her ultimate ambition was to escape gravity’s clutches altogether and become an astronaut, a dream that was snatched away by an unlikely twist of fate.However, Claudia has no regrets - and says defying gravity for much of her

26:29

The Life Scientific: Neil Lawrence

Discovery ·

2025/08/18

When you think of Artificial Intelligence, does it inspire confidence, or concern?Although it's now generally accepted that this technology will play a major role in our future, a lot of conversations around AI and machine learning come back to the argument over us losing control and robots taking over.Happily, Neil Lawrence has a more optimistic view of the power of AI, and how we might navigate the potential pitfalls. Neil is the DeepMind Professor of Machine Learning at the University of

26:27

The Life Scientific: Liz Morris

Discovery ·

2025/08/11

A frozen, white world at the far-reaches of the globe, where you're surrounded by snow and silence, might sound rather appealing. Factor in temperatures that drop to -57°C and a few of us might be put off - but for glaciologist Liz Morris, that's very much her happy place.Liz is an Emeritus Associate at the University of Cambridge’s Scott Polar Research Institute, and was among the first British women scientists to work on the planet’s coldest continent, Antarctica. Over the course of her career,

26:29

The Life Scientific: Anthony Fauci

Discovery ·

2025/08/04

Welcome to a world where medicine meets politics: a space that brings together scientific research, government wrangling, public push-back and healthcare conspiracies…Dr Anthony Fauci was the Director of America’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases for nearly four decades, during which time he not only helped study, treat and prevent viruses such as HIV/AIDS and Covid-19; he also advised seven US Presidents, from Ronald Regan through to Joe Biden.Along the way, Tony Fauci's picked

26:28

Tooth and Claw: Praying Mantises

Discovery ·

2025/07/28

Investigating an insect known for eating its prey alive – including, at times, its own species - the praying mantis! With bulging eyes and a triangular head, this predator uses it specially adapted front legs to trap its prey. Able to predate animals of a size much larger than themselves, including birds, lizards and even fish, presenter Adam Hart hears about their cultural significance to human populations all around the world, as well as addressing their reputation for sexual cannibalism. We also

26:28

Tooth and Claw: Leopards

Discovery ·

2025/07/21

Investigating an elusive big cat known for its excellent tree climbing abilities - the leopard! This master of camouflage is found from the south of Africa to the far east of Asia – a spotted predator that stalks and ambushes its prey!Presenter Adam Hart will investigate their relationships with tigers and lions, as well as learning about a recent discovery that leopards each have their own unique roar. He’ll also discuss the future of the Arabian leopard and the potential for a reintroduction to

49:28

The Thirst for Water

Discovery ·

2025/07/19

On this episode of The Evidence, Claudia Hammond discusses all things hydration with a panel of experts. Where do our hydration guidelines come from? How do we determine the perfect amount of water we should drink? What are the issues with water access that people and populations face aroud the globe? And how will climate change affect the amount of water we need, and our access to it. In front of a live audience at the Wellcome Collection in London, Claudia discusses these questions and more with

26:28

Tooth and Claw: Harpy Eagles

Discovery ·

2025/07/14

Named after a beast from Greek mythology, the harpy eagle is widely considered to be the most powerful bird of prey due to its strong legs and huge talons. With a crown of feathers atop its head, and known for eating monkeys and sloths, this regal-looking raptor dominates the rainforest canopies across much of South and Central America. Presenter Adam Hart looks into the folklore and cultural importance of these imposing birds, as well as finding out why these apex predators of the treetops are

26:28

Tooth and Claw: Killer Whales

Discovery ·

2025/07/07

Investigating the black-and-white apex predator of the sea – the killer whale! Able to predate even great white sharks, this marine mammal is the largest member of the dolphin family. From tropical seas, to the Arctic and Antarctic, killer whales (or orcas) are found across the world. Living in family groups and often led by a post-menopausal matriarch, killer whales have passed on their hunting methods, which vary depending on which prey they specialise in hunting, through the generations.Presenter

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