Bbc Inside Science

As the long-awaited final report into Grenfell Tower is made public, we look at the cladding that has been at the centre of the story for seven years. We ask Richard Hull, an expert in chemistry and fire science who’s been following the story, why it was used in the first place and what made it so dangerous. Also this week, the neuroscience of the Oasis queue, the technology powering Paralympic athletes and strange sounds from space... Presenter: Victoria Gill Producers: Sophie Ormiston, Ella Hubber & Gerry Holt Editor: Martin Smith Studio Manager: Emily Preston Production Co-ordinator: Andrew Rhys Lewis

The Royal Society recently announced the shortlist for their annual Science Book Prize – and nominated is science writer and journalist Tom Chivers, author of the book Everything is Predictable. He tells us how statistics impact every aspect of our lives, and joins Marnie as a studio guest throughout the show.A drug – lecanemab – that can slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease has recently been approved for use in the UK, but the healthcare regulator NICE has said that it won’t be available on the NHS. But what is behind this decision, and what makes creating an Alzheimer’s drug so difficult? Professor Tara Spires-Jones from the University of Edinburgh talks us through the science.And could ‘smart paint’ supersize our fruit and veg? Reporter Roland Pease heads over to the experimental greenhouses of Cranfield University’s crop science unit to see if the technology works.Thee Paralympic Games are now underway in Paris, with athletes competing across 22 different events. But as competitors have a range of

We try some cricket tacos and ask what role insects might play in our future diets, in a special programme with a live audience at Green Man Festival in the Bannau Brycheiniog National Park in Wales. Our panellists: Peter Smithers, an entomologist and fellow of the Royal Entomological Society Aaron Thomas, co-founder of Yum Bug, which makes meat out of crickets Dr Emily Porter, a dietician and gut health specialist for the NHS and The Gut Health Clinic What else should we explore – and where else should we visit? Send your suggestions to insidescience@bbc.co.uk Presenter: Marnie Chesterton Producer: Gerry Holt Editor: Martin Smith Sound manager: Mike Cox Production Co-ordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth

The Ealing Beaver Project has found success as two new beaver kits have been born in a park in London after being reintroduced last October. Marnie visits the site to learn more about the benefits they bring - but beavers are just a drop in the river of urban rewilding. We find out what the practicalities and pitfalls of letting nature take back space in our cities are.Do you feel like your dog is watching you? You're probably right. Zoologist and broadcaster Jules Howard ponders on the human-watching acuity of our beloved pets.And our guts are not the only places where bacterial communities thrive, new research tells us that our microwaves also have a microbiome. Should we be worried?Presenter: Marnie Chesterton Producers: Ella Hubber, Sophie Ormiston and Gerry Holt Editor: Martin Smith Production Co-ordinators: Jana Bennett-Holesworth and Andrew Rhys Lewis

Today we will be going for gold in more ways than one. Inga Doak, the Head of Sustainability at The Royal Mint, reveals how the company plan to ‘urban mine’ gold from household electronic waste and turn it into jewellery. But with tens of millions of tonnes of e-waste piling up every year, the environment policy adviser at the Royal Society of Chemistry, Izzi Monk unpacks how the UK can clean up its act. Vic puts her stable boots on to visit some very pampered thoroughbred foals to find out what their poo can reveal about their future success on the racecourse. From horses to humanity, sports geneticist Alun Williams discusses how our genetic make-up could determine whether or not we are destined for gold at the Olympics. Plus, Roland Pease channels his inner child to investigate his youthful obsession with Mars as NASA looks for new microbial life on the red planet. Presenter: Victoria Gill Producers: Ben Mitchell and Ella Hubber Editor: Martin Smith Production Co-ordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth

Space junk. It might sound like an out-of-this-world problem that we don’t need to worry about here on Earth – but is it? As we send more and more metal in the form of satellites up into space, scientists are warning it is becoming more of a risk both here – and up there. We dig into the problem and what’s being done to clean it up. Also this week, we answer a listener question about oceans and their influence on global temperatures, and we ponder the use – and sometimes abuse – of scientific language. And with the Paris Olympics well under way, how much does sex affect sporting performance? Presenter: Victoria Gill Producers: Ella Hubber & Gerry Holt Editor: Martin Smith Production Co-ordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth

CERN’s plans to build a bigger, faster particle collider, with a hefty 17 billion Euro price tag, are in question. Physicists Andrew Pontzen and Harry Cliff discuss if the new machine is really worth it. A place on the podium or disappointment in the Olympics can come down to the precise position of a foot or angle of the hips. Science reporter Ella Hubber visits the University of Bath to check out the motion capture tech that makes these measurements. New research suggests our close cousins, the chimpanzees, chat just as fast as humans. Professor Cat Hobaiter from the University of St Andrews tells us what chimp chats can teach us about the evolution of language. 75 years after making a groundbreaking discovery, Rosemary Fowler has finally been awarded with an honorary doctorate. University of Bristol chancellor, Sir Paul Nurse, shares how important it is to celebrate and recognise Rosemary’s achievements.Presenter: Victoria Gill Producers: Ella Hubber and Sophie Ormiston Editor: Martin Smith Productio

Antarctica is a 'natural reserve, devoted to peace and science' - that’s according to an international treaty. But with visitor numbers at a record high, how does tourism fit into that – and what kind of impact is it having on its fragile ecosystem? We discuss whether tourists – and even scientists – should be allowed to go at all. Swimming in the Seine has been banned for more than a century because of pollution concerns. The main culprit? Human waste. We find out if it really will be safe in time. And every summer we ready ourselves for 'flying ant day' – that one day where winged ants take to the skies across Britain. Or do they? Presenter: Victoria Gill Producers: Sophie Ormiston, Ella Hubber and Gerry Holt Editor: Martin Smith Production Co-ordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth

We visit Wimbledon’s iconic Centre Court... but we’re not interested in the tennis, we want to know all about the grass. Just how important is science to cultivating the perfect playing surface? Also this week, we discuss the aims and ethics of human stem-cell-based embryo models in research after a new code of practice for the UK made headlines. And we answer a listener question about whether white paint could help tackle climate change. Send your burning science questions to insidescience@bbc.co.uk. Presenter: Marnie Chesterton Producers: Ella Hubber, Sophie Ormiston & Gerry Holt Editor: Colin Paterson Production Co-ordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth

It’s election time but over here in Science Land, we’re heading off to the seaside for our summer special. We chat seagulls with Professor Paul Graham on Brighton beach and find out why they are so misunderstood - from what we call them to why they pinch our chips. We bust some sun safety myths with dermatologist Dr Jess Felton and find out why ice cream is such a chemical marvel with chef Terri Mercieca. And we join in the festivities at the Royal Society’s Summer Science Exhibition. Presenter: Marnie Chesterton Producers: Sophie Ormiston, Ella Hubber & Gerry Holt Editor: Colin Paterson Production Co-ordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth

As another week of disruptive Just Stop Oil protests grabs media attention, sociologist Dana Fisher discusses which actions might help a cause - and which could harm it.Japanese scientists have developed artificial skin for robots made from real human cells. Inside Science producer Dr Ella Hubber digs into the uncanny invention. Inside Science reporter Patrick Hughes goes on the trail of methane emissions from landfills. And, as a heatwave smothers the UK, physiologist Damian Bailey helps us figure out what the perfect temperature for a human is. Presenter: Marnie Chesterton Producers: Ella Hubber, Gerry Holt, Sophie Ormiston Editor: Martin Smith Production Co-ordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth

Taylor Swift fans danced so hard they made the ground shake at her recent Edinburgh gig so this week we’re meeting Earth Scientists Emma Greenough and James Panton to measure the Cardiff show - and explain some Swiftie Seismology. We’re joined by the BBC’s disinformation and social media correspondent Marianna Spring and Cardiff University's Professor Martin Innes to talk the science of tracking election disinformation on social media. What’s in the election manifestos? BBC science correspondent Pallab Ghosh explains all. And Marnie dashes to Kew Gardens to meet horticulturalist Solene Dequiret, hoping to be in time to see two very foul-smelling plants in very rare bloom. Nose pegs at the ready...Presenter: Marnie Chesterton Producers: Gerry Holt, Katie Tomsett & Ella Hubber Editor: Martin Smith Production Co-ordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth

Elon Musk’s implanted brain chip, Neuralink, is coming to the UK for clinical trials. Is controlling computers with our minds a future reality or is it all hype? Neuroscientists Dean Burnett and Christina Maher weigh in.Zoologist Jules Howard ponders the strange effects drugs in our sewage have on frogs from his garden pond. How do we measure the distance to distant galaxies? Astrophysicist Edward Gomez answers a listener's burning question. And a 101 on blood groups from Dr Lise Estcourt. Presenter: Marnie Chesterton Producers: Ella Hubber, Gerry Holt, Sophie Ormiston Editor: Martin Smith Production Co-ordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth BBC Inside Science is produced in collaboration with the Open University.

The looming danger of antibiotic resistance may have fallen out of the public consciousness but is still very much in the mind of those in public healthcare and research. As promising new research is published, the University of Birmingham’s Laura Piddock and GP Margaret McCartney get to the bottom of why antibiotic resistance is still so difficult to tackle. Marine biologist Helen Scales joins us in the studio to talk about her new book “What the Wild Sea Could Be” which uses changes in the Earth’s past to predict what we can expect to happen to our oceans in the coming years. Cosmologist Andrew Pontzen speculates on what happens in and around the extreme environment of a black hole as news of the first observations of the “plunging zone” comes to light. And as the EU head to ban smoky flavoured crisps we ask what the science behind this decision is with Food scientist Stuart Farrimond. Presenter: Marnie Chesterton Producers: Ella Hubber and Hannah Robins Researcher: Caitlin Kennedy Editor: Martin Smith

Guest presented by Liz Bonnin.We all instinctively know that sleep is incredibly important but science doesn’t actually have a satisfying answer for why we need to sleep. There are multiple theories, but now, new research from Imperial College London has suggested that the leading idea might actually be incorrect. Science journalist Ginny Smith explains.Nearly 80 years ago, one of the rarest elements in the world, promethium, was first discovered, but it’s properties have only now been revealed. Andrea Sella, Professor of Chemistry at University College London, tells us what this means.What’s the scariest animal on the planet? Lions, crocodiles, or maybe tigers might come to mind. Yet a recent study has found that animals around the globe fear our voices far more than sounds of any other predators. Professor Liana Zanette explains how her research could help conservation efforts.Finally, we answer one of your questions. Listener Mary Evans got in touch to ask: ‘do you think it's likely that people who are wid

Guest presented by Liz Bonnin. As the UK strives to achieve net zero by 2050, nuclear energy is looking more and more likely as a key player in reaching this goal. But it’s not just massive power plants like Hinkley point C - there’s are newer smaller reactors on the scene: small and micro modular reactors. 100 to 1000 times smaller than a conventional reactor, faster to build, and put together entirely in a factory before being shipped out, theoretically, anywhere: are micro modular reactors the future of nuclear energy or too good to be true? Dean of Engineering at the University of Liverpool, Eann Patterson, has just published a paper proposing a fleet of micro modular reactors to bear the burden of our energy load and he joins us to discuss the reality. What came first, the chicken or the egg? Science writer, broadcaster and now egg expert Jules Howard joins us to answer this age old question. His book Infinite Life tells the story of how the egg propelled evolution – whether it’s bird, insect, or mammal

Last week, a girl who was born deaf had her hearing restored following gene therapy. In the US, the first commercial gene therapy for sickle cell disease has just begun. And Great Ormond Street Hospital has found great success in their trials and a gene therapy for children lacking an immune system. Gene therapy is clearly having a moment. But how do these groundbreaking therapies actually work? And will they ever be truly accessible to everyone? Geneticist Professor Robin Lovell-Badge answers all. Also this week, atmospheric scientist Laura Wilcox answers an interesting listener question about the effect volcanoes can have on the weather and sticks around to dig into the connection between aerosols and weather in different regions. The exhibition “Bees: A Story of Survival” opened at the World Museum in Liverpool this month. Part of the show explains the how honeybees communicate through vibration. Physicist Martin Bencsik, who collected and studies these vibrations, plays us a few and explains their me

There has been increasing public outrage at raw sewage discharges into our rivers and seas, but new research at Lake Windermere suggests that treated sewage is as much to blame. Wastewater experts Simon Evans and Ali Morse get into the nitty gritty of sewage treatment and why it might be causing so many problems. Last week, the Sumatran orangutan Rakus made headlines when he was spotted by researchers treating a wound with a medicinal plant. A first for a wild animal. But he’s not the only animal to show self-medicating behaviour. Biologist and author of Wild Health, Cindy Engel, talks healing in the wild and what we can learn from the animals that do it. And it’s that time of year again: the Eurovision Song Contest. In fact, this year marks the 50th Anniversary since ABBA won the 1974 contest with the iconic track Waterloo. Psychology and behavioural researcher Harry Witchel tells us what gives songs at Eurovision a winning edge and tries to predict a winner based on his criteria. Presenter: Marnie Che

One year ago, the World Health Organisation declared that COVID-19 would no longer be categorised as a global health emergency. But the pandemic has left us with a new normal in all areas of our lives. From vaccine rollout to wastewater monitoring, we’re asking: how has COVID altered the scientific landscape? Marnie Chesterton is joined in the studio by Linda Geddes, science journalist, and Barbara Kasprzyk-Hordern, Professor in Environmental and Analytical Chemistry at the University of Bath, to discuss.Are ugly animals getting the short end of the conservation stick? Whilst a few beautiful creatures, like tigers and panda bears, get good marketing and attract the most conservation efforts, comedian and biologist Simon Watt argues that the endangered animals which are less pleasing to the eye are being forgotten.Also this week, we answer a listener’s question about the accuracy of using bug splats on cars to measure insect populations. Lead data analyst from the Kent Wildlife Trust, Lawrence Ball, gives us t

As the UN tries to get a global agreement on plastic waste we hear from two delegates at the conference in Ottawa; John Chweya, a Kenyan waste picker, and plastics scientist, Steve Fletcher, discuss the impacts of plastic pollution and the possible solutions. Taylor Swift’s new album, The Tortured Poets Department, exposes the pain a break up can cause. Heartbreak is a common theme in music and art – but what does science have to say about it? Florence Williams, science journalist and author of Heartbreak: A Personal and Scientific Journey, talks us through the research on what actually happens in our bodies when we go through a break-up. The nomadic Avar empire ruled over eastern and central Europe from the sixth to the ninth century but very little was known about them – until now. From studying ancient DNA, researchers have discovered a wealth of information about how the Avars lived. Dr Lara Cassidy, Assistant Professor in Genetics at Trinity College Dublin, explains the findings, and how it’s even possi