BBC Inside Science

Inside Science explores the science and maths of games: why we play them, how to win them and the rise of gamification in our lives - with a particular focus on The Traitors - in a special programme with a live audience at Green Man Festival in the Bannau Brycheiniog (Brecon Beacons) National Park. Presenter Victoria Gill looks into whether humans are innately programmed to play games with Gilly F...

This week, renewables overtake coal as the world’s biggest source of electricity. China is leading the renewable charge despite its global reputation as a coal burning polluter. Zulfiqar Khan, Visiting Professor at Bournemouth University and Tsinghua University in Beijing and Furong Li, Professor in the department of Electrical Engineering at the University of Bath explain what China is getting ri...

Scientists in the US have, for the first time, made early-stage human embryos by manipulating DNA taken from people's skin cells and then fertilising them with sperm. It’s hoped the technique could overcome infertility due to old age or disease. Marnie Chesterton is joined by Dr Geraldine Jowett from the University of Cambridge and Emily Jackson from the London School of Economics to discuss the s...

What do we know about the causes of autism? Laura Andreae, Professor of Developmental Neuroscience at King’s College London explains the science. It’s after President Trump made unproven claims the condition is linked to taking paracetamol in pregnancy. Tim O’Brien, Professor of Astrophysics at The University of Manchester and Associate Director of Jodrell Bank Centre, explains why NASA is plannin...

Swedish pole vaulter Armand Duplantis broke the sport’s world record again this week at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo. It’s the 14th consecutive time he’s broken the record. Professor of Sports Engineering at Sheffield Hallam University, Steve Haake, joins Victoria Gill to discuss this monumental feat of athleticism, and to explain the role physics and engineering play in Duplantis’s...

News broke this week that rocks picked up by NASA’s Perseverance rover on Mars may have found chemical signatures left by living organisms. With the search for life on the red planet capturing our imaginations for decades, Victoria Gill is joined by science journalist Jonathan Amos to look at what we know about the history of life on Mars, and what could be different about this discovery. As comme...

Sweet, caffeinated energy drinks are in the headlines again as the UK Government says it wants to ban under 16s from buying them. Some can contain the equivalent caffeine as 2 to 4 espressos. James Betts, Professor of Metabolic Physiology at the University of Bath, explains the science behind how caffeine affects the bodies of adults and children. Earthquake scientist Dr Judith Hubbard from Cornel...

Summer heatwaves and missed bin collections have created panic in the press that rat numbers in the UK are increasing. We ask Steve Belmain, Professor of Ecology at the Natural Resources Institute at the University of Greenwich for the science. This summer Wales became the first country in the UK to ban plastic in wet wipes, with the other nations pledging they will do the same. Over the past few...

As new research looks at the financial and environmental case for solar panels in space, we explore how likely the technology could be to power our future energy needs back on Earth. Marnie Chesterton hears from the author of a new study into the topic, Dr Wei He from King’s College London, and is joined by Professor Henry Snaith from Oxford University to look at the future of solar panel technolo...

What are you wearing today? What processes, chemical and otherwise, have gone into creating the garments in your wardrobe? And how might they be improved, honed, transformed in the future? Professor of Materials & Society at UCL, Mark Miodownik, Dr Jane Wood, Lecturer at the University of Manchester and expert in textile technology, and materials scientist, writer and presenter Dr Anna Ploszaj...

US Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr announced plans this week to cancel $500 million dollars of funding for mRNA vaccine development. The research was focusing on trying to counter viruses that cause diseases such as the flu and Covid-19.Marnie Chesterton is joined by Professor Anne Willis, Director of the MRC Toxicology Unit at the University of Cambridge, to explore the claims made by The US...

A massive 8.8 magnitude mega earthquake off Russia's east coast sent tsunami waves into Japan, Hawaii and the US west coast this week. While more than two million people across the Pacific were ordered to evacuate, there were no immediate reports of any fatalities. After recent devastating tsunamis like the ones that hit Fukushima in 2011 and the Boxing Day disaster of 2004, we speak to Environmen...

We discuss the incredible science of the animal kingdom, focusing on the latest fascinating research into animal culture, society and communication. Victoria Gill is joined by a panel of experts in front of a live audience at the Hay Festival to hear about their research all over the world into animal behaviour. Taking part are:Jemima Scrase, who is currently finishing her PhD at the University of...

After three UK heatwaves, we turn to science for solutions that could keep us safer, and cooler, in our homes. Professor of Zero Carbon Design at the University of Bath, David Coley, explains how our houses could be better designed to handle climate change. This week the UK Space Conference has come to Manchester. Victoria Gill is joined by Tim O’Brien, Professor of Astrophysics at the University...

Next month world leaders will again gather to focus on dealing with our global plastic problem. So this week we’re looking for solutions. Marnie Chesterton hears from Professor of Sustainable Chemical Engineering at the University of Sheffield, Rachael Rothman on how we can engineer safer, more environmentally friendly plastics. And at the other end of the plastic spectrum, she hears about the cle...

A microscopic water flea that could help monitor our waterways for pollution, turning both quantum circuits and facial expressions into music, and how animals use vibrations to sense the world around them. These are some of the cutting edge research projects being presented at the Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition in London. Victoria Gill is joined by Caroline Steel for a special episode fro...

All eyes have been on three of Iran’s nuclear facilities this week. The targets of an attack on Saturday by the United States. Marnie Chesterton asks Professor Simon Middleburgh, nuclear materials scientist at the Nuclear Futures Institute at Bangor University what the impact could have been. As the first images are revealed from the world’s most powerful optical telescope, Professor Chris Lintott...

As a new warning is released by scientists that trying to offset our carbon emissions by planting trees alone won’t work, we investigate the role the Earth’s forests are playing in the fight against climate change. Marnie Chesterton is joined by Mark Maslin, Professor of Earth System Science at University College London, to help answer our top five questions about trees and CO2. We also speak to s...

How do you plan for the scientific discoveries of the future? That’s the question Chancellor Rachel Reeves had to try to answer with this week’s Spending Review. She allocated more than 22 billion pounds a year by 2029/30 for research and development which was described as a boost for science. Robin Bisson, UK News Editor for news website Research Professional News, and Dr Alicia Greated, Executiv...

More than 2,000 marine scientists have come together at the One Ocean Science Congress in Nice, France. It is a gathering that will bring marine experts from all over the world together to share the latest discoveries about the health of our seas and oceans. It is an issue at the centre of the world’s attention, because from 9th June, leaders and negotiators from 200 countries will arrive in Nice...

We’ve been rummaging through the Inside Science mailbox to pick out a selection of the intriguing science questions you’ve been sending in, and assembled an expert panel to try to answer them. Marnie Chesterton is joined by Penny Sarchet, managing editor of New Scientist, Mark Maslin, Professor of Earth System Science at University College London, and Catherine Heymans, Astronomer Royal for Scotla...

The World Health Organisation has agreed a treaty looking at tackling the issue of future pandemics. It’s hoped it will help to avoid some of the disorganisation and competition for resources like vaccines and personal protective equipment that were seen during the Covid-19 outbreak. Victoria Gill speaks to global health journalist Andrew Green from the World Health Assembly in Geneva to ask if th...

40 years ago scientists in Antarctica discovered a hole in the Ozone layer. The world acted quickly, phasing out harmful CFCs or chlorofluorocarbons. Evidence suggests the hole has been getting smaller. But in 2025, there are new pollutants threatening to slow progress. Eloise Marais is Professor of Atmospheric Chemistry and Air Quality at University College London and tells Victoria Gill about he...

It’s often said we know more about the surface of the Moon than we do about the Earth’s deep sea, and a new study is backing that up. Research from the Ocean Discovery League says just 0.001% of the world’s deep seafloor has ever been seen by humans. We speak to lead author and deep sea explorer Dr Katy Croff Bell and marine biologist Dr Anna Gebruk from the University of Edinburgh, to ask whether...

Severe power cuts hit Spain, Portugal and parts of France this week, cutting the lights and stopping flights, trains, and ATM machines in their tracks. The Spanish grid operator has said it’s ruled out a cyber-attack, but the reason behind what happened is still unclear. We speak to Keith Bell, Professor of Electronic and Electrical Engineering at the University of Strathclyde, and David Brayshaw,...