Science Of The Times

Your heart will beat between 2.5 and 3 billion times over the course of our life, and many of us will become ill, and potentially die, from heart disease. Our hearts are not only critical to each of us but have also played a key role in cultures across the globe for centuries. Tim and Syma talk to Robin Choudhury, a scientist trying to understand heart disease, a clinician who treats people with h...

In this episode Tim and Syma talk to Adrian Woolfson about his new book, “On the Future of Species: Authoring Life by Means of Artificial Biological Intelligence” in which he makes the case that we can now edit genomes and will soon be able to design new species. These could help humanity eliminate disease and feed the world. Link to book: https://amzn.eu/d/03pbwIWp If you are a business and would...

Badly behaving billionaires can spark scandals that help democracy thrive! Tim and Syma talk to Pepper Culpepper about his new book in which he argues that corporate scandals might just save democracy. Learn about how political science works, and how misbehaving billionaires can generate a backlash from the public with profound political consequences. Link to Peppers book - https://www.amazon.co.u...

Happy Christmas everybody! Syma and Tim discuss the science behind Christmas. From too much port to the way that reindeer survive in the cold, this is an episode not to miss. If you are a business and would like to take advantage and leverage the power of the fast growing podcast ad stream market, and in particular sponsoring 'Science Of The Times', please drop us a line - streamingspirespodcasts@...

Tim and Syma chat with Jamie Woodward, Professor of Physical Geography, at the University of Manchester about the history of our home planet. They cover 4.5 billion in 30 minutes, discussing snowball earths, the emergence of life, how earth shaped and vice versa, and a little on what the future might hold. Jamie’s new book “A little history of the earth” is published by Yale and is available from...

Tim and Syma chat with Henry Gee about his two most recent books “The Decline and Fall of the Human Empire: Why our Species is on the Edge of Extinction” and “A (Very) Short History of Life On Earth: 4.6 Billion Years in 12 Chapters”. We learn about giant lizards, the dinosaurs they evolved to become, and how we came to be, before discussing how it all might end. Will be it next week or thousands...

Chronic pain is a blight on the lives on many. Recent research has found genes associated with chronic pain, and this has led to the identification of a key protein, paving the way for the possibility of drugs to effectively treat it.  Tim and Syma are joined by Professor Simon Newstead and Professor David Bennet in this fascinating episode. If you are a business and would like to take advantage a...

Inside your stomach, on your skin, in your mouth, and up your nose are bacteria. They are abundant and they play a significant role in making you, you. Join Tim and Syma as they talk to Aura Raulo and Eveliina Hanski, two early career researcher who are fascinated by the microbiome and how it impacts everything from the food we choose to eat to our social relationships.  If you are a business and...

Synthesis: Quantum computing has been argued to be the next big thing in computing. But what exactly is it, and is the hype justified?  We talk to Professor Ian Walmsley who leads has recently been appointed as the head of Oxford Quantum Institute.  Due to a few quantum issues yet to be solved, we conduct the interview in 0 and 1s rather than qubits.  If you are a business and would like to take a...

Tim and Syma talk to Yossi Yovel who is bringing together the disparate disciplines of ecology and neuroscience to help understand how animals see the world and communicate. Much of his work has focused on bats, who use echolocation to paint a picture of the world. But he also talks about the noises that plants make, and how moths and other insects use those noises. There is a whole cachophony of...

Omar Yaghi is a chemist with an extraordinary vision. The pioneer of MOFs (metal organic frameworks) - materials built from the molecular equivalent of LEGO bricks. He tells Tim and Syma about his humble beginnings in a cramped room in Amman, Jordan- where the conditions were limited, but his vision certainly wasn’t.  A chance encounter with a chemical model building kit, set him on a pathway of d...

Syma and Tim talk to Professor Joan Strassmann about the social life of birds. We cover a range of topics she writes about in her excellent new book, including flocking, social roosting, mating together, and raising chicks in a commune. Learn about redshanks seeking safety in numbers to neotropical cuckoos building communal nests and then pushing out the eggs of other females.  Strassmann’s book i...

Tim and Syma talk to Professor Dora Biro  about animal behaviour and cognition. Want to know why your kitten behaves differently from you, or discover that chimps become less competent at using tools as they age? This is the podcast episode for you. You can read Dora’s recent paper on tool use in chimps here: https://elifesciences.org/articles/105411 Our sponsor for this episode is Grace and Garbo...

In this weeks episode, Tim and Syma get the run down on wasps, courtesy of Seirian Sumner , entomologist and behavioural ecologist. Will Syma now forgive the wasps, following a recent encounter? Seirian's book https://www.amazon.co.uk/Endless-Forms-Secret-World-Wasps/dp/0008394512/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0 Our sponsor for this episode is Grace and Garbo! Thank you. https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/Graceand...

Tim and Syma talk to Ray Pirrehumbert, author of Planetary Systems: A Very Short Introduction, about planets orbiting far away stars. They learn how these distant objects that we will never visit are detect, a little bit about a few of them, and how we might detect life on a far-away planet. If you are interested where aliens might live, this is the podcast episode for you. Ray's Book: https://glo...

Tim and Syma talk to Adam Becker about his stunning new book, "More Everything Forever". They explore how the philosophy of effective altruism aligns with flawed scientific ideas about how humanity can create super-intelligent AI before colonizing the galaxy. The philosophy is as flawed as the science. Your likes and subscriptions are really important for our growth. Please like and subscribe! Ada...

Tim and Syma talk to dinosaur expert, Roger Benson, from the American Museum of Natural History. They learn why there were no small dinosaurs, how the animals lived their lives, and why they are relevant today. Interested in #T.Rex #Diplodocus or #Velociraptor? This is the episode for you. Our sponsor for this episode is Grace and Garbo! Thank you. https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/GraceandGarbo 'At Gr...

Syma gives the second annual Ibn Sina lecture in Bradford City Hall.  The event was hosted by the Muslim Institute and the Lord Mayor of Bradford. She discusses her work on using computer simulations to understand how harmful bacteria protect themselves. It is important we understand how they do this, so we can thwart them with new antibiotics. To view the full vide go here: https://youtu.be/OlTE0...

In This episode Tim & Syma talk to Jonathan Amos - recently retired science correspondent at the BBC. Jon talks us through his fascinating journey falling in love science through exposure to it via journalism and then going to study it more formally. From setting up the BBC website to breaking some of the big science stories - Jon tells his story honestly and engagingly. Whether your interest...

Some biological  molecules can be left handed or right handed - the sugars that are found in nucleic acids are right handed, whereas 19 of the 20 amino acids that make up proteins are left handed. And intriguingly samples of amino acids found on meteorites such as those brought back from the OSIRIX-REx missing from Bennu were present in mixtures containing roughly equal amounts of the left and rig...

Migration is in the news continuously and everyone has an opinion. What does the science of migration reveal? Tim and Syma talk to Ian Goldin, an expert on the pros and cons of migration and migrants. Ian's book: http://oldstreetpublishing.co.uk/100/the-shortest-history-of-migration Do you have any questions you would like to ask Tim and Syma? Drop us a line: scienceofthetimespodcast@gmail.com Our...

This week Tim and Syma talk to Max Telford, author of The Tree of Life: Solving Science's Greatest Puzzle published by John Murray. They explore LUCA, penis worms, and other oddball species. Max's book 'The Tree Of Life' can be found here: https://www.hachette.co.uk/titles/max-telford/the-tree-of-life/9781399806374/ Do you have any questions you would like to ask Tim and Syma? Drop us a line: scie...

In our latest science explainer release Syma chats to David Pyle, world renowned volcanologist, about the recent Mount Etna eruption. 

In this episode Syma and Tim conduct a Q and A session for the many fantastic questions that have been hitting our email inbox over the last three months or so. They also review some of their favourite episodes so far. Do you have any questions you would like to ask? Drop us a line at: scienceofthetimespodcast@gmail.com Or leave a comment on our YouTube channel! Our sponsor for this episode is Gra...

Surely there is not much more to football than kicking a ball.?  Wrong, There is a whole science behind it. Professor Robbie Wilson explains his work in this area and even puts Tim and Syma through their paces in the park! Our sponsor for this episode is Grace and Garbo! Thank you. https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/GraceandGarbo 'At Grace and Garbo we are passionate about vintage knitwear. From classic...