Science Weekly

Global environment editor Jon Watts goes in search of answers to the question the journalist Dom Phillips was investigating when he was murdered: how to save the Amazon? In the final episode of this three-part series from June 2025, Jon encounters a radical new view of the Amazon’s history being uncovered by archaeologists. Far from an uninhabited wilderness, the rainforest has been shaped by indi...

Jon Watts, the Guardian’s global environment editor, goes in search of answers to the question the journalist Dom Phillips was investigating when he was murdered: how to save the Amazon? In episode two of this miniseries from June 2025, Jon meets the people trying to make sure the rainforest is worth more standing than cut down – from a government minister attempting to establish Brazil’s ‘bioecon...

Global environment editor Jon Watts goes in search of answers to the question the journalist Dom Phillips was investigating when he was murdered: how to save the Amazon? In episode one of this miniseries from June 2025, Jon explores what’s at stake if we fail to act in time. He hears about the crucial role of the rainforest for South America and the global climate, and asks how cattle ranching cam...

As global leaders and environmental activists descend on Brazil for next week’s Cop30 climate summit, Madeleine Finlay speaks to the Guardian’s global environment editor, Jon Watts, who recently sat down for an exclusive interview with the UN secretary general, António Guterres. As he approaches his penultimate summit as the UN chief, Guterres reflected on humanity’s progress in attempting to limi...

Science correspondent Nicola Davis investigates the strange story of Tam O’Braan and his attempts to grow tea in Scotland. In episode three, all of Tam’s lies come to a head and Stuart uncovers exactly where Tam was sourcing tea to supply to hotels and shops. At trial, Tam takes the stand and Richard and the Scottish growers finally get some answers. But what remains today of the nascent Scottish...

Science correspondent Nicola Davis investigates the strange story of Tam O’Braan and his attempts to grow tea in Scotland. In episode two, Nicola hears how Tam’s network of Scottish tea growers began to have suspicions about exactly what he was selling and where it came from, and how cutting edge science helped provide some answers. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/scienc...

Science correspondent Nicola Davis investigates the strange story of Tam O’Braan and his attempts to grow tea in Scotland. In episode one, Nicola looks back on her first meeting with Tam while working on a feature about tea plantations in the UK. He was selling his award-winning Scottish-grown tea to some of the UK’s finest hotels, but something didn’t quite add up. And Nicola wasn’t the only pers...

An electronic eye implant half the thickness of a human hair has helped people with incurable sight loss to see again, opening up a potential ‘new era’ in tackling blindness. Madeleine Finlay hears from Mahi Muqit, a surgeon from Moorfields eye hospital in London, about what this implant has meant for his patients and what the future could hold for vision-loss therapies. Help support our independe...

As biodiversity declines, locating and conserving the planet’s plant life is becoming more important. The Millennium seed bank in Wakehurst, West Sussex, has been doing just that for 25 years, collecting and storing seeds and keeping them in trust for countries all over the world should they ever be needed. To mark the anniversary, Patrick Greenfield took a tour of the site. He tells Madeleine Fin...

Celebrities including Bella Hadid, Justin Bieber and Miranda Hart have talked about their years-long struggles with the effects of Lyme disease, but despite rising rates and better awareness, the illness remains poorly understood. To understand more about how the illness can impact people over the long term, Madeleine Finlay hears from the Guardian’s Patrick Barkham about his daughter Milly’s expe...

The Traitors has returned to UK screens with its biggest viewing figures ever as 19 celebrities compete to be crowned the winner. The game depends on being able to accurately spot a liar, but are any deception detection methods actually backed up by science? Madeleine Finlay speaks to Timothy Luke, a senior lecturer in the department of applied psychology at the University of Gothenburg, to find o...

This year’s Nobel prizes in chemistry, physics and physiology or medicine have celebrated work that paves the way for the next generation of quantum technology, the creation of porous materials that have been compared to Hermione Granger’s handbag and the discovery of the hidden army inside us that helps to keep our immune system in check. To find out more, Madeleine Finlay talks to our science ed...

Kevin Hall spent 21 years at the US National Institutes of Health and became known globally for his pioneering work on ultra-processed foods. In April he unexpectedly took early retirement, citing censorship under the Trump administration. Now he has co-authored a book with the journalist Julia Belluz that aims to bust myths and challenge wellness orthodoxy on everything from weight loss and metab...

The renowned primatologist Jane Goodall has died aged 91. She will be remembered for her observations that revolutionised our understanding of chimpanzees, as well as her tireless environmental advocacy. Ian Sample talks to the Guardian’s global environment editor Jon Watts, who met Goodall several times, to find out what her scientific legacy will be. Help support our independent journalism at th...

Scientists are warning that academic publishing needs urgent reform in order to retain trust in the research system. Ian Sample tells Madeleine Finlay what has gone so wrong, and Dr Mark Hanson of the University of Exeter proposes some potential solutions. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod

The Ig Nobel prizes were awarded recently – for science that makes you laugh and then think – and the peace prize was given to a cheeky study testing the link between alcohol and language proficiency. Does a drink really help us to converse more convincingly in another tongue, or does it just give us inflated confidence? To find out, Madeleine Finlay speaks to a member of the winning team, Dr Frit...

In a televised press conference on Monday, Donald Trump and health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr made a series of unproven claims about autism and its links to paracetamol use in pregnant women, and about childhood vaccinations. The comments were immediately refuted by scientists and health agencies around the world, but many expressed concern about the impact of this misinformation being repeated...

A trial is under way to find out if a £100 blood test could transform the way that the NHS diagnoses Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s is the leading cause of dementia and diagnosis is currently costly and time-consuming. To find out how this blood test could benefit patients, Ian Sample talks to Prof Jonathan Schott, who is co-leading the trial. He explains what the test involves and why it could...

The murder of political activist Charlie Kirk has prompted fears about rising levels of political violence in the US after a number of high-profile assassinations and attempted assassinations of political figures in recent years. But how connected are these events and do they signal a rise in public support for this kind of violence? To find out Ian Sample speaks to Sean Westwood, an associate pro...

At a recent ceremony for world leaders in Beijing, a hot mic picked up a surprising exchange between Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping about the possibility of living to 150. Putin suggested the secret might lie in repeated organ transplants. But is this the new frontier of anti-ageing research or a fringe and unproven theory? To find out, science editor Ian Sample speaks to Russian affairs reporter P...

The fertility rate in England and Wales has fallen for the third year in a row – a trend mirrored across the world, with two-thirds of the global population now living in countries with below-replacement-level fertility. In the second episode of a two-part series, Madeleine Finlay speaks to Dean Spears, assistant professor of economics at the University of Texas at Austin, and Dr Jennifer Sciubba,...

The fertility rate in England and Wales has fallen for the third year in a row. It is a story that is being repeated all over the world, with two thirds of the global population now living in countries with below replacement level fertility. Low fertility rates have become a talking point on the political right, with Elon Musk claiming that population decline is an existential threat to the future...

Psychologists have traditionally believed we become less curious as we age, but recent research has shown that curiosity actually becomes more targeted and specific in our later years. To find out why this happens, and how maintaining broad curiosity into older age can help keep our brains young, Madeleine Finlay hears from Dr Mary Whatley, an assistant professor of psychology at Western Carolina...

It’s been a dramatic week at the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In the space of seven days, the agency’s head was sacked and replaced by an interim head, four senior staff members resigned, and existing staff took to the streets to express support for their ousted leaders. To understand how everything unfolded and what it could mean for the health of Americans, science editor...

There are increasing reports of people experiencing delusions after intensive use of AI chatbots. The phenomenon, dubbed ‘AI psychosis’, has raised concerns that features built into large language models may contribute to some users losing touch with reality. Madeleine Finlay speaks to Dr Hamilton Morrin, a psychiatrist and researcher at King’s College London, about his recent preprint exploring w...