When Science Finds a Way

Diseases like dengue, yellow fever and Zika claim over 700,000 lives a year. But a breakthrough from the most unlikely of places could be about to change all that. Travel to Colombia to see how Professor Scott O'Neill, founder of the World Mosquito Program, is using mosquitoes infected with a naturally occurring bacterium as part of a game changing approach that's revolutionising disease preventio...

More incredible stories of how scientists and communities are leading the charge against urgent health challenges. Join botanist-turned-Hollywood actor Alisha Wainwright as she explores groundbreaking research and pioneering innovations transforming the science of health. From traditional wildfire management approaches — rooted in Indigenous practices — to disease-preventing mosquitoes, pioneering...

**** We want to hear from you!  Our podcast is shaped by the people who listen to it. Please tell us a bit about your experience by filling out our short listener survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/SX6X8X3 **** Julia Gillard, the 27th Prime Minister of Australia and Chair of Wellcome, brings together three experts from Season 1 to delve into the key themes that have emerged and to explore the...

During the Covid-19 pandemic, the benefits of sequencing infectious disease pathogens became more visible than ever before. The possibilities are huge: genomic sequencing is allowing scientists to unlock the secrets of disease prevention, helping dispel myths and stigma around disease outbreaks as well as allowing governments to act in real-time with targeted and often low-cost interventions.   Al...

Poor mental health has always been associated with lower socio-economic status, but what if you turned the idea on its head and administered cash transfers as a mental health treatment in and of itself? The scientific research community has long grappled with the lack of major breakthroughs in the treatment of mental health disorders. So could cash transfers hold the key to coming up with a univer...

With rising temperatures and shifting climates imperilling our crops, the food chain – from planting to consumer – is under threat. This could lead to higher food prices, poor nutrition, hunger and migration. Alisha is in conversation with Professor Ruth Defries, a global expert in ecology and sustainable development, to discuss how the world has become reliant on a small number of crops such as c...

It may seem obvious that a lack of sleep can exacerbate poor mental health - whether a symptom,  cause or both, the two go hand in hand. But until very recently, there was little scientific research to back this idea up – and as a result, sleep treatments have been overlooked as a potential remedy for poor mental health. Prof Daniel Freeman is a clinical psychologist who's trying to change that. H...

When Danish geneticist , Professor Eske Willerslev led the team that sequenced the first ancient human genome in 2010, he opened up a world of research possibilities with global significance. But this potential comes with risk. Research into DNA from ancient remains can upend understandings of history and ancestry within living indigenous communities and violate cultural sensitivities.  On this ep...

Vaccines are formidable tools against infectious disease. But the success of a vaccine in one part of the world doesn't guarantee similar outcomes elsewhere. That's where human infection studies come in – where volunteers, closely monitored by researchers, receive a vaccine and are subsequently given a small dose of an infectious disease. This might sound worrying, but it is a quick and effective...

Around the world, roughly one billion people live in informal settlements – residential areas that fall outside the jurisdiction of governments. These communities live without traditional centralised sanitation and water systems. As a result, the settlements are vulnerable to extreme weather events like floods, which cause wastewater to spread through homes and lead to serious health issues.   As...

Psychosis is one of the most severe, and most stigmatised, mental health conditions. But what if technology could help us spot the signs early on? Could more accurate prediction help guide earlier intervention, to produce better outcomes for people at risk of psychosis? Alisha is in discussion with Professor Iris Sommer, a global leader in the psychosis field to examine exactly where the understan...

What can you learn from studying 40,000 people in one city? A UK study called Born In Bradford is doing just that, and it's a concept that could be applied around the world.  It began in 2007, tracking pregnant women, their children and families. Over the decades, the study has changed Bradford, impacting policy on education, early years development and even the environment. But it has also provid...

As the world gets hotter and hotter, so do we - and just like crops and wildlife, we're struggling to cope with what extreme heat does to our bodies. Every year temperatures reach new records, and the way we live, work and rest are changing to accommodate it.    Kathy Baughman McLeod, director of the Adrienne Arsht Rockefeller Foundation Resilience Centre and chair of the Extreme Heat Resilience A...

In the 1970s, when a heterosexual couple divorced, courts almost always awarded child custody to the mother, except in one scenario: when the mother had come out as a lesbian.    Professor Susan Golombok was determined to challenge these prejudices and to shine a light on the realities of same-sex parenting. She began studying a range of different family structures to build up a body of evidence w...

Since the discovery of penicillin in the early 20th century, we've seen the risk of minor infections virtually disappear. But after years of antibiotics being abused and overused, we now face a silent pandemic where the treatments we rely on no longer work.   The potential scale of antimicrobial resistance, or AMR, is staggering, and there is a lack of awareness of just how dangerous it could be. ...