IoT devices like smart speakers and networked heating controls are increasingly being used by perpetrators of domestic violence – for instance by changing the temperature the heating is set to or the music that the victim listens too, remotely. This programme is available NOW OnDemand at the Digital Planet Page and is available now until Wednesday 1st…
Dreams and Nightmares this week on Discovery as biologist Matthew Cobb presents the first episode in a series which looks at the 50-year history of genetic engineering, from the concerns around the first attempts at combining the DNA of one organism with the genes of another in 1971 to today’s gene-editing technique known as CRISPR….
The political message from the COP 26 meeting was a fudge over coal, but what does the science say? Surprisingly India seems to be on track to switch away from coal to renewables. This week’s show is available to hear On Demand now, and on-air Sunday 21 st November at 9:00 AM BBC Science in Action. We…
Learn about Loy Krathong If you’ll be in Thailand this November there’s one festival you shouldn’t miss. Loy Krathong – the festival of lights – is held every year in Thailand, along with parts of Laos and Myanmar. Next to the new year festival of Song Kran, it’s one of the most well-known Thai festivals….
New research on how some people had Covid protection before the pandemic correct they had a level of Covid immunity before the pandemic started. This programme is available on the Health Check Page and is available now until Wednesday 24th November. It will also broadcast on Sunday 21st of November in Phuket at 8:00 AM on 91.5…
TikTok School challenge It’s November so school children in the US are being encouraged to “Kiss your friend’s girlfriend at school”. In September the TikTok school challenge suggested they “Vandalize the restroom”. These are just two of the examples that schools in the US have been dealing with following a call on TikTok to pupils….
Coral reefs are some of the most diverse ecosystems in the world, and also some of the noisiest. Up close, a healthy reef teems with trills, whoops, buzzes, hums and snaps made by the diverse lifeforms that inhabit it. This programme is available NOW on Demand at the Discovery Page and is available now until Tuesday…
New antiviral pills to treat Covid are coming thick and fast. Pfizer has just announced their new antiviral Paxlovid in the same week UK’s MHRA was the first country in the world to approve Molnupiravir – Merck’s pill launched last month. So how do the two antivirals compare? This programme is available on the Health Check…
We’ve reported before on the programme about the massive energy consumption of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, which is based on blockchain technology. Now we’ll be looking at some of the other environmental impacts of blockchain. This programme is available on the Digital Planet Page and is available now until Tuesday 16th November. It will also broadcast…
Geoengineering is already underway from Australia to the Arctic as scientists try to save places threatened by global heating. It’s time for a global conversation about how we research these powerful techniques, with agreements on how and where to deploy them. This week’s show is available to hear On Demand now, and on-air Sunday 15 th…
Jet and ship fuel alternatives. Scientists in Switzerland have developed a system that uses solar energy to extract gases such as hydrogen and carbon dioxide from the air and turn them into fuels for transport. So far they have only made small quantities in experimental reactors, however, they say with the right investment their alternatives…
This week Ed Sheeran new album was released and currently, it is outselling the rest of the Top 25 combined. We catch up with Ed for a chat about his new collection of songs. This is my favourite album I’ve made, I’m so proud of it. Thank you to all the wonderful people who worked…
An international team of scientists has launched a global hunt for rare people who may be genetically resistant to SARS CoV-2 infection. Individuals who’ve been exposed to the virus living in families where everyone else in the household got infected, who repeatedly tested negative and didn’t mount an immune response. Claudia Hammond speaks to immunologist…
Digital Planet is looking at green technology during COP26. “green technology (also green tech): Technology whose use is intended to mitigate or reverse the effects of human activity on the environment. Firstly, we discover the green credentials of your favourite websites with the Green Web Foundation. Can we really make the internet more environmentally friendly? Also, we’ll…
Even with the best efforts, it will be decades before we see any change in global temperatures through our mitigation efforts. Given the pace of global heating and the time lag, scientists are exploring additional ways of reducing global temperature before our emissions reductions have any impact. Gaia Vince explores ways of actively removing carbon…
Just a few days before COP26 opens in Glasgow, the World Meteorological Organisation reported record greenhouse gas levels, despite a fall in CO2 due to pandemic restrictions. The UN Environment Programme’s Emissions Gap Report also revealed that current country pledges will only take 7.5% off predicted greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, well below the 55%…
The Lockdown Sessions is the Elton John new album into the album charts at Number 1. For his new album, Elton John has returned to his roots and become a session musician again. For his latest collection of songs, he has teamed up with a whole host of singers and producers to come up with…
A question this week on Health Check, Should we mix and match Covid vaccines. New evidence from Sweden and France on the benefits of mixing and matching doses of different types of Covid vaccine. The impact misinformation around treating Covid with Ivermectin is having on the Neglected Tropical diseases where the drug is known to…
This week on Digital Planet we are looking at Online safety as a former Facebook employee and whistleblower, Frances Haugen, was speaking to the committee that’s discussing the UK’s draft online safety bill. Legislation that will tackle harmful content online. Canada is working on similar legislation. But there are questions over policing the new laws…
Every album that Coldplay have released has reached number one in the UK. Their latest, Music Of The Spheres, looks very likely to continue that unstoppable run. We catch up with the group to hear more about it. Newcomer Joy Crookes has also just released her first album. We find out more about her and…
Great news, A New Covid vaccine from Valneva produces a stronger immune response when compared to AstraZeneca. The French company reports, with no severe cases of Covid-19 seen in either group. And new positive research on lateral flow tests. Plus guest Graham Easton discusses the urgent need for teaching climate and environmental health in medical…
False information online has left one in five girls feeling physically unsafe. This is according to The Truth Gap, a new report by Plan International. One in three say false information is affecting their mental health, leaving them feeling stressed, worried and anxious. Others reported concerns about bogus events advertised on social media placing them…
Over the last 2 weeks, we have featured the 15 finalists in the Earthshot prize, an initiative to highlight and award projects designed to conserve and sustain natural environments and improve our lives in ways that are sensitive to issues such as climate change and biodiversity loss. Here we discuss this year’s winning projects and…
Thailand is expected to enter the ‘cold’ season at the end of October and the periods of chilly weather will last longer, 5 to 7 days at a time instead of just 3 or 5 days as in previous years, according to the Thai Meteorological Department. The first week of winter in Phuket has been…
Henrietta Lacks died in 1951 from virulent cervical cancer. A sample of those cancer cells was taken at the time and the way they behave has changed medical science forever – contributing to everything from the polio vaccine to drugs for Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease. Updated 16th February 2022: Henrietta Lacks Virginia home was demolished…
The Phuket Vegetarian Festival 2021, is also named The Nine Emperor Gods Festival, is an annual event held on the ninth lunar month of the Chinese calendar to celebrate the Chinese community’s belief in getting good health and peace of mind. The community believes that abstaining from meat and other negative stimulants is the driving…
Research by the World Wide Web Foundation is asking about the digital gender gap and what’s the cost? The foundation has found that the gender gap for internet accessibility has cost countries billions of USD in lost GDP. In the 32 countries studied a third of women were connected to the internet compared to almost…
Just how do we tackle our energy crisis and balance the growing demand for electricity worldwide with the need to reduce fossil fuel emissions to address climate change? In our second programme on the Earthshot prize Chhavi Sachdev looks at some of the solutions. From projects looking at providing green hydrogen to industry worldwide and…
A dramatic afternoon in Cádiz Spain ended with Australia winning the Spain Sail Grand Prix to return to the top of the SailGP Season. Here’s all you need to know: – The Aussies, who have now won three events this season, beat the United States and Great Britain in the winner-takes-all Final, aided in part by…
In December 2020, China’s Chang’e-5 mission returned to earth carrying young rock samples from the moon – the first lunar samples to be collected since the American Apollo and Luna missions to the moon in the 1970s. Laboratory analysis has revealed that these are the youngest samples of rocks to be collected from the moon….
Red Bull Racing and Scuderia AlphaTauri are set to race with special liveries on what should have been Honda’s home race weekend. At this weekend’s Formula One Turkish Grand Prix, Red Bull Racing and Scuderia AlphaTauri will race with unique liveries to celebrate the teams’ race-winning alliance with power-unit supplier Honda and to give the…
Trials stopped early of a new antiviral covid pill Molnupiravir as it may cut numbers of people in hospital by about a half. Claudia Hammond discusses the ethical questions of who should be given it. Plus UNICEF report on findings of childhood mental health before and during the pandemic. And a new exhibition on the…
Digital in India as this decade’s Indian national census will be the first to be carried out digitally. However, COVID-related delays have slowed progress and there are growing concerns about its accuracy. Dean of the Fletcher School at Tufts University. Bhaskar Chakravorti explains how data will be collected and why the census is likely to…