Summer picks: Where do our early childhood memories go?
It’s a mystery that has long puzzled researchers. Freud called the phenomenon infantile amnesia, and for many years scientists have wondered whether it’s a result of failure to create memories or just a failure to retrieve them. In this episode from March 2025, Ian Sample speaks to Nick Turk-Browne, a professor of psychology at Yale University, whose research appears to point to an answer. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod
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Summer picks: what is ‘mirror life’ and why are scientists sounding the alarm?
Recently, a group of world-leading scientists called for a halt on research to create ‘mirror life’ microbes amid concerns that the synthetic organisms would present an ‘unprecedented risk’ to life on Earth. Ian Sample tells Madeleine Finlay about why this work initially seemed exciting for scientists and what the risks of it continuing could be. Kate Adamala, assistant professor of genetics, cell biology and development at the University of Minnesota, describes what made her change her mind about pursuing her own research on mirror cells. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod
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Summer picks: The science of racism, and how to fight it
In this episode from January 2025, Ian Sample speaks to Keon West, a professor of social psychology at the University of London, whose new book explores what science can reveal about racism, the inventive methods scientists have used to study it and the scientifically proven ways of tackling racism and discrimination. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod
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Summer picks: Where did our attention spans go, and can we get them back?
In 2024, the Oxford English Dictionary announced its word of the year was ‘brain rot’. The term relates to the supposedly negative effects of consuming social media content, but it struck a chord more widely with many who feel they don’t have the mental capacity they once had. Gloria Mark, a professor of informatics at the University of California, Irvine, has been studying our waning attention spans for 20 years. In this episode from January 2025, she tells Madeleine Finlay why she believes our powers of concentration are not beyond rescue, and reveals her top tips for finding focus. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod
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Why do we age in dramatic bursts, and what can we do about it?
Scientists are beginning to understand that ageing is not a simply linear process. Instead, recent research appears to show that we age in three accelerated bursts; at about 40, 60 and 80 years old. To find out what might be going on, Ian Sample hears from Prof Michael Snyder, the director of the Center for Genomics and Personalised Medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine, who explains what the drivers of these bursts of ageing could be, and how they might be counteracted. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod
Colombia