Oct 9

Old faces and big spaces in small places

The 2025 Nobel prizes are announced this week – how did Science in Action’s predictions fare? Science author and thinker Philip Ball judges.Also, a new “Human Disease Blood Atlas” gets a boost, as described by Mathias Uhlén of SciLifeLab.Meanwhile Nozair Khawaja of Free Universit ... Show More

31m 57s

Oct 2

A mystery satellite has been jamming GPS in Europe

Scientists detect for the first time an unknown source of GPS interference coming from space. Also, as AI begins to design more and more DNA sequences being manufactured synthetically, how can those manufacturers be sure that what their customers are asking for will not produce t ... Show More

36m 3s

Sep 25

Autism and the epigenetics of early brain development

Epigenetic changes during early brain development, and the complexities of autism. Also, how bacteria learn to parry antibiotics, the subterranean burp that shook the Island of Santorini, and new guidance for sharing land between farming space and living space for the pollinators ... Show More

36m 15s

Oct 2022

Seismic events on Mars

The latest observations from Nasa’s InSight Mars Lander and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) have revealed new information on Mars’ interior structure. Dr Anna Horleston, Senior Research Associate in Planetary Seismology at the University of Bristol, talks us through the mars-qu ... Show More

54m 10s

Feb 2021

Nasa's Perseverance - will it pay off? And spotting likely hosts for future pandemics.

On Thursday 18th Feb 2020 Nasa’s Perseverance Rover is due to touch down – gently and accurately – in the Jezero crater on Mars. Using similar nail-biting Sky Crane technology as its predecessor Curiosity, if successful it will amongst many other things attempt to fly the first h ... Show More

49m 55s

Feb 2024

Quakes in Space

Izzie and Dr Becky are exploring shaky ground, whether that’s on Earth, other planets and even on our neighbour the Moon. This month is all about quakes. With special thanks to Mark Panning, the project scientist for NASA's InSight mission, and Dr Jess Johnson from the Universit ... Show More

53m 40s

Jun 2022

Planetary Radio at the Humans to Mars Summit

Join host Mat Kaplan in Washington D.C. for conversations with outstanding presenters at the first in-person Humans to Mars Summit in three years. You’ll hear from Inspiration 4 astronaut Sian Proctor, chief engineer for NASA’s robotic exploration program “Hoppy” Price, and the d ... Show More

1h 20m

Nov 2023

Life beyond Earth

Under the mighty radio Lovell Telescope at Jodrell Bank, Victoria Gill brings together some of the UK’s leading experts who were visiting the recent ‘bluedot’ science and music festival. They discussed the ongoing hunt for extraterrestrial life. We hear from Karen Olsson-Francis, ... Show More

38m 53s

Jan 2024

The 20th landing anniversary of Spirit and Opportunity

January marks 20 years since NASA’s twin Mars rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, touched down on the surface of the red planet. Matt Golombek, project scientist for the Mars Exploration Rover Project, joins Planetary Radio to celebrate. But first, the countdown to the next great Ame ... Show More

1h 4m

Oct 2016

Life on Mars? Quantum Gravity. The deep origins of bird song

Mars is about to be visited by the first space mission for 40 years which is designed to seek signs of life on the Red Planet. Adam Rutherford talks to Dr Manish Patel of the Open University, a senior scientist on the European Space Agency's ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter. Once the sp ... Show More

29m 13s

Feb 2023

How can oceans help us capture carbon?

The ocean covers over 70% of the Earth’s surface and can hold more than 150 times the amount of carbon dioxide as air. Around a quarter of CO2 emissions created by human activity each year is absorbed by them. From phytoplankton to whales to seagrass meadows, we explore how this ... Show More

28m 8s