logo
episode-header-image
Dec 2022
38m 21s

Thomas Boothby: On a Tough Little Guy Wi...

Alan Alda
About this episode
You need a microscope to see them, but tardigrades aren’t only nature’s ultimate survivors – they hold secrets that may make vaccines more available and help astronauts live in space. 
Up next
Aug 4
Nicholas Epley: Talking to strangers
An encounter on his commuter train led to 20 years of research that changed his life for the better. You too can be friendlier, kinder, more open, more curious – and the first step could be a smile and a hello to the stranger sitting next to you. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz ... Show More
37m 9s
Jul 28
Lisa Genova: She lets us into their worlds
A neuroscientist who also writes novels – including one that became an award-winning movie – Lisa Genova lets us experience the stories lived by people with brain diseases ranging from Alzheimer's to bipolar disorder. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com ... Show More
36m 50s
Jul 21
Matt Kaplan: They were right after all
Vivid stories of scientists whose claims were ignored or ridiculed, from Galileo to Kati Karikó – the woman whose work was critical in developing the mRNA Covid vaccine that saved millions of lives. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information abo ... Show More
36m 40s
Recommended Episodes
Sep 2024
Tardigradology (TINY SEMI-INDESTRUCTIBLE WATER BEAR MOSS PIGLET CREATURES CALLED TARDIGRADES) with Paul Bartels
<p>Smaller than you can imagine. Potato-shaped. Mysterious. Romantic. And tough enough to survive the vacuum of space or decades of desiccation. Join professor and confirmed Tardigradologist Dr. Paul Bartels to saunter into a microscopic wonderland of bizarrely long naps, foreign ... Show More
1h 15m
May 2024
Vaccines, squirrels with leprosy, and exoplanet atmospheres
In the news pod, the nanotechnology enabling the production of a new vaccine to immunise against future coronaviruses. Then, how we can use psychedelic treatments without giving patients an unwanted trip, and how it was discovered that squirrels and humans were both living with l ... Show More
33m 8s
Jun 2011
Passengers in a Bacterial Body
The good side of microbes goes under the microscope this week as we explore how the 100 trillion bacteria that thrive on us and in us, and even outnumber our own cells ten times over, work with the body to maintain good health. We also hear from the Nobel prizewinner who's turnin ... Show More
1h 2m
Jul 2020
Invisible Allies
<p>As scientists have been scrambling to find new and better ways to treat covid-19, they’ve come across some unexpected allies. Invisible and primordial, these protectors have been with us all along. And they just might help us to better weather this viral storm.</p> <p>To kick ... Show More
42m 5s
May 2022
Aliens Among Us
The 10th Planet, tic-tac ships, and tardigrades, today the guys launch into the great unknown to discuss potential evidence for life elsewhere in our universe... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices 
59m 35s
Jan 2019
Microbes: Secret Rulers of the World?
Microbes: Secret Rulers of the World?Brian Cox and Robin Ince return for a new series of the hugely popular, award-winning science/comedy show. This week they are joined by comedian Ed Byrne, oceanographer Dr Jon Copley and planetary scientist Prof Monica Grady to ask whether the ... Show More
46m 8s
Oct 2011
What's the good of multi-vitamins?
Dr Karl and Dr Rhod are joined by Alastair Reynolds, a sci fi author and former European Space Agency scientist. Topics under the spotlight are: the science of toenails, how being in space affects astronauts and what's the good of multi-vitamins? 
47m 23s
Feb 2024
NASA’s New PACE Observatory Searches for Clues to Humanity’s Future
They may be tiny, but phytoplankton and aerosols power pivotal Earth systems. Scientists are about to learn a whole lot more about them at a critical time. Read this story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices 
11m 16s