Male giraffes drink and savour female giraffe urine to see if she’s ready to mate; What scientists do when a volcano upsets their climate change record; Europe’s first farmers suffered more violence than their hunter-gatherer ancestors; Recycled wastewater can be cleaner than conventional sources; Don’t worry about zombie fungus. Do worry about other fungal ... Show More
Feb 2024
Dengue, decaying dead bodies, and a stone age deer trap
In the news pod, as an outbreak of Dengue fever rips through Brazil, we ask, should we be worried in Europe? Also, scientists describe the microbes responsible for the decomposition of animal flesh, and a miraculous underwater archaelogical find sheds light on ancient hunting pra ... Show More
28m 3s
Aug 2018
Cavendish banana survival; Guillemot egg shape; Unexpected Truth About Animals; Tambora's rainstorm
The last banana you probably ate was a type called Cavendish. But this, our last commercially viable variety is under severe threat, as the fungus, called Tropical Race 4, is laying waste to swathes of Cavendish banana plants across China, Asia and Australia. Recently, scientists ... Show More
28m 8s
Mar 2017
Earth's Earliest Life, The Benefits of Pollution, Sexuality and Science and New ideas on Evolution
The World's oldest sedimentary rocks reveal traces of our earliest ancestors. New analysis shows life forms existed more than 3.7 billion years ago which were very similar to those found in our deepest oceans today, microbial life around hydro thermal vents. Some pollution might ... Show More
29m 19s