Giant dinosaurs found in Australia migrated through Antarctica; A map of arctic industrial pollution shows where risks might arise as permafrost melts; A new technology is showing where baby sharks are born; Polynesian tool finds support the oral histories behind Moana; Incorporating diversity of human genomes in new Pangenome; Comparing 240 mammalian genome ... Show More
Sep 2023
Our ancestors lost nearly 99% of their population, 900,000 years ago
In this episode:00:30 Early humans pushed to brink of extinctionAround 900,000 years ago the ancestors of modern humans were pushed to the brink of extinction, according to new research. Genetic studies suggest that the breeding population of our ancestors in Africa dropped to ju ... Show More
13m 34s
Jun 2023
Tom Higham, "The World Before Us: The New Science Behind Our Human Origins" (Yale UP, 2021)
Fifty thousand years ago, Homo sapiens was not the only species of humans in the world. There were also Neanderthals in what is now Europe, the Near East, and parts of Eurasia; Hobbits (H. floresiensis) on the island of Flores in Indonesia; Denisovans in Siberia and eastern Euras ... Show More
41m 25s
Dec 2020
Space Rocks, Aquatic Dinosaurs and Global Temperatures; 2020 science reviewed
Nobody could have failed to notice the one story dominating the science news this year - but what about the discoveries that have been overshadowed in 2020? This week, Dr Adam Rutherford eschews all mentions of the pandemic as he invites dinosaur researcher Dr Susie Maidment, cli ... Show More
32m 12s
May 2024
200 years of dinosaur science
In 1824, 200 years ago, Megalosaurus was the first dinosaur to ever be described in a scientific paper. William Buckland studied fossils from Stonesfield in Oxfordshire in order to describe the animal. In this episode, Victoria Gill visits palaeontologist Dr Emma Nicholls at the ... Show More
27m 52s
Apr 2023
Bringing the Tasmanian Tiger back from extinction
It sounds like a movie script, like Jurassic Park, but Australian scientists are actually aiming to 'de-extinct' an animal.The Tasmanian Tiger, or Thylacine, became extinct in 1936, nearly 90 years ago. It's native to Australia, and thanks to millions of dollars of funding via a ... Show More
18m 43s