The world, the universe and us

The world, the universe and us

From the evolution of intelligent life, to the mysteries of consciousness; from the threat of the climate crisis to the search for dark matter, The world, the universe and us is your essential weekly dose of science and wonder in an uncertain world. Hosted by journalists Dr Rowan Hooper and Dr Penny Sarchet and joined each week by expert scientists in the field, the show draws on New Scientist’s unparalleled depth of reporting to put the stories that matter into context. Feed your curiosity with the podcast that will restore your sense of optimism and nourish your brain. For more visit newscientist.com/podcasts

Episodes

Skull rewrites story of human evolution; Autism and Tylenol; discovery of wind coming from black hole

September 26, 2025 • 33 mins
Episode 322 An ancient skull discovered in China may have just rewritten the story of human evolution. It’s widely accepted that the common ancestor of Homo sapiens, Denisovans and Neanderthals came out of Africa. But this skull upends that assumption - potentially showing human evolution began in Asia. Discover how a new reconstruction of the Yunxian fossil skull could push back human origins by 400,000 years. Tylenol does not c...
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The evolutionary price we pay for longer lives; the asteroid coming VERY close to Earth; how dinosaurs shaped the ecosystem

September 19, 2025 • 32 mins
Episode 321 Humans live a lot longer than other primates - and much of that is down to our immune system. But there’s a price we pay for the capacity to fight off infections: inflammation. Chronic inflammation is to blame for a range of health issues, especially those related to older age. And now research has revealed exactly why inflammation is good for longevity but bad for health. Find out how proteins called death-fold domain...
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Why we can't announce life on Mars (yet); The Romans' impact on the British economy; Link between exercise and your microbiome

September 12, 2025 • 29 mins
Episode 320 Was Mars once home to alien life? The evidence is stronger than ever, since NASA’s discovery of rocks marked by patterns similar to those made by microbes on Earth. Found in an area now named Bright Angel, these rocks give us a tantalising insight into Mars’ ancient past - but just how definitive is this finding? It’s long been thought that when the Roman Empire withdrew from Britain in the early 400s, the result was ...
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First complete map of brain activity; Queen ant lays eggs of another species; The perils of scrolling while on the toilet

September 5, 2025 • 31 mins
Episode 319 Scientists have created the first complete activity map of a mouse’s brain. Combining brain images from multiple mice, researchers recorded more than 650,000 neurons while these mice manipulated little Lego steering wheels in a driving game. This complex behaviour has allowed scientists to examine the interplay between various parts of the brain - and could help us better understand consciousness. This might be the we...
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Scientists discovered a 100,000-year-old organism; Breakthrough brain implant uses AI to treat pain; How climate change leads to revolutions

August 29, 2025 • 25 mins
Episode 318 An ancient organism has been discovered that has been alive for at least 100,000 years. Found in the Siberian permafrost, this lifeform doesn’t appear to have just remained dormant - but instead has actually been growing extremely slowly. Our understanding of life is already quite fuzzy, and this finding adds to the idea that life itself is a fuzzy state of being.  A breakthrough method of treating previously untreata...
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Could we end winter illness?; Cold fusion’s comeback; The delicious microbiome of chocolate

August 22, 2025 • 20 mins
Episode 317 Winter bugs are notoriously hard to vaccinate against. But as cold, flu and covid season is about to descend on us once more, one group researchers are working on an entirely new solution to the misery. A team out of Columbia University has been testing an mRNA-based treatment that could prime our immune systems to fight against any kind of viral infection, perhaps in the form of an asthma-like inhaler. But there is a ...
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Climate special: How to fix the climate crisis with Tim Lenton and Kate Marvel

August 14, 2025 • 44 mins
Episode 316 “All of the other planets out there are just complete garbage. The Earth is the only good place.” – Kate Marvel The climate crisis can leave many of us feeling hopeless and overwhelmed. But, as climate scientists Kate Marvel and Tim Lenton say, there are many reasons to be optimistic.Both have new books out that hope to reframe the way we think about the issue. Kate’s book Human Nature grapples with the complicated e...
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80 years since Hiroshima: Forgotten victims of the atomic bomb

August 5, 2025 • 34 mins
Episode 315 It’s been 80 years since the first and only use of nuclear weapons in war - events that altered the course of history. The consequences of the widespread destruction, deaths and nuclear fallout are still being dealt with today. On 6th August 1945, a bomb was dropped on Hiroshima in Japan, and three days later Nagasaki was also bombed. Tens of thousands of people were killed. Since then, many nuclear tests have been ca...
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Ozempic and Wegovy slow down biological ageing; creation of synthetic bacterium; geology of the Russian earthquake

August 1, 2025 • 28 mins
Episode 314 Weight-loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy have been shown to slow down - or even reverse - the ageing process. In a trial of 84 people taking semaglutide, their biological age dropped by 3.1 years on average, with some organs becoming almost 5 years younger. Based on this new research, this finding could make these some of the most impactful anti-ageing drugs on the market. So how are they doing it? Scientists have very ne...
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AI wins first gold at maths Olympic games; How mitochondria are linked to sleep; Famous psychology trick works on octopuses too

July 25, 2025 • 28 mins
Episode 313 AI has won gold at the world’s hardest maths event. For the first time, AI programs that use entirely natural language like ChatGPT, have used general reasoning to solve incredibly difficult tests at the International Maths Olympiad in Australia. Humans are still in the lead…for now. But could this be a big leap forward in the quest for artificial general intelligence? Mitochondria - famously the powerhouses of our ce...
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Scientists test engineered microbes to fight disease; Has 1.5 degrees failed?; New theory why we’ve not found aliens

July 18, 2025 • 30 mins
Episode 312 People have been given genetically engineered microbes to prevent a common health condition - and it worked. The gut microbiome is now known to be associated with many health conditions - and in this case, the team managed to treat 9 people who get recurring kidney stones. With the gut’s links to mental health, cancer and more, could engineered microbes be used to treat more conditions in the future? Is 1.5C dead? It’...
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How geoengineering could save us from climate disaster; Have we broken mathematics?; Why exercise reduces cancer risk

July 11, 2025 • 33 mins
Episode 311 Geoengineering could be the best way to avoid catastrophic climate disaster - but there’s a big catch. In the recent Global Tipping Points Conference in the UK, scientists discussed growing concerns that the AMOC may be on the verge of collapsing. This is a system of ocean currents that plays a crucial role in regulating global climate. With the window of action rapidly closing, one climate model suggests geoengineerin...
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First full genome of Ancient Egyptian sequenced; Wild killer whales offer gifts to humans; First demonstration of interstellar navigation

July 4, 2025 • 29 mins
Episode 310 An ancient Egyptian's complete genome has been read for the first time. The DNA of a man who lived in Egypt over 4500 years ago offers a new window into the ancient society and hints at surprising genetic connections with Mesopotamia. Based on forensic analysis of the man's skeleton and preserved images of different Egyptian occupations, the researchers think his most likely occupation was a potter. The team discusses ...
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Mice with two dads; perfect your sleep with science; how lizards survived dinosaur-killing asteroid

June 27, 2025 • 30 mins
Ep 309 A groundbreaking experiment in reproductive biology has resulted in mice being born from two biological fathers. By fusing sperm and putting them into an emptied egg cell, researchers in China have produced healthy and fertile offspring from two male mice. While it’s early days and the technique requires hundreds of embryos to get results, it opens up the possibility of same-sex reproduction in mammals, including humans, in...
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First skull of mysterious human ancestor; Decoding whale language; Heatwaves 20x more likely to happen

June 20, 2025 • 36 mins
Episode 308 An ancient skull discovered in China has been confirmed to belong to a Denisovan. It’s been tough to study this mysterious human ancestor, as we’ve only ever found a finger and jaw bone - so this new discovery could reshape our understanding of them. After being kept secret for decades, the “dragon man” skull is opening up a new window into our past. We’ve unlocked another clue in our quest to decode whale language. A...
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Is this the first step to cyborg brains? How drones are reshaping warfare forever; New Vera Rubin observatory goes live

June 13, 2025 • 31 mins
Episode 307 Using new “ultrasoft” electronics, researchers at Harvard have effectively created tadpole cyborgs. A soft bioelectronic device has been implanted into their brains - one which grows with them as they develop into frogs. This neural implant is a first step in helping us better understand the inner workings of the brain. But could this work in mammals…or humans? Discussing just that, the Royal Society held a meeting thi...
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$1 trillion of platinum on the moon; how your brain distinguishes between reality and imagination; rise of the hyperworm

June 6, 2025 • 25 mins
Episode 306 It’s been discovered that the moon is probably home to $1 trillion worth of platinum. Researchers suggest nearly 6500 of the Moon’s craters were made by asteroids containing commercial quantities of platinum, palladium, rhodium, ruthenium, iridium and osmium. Does that mean space companies are going to head out on mining missions imminently…and should they? Hear the reasons for and against mining on the Moon. When you...
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The real threat of AI - ethics, exploitation and the erosion of truth

May 29, 2025 • 34 mins
Episode 305 As artificial intelligence grows into more and more aspects of our lives, it seems we’re just at the beginning of the boom. Hundreds of billions of dollars are being pumped into advancing AI capabilities, making it the best funded area in science. But, just like the dot-com revolution, is it a bubble waiting to burst? In this special episode of the podcast, we explore the growing promise of AI - and also the existenti...
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Are smartphones really causing mental illness in teens?; More evidence of alien life; Digital oak trees

May 23, 2025 • 23 mins
Episode 304 It seems the world is on heightened alert about the impact smartphones are having on our children’s brains. But are we right to be worried? Jonathan Haidt’s book the Anxious Generation has played a big role in this debate, with many researchers agreeing smartphones cause harm and action needs to be taken. But is there actually any scientific evidence to back all of these claims up? The “strongest evidence” for alien l...
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China’s carbon emissions fall; norovirus vaccine; chaotic breakup of the solar system

May 16, 2025 • 27 mins
Episode 303 China is becoming a de facto leader in the fight against climate change. Right now it’s the world’s biggest emitter of carbon dioxide, but after years of keeping its emissions steady, they have finally begun to fall. And this is all while China’s power demands have increased - suggesting its efforts to build clean energy are paying off. But is this enough to make a realistic dent on curbing global warming? And how will...
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