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
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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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We dive into the mysterious world of the deep sea, sparked by a recent executive order aiming to ramp up offshore mineral extraction, as well as new research revealing that 99.999 per cent of the seabed remains unexplored. Experts discuss the surprising lack of deep-sea exploration, the ecological wonders already discovered, like hydrothermal vents and bizarre deep-sea creatures, and the debate over mining nodules from the ocean fl...
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Episode 301
Our understanding of the nature of light might be completely wrong. The double-slit experiment is one of the most famous experiments in physics and is how we’ve understood light for over 200 years. But a team is now suggesting we’ve got the interpretation all wrong - that light is in fact not a wave and is only made up of particles. If true, this is major. The authors of this study were left scrambling as “all hell bro...
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April 29, 2025 • 41 mins
Episode 299
In a climate justice special episode of the podcast, the biggest issue of the century is up for discussion. Find out the true impact of climate change on our planet and who should be paying to fix the crisis.
Rowan Hooper and Madeleine Cuff are joined by two climate experts - Friederike Otto and Joyce Kimutai from the World Weather Attribution project at Imperial College London.
This episode is dedicated to answering th...
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Episode 300
The first genetically engineered synapses have been implanted in a mammal’s brain. Chemical brain signals have been bypassed in the brains of mice and replaced with electrical signals, changing their behaviour in incredible ways. Not only did they become more sociable, they were also less anxious and exhibited fewer OCD-like symptoms. This work has sparked hope that one day we could use this technology to help humans wi...
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April 17, 2025 • 17 mins
Episode 298
Big news has just broken - astronomers claim they’ve detected the strongest evidence for alien life yet. The news has got the world’s media fired up with excitement - but is this really a “revolutionary moment”?
Astronomers studying the atmosphere of a distant planet called K2-18b say they have detected a molecule called DMS that is only produced on Earth by living organisms, so it’s thought life might be producing it t...
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