Author: BBC World Service

CrowdScience listener Nyankami, from Kenya, has a friend with dementia. Despite memory loss and no longer knowing his way around, his friend has no problem communicating. So what’s the connection between memory and language?

Caroline Steel discovers how dementia affects our speech. In most cases the illness does have an impact on our ability to speak but it can depend on many factors, including the type of dementia and even how many languages we speak.

She meets George Rook, diagnosed with vascular dementia and Alzheimer’s, who’s a passionate campaigner for people with dementia and talks to dementia nurse Helen Green, who explains how the illness can affect our behaviour.

She discovers that speaking more than one language can actually protect our brains from decline and finds out about cutting edge research that is helping people with dementia to improve their memory and capacity to speak.

Featuring: George Rook, Lived Experience Advisory Panel, Dementia UK Helen Green, Admiral Nurse, specialising in dementia Professor Alex Leff, Professor of Cognitive Neurology, Institute of Neurology, University College London Professor Guillaume Thierry, Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience, Bangor University Professor Yan Jing Wu, Professor of Neurolinguistics, Ningbo University, China Dr Elizabeth Kuhn, Post-Doctoral Fellow, German Centre for Neurodegenerative Disease, Bonn

Image Credit: Emma Innocenti

Presenter: Caroline Steel Producer: Jo Glanville Editor: Richard Collings Production co-ordinator: Jonathan Harris Sound engineer: Jackie Margerum

The California Condor has been brought back from the brink of extinction by dedicated conservation efforts over the past 30 years. Now, this critically endangered species is the latest victim of the H5N1 bird flu which is racing round the world. California Condor co-ordinator Ashleigh Blackford and wildlife veterinarian Dr Samantha Gibbs from the US Fish and Wildlife Service discuss their last-ditch efforts to vaccinate the birds against H5N1.

Huge 40,000 km plumes of water ice have been imaged erupting from Saturn’s moon Enceladus. Dr Sara Faggi, a postdoctoral Researcher in the Solar System Division at Nasa Goddard Space Flight Center, dives into this incredible new observation from the James Webb Space Telescope.

Dr Pierre Galand from France’s Observatoire Océanologique de Banyuls has been part of a two-and-a-half-year expedition to sample the microorganisms in coral reefs across the world. His new research shows that this tiny life is much more diverse than previously understood and may be essential to life of the coral reefs. And, much deeper in the Ocean, researchers estimate that there are over 5000 unnamed species in the world’s largest mineral exploration region, the Clarion-Clipperton Zone. Muriel Rabone, data and sample co-ordinator, and Dr Adrian Glover, merit researcher, both from the Natural History Museum in London, talk to Roland about this region of stunning biodiversity and the hope to protect it.

Presenter: Roland Pease Producer: Ella Hubber Editor: Richard Collings

(Photo: An adult and juvenile California condor. Credit: Loi Nguyen)

Human migration is in the headlines again – India and Australia have announced a new migration deal, in the US a Covid-inspired policy that allowed migrants to be quickly expelled has come to an end, and in the UK new measures were announced to stop foreign students bringing families with them, in a bid to reduce migration figures.

But what does science tell us about migration? With a team across three continents, we’re looking at the origins of human migration and exploring some of the greatest migrations in the animal kingdom. We discover that migrating birds are more like migrating humans than you might think, and learn how even the ground beneath our feet is trying to move somewhere else.

We’re also introduced to the real life people labelling images that inform the algorithms behind AI, a researcher with a wall of wind makes a bid for The Coolest Science in the World, we find out why tiles are colder than carpets and we dig deeper into the news that a company founded by Elon Musk has been given the go-ahead to trial a ‘brain-machine interface’.

Presenter: Marnie Chesterton Producers: Margaret Sessa Hawkins & Ben Motley

It may seem like a simple question but could you explain why the earth revolves around the sun? That is what listener Josh from New York wants to know. For much of human history we thought everything revolved around us, literally. So how did humans come to the conclusion that we're not the centre of the universe? And how did the scientific process help us uncover the true order of things?

Looking through telescopes from the vantage point of Australia, host Caroline Steel speaks with astronomers and physicists about the bumpy scientific journey to arrive at this discovery that we now take for granted. Delving into Indigenous astronomy with researcher Peter Swanton, Caroline questions whether Western scientists were really the first ones to grasp this understanding of our solar system.

And at the Sydney Observatory, stellar astrophysicist Devika Kamath and Sydney Observatory host Nada Salama show Caroline some of the clues up in the sky that astronomers in the 1600s used to deduce that there was something wrong with earlier models of our solar system.

Rhett Allain from Southeastern Louisiana University helps break down the physics concepts at play when it comes to the motion of our planets and the sun.

Through her exploration of a seemingly simple question, Caroline asks some big questions as she looks up to the stars – about life, the universe, and the nature of science itself.

Producer: Sam Baker Presenter: Caroline Steel Editor: Richard Collings Production co-ordinator: Jonathan Harris

Featuring: Devika Kamath, Astrophysicist, Macquarie University Rhett Allain, Associate Professor, Southeastern Louisiana University Peter Swanton, Indigenous Research Associate, Australian National University

(Photo: Caroline and Devika, Sydney Observatory)

A star in the nearby Pinwheel Galaxy has exploded spectacularly into a supernova, dubbed SN 2023ixf. It is the brightest in a decade and it has got astronomers around the world into a frenzy. Science in Action hears from both amateur and professional astronomers alike as they scramble to collect exciting new images and data.

Back on the ground, we hear from the Professor of Climate Change and Earth System Science at the University of Exeter, Tim Lenton about his new paper highlighting how rising global temperatures could push human populations from their homes.

Contributors: Dan Milisavljevic, Assistant Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, Purdue University. Dr Jane Clark, Trustee of the Cardiff Astronomical Society Bronco Oostermeyer, amateur astronomer Raffaella Margutti, Associate Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Berkeley Erez Zimmerman, Astrophysics PhD student, Weizmann institute of science Professor Avishay Gal-Yam, Head of Experimental Astrophisics Group, Weizmann institute of science Professor Tim Lenton, Director of the Global Systems Institute and Chair in Climate Change and Earth System Science at the University of Exeter

Presenter: Roland Pease Producer: Ella Hubber

(Image: Supernova SN 2023ixf. Credit: Dr Jane Clark and The Cardiff Astronomical Society)

On the anniversary of the first telegraph being sent, the team discover how the telegraph was used as a colonial tool in Ghana, and how an eccentric Brazilian emperor helped spark a communications revolution.

They also reveal how tiny worms have helped scientists work out how our hearing works, and how bioelectricity might help focus your mind and heal your wounds.

There’s a tale of evil seaweed causing havoc for coastal communities, a scientist studying misophonia makes a pitch for The Coolest Science in the World, and there’s a listener question about how chickens fly.

And Marnie delves into a lesser known history of space flight, with the tale of a Zambian man who dreamt of being an astronaut.

Anyone who has ever enjoyed a beach holiday will know there’s something special about being by the seaside. But does sea swimming actually have tangible health effects? This week’s listener Holly is a self-confessed water baby, and says her regular surf sessions on Sydney’s iconic Bondi beach make her feel happier and look younger. But could we get some of the benefits from the beach without getting our feet wet?

At the Plymouth Marine Lab, researchers have shown that the smell of the sea makes most people feel happier. They’re measuring sea spray aerosols containing natural compounds derived from algae, that dial down the inflammatory response in lung cancer cells. Other scientists in the region have investigated the use of virtual reality to simulate being by the coast, which is proven to reduce the experience of dental pain during treatment. Finally, we visit Teats Hill in Plymouth to find out how a waterside amphitheatre and an urban beach are helping residents feel safer and more connected to one another.

Producer: Marijke Peters Presenter: Marnie Chesterton

Editor: Richard Collings Production Coordinator: Jonathan Harris

Contributors:

Dr Frances Hopkins, Plymouth Marine Laboratory Dr Mike Moore, Plymouth Marine Laboratory Dr Mathew White, University of Vienna Dr Easkey Britton

Image credit: David Sacks | The Image Bank | Getty Images | 164241179

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Over the past few weeks, wildfires have scorched over 1,800 square miles of land across North West America and are still going strong. Dr Mike Flannigan, professor at the Department of Renewable Resources at the University of Alberta, talks to Roland about the weather patterns and record-breaking heat causing the devastating flames.

On the other side of the world, in Zambia, Dr Edgar Simulundu has been finding out why some humans attract mosquitoes more than others, and how we can use this to tackle the malaria epidemic.

Also this week, Professor Novel Chegou, lead investigator at Stellenbosch University Immunology Research Group, has been awarded the 2022 Africa Prize for his innovative method for quickly diagnosing tuberculosis. And we visit the Royal Society for a very different reason. Roland checks in on the “Ukraine's Recovery: Rebuilding with Research” conference, and the discussion to use evidence based approaches for rebuilding after war.

Contributors:

Dr Mike Flannigan, Department of Renewable Resources at the University of Alberta Professor Novel Chegou Novel Chegou, lead investigator at Stellenbosch University Immunology Research Group Dr Edgar Simulundu, Senior Lecturer at the University of Zambia Uliana Avtonomova, Secretary General, Fund of the President of Ukraine for Education, Science, and Sports Olena Sotnyk, lawyer and former member of the Ukrainian parliament Dr Vesna Najdanovic, Energy and Bioproduct Research Institute

Presenter: Roland Pease Producer: Ella Hubber

After the elections in Thailand and Turkey, we explore the forces that shape how you decide to vote. Clue: a lot of it comes down to us being social animals. We getting stuck into various sticky subjects – the glue that holds together animal societies, the cells in our bodies and even the International Space Station.

We also looking at how the blueprint of the human genome just got a whole load better. Also, join our mission to find the coolest science in the world, with the scientist who explores ocean gases. We have your correspondence and questions, including "How do birds know which perch will work?", and we take a peek inside a world of silicon as we hear how South Korea reacted to the global chip shortage.