BBC Inside Science

How did President Trump transform science in 2025?

18 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This week President Trump’s director of the Office of Management and Budget announced that a major climate research centre would be broken up. 2025 ...

Would our ancestors have benefited from early neanderthals making fire?

11 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

400 thousand years ago our early human cousins dropped a lighter in a field in the East of England; evidence that was uncovered this week and suggests...

A 'functional' cure for HIV?

04 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Almost 40 years ago, the first treatment was approved for HIV, but it came with a warning: “This is not a cure.” On the week of World AIDS Day, Ka...

Why aren’t gene therapies more common?

27 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This week, a world first gene therapy treats rare Hunter syndrome. Could these personalised medicines be used more widely? We speak to Claire Booth, p...

What’s in the wording of the COP 30 negotiations?

20 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

COP 30 delegates from around the globe are about to depart the Amazon city of Belem in Brazil. But not before some very important documents are drawn ...

Could technology replace animal testing in science?

13 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This week the UK government set out its vision for a world where the use of animals in science is eliminated in all but exceptional circumstances. Ani...

Is Dark Energy Getting Weaker?

06 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Astronomers have new evidence, which could change what we understand about the expansion of the universe. Carlos Frenk, Ogden Professor of Fundamental...

Is climate change to blame for Hurricane Melissa?

05 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

What’s been called the storm of the century - Hurricane Melissa – has barrelled through Jamaica, Cuba, and the Bahamas over the past two days. Han...

Have scientists created a bionic eye?

04 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The 'bionic eye' may make you think of Star Trek’s Geordi La Forge. Now, scientists have restored the ability to read in a group of blind patients w...

Why do we love to play games?

03 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Inside Science explores the science and maths of games: why we play them, how to win them and the rise of gamification in our lives - with a particula...

What can the UK learn from China on renewable energy?

31 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This week, renewables overtake coal as the world’s biggest source of electricity. China is leading the renewable charge despite its global reputatio...

Are embryos made from skin cells the future of fertility treatment?

30 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Scientists in the US have, for the first time, made early-stage human embryos by manipulating DNA taken from people's skin cells and then fertilising ...

The science behind autism

23 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

What do we know about the causes of autism? Laura Andreae, Professor of Developmental Neuroscience at King’s College London explains the science. It...

What’s the highest a human could possibly pole vault?

16 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Swedish pole vaulter Armand Duplantis broke the sport’s world record again this week at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo. It’s the 14th ...

Could we have evidence of life on Mars?

09 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

News broke this week that rocks picked up by NASA’s Perseverance rover on Mars may have found chemical signatures left by living organisms. With the...

What does caffeine do to our bodies?

02 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Sweet, caffeinated energy drinks are in the headlines again as the UK Government says it wants to ban under 16s from buying them. Some can contain the...

Does warm weather mean more rats in UK towns and cities?

25 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Summer heatwaves and missed bin collections have created panic in the press that rat numbers in the UK are increasing. We ask Steve Belmain, Professor...

Could solar panels in space be the energy source of the future?

18 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

As new research looks at the financial and environmental case for solar panels in space, we explore how likely the technology could be to power our fu...

What will we be wearing in the future?

11 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

What are you wearing today? What processes, chemical and otherwise, have gone into creating the garments in your wardrobe? And how might they be impro...

What’s the evidence for vaccines?

04 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

US Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr announced plans this week to cancel $500 million dollars of funding for mRNA vaccine development. The research...

Why wasn’t the Russia mega earthquake as damaging as previous ones?

28 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A massive 8.8 magnitude mega earthquake off Russia's east coast sent tsunami waves into Japan, Hawaii and the US west coast this week. While more than...

The surprising culture of the animal kingdom

21 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

We discuss the incredible science of the animal kingdom, focusing on the latest fascinating research into animal culture, society and communication.Vi...

How can we keep our homes cool in a changing climate?

14 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

After three UK heatwaves, we turn to science for solutions that could keep us safer, and cooler, in our homes. Professor of Zero Carbon Design at the ...

How can we reduce the impact of plastic on the environment?

07 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Next month world leaders will again gather to focus on dealing with our global plastic problem. So this week we’re looking for solutions. Marnie Che...

How do you turn facial expressions into music?

31 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A microscopic water flea that could help monitor our waterways for pollution, turning both quantum circuits and facial expressions into music, and how...

What happens when you bomb a uranium enrichment site?

24 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

All eyes have been on three of Iran’s nuclear facilities this week. The targets of an attack on Saturday by the United States. Marnie Chesterton ask...

Are trees the answer to solving climate change?

17 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

As a new warning is released by scientists that trying to offset our carbon emissions by planting trees alone won’t work, we investigate the role th...

What science is the UK government funding?

10 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

How do you plan for the scientific discoveries of the future? That’s the question Chancellor Rachel Reeves had to try to answer with this week’s S...

Can science save our oceans?

03 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

More than 2,000 marine scientists have come together at the One Ocean Science Congress in Nice, France. It is a gathering that will bring marine exper...

Your science questions answered

26 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

We’ve been rummaging through the Inside Science mailbox to pick out a selection of the intriguing science questions you’ve been sending in, and as...

Does the pandemic agreement make the world safer?

19 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The World Health Organisation has agreed a treaty looking at tackling the issue of future pandemics. It’s hoped it will help to avoid some of the di...

Will the Hole in the Ozone Layer Close?

12 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

40 years ago scientists in Antarctica discovered a hole in the Ozone layer. The world acted quickly, phasing out harmful CFCs or chlorofluorocarbons. ...

The mysteries of the ocean floor

05 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It’s often said we know more about the surface of the Moon than we do about the Earth’s deep sea, and a new study is backing that up. Research fro...

How vulnerable is our power supply?

29 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Severe power cuts hit Spain, Portugal and parts of France this week, cutting the lights and stopping flights, trains, and ATM machines in their tracks...

What would cuts to Nasa mean for space science?

22 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Progress has been made in our search for alien life. So announced a team of scientists from Cambridge university last week who, using a powerful space...

Answers to Your Science Questions

15 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

We’ve thrown open the airwaves to you. Marnie Chesterton puts your science questions to Penny Sarchet, Managing editor of New Scientist, Mark Maslin...

How can science help us fight wildfires?

08 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In the past few days, UK firefighters have been tackling wildfires across the UK. As global temperatures rise, fires are likely to increase in strengt...

Is this finally the moment for UK tidal power?

01 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Why does the UK, an island shaped by its strong tides, still not have any major tidal energy schemes? Plans for tidal barrages in the UK seem to be re...

Is everything we know about the universe wrong?

24 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

For the last week or so, the world of physics has had just one conversation.Have we found a new way of understanding the universe? And if so, what doe...

Wild birds in crisis

17 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Every species of wild bird in the UK is continuing to decline at a stark rate – according to the latest data. Guest presenter Ben Garrod wants to un...

Are boys doing better than girls at maths and science?

10 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

There’s a big “gender gap” between boys and girls in maths and science - that’s according to a new report out this week. Boys in England in ye...

Better Than Gold: Critical Minerals

03 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Critical minerals have hit the headlines of almost every news outlet this week as US President Donald Trump made his desires to mine them in Ukraine c...

AI in Science: Promise and Peril

27 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This week, Google has launched a new AI tool called Co-Scientist. We hear from one researcher who has tried it out with stunning results. But how much...

Biotech Risks and Asteroid Anxiety

20 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Scientists gather this week to tackle emerging risks from cutting-edge biotech, echoing the landmark Asilomar conference that shaped genetic engineeri...

US science in chaos

13 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The United States is the world’s science superpower. But right now, much of its research community is in a state of confusion.In the past few weeks,...

The World’s Biggest Iceberg

06 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It’s the biggest story of recent weeks. Literally. Trillion-tonne iceberg A23a is on the move. But where is it headed and why – and what might it ...

Is 1.5 still alive?

27 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

1.5C. It’s THE number we talk about when we talk about climate change. But what does 1.5C actually mean now – and as the world saw record-breaking...

Next-gen batteries and 'dark oxygen'

20 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Following a devastating fire at the world’s largest lithium-ion battery plant, Inside Science probes the present and future of a technology we rely ...

UK AI & science-optimised pasta

13 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Artificial intelligence is the big talking point of the week, with UK PM Sir Keir Starmer announcing a drive to unleash its full potential. It’s alr...

Science in 2025

06 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

How will science shape up in 2025? Marnie Chesterton is joined by a panel of science watchers to discuss what we can expect from the year ahead. We'll...

The Science of Laughter

30 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Why do we laugh more when we’re with others? Are humans the only animals that laugh? Does ‘laughter yoga’ actually do anything? We're delving in...

Board Game Science

23 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It’s that time of the year when many of us are at home with friends and family, losing track of time, eating leftovers, and, of course, playing game...

The Year in Science

16 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

We look back on 2024 in science, from billionaires in space, to record-breaking heat here on Earth, and the meteoric rise of new weight-loss drugs. Fr...

The rising threat of bird flu

09 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

More species infected than ever, an uptick in human cases, and some concerning biological modifications. How close are we to a bird flu pandemic? We d...

Fact-checking the Bovaer backlash

02 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Some social media users have been pouring milk down the drain and chucking their butter in the bin in protest over a new additive in cow feed that cla...

Is flood forecasting failing?

26 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The south Wales town of Pontypridd saw cars submerged, people bailing floodwater out of their homes using bins, and the beautiful park and lido transf...

The climate cost of war

19 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

As conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine continue to dominate the news, many Inside Science listeners have been in touch with the same question: Wh...

Nuclear medicine shortages and Jane Goodall on COP29

12 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A shortage of medical isotopes used to detect cancer has experts concerned that the shortfall could be delaying diagnosis and could even be costing li...

COP29: Are climate summits working?

05 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This year is set to be the world’s hottest on record, likely shattering the aspiration to limit global warming to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels. ...

Spooky Science

28 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

It’s our Halloween special from a rain-soaked Jodrell Bank in Cheshire. We find out what you can see in a dark, dark Halloween night sky with spac...

Whatever happened to graphene?

21 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Twenty years ago this week two physicists at the University of Manchester published a ground-breaking paper describing the extraordinary qualities of ...

Are our carbon sinks failing?

14 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The Earth’s natural carbon sinks absorb half of our pollution. But now, they appear to be collapsing. Why is this happening – and will we be able ...

Should we bring back extinct animals?

07 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A woolly mammoth by 2028.That’s the bold claim from US company Colossal Biosciences, who say research is under way that will make this possible.But ...

Could coal shut-down mark new era for energy?

31 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

“That’s the end of coal in the UK for electricity.” The UK’s last coal-fired power station has closed, ending Britain's 142-year reliance on c...

How green is space travel?

24 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The images beamed back to Earth of the first civilian spacewalk have prompted a very pertinent question from one Inside Science listener: What effect...

Is lab-grown meat the future of food?

17 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Lab-grown meat, cultivated meat, cultured meat, in-vitro meat - whatever you call it, the industry claims it could be a game changer. Not just economi...

The first civilian spacewalk

10 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Today incredible images were beamed around the world of civilians walking in space – for the very first time. All eyes were on businessman Jared I...

The Grenfell cladding

03 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

As the long-awaited final report into Grenfell Tower is made public, we look at the cladding that has been at the centre of the story for seven years....

Predicting everything

26 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The Royal Society recently announced the shortlist for their annual Science Book Prize – and nominated is science writer and journalist Tom Chivers,...

Why aren’t we eating more insects?

19 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

We try some cricket tacos and ask what role insects might play in our future diets, in a special programme with a live audience at Green Man Festival ...

Beavers of London

12 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The Ealing Beaver Project has found success as two new beaver kits have been born in a park in London after being reintroduced last October. Marnie vi...

Going for gold

05 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Today we will be going for gold in more ways than one. Inga Doak, the Head of Sustainability at The Royal Mint, reveals how the company plan to ‘urb...

How much of a risk is space junk?

29 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Space junk. It might sound like an out-of-this-world problem that we don’t need to worry about here on Earth – but is it? As we send more and mor...

CERN’s Supercollider Plan

22 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

CERN’s plans to build a bigger, faster particle collider, with a hefty 17 billion Euro price tag, are in question. Physicists Andrew Pontzen and Har...

Should Antarctica be off limits?

15 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Antarctica is a 'natural reserve, devoted to peace and science' - that’s according to an international treaty. But with visitor numbers at a record ...

Wimbledon Grass Science

08 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

We visit Wimbledon’s iconic Centre Court... but we’re not interested in the tennis, we want to know all about the grass. Just how important is sci...

Sun, sea... and science

01 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

It’s election time but over here in Science Land, we’re heading off to the seaside for our summer special. We chat seagulls with Professor Paul G...

What makes an effective protest?

25 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

As another week of disruptive Just Stop Oil protests grabs media attention, sociologist Dana Fisher discusses which actions might help a cause - and w...

Taylor Swift Seismology

18 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Taylor Swift fans danced so hard they made the ground shake at her recent Edinburgh gig so this week we’re meeting Earth Scientists Emma Greenough a...

Are implanted brain chips the future?

11 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Elon Musk’s implanted brain chip, Neuralink, is coming to the UK for clinical trials. Is controlling computers with our minds a future reality or is...

How do we solve antibiotic resistance?

04 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The looming danger of antibiotic resistance may have fallen out of the public consciousness but is still very much in the mind of those in public heal...

Why do we sleep?

27 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Guest presented by Liz Bonnin.We all instinctively know that sleep is incredibly important but science doesn’t actually have a satisfying answer for...

Micro Nuclear Reactors

20 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Guest presented by Liz Bonnin. As the UK strives to achieve net zero by 2050, nuclear energy is looking more and more likely as a key player in reachi...

Is gene therapy the future?

13 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Last week, a girl who was born deaf had her hearing restored following gene therapy. In the US, the first commercial gene therapy for sickle cell dise...

Is treated sewage worse for the environment than raw?

06 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

There has been increasing public outrage at raw sewage discharges into our rivers and seas, but new research at Lake Windermere suggests that treated ...

Ugly animals and asteroid Apophis

30 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

One year ago, the World Health Organisation declared that COVID-19 would no longer be categorised as a global health emergency. But the pandemic has l...

Can we get plastic waste under control?

23 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

As the UN tries to get a global agreement on plastic waste we hear from two delegates at the conference in Ottawa; John Chweya, a Kenyan waste picker,...

Do we need a new model of cosmology?

16 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Earlier this week, some of the world's leading astrophysicists came together at The Royal Society to question the very nature of our Universe. Does th...

Bird flu outbreak in cows

09 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A strain of highly pathogenic bird flu, H5N1, has been spreading unchecked through wild bird, and some mammal, populations for the past few years. Las...

200 years of dinosaur science

02 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In 1824, 200 years ago, Megalosaurus was the first dinosaur to ever be described in a scientific paper. William Buckland studied fossils from Stonesfi...

Inside Your Microbiome

25 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Microbiomes are a multi-million-pound industry. Every week, many people send off poop samples to be examined so we can learn about our own ecosystems ...

Our Accidental Universe

18 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Professor and presenter, Chris Lintott, talks about his new book Our Accidental Universe; a tour of chance encounters and human error in pursuit of as...

World’s oldest forest fossils

11 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The world’s oldest fossilised forest was uncovered in Somerset last week. We head to palaeobotanist, Dr Christopher Berry’s, lab at Cardiff Univer...

How pure is the water from your tap?

04 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A recent study on how to get rid of microplastics in water sparked presenter Marnie Chesterton’s curiosity. When she turns on the tap in her kitchen...

Dimming the Sun

28 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Switzerland has submitted a proposal to create a United Nations expert group on solar geoengineering to inform governments and stakeholders. The idea ...

Laboratory-Grown Meat

21 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Professor Ben Garrod guest presents. As a new 'meaty rice' is created and Fortnum & Mason launch a scotch egg made with cultivated meat that they ...

The Gulf Stream’s tipping point

14 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The Gulf Stream, also known as the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), is essential to stable global climate, and the reason we have m...

Ancient Roman writings revealed

07 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

As part of the Vesuvius Challenge, computer scientists have used machine learning to successfully reveal 2,000 characters from the Herculaneum scrolls...

When brains and computers meet

29 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Are cyborgs now reality? Elon Musk certainly thinks so. His company, Neuralink, has successfully implanted one of its wireless brain chips in a human....

Hydrogen and the race to net zero

22 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Hydrogen has long been touted as a potential wonder gas that could play a significant role in our race to net zero. Now, planning permission has been ...