BBC Inside Science

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 assembled an expert panel to try to answer them.

Marnie Chesterton is joined by Penny Sarchet, managing editor of New Scientist, Mark Maslin, Professor of Earth System Science at University College London, and Catherine Heymans, Astronomer Royal for Scotland and Professor of Astrophysics at...

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 disorganisation and competition for resources like vaccines and personal protective equipment that were seen during the Covid-19 outbreak.

Victoria Gill speaks to global health journalist Andrew Green from the World Health Assembly in Geneva to ask if this will help to make the world a sa...

40 years ago scientists in Antarctica discovered a hole in the Ozone layer. The world acted quickly, phasing out harmful CFCs or chlorofluorocarbons. Evidence suggests the hole has been getting smaller. But in 2025, there are new pollutants threatening to slow progress. Eloise Marais is Professor of Atmospheric Chemistry and Air Quality at University College London and tells Victoria Gill about her work monitoring the impact of spa...

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 from the Ocean Discovery League says just 0.001% of the world’s deep seafloor has ever been seen by humans.

We speak to lead author and deep sea explorer Dr Katy Croff Bell and marine biologist Dr Anna Gebruk from the University of Edinburgh, to ask whether we should be making more effort to ...

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. The Spanish grid operator has said it’s ruled out a cyber-attack, but the reason behind what happened is still unclear. We speak to Keith Bell, Professor of Electronic and Electrical Engineering at the University of Strathclyde, and David Brayshaw, Professor of Climate Science and E...

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 telescope, have detected molecules which on Earth are only produced by simple organisms. All in all, it’s been a busy week for space science. And all against a backdrop of a US government request to cut NASA’s funding. The proposals would need to be approved by the Senate before any ...

We’ve thrown open the airwaves to you. Marnie Chesterton puts your science questions to Penny Sarchet, Managing editor of New Scientist, Mark Maslin, Professor of Earth System Science at University College London and Catherine Heymans, Astronomer Royal for Scotland and Professor of Astrophysics at the University of Edinburgh.

So, if you’ve ever wondered why planets are round… or what geese are saying to each other as they fly in gr...

In the past few days, UK firefighters have been tackling wildfires across the UK. As global temperatures rise, fires are likely to increase in strength and number. We hear from Rory Hadden, Professor of Fire Science at the University of Edinburgh, and Aidan McGivern, meteorologist and weather presenter from the Met Office.

Presenter Marnie Chesterton has been behind the scenes at Cambridge’s Natural History Museum with Assistant Dir...

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 regularly discussed but never come to fruition, but now a new report has suggested that a tidal lagoon should be created in the Severn Estuary to generate electricity. Guest presenter Tom Whipple speaks to Chair of the Severn Estuary Commission, Dr Andrew Garrad, about whether this w...

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 does this mean for our understanding of how we all came to exist – and even our fate?

These big questions were prompted by new data from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument team at the Kitt Peak National Observatory in Arizona. To explain what was found, whether it’s right and just ...

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 understand why wild birds are in trouble despite government promises to halt nature decline by 2030.

Ben goes birdwatching in Norfolk to see the impact for himself and then heads back to the studio to hear about the kind of threats birds face and what is happening to tackle the problem. ...

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 years five and nine are now “significantly” outperforming girls in both subjects, the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study suggests.

Ben Garrod is joined by physicist Dr Jess Wade, from Imperial College London, and maths teacher and National Numeracy ambassador Bobby Seagull, t...

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 clear.

These precious resources are a hot geopolitical bargaining chip thanks to our reliance on them in everything from mobile phones to wind turbines.

This week, Inside Science unearths everything you need to know about critical minerals; what they are, why they’re critical, and what...

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 should we trust tools like this - and what are the dangers?

And what about the problem of AI generated text and images? We talk to an ‘image integrity analyst’ who hunts down fake or manipulated pictures in scientific papers.

Finally, the planets of the solar system are coming into a...

Scientists gather this week to tackle emerging risks from cutting-edge biotech, echoing the landmark Asilomar conference that shaped genetic engineering safety 50 years ago. What new threats face us, and how can the scientific community stay ahead of them?

Also in the programme: are you feeling asteroid anxiety? We take a closer look at the chances that ‘2024 YR4’ will hit us... We get the latest calculations on this space rock's po...

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 Trump administration has issued a huge number of orders – amongst them, large funding cuts for scientific institutions. We unpick what the implications are for the country’s role on the global scientific stage.

Also in the programme, we take another look at phone bans in schools. Wh...

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 mean for the scientists and penguins in its path?

And from a giant ‘megaberg’ to a giant pile of highly radioactive material, we find out what locking away a load of radioactive waste has in common with baking a cake.

And we’re joined by science journalist Caroline Steel to guide us thr...

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 heat last year, does it even matter anymore?

Climate scientist Mark Maslin and environmental psychologist Lorraine Whitmarsh discuss.

Also this week, new clues about how life may have begun from a dusty space rock called Bennu, and New Scientist’s Graham Lawton brings us the science of ...

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 on every day.

Lithium-ion batteries were a technological breakthrough, powering everything from mobile phones to electric vehicles, but as funding is poured into researching alternatives, are we on the verge of something safer, faster, and more efficient?

Also this week, we learn about t...