IFLScience - The Big Questions (IFLScience)

The climate crisis is unfolding around us with extreme weather events becoming more common and living organisms having to survive or perish in a changing world. In this episode, host Dr Alfredo Carpineti sat down with Dr Alexandre Kōberle, a research fellow at the Grantham Institute for Climate Change, to discuss how we got here, how we can avoid the worse case scenarios, what political will is needed, and if there are ways to actually fix the mess we are in? 

Everything we see, from galaxies to capybaras, is made of matter. But matter has a mirrored version of itself known as antimatter. If the two come into contact they annihilate one another, turning into pure energy. Why does the universe prefer one over the other? This is a fundamental mystery of the universe, and at the forefront of the search for an answer is the Alpha Experiment at CERN. In this episode, host Dr Alfredo Carpineti is joined by experimental physicist and Alpha spokesperson Professor Jeffrey Hangst to understand the nature of mysterious antimatter.

During the holiday season, many of us will be tucking into delicious meals which may well include a whole host of meats. But have you ever thought about going meat-free this time of year? With concerns over the impact of meat consumption on the planet, thoughts are turning to the future of the industry and how the tastes and textures that many people enjoy can be replicated in meat-free alternatives.

In a bonus holiday episode of IFLScience The Big Questions, available on all platforms, host Eleanor Higgs speaks with Daniel Dikovsky, chief technology officer at Redefine Meat, to find out how scientists and engineers are working to create plant-based, 3D-printed meat alternatives without the environmental impact.

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In this age of climate change, habitat loss, and destruction of the natural world, we take an in-depth look at one endangered species in particular: the northern white rhino. Just two females remain in the world and neither are capable of carrying a pregnancy. With such constraints in place, we ask the experts if it's possible to save a species on the very brink of extinction.

Host Eleanor Higgs spoke with Dr Susanne Holtze from the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research to discuss if and how it might be possible to use genetics research to save the northern white rhino from extinction and whether we should even try.

It’s the holiday season, and what better time to gather your loved ones together and absolutely trounce them in an hours-long board game marathon?

Humans have been playing and enjoying competitive games for centuries. For this special episode of The Big Questions, host Laura Simmons sat down with Kelly Clancy, neuroscientist and physicist, and author of recent book Playing with Reality: How Games Shape Our World, to find out more about why we love competition so much, and what our long history of gameplaying together can teach us about each other – and ourselves. 

Coming soon: join IFLScience as we explore the questions nobody thought to ask but everyone wants the answers to. Get the behind-the-scenes conversations from CURIOUS magazine’s We Have Questions interviews, as we hunt down the experts to answer some of science’s stranger questions. Until then, catch up with the E-magazine here: https://www.iflscience.com/curious-magazine

Homo sapiens – us – are the only surviving human species. The question, and it is a big one, is why? Who were the species that came before us, or lived alongside us, and what happened to them?

Host Dr Alfredo Carpineti is joined by Professor Chris Stringer, human evolution research lead at the Natural History Museum, London, to explore the journey that we and the other human species took to end up here.

From extraterrestrial intelligence to simple life forms, the Universe might be teeming with life. Can we find and communicate with these life forms? IFLScience spoke to Dr Seth Shostak, Senior Astronomer at the SETI Institute to tackle the fundamental question: are we alone in the Universe?

Hinging our happiness on animals known to have a significantly shorter lifespan than our own was, in hindsight, a bad idea. Saying goodbye to a pet is an incredibly painful time in a person’s life, but what if there were a way we could help our pets live longer, better lives?

That’s exactly what Celine Halioua has been exploring as CEO and founder of Loyal, a biotech startup developing drugs to extend dog lifespan. Join host Rachael Funnell as she finds out if science really can help dogs live longer. 

Are humans done evolving – or could settling on an alien world with an environment unlike Earth’s take us on a different evolutionary trajectory?

Host Tom Hale is joined by Scott Solomon, author and professor of bioscience at Rice University, to discuss the myriad ways Homo sapiens may continue to evolve on Earth, and how future human settlements on Mars might influence our species’ evolution.   

Science can’t be sexist, we hear you cry, it’s methodical, rational. And yet science is carried out by humans who are often a product of the time and place they operate in, struggling to overcome intrinsic biases and outside influence.

Host Katy Evans is joined by zoologist and presenter Lucy Cooke, author of Bitch: A Revolutionary Guide to Sex, Evolution and the Female Animal, to discuss how these biases have affected – and sometimes prevented – what we know about animal biology in some truly eye-opening ways, and hopefully debunk some myths along the way. 

We live in a society that idolizes youth for sure, but also with age comes wisdom. However, aging is not all it’s cracked up to be. Could we keep getting older without the drawbacks of being old? Other animals do it, so maybe one day it could apply to humans too. In this episode, host Dr Alfredo Carpineti is joined by Dr Andrew Steele, author of Ageless: The New Science of Getting Older Without Getting Old, to talk about the medical fight against old age at a cellular level and whether humans could ever live forever. 

Welcome to IFLScience’s first-ever Halloween podcast special, bringing you a feature-length episode of The Big Questions as we take on the UK’s most haunted castle. We journeyed to Northumberland up by the Anglo-Scottish border to spend the night in Chillingham Castle, a place that allegedly boasts an above-average number of ghosts. We wanted to explore what attracts people to sites such as this one, even inspiring folks to gear up with a host of ghost-hunting tools and try and communicate with spirits, despite the fact we’ve yet to find any evidence for their existence.

At IFLScience, we don’t do things by halves, so we threw it all at the wall: Ouija boards, dungeon immersion, dowsing rods, spirit boxes, and just a bit of old-fashioned wandering around in the dark. We also spoke to Emeritus Professor Chris French, an expert in anomalistic psychology, and the founders of the Recreational Fear Lab to top up on the science of fear and better understand why it is the paranormal has us all in such a choke hold.

So, join IFLScience's Chris Carpineti, Dr Beccy Corkill, Rachael Funnell, and Dr Russ Moul as they journey into the unknown in this very special episode of The Big Questions.

In school, math is one of those polarizing subjects that people either love or hate. For each person complaining they will never use Pythagoras theorem outside of class, there is somebody else pointing out that math is actually about learning skills like problem-solving. In this episode, host Dr Alfredo Carpineti asks a controversial Big Question: "Is math the greatest subject in the world?" To make the case is British mathematician Professor Nira Chamberlain, listed by the Science Council as “one of the UK’s top 100 scientists”. His reasoning should get even the biggest math skeptics on board.  

There are many methods that allow us to look back into Earth’s past and study its climate, including the collection of ice cores. Extracting ancient ice from deep inside some of the most remote glaciers can reveal how our planet has changed over millions of years. But it’s not just about the past: what is ancient ice telling us about the future?

Host Dr Alfredo Carpineti spoke with Dr Liz Thomas of the Ice Core Research Group at the British Antarctic Survey to discuss how understanding Earth’s changing climate helps refine our models for the future and how the natural world is responding to the unfolding climate crisis.

Computers and supercomputers, whether we like them or not, run our lives. They have revolutionized every aspect of society and we rely on their technology to push beyond our limits. But what about their limits?  What are they, when will we reach them, and can we avoid them? Host Dr Alfredo Carpineti is joined by Professor Mazhar Ali of the Delft University of Technology, whose team has developed a one-way superconductor with exciting applications in computing, to discuss this and more.

As the human population increases so too does our demand for food, but in the face of the climate crisis scientists are seeking alternative and sustainable solutions to traditional agricultural practices. In this episode of IFLScience, The Big Questions, we teamed up with BBC Earth to speak with Luca Gamberini of Nemo’s Garden to ask: Is the future of farming underwater?

Nemo’s Garden is working to create an alternative system of agriculture that uses the oceans and other bodies of water to establish a more sustainable way of farming. In this episode, host Rachael Funnell speaks to Gamberini about the complexities of farming underwater and how their innovative agricultural practices could help to protect and conserve the planet.

This episode is presented in partnership with BBC Earth as part of #OurGreenPlanet – an impact initiative that aims to protect our green spaces by sharing the extraordinary stories of people around the globe dedicating their lives to positive change. In association with Moondance Foundation.

What and how we eat plays a huge role in keeping us healthy. The role of diet in helping us when we are fighting off diseases is also enormous, but not discussed often enough. Dr Alfredo Carpineti sat down with Dr William Li to talk about cutting-edge research on how diet helps us stay healthy, and the role it plays in supporting medical treatments. Dr Li is a physician, scientist, president, and medical director of the Angiogenesis Foundation, and author of Eat To Beat Disease: The New Science of How Your Body Can Heal Itself. You can read his book, with plenty of science and recipes, here: https://drwilliamli.com/book-li. The content or material provided through the IFLScience publications is provided for informational purposes only and should not be construed as medical or other professional advice or opinion.

Of all the mysteries of the universe, none is closer to us as human beings than this one: what is consciousness? How does our brain turn electrical signals into thoughts and feelings? In this episode, host Dr Alfredo Carpineti and Professor Liad Mudrik from the School of Psychological Sciences And Sagol School of Neuroscience at Tel Aviv University discuss these questions and more as they try and get to the bottom of what is consciousness?

It’s no secret that the planet is getting warmer, but how are our bodies responding to increased exposure to extreme conditions? From record-breaking temperatures to an uptick in severe weather warnings, the consequences of the climate crisis are all around – so how is climate change impacting our health?

This is The Big Question host Rachael Funnell put to author and neuroscientist Clayton Aldern. Author of The Weight of Nature: How a Changing Climate Changes Our Minds, Brains and Bodies, Aldern is well versed in the science that backs up what we know about how extreme weather can alter the way we think, act, and feel.

You can listen to this episode and subscribe to the podcast on all your favorite podcast apps: Apple Podcast, Spotify, Google Podcast, Podbean, Amazon Music, and more. A transcript of the conversation is available here.

It’s no secret that species extinction and biodiversity loss are making our environment increasingly less stable. As it feels like we inch closer to waving goodbye to threatened animals like the Javan rhino, a question springs to mind: How do we know when a species is extinct? How, for instance, do we know there aren’t some animals left just hiding in a bush somewhere? In this episode, host Rachael Funnell puts the question to Dr Barney Long of Re:wild, whose mission is the conservation of endangered mammal species and ways of recovering their populations.

As much as everyone enjoys flying abroad for their holidays, the cost of the climate impact might be making people think twice. So what can we do? Aside from paying to offset the carbon, the emergence of a new industry is hoping to change the way we fly. Sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs) or e-fuels are looking to replace traditional fuels as a much greener alternative, but there’s still a long way to go.

Host Eleanor Higgs spoke with Sophie Zienkiewicz and Alasdair Lumsden, co-founders of Carbon Neutral Fuels, to find out if it might be possible to replace the fuel in our airplanes, capture carbon from the world around us, and provide a carbon-neutral alternative when we take to the sky.

Every second of every day, whether we’re actively aware of it or not, we’re using our imagination: from what we might have for dinner to life on other worlds. But how can our brains conjure up stuff that we are not looking at or even images of things that don’t exist? Our host Dr Alfredo Carpineti is joined by cognitive scientist Professor Tyler Marghetis from the University of California, Merced to discuss how imagination works, how we can have "Eureka!" moments, and if imagination works the same for everyone.

Space junk is a problem and it’s only set to get worse. In 2018, there were over 2,000 satellites in orbit. Now, thanks to mega-constellations like Starlink, there are 9,000 satellites, and by the end of the decade, this number is expected to reach 60,000. A crowded space environment runs the risk of Kessler Syndrome, where there is so much pollution in orbit that collisions between objects become inevitable, and produce even more space junk.

Host Dr Alfredo Carpineti spoke with space environmentalist Professor Moriba Jah from the University of Texas at Austin to discuss why space junk is such a big deal and how we can make space safe, secure, and sustainable.

Polar bears have long been the poster animal and early warning system for all things climate change. We asked experts what is really going on with the “white hairy canaries” of the Arctic. 

Host Eleanor Higgs spoke with Alysa McCall, Polar Bears International Staff Scientist and Director of Conservation Outreach, on the polar bear monster truck to find out all about the Hudson Bay polar bear population, how “bear-dar” AI is used to protect communities, and to answer the question: How Is Climate Change Affecting Polar Bear Populations?

For as long as humans have walked this Earth, we have been using chemicals to alter our state of mind. Drugs and alcohol have been used in rituals and medication, for inspiration and escapism, as well as a way to cope with the world. Only in more recent decades have we begun to appreciate the physiological effects that substances have on our brains through science. Host Dr Alfredo Carpineti spoke to neuropsychopharmacologist Professor David Nutt about these effects and a new approach to manufacturing alcohol without the negative consequences.

The Sun shapes what goes on in space around our planet. Plasma from our star is continuously thrown at Earth in the form of solar winds or coronal mass ejections, changing the shape of the magnetic field, and affecting the atmosphere and anything in it, like the satellites that we depend on. These changes are part of what we call space weather.

Host Dr Alfredo Carpineti spoke to Dr Nigel Meredith of the British Antarctic Survey about what space weather actually is and how it affects us. We even have some incredible recordings of what these space weather events sound like! 

Humanity's ever-growing need for energy has led to a world that is dramatically changing, ravaged by extreme weather events. The way we get power has to change. Our question in this episode is about a potential new approach. Can we master nuclear fusion and achieve unlimited energy? Our host Dr Alfredo Carpineti talks to Dr Elise Delchambre of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) in France – the world's largest fusion experiment – about nuclear fusion, the many challenges ahead, and how it might change the world. 

Studying the Universe told us the cosmos began with the Big Bang. But how will everything end? In a cold and desolate nothingness? Or will everything collapse back into itself in a Big Crunch? In this episode, host Dr Alfredo Carpineti is joined by theoretical astrophysicist Dr Katie Mack, the Hawking Chair in Cosmology and Science Communication at the Perimeter Institute, who has written extensively about the subject. Together they discuss what the curtain call of the Universe might look like. 

Where do baby dinosaurs come from? It’s a question that’s been burning in the collective brain of the IFLScience team for some time. In this episode, host Rachael Funnell speaks with science writer and palaeontologist Riley Black to find out what science has discovered so far about the sex lives of dinosaurs.

It’s no secret that octopuses are intelligent – but are they sentient? And how is that reflected in the way that they’re treated?

Host Rachael Funnell is joined by Sy Montgomery, author of Secrets of the Octopus, and Sophika Kostyniuk, Managing Director at the Aquatic Life Institute, to discuss the evidence for octopuses’ sentience, and how that could impact the rights they’re afforded in science, agriculture, and the wider world.

Solar activity goes through cycles. The main one is about 11 years long and its maximum is marked by powerful eruptions of electromagnetic radiation known as solar flares, as well as releases of plasma known as coronal mass ejections. The most powerful known flare happened in 1859 and led to telegraph stations catching fire across the US, and Northern and Southern Lights becoming visible in the tropics.

Host Dr Alfredo Carpineti spoke with Dr Ryan French, astronomer at the National Solar Observatory and author of The Sun: Beginner's Guide to Our Local Star, to find out about solar flares and what would happen if a massive one took place today.

The climate crisis is affecting glaciers across the world in myriad ways. Dramatic melting, steep declines, and overall reduction in mass are some of the changes seen in both polar glaciers and the mountainous peaks of every continent. Understanding these changes requires understanding how we monitor these enormous ice masses. The health of glaciers affects the well-being of the populations living near them, but they have far-reaching consequences, such as global sea level rise. 

Host Dr Alfredo Carpineti spoke with Dr Peter Davis from the British Antarctic Survey about Thwaites Glacier in Antarctica, otherwise known as the "Doomsday Glacier". Thwaites is Antarctica's most endangered glacier and studying it is of global importance. 

Antibiotic resistance is a major health concern. We now have several harmful microbes that have evolved into versions unaffected by common treatments. To find new antibiotics scientists are looking further afield, including in the ocean.

Host Dr Alfredo Carpineti speaks to Dr Sam Afoullouss, a marine scientist at the University of South Florida, about the interesting chemistry found in the deep sea and its potential to be the pharmacy of the future.  

In the 30 years since the Spielberg movie came out, people from all walks of life have wondered if bringing back dinosaurs is possible, and we couldn’t let the anniversary pass without asking scientists working on dinosaurs and cloning if such a feat is feasible.

IFLScience’s Digital Content Producer Rachael Funnell spoke with Dr. Susie Maidment from the Natural History Museum London and Ben Lamm from Colossal Biosciences to ask a question 66 million 30 years in the making: Is Jurassic Park possible?

Our Solar System is very stable. Planets, dwarf planets, asteroids, and comets go forth in their orbit without trouble. But it won't be like this forever. The future of the solar system will have major changes in the Sun and in the planets. We spoke with astronomer Dr Jon Zink to cast our mind's eye far into the future and explore the end of the solar system.

Everything we see and interact with, regular matter, is only a small fraction of what the universe contains. In fact, the vast majority of the universe is invisible to us. We've named these mysterious components dark matter and dark energy, but our understanding of them – and if they even exist – remains lacking. To unravel more of this mystery, Dr Alfredo Carpineti sat down with Dr Mandeep Gill from the Dark Energy Survey collaboration to ask: Will the new generation of upcoming observatories help us understand what the universe is really made of?

The path beyond the limits of regular computers, even the most powerful supercomputer, lies with the theory of quantum mechanics. Quantum computing promises to change the world, but how do quantum computers work, and how close are we to this fabled new approach to computation?

Host Dr Alfredo Carpineti spoke with Professor Winfried Hensinger, Professor of Quantum Technology at the University of Sussex, to discuss why we need quantum computers, what they would be used for, and why it's taking so long to get them.   

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