On this week’s show, we explored the implications of the banned Iceland Christmas advert, Imperial College’s groundbreaking space exploration and some blue-sky scientists’ research – growing cells in a lab, which could create life.

This week: Soyuz spacecraft failure; fracking resumes in the UK; and mice with two mothers.

Sleep is vital for our bodies to function. Yet as our lives become more hectic, many of us dip in to sleep time for those extra hours. But Ravi Shankar explores why this may not be such a good idea.

Some of the greatest parasitic killers and diseases in the world are neglected. However, a new collaborative framework of chemistry students may be about tackle these overlooked killers.

‘De-extinction’ scientists are trying to bring back dead species, but some have raised concerns about these efforts

Doctors develop AI that diagnoses tuberculosis with 96 percent accuracy, and may lead to improved screening and better treatment success rates

Researchers have discovered that low levels of the protein NPTX2 and a build-up of amyloid plaques in the brain may play a role in dementia.

Scientists have found new chemistry that could hint at the origins of Life on Earth, and in turn, our ancestry.

We discuss the diversity of intersex people whose experience of gender goes beyond the traditional categories of male and female.

Flibanserin has become the first FDA-approved drug for female sexual dysfunction. But does lack of sexual desire require treatment?

Cheyenne McCray brings us the five weirdest lovers of the animal kingdom…

Syed Asaad Qadri explains the complex internal communication of giving birth

New evidence from the forests of Brazil sheds light on glowing mushrooms…

Karin Valencia is a PhD student in Imperial’s DNA Topology research group. The term ‘DNA structure’ may bring to mind any number of things, from the television drama CSI to the famous double helix. Perhaps less familiar are the ‘higher-order’ structural features of DNA, namely knots. DNA in nature can be found to be ‘knotted’ […]

We all do a bit of running, whether to a bus, to the shops, or away from an awkward encounter. But, have you ever thought about just how complicated the motion is? Well a game that has become all the rage on the internet will show you just how difficult it is. QWOP (named after the keys […]

  There may be plenty of fish in the sea but the medaka knows what it likes. A single gene mutation that causes the Japanese Killifish to be born a drab grey colour has proved to be a turn-off to members of the opposite sex. By over-expressing the ‘ginger gene’ in the medaka ‘super attractive’ bright […]

Hollywood has never had a particularly good reputation for scientific accuracy. However, recently its science acumen has received a boost. It is currently the first time that the ‘reigning’ best actor and actress have been both been scientifically published. Colin Firth, has taken time out from swimming in country lakes and stuttering to co-author a […]

The dulcet tones of Morgan Freeman and the journey of the Emperor penguins warmed the hearts of millions following the release of March of the Penguins. However, the evolutionary trail of the species is equally as interesting. A new study, published in the journal Science, tells of the discovery of a ‘Giant Penguin’ fossil discovery with implications […]