Love and Science

Lactose Tolerance, Women in Science and your ideas for a Europa Mission

Andrew was delighted to be joined in the studio by Tay Aziz who is a member of the Live Sciences team at At Bristol and is just beginning a project looking at perceptions of Women in Science.

Andrew and Tay discovered how we all don't see the world as it really is and actually prefer the fake version of reality to the real thing.

Andrew also catches up with the wonderful Dr Julie Dunne of Bristol University to explore how 10,000 years ago everyone on earth was Lactose Intolerant...

Peggy Whitsun goes on an unplanned Space Walk tomorrow and Andrew and Tay ponder that and much more about the night sky, includng NASA calling for ideas for a mission to Europa to look for alien life.

We also hear how Instagram has got a bad bit of PR recently with a study showing it is bad for young people's self esteem.

Science and Religion, Volcanoes and Jupiter

Malcolm and Andrew were delighted to be joined in the studio by Ailsa Nailsmith, a phd student researching Volcanoes and the risks associcated with them.

Ailsa told us all about her volcano Volcán de Fuego, Guatemala and vulcanism more widely and had us both enthralled.

Malcolm told us all about his recent trip to Bulgaria where he gave a talk all about the intersection between Religion and Science.

Andrew nearly falls off his chair with excitement several times as he tries to pick his highlights from the first findings of the Juno mission.

Jupiter's pole as photographed by NASA's wonderful Juno mission

John Ford pops in at the end for an on this day and tells us this is one of our best ever shows. We hope you agree.

Mars, Bees, Orcas, Sophie's Wild Cornwall and Pint of Science

Malcolm and Andrew are joined in the studio by Sophia Pavelle, Rachel Botrugno and Jamini Thakrar to discuss the origins of Mars, the awful fate of one of the UK's most precious creatures and much, much more.

Left to right: Malcolm, Andrew, Jamini, Rachel and Sophia.

Sophia tells us all about her 300 mile walk around the coats of Cornwall this summer to explore the wildlife and discover how social media can engage people with science and nature. You can find out more on her website.

Jamini and Rachel tell us all about Pint of Science including this rather unmissable opportunity to meet and hear from the man who has saved the lives and mental health of so many new born children. Get your tickets now.

We also chat about the effect of some pesticides on bees.

Chris Packham, PT Scientists and their Moon Rovers and Hobbits

Andrew is joined in the studio by Harriet Croome as they discuss bird poaching with Chris Packham, Karsten Becker tells us about his plans to send two rovers to the Moon in 2018, hitching a ride on one of Elon Musk's rockets and Grace Mullally joins us to tell us all about a brand new exhibition exploring CRISPR technology coming to Bristol this week.

Karsten Becker is head of electronics at PTScientists who are sending two rovers to the Apollo 17 landing site next year. This is what they look like.

Chris Packham was talking to Andrew at the March for Science in Bristol

The SynBioExpo exhibition runs Tuesday 25th April to Saturday 29th April. Open 10am – 6pm daily.
Admission is free. For more information visit their Facebook page or click on the image below.

Here is Alice Roberts on the "Hobbits"  Homo floresiensis.

Pint of Science, the lost atmosphere of Mars and Lyme Disease

Malcolm and Andrew were delighted to be joined in the studio by three of Bristol's Pint of Science team (left to right: Jamie Thakra, Sharon Hook and Hanna Isotalus).

 

Pint of Science is a three day festival which comes to Bristol, along with several other places around the world, where science comes to the pub. We hear all about it. Get your tickets here now

We also talk about Mars losing its atmosphere, as revealed by NASA"s Maven mission and how we are missing a vaccine for Lyme's disease even though we actually have a vaccine for it!

Moon, Mars, Trappist 1 and Dinosaurs Reclassified

Guests galore as Andrew tries to fill the void left by Malcolm. Luke Jerram tells us about his stunning artwork Museum of the Moon, Emeline Bolmont tells us about the tidal effects on and of the Trappist 1 planets and Andrew is joined in the studio by Maddy Nichols and Steve Bullock to discuss all that and much more.

Dinosaurs are reclassified, the waters on Mars are Tsunamis in one report and not the cause of streaks in another.

This handy graphic from the BBC explains the Dinosaur reclassification we talk about.

Boaty McBoatface launches, Ben Carson and Memory Palaces

Malcolm and Andrew are joined by Dr Dean Burnett, author of Idiot Brain and the Brain Flapping blog on the Guardian website to discuss just how wrong Ben Carson was about the way the brain works in his speech this week.

The Boaty McBoatfaces (3 submarines looking into Climate Change) launch on their first mission and Malcolm and Andrew discuss the findings that Memory Palaces are scientifially demonstrated to boost your memory significantly.

There's also the news that Andrew's podcast The Cosmic Shed is up for an award. The Bristol Life Awards, in fact.

Malcolm and Andrew also consider whether Fast Radio Bursts could really be aliens and how our brains fill in the gaps of words when we don't actually hear them.

How Mars lost its atmosphere, The Nature Report and Michael Gillon

Michael Gillon is the lead scientist on the Trappist project which found the seven exoplanets orbiting the star Trappist 1, just 40 light years from Earth and we are thrilled to say that he joined us for this episode of Love and Science. He tells us just how they found those planets and what we might see in the sky if we were to be standing on the surface of one of them. Quite simply amazing. You can hear the full interview over on Andrew's other podcast The Cosmic Shed.

An update from MAVEN, NASA's Mars probe tells us how Mars lost its atmosphere and we hear from Sarah Moore of the Avon Wildlife Trust on the reasons for the delay in the government's Nature report and we also hear about how elephants sleep and Andrew wonders how they can remember so well without enough REM sleep.

Love and Science is a radio show on BCFM. Malcolm Love and Andrew Glester present an hour of fascinating facts, interviews and reviews from the world of science.

The podcast does not include any of the music from the original radio show. To hear that you need to tune in on Monday afternoons to BCFM on 93.2FM in Bristol or online here.

Trappist 1, Bees playing golf, Zealandia and Cucumber

NASA announced the discovery of a treasure trove of planets and, in this show, Malcolm and Andrew try to contain their excitement as they discuss this amazing discovery. 

The (relatively) newly discovered continent of Zealandia makes us ponder just what else is lurking in our oceans and we hear about the never endingly wonderful world of animals with birds feeling a sense of justice and bees playing golf.

Katy Parrott, Steve Wright, Natural History and Drones

Natural History filmmaker and star of BBC Two's Special Forces - Ultimate Hell Week, Katy Parrott joins Malcolm and Andrew to chat about natural history film making and what on earth possessed her to sign up for Ultimate Hell.

Dr Steve Wright is the second guest of the show and he joins in for a fascinating chat about drones, both racing and autonomous.

Besides all that, the de-extinction of mammoths edges closer, Space X have another successful launch and much more.