Weekly: America is turning its back on science and the cosmos; photosynthesis limits; mysterious memory illusion
03/14/25 • 27 min
Episode 293
The future of NASA and of US science is under threat, following cuts made by the Trump administration. Johns Hopkins University lost $800 million in grants this week which will impact the health of people all over the world. At the same time, there’s chaos at NASA where the budget is set to be cut in half, with multiple people losing their jobs overnight. What missions will we have to sacrifice - and will NASA survive?
As we pump ever increasing amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, some people argue this is actually a benefit to the world’s plant life. As carbon dioxide rises, photosynthesis can increase - but only up to a point. New research shows there’s a limit to this effect and many, many consequences. One study on trees suggests rising CO2 levels could impact the carbon storage capacity, and the lifespan, of the world’s forests.
Our understanding of memory has been flipped on its head. Researchers have been looking into a memory illusion that warps our perception of time. In a clever experiment, they’ve shown that experiencing something multiple times not only makes our memory of it stronger, but also makes us think it’s an older memory too. Find out what’s happening - and how there is no single thing as “memory”.
Chapters:
(00:21) The future of NASA
(6:52) Photosynthesis collapse
(19:59) The mystery of memory
Hosted by Rowan Hooper and Penny Sarchet, with guests Jacob Aron, Madeleine Cuff, Sophie Berdugo, Rob MacKenzie, Gustaf Degen, Ian Billick and Alex Easton.
To read more about these stories, visit https://www.newscientist.com/
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Episode 293
The future of NASA and of US science is under threat, following cuts made by the Trump administration. Johns Hopkins University lost $800 million in grants this week which will impact the health of people all over the world. At the same time, there’s chaos at NASA where the budget is set to be cut in half, with multiple people losing their jobs overnight. What missions will we have to sacrifice - and will NASA survive?
As we pump ever increasing amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, some people argue this is actually a benefit to the world’s plant life. As carbon dioxide rises, photosynthesis can increase - but only up to a point. New research shows there’s a limit to this effect and many, many consequences. One study on trees suggests rising CO2 levels could impact the carbon storage capacity, and the lifespan, of the world’s forests.
Our understanding of memory has been flipped on its head. Researchers have been looking into a memory illusion that warps our perception of time. In a clever experiment, they’ve shown that experiencing something multiple times not only makes our memory of it stronger, but also makes us think it’s an older memory too. Find out what’s happening - and how there is no single thing as “memory”.
Chapters:
(00:21) The future of NASA
(6:52) Photosynthesis collapse
(19:59) The mystery of memory
Hosted by Rowan Hooper and Penny Sarchet, with guests Jacob Aron, Madeleine Cuff, Sophie Berdugo, Rob MacKenzie, Gustaf Degen, Ian Billick and Alex Easton.
To read more about these stories, visit https://www.newscientist.com/
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Previous Episode
Weekly: Chimps, bonobos and humans have more in common than you might think
Episode 292
Chimps are often seen as our hyper-aggressive ancestral cousins, while bonobos are famously more peaceful and caring. But studies of their sexual habits and practices show they are much more alike than we realised. Both apes appear to use sex and genital contact not just to reproduce, but also to smooth tensions in the group, deal with stressful situations and handle conflict at feeding time. Sophie Bergudo has recently finished a PhD on chimp behaviour and shares insights from her time spent with wild chimps in Bossou in Guinea, West Africa. Beyond sex, she also explores a unique display of tool use among these chimps, who use stone tools to crack open nuts. Find out why this UN protected cultural behaviour is on the brink of extinction.
Ancient humans were using tools made from animal bones over 1 million years earlier than we thought. We know our ancestors used stone tools at least 2.6 million years ago, but have only had evidence of bone use from about 400,000 years ago. But now archaeologists have unearthed at least 27 bone tools from the Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania, that are at least 1.5 million years old - shifting our understanding of the evolution of these technologies.
The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is exploring ways to grow massive biological structures in space, to be used as telescope antennas, huge nets to catch debris or space elevators linking Earth’s surface to orbit. The idea is quite ‘out there’, even for DARPA. The question is, is it even possible?
Chapters:
(00:58) Sexuality of chimps and bonobos
(17:31) Ancient animal bone tools
(22:41) Creating biological space structures
Hosted by Rowan Hooper and Penny Sarchet, with guests Sophie Berdugo, Jake Brooker and Katarina Almeida-Warren.
To read more about these stories, visit https://www.newscientist.com/
Listen to our previous episode on why chimps are stuck in the stone age:
Read Sophie’s article on ancient tools here:
Read Rowan’s column on building a lunar space elevator here:
Image credits:
CSIC
Credit Jake Brooker/ Chimfunshi Wildlife Orphanage Trust
Zanna Clay/ Lola ya Bonobo
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Next Episode
Weekly: Life on Mars; biggest dark energy discovery in decades; the mystery of dark oxygen
Episode 294
Markings discovered on rocks from Mars look to be good evidence that microbial life once existed on the Red Planet. NASA’s Perseverance rover spotted little speckles on rocks in part of Jezero crater, and minerals usually formed in the presence of water. New analysis suggests these markings also contain signs of organic compounds. Presented with the possibility of microbial Martians, can we now say Mars really did once have life?
Dark energy, the mysterious force thought to be driving the expansion of the universe, might be getting weaker. If it is, that completely upends our understanding of the universe - from one that’s getting bigger and bigger, to one that could eventually collapse in a “big crunch”. Results from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) in Arizona may be the biggest discovery about dark energy we’ve had in 25 years.
Last year we had the controversial discovery that “dark” oxygen may be produced by metallic nodules on the seafloor. But it was widely contested and the exact mechanism unknown. But researchers in China now think they’ve figured out what’s going on - dark oxygen could be key to keeping deep sea creatures alive, with implications for life beyond Earth.
Chapters:
(00:31) Suggestions of past life on Mars
(7:42) Dark energy and how the universe might end
(11:56) Solving the mystery of dark oxygen
Hosted by Rowan Hooper and Penny Sarchet, with guests Jacob Aron and Michael Le Page.
To read more about these stories, visit https://www.newscientist.com/
Video credit: Perseverance Explores the Jezero Crater Delta
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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