Whether you’re curious about getting healthy, the Big Bang or the science of cooking, find out everything you need to know with Instant Genius. The team behind BBC Science Focus Magazine talk to world-leading experts to bring you two bite-sized masterclasses on a new subject each week. New episodes are released every Monday and Friday and you can subscribe to Instant Genius on Apple Podcasts to access all new episodes ad-free and all old episodes of Instant Genius Extra. Watch full episodes of Instant Genius on BBC Science Focus Magazine's YouTube channel. Follow us on X: @SFIGPod
663 episodes transcribedWay back in 1976, NASA’s Viking landers touched down on Mars to search for potential signs of microbial life that could currently exist on the planet’...
Every single day of our lives, we’re exposed to a vast multitude of experiences and interactions with the various people, objects and technologies in...
While largely viewed as a toxic waste product with no practical use, our urine is actually rich in all manner of valuable nutrients that, with a littl...
It’s clear to all of us that the rapid progress that technology has made over the last century or so has had profound impacts on almost every aspect o...
It’s a good bet that if most of us were to glance around our living rooms or offices, we’d quickly spot all manner of electronic devices that are powe...
For most of us, music has a unique, almost supernatural, ability to trigger our emotions and memories and conjure up evocative images or even fantasie...
Most of us think about the liver as simply being the body’s filtration system that acts as a sponge that removes toxins from our bloodstreams. But the...
Despite affecting as many as 80 per cent of women by the age of 50, fibroids, lumps of tissue that grow in or around the womb, are not commonly discus...
It was previously thought that once our brains suffer an injury due to stroke or trauma, the potential for recovery was severely limited. But recent d...
When most of us think of parasites, our minds will likely turn to thoughts of the various icky creatures that can invade our bodies, make their homes...
When it comes to the effects of ageing on our bodies, there are many more factors at play than simply the number of years we’ve been alive. It turns o...
The truth is, when most of us think of wasps, our minds will likely go to memories of irritating winged pests landing in our drinks when we’re trying...
These days the supplement industry is booming – supermarket shelves are stacked high with all manner of pills and powders claiming to do everything fr...
Although it often goes unnoticed, plankton is the most abundant form of life in Earth’s oceans, making up 95 per cent of all oceanic biomass. These ti...
Every minute of every day, our bodies are flooded with a complex web of hormones – chemical messengers that travel through the bloodstream, coordinati...
Becoming a parent is undoubtedly one of the biggest events that can occur in any of our lifetimes – suddenly we have a tiny living being to take care...
While the larger, more impressive or charismatic animal and plant species often receive the most attention, the natural world is filled with lesser-kn...
In June of every year, the LGBTQ+ community across the world comes together to celebrate Pride Month – an annual event that began in 1970 to promote a...
Whether it’s the swab tests many of us use to help us piece together our family trees, the painstaking detective work carried out by forensic scientis...
Traditionally, ecologists wanting to take stock of the diversity, health and population levels of animal species within a given environment have neede...
