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
633 episodes transcribedIn springtime, as the Sun rises, the early morning air is filled with the glorious sound of birdsong. This is known as the dawn chorus. But why exactl...
Forests cover around one-third of all landmass on Earth and, as such, play a key role in the ecological health of the entire planet. However, thanks t...
For most of us, our experience of flowers is limited to sending a bouquet to our loved ones on special occasions or perhaps picking up some pretty pla...
While we may not always be consciously aware of it, chemical processes are busy whirring away every second of every day, no matter what we’re doing or...
Perhaps due to poor weather, the COVID pandemic, or a simple lack of motivation, these days many of us spend a lot of our time indoors. However, where...
Smelly, dirty and a bit embarrassing – we tend to treat our poo as a private matter, to be dealt with in the bathroom and then stringently ignored. Bu...
Planet Earth is currently facing its sixth mass extinction event, with hundreds of species of plants and animals being lost for good every single day....
If you were to mention the term gout, the chances are that most of us would think of the gluttonous sovereigns of yesteryear who ended up with the con...
Thanks to our highly developed brains, sophisticated ability to communicate and use of advanced technology, it can be easy to think that we humans are...
The human brain is undoubtedly one of the true marvels of nature. But many of the neural mechanisms that evolved to keep our ancestors alive over thou...
The natural world is filled with a rich tapestry of creatures, each occupying a unique evolutionary niche that helps to keep the ecosystems they live...
There’s an entire cosmos hidden from our human eyes. The only way to see it is by looking at the Universe with a radio. We talk to Dr Emma Chapman abo...
How can we tell if someone we’re speaking to is being economical with the truth? Oftentimes, we’re told that the primary telltale signs lie in the use...
Chances are that if any of us are looking to drop a bit of excess weight, the first thing we’ll attempt is to cut down the number of calories we’re co...
Around the world, more than 50 million people are living with some form of dementia – a number expected to triple by 2050 as populations age. But the...
Statistics show that half of us will experience a mental health condition of some kind by the time we turn forty. Could this be due to the increasing...
Whether we’re working at a desk in an office, running a marathon or even asleep in bed, our bodies are host to thousands of chemical processes that ar...
The human face contains more than 40 muscles, giving us an ability to visually express our thoughts and emotions that is unique in the animal kingdom....
We often think of our planet as an isolated island, solitary and cut off from the cosmic ocean it resides in. But the truth is, Earth is intimately co...
For the last several billion years, all life on Earth has progressed according to the rules of evolution by natural selection – a step-by-step process...
