Science Weekly

Celebrities including Bella Hadid, Justin Bieber and Miranda Hart have talked about their years-long struggles with the effects of Lyme disease, but despite rising rates and better awareness, the illness remains poorly understood. To understand more about how the illness can impact people over the long term, Madeleine Finlay hears from the Guardian’s Patrick Barkham about his daughter Milly’s experience, and from Prof John Aucott, director of the Johns Hopkins Lyme Disease Research Center, and associate professor of medicine at Johns Hopkins University. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod

The Traitors has returned to UK screens with its biggest viewing figures ever as 19 celebrities compete to be crowned the winner. The game depends on being able to accurately spot a liar, but are any deception detection methods actually backed up by science? Madeleine Finlay speaks to Timothy Luke, a senior lecturer in the department of applied psychology at the University of Gothenburg, to find out whether sweating, nervous ticks and reduced eye contact really can alert us to deception, and if not, what can?. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod

This year’s Nobel prizes in chemistry, physics and physiology or medicine have celebrated work that paves the way for the next generation of quantum technology, the creation of porous materials that have been compared to Hermione Granger’s handbag and the discovery of the hidden army inside us that helps to keep our immune system in check. To find out more, Madeleine Finlay talks to our science editor, Ian Sample, and correspondents Nicola Davis and Hannah Devlin. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod

Kevin Hall spent 21 years at the US National Institutes of Health and became known globally for his pioneering work on ultra-processed foods. In April he unexpectedly took early retirement, citing censorship under the Trump administration. Now he has co-authored a book with the journalist Julia Belluz that aims to bust myths and challenge wellness orthodoxy on everything from weight loss and metabolism to supplements and wearables. Hall tells Ian Sample what he wants us all to understand about diet, exercise and weight loss, and what led to his departure from the job he loved. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod

The renowned primatologist Jane Goodall has died aged 91. She will be remembered for her observations that revolutionised our understanding of chimpanzees, as well as her tireless environmental advocacy. Ian Sample talks to the Guardian’s global environment editor Jon Watts, who met Goodall several times, to find out what her scientific legacy will be. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod

Scientists are warning that academic publishing needs urgent reform in order to retain trust in the research system. Ian Sample tells Madeleine Finlay what has gone so wrong, and Dr Mark Hanson of the University of Exeter proposes some potential solutions. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod

The Ig Nobel prizes were awarded recently – for science that makes you laugh and then think – and the peace prize was given to a cheeky study testing the link between alcohol and language proficiency. Does a drink really help us to converse more convincingly in another tongue, or does it just give us inflated confidence? To find out, Madeleine Finlay speaks to a member of the winning team, Dr Fritz Renner, a researcher in clinical psychology and psychotherapy at the University of Freiburg in Germany. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod

In a televised press conference on Monday, Donald Trump and health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr made a series of unproven claims about autism and its links to paracetamol use in pregnant women, and about childhood vaccinations. The comments were immediately refuted by scientists and health agencies around the world, but many expressed concern about the impact of this misinformation being repeated at the highest levels of government. So what does the science really say? Madeleine Finlay speaks to Guardian science editor Ian Sample to factcheck the claims made in the announcement, and find out what decades of scientific research into autism tells us about its causes and why diagnoses are on the rise. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod

A trial is under way to find out if a £100 blood test could transform the way that the NHS diagnoses Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s is the leading cause of dementia and diagnosis is currently costly and time-consuming. To find out how this blood test could benefit patients, Ian Sample talks to Prof Jonathan Schott, who is co-leading the trial. He explains what the test involves and why it could pave the way for exciting new treatments for the devastating disease. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod

The murder of political activist Charlie Kirk has prompted fears about rising levels of political violence in the US after a number of high-profile assassinations and attempted assassinations of political figures in recent years. But how connected are these events and do they signal a rise in public support for this kind of violence? To find out Ian Sample speaks to Sean Westwood, an associate professor in political science at Dartmouth College and director of the Polarization Research Lab. He explains how political violence has evolved and why overestimating the support for such acts can be dangerous. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod

At a recent ceremony for world leaders in Beijing, a hot mic picked up a surprising exchange between Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping about the possibility of living to 150. Putin suggested the secret might lie in repeated organ transplants. But is this the new frontier of anti-ageing research or a fringe and unproven theory? To find out, science editor Ian Sample speaks to Russian affairs reporter Pjotr Sauer and to John S Tregoning, professor of vaccine immunology at Imperial College London and author of Live Forever: A Curious Scientist’s Guide to Wellness, Ageing and Death. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod

The fertility rate in England and Wales has fallen for the third year in a row – a trend mirrored across the world, with two-thirds of the global population now living in countries with below-replacement-level fertility. In the second episode of a two-part series, Madeleine Finlay speaks to Dean Spears, assistant professor of economics at the University of Texas at Austin, and Dr Jennifer Sciubba, chief executive of the Population Reference Bureau, to ask whether declining birth rates are really something to worry about – and how societies can adapt to a future with fewer children. Watch the new Guardian documentary Between Moon Tides. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod

The fertility rate in England and Wales has fallen for the third year in a row. It is a story that is being repeated all over the world, with two thirds of the global population now living in countries with below replacement level fertility. Low fertility rates have become a talking point on the political right, with Elon Musk claiming that population decline is an existential threat to the future of humanity. But for others, the timescales involved are too vast to start worrying about now. So how should we be thinking about population decline? In episode one of a two-part series, Madeleine Finlay speaks to Dean Spears, assistant professor of economics at the University of Texas at Austin, and to Dr Jennifer Sciubba, president and CEO of the Population Reference Bureau, to find out what has happened to global birth rates, and how governments are trying to tackle the fall. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod

Psychologists have traditionally believed we become less curious as we age, but recent research has shown that curiosity actually becomes more targeted and specific in our later years. To find out why this happens, and how maintaining broad curiosity into older age can help keep our brains young, Madeleine Finlay hears from Dr Mary Whatley, an assistant professor of psychology at Western Carolina University, and Dr Matthias Gruber, of Cardiff University’s Brain Imaging Centre. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod

It’s been a dramatic week at the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In the space of seven days, the agency’s head was sacked and replaced by an interim head, four senior staff members resigned, and existing staff took to the streets to express support for their ousted leaders. To understand how everything unfolded and what it could mean for the health of Americans, science editor Ian Sample hears from health reporter Melody Schreiber and former CDC director Mandy Cohen. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod