Recorded live online for New Scientist subscribers, in this holiday special the team takes you through their stand out moments of the year, the funniest stories to hit the headlines, and their hopes for 2023 - and they answer questions from the audience too.
For stand-out highlights of 2022, the team discusses Deepmind and its transformative AI AlphaFold which predicted the structures of most known proteins. They celebrate the successes of the James Webb Space Telescope and a recent nuclear fusion experiment that has, for the first time ever, generated more power than it requires to run. They also chat about advances in organ transplants and the amazing discovery of ants which have evolved the ability to treat the wounds of their nest mates.
For their funniest picks of the year, they highlight the story of a fish that evolved to stand up on land then thought “nah”, and went back to living in water. Then there’s the news of researchers who wanted to find out if covid-related loss of smell correlated with negative reviews of scented candles on Amazon. And they discuss North America’s invasion by alien earthworms.
After audience questions, the team looks to the future. From the scientific discoveries spurred on by the covid pandemic, to developments in quantum computing, new innovative ways of producing food in more environmentally friendly ways, advancements in gene replacement therapies and the future of space travel, they discuss the stories they’re most looking forward to next year.
On the panel are Rowan Hooper, Penny Sarchet, Alexandra Thompson, Anna Demming and Sam Wong. To read about these subjects and much more, you can subscribe to New Scientist magazine at newscientist.com.
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#124: Lopsided universe; solar activity affects heart health; hero rats trained for rescue missions
#123: ‘Sentient’ claim for Google AI; spacecraft spots starquakes; the rise of the mammals; hot brains
#122: The science of Top Gun; the 1.5°C climate goal is out of reach; return to the moon; hepatitis mystery
#121: Creation of artificial life; gene therapy saves children’s lives; new understanding of chronic pain
#120: DeepMind claims artificial intelligence breakthrough; searching for ancient life on Mars; Stonehenge surprise; monkeypox latest
#119: How to tackle the global food crisis; rainforest animal orchestra; George Monbiot on humanity’s biggest blight
#118: Heatwaves push limits of human tolerance; chemical computer to mimic brain; first non-human to practice medicine
#117: US threat to women’s health; saving the world with bacteria; Darwinian feminism and primate gender; invasion of the earthworms
#116: DNA from outer space; Devi Sridhar on covid lessons; climate change in an Oxford wood
#115: Quantum consciousness; next decade of space exploration; songs played on rat whiskers
#114: A message to aliens, phage therapy for acne, calibrating the world’s oldest computer
#113: Climate change: suing governments to cut emissions; shock discovery in particle physics; a new function for dreams
#112: Gene therapy success; biodiversity talks; the genetics of blood sucking; the farthest star ever seen
#111: Antarctic and Arctic record-breaking heat; octopus brains insight; black hole paradox explained
#110: Solution for Ukraine food crisis; why young blood rejuvenates; climate horror in Australia; Hannah Peel’s new music
#109: Ukraine war stokes energy crisis; emergency sounded over Amazon rainforest; secular intelligent design; mammalian virgin birth
#108: Ukraine: health crisis and threat of nuclear war; IPCC report on limits to climate adaptation; Wuhan origin of covid
#107: Ukraine invasion: cyberwar threat and effect on climate targets; Covid pandemic isn’t over; how we sense pain
#106: Saving children from cancer; new ways to remove greenhouse gases; brain growth in adults
#105: Electrodes treat paralysis; first detected isolated black hole; the ancient human inhabitants of a French cave; breakthroughs in transplant organs from pigs; why you should pick up your dog’s
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