The Gulf Stream, also known as the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), is essential to stable global climate, and the reason we have moderate temperatures in Northern Europe. Now, a new modelling study suggests that this circulation could, at some point, be at a tipping point and collapse. We hear from one of the minds behind the model, post-doctoral researcher René van Westen from Utrecht University. But how likely is it that this will actually happen in the real world? Presenter Victoria Gill speaks to Jonathan Bamber who cautions that a gulf stream collapse is not imminent, and that it may just weaken slowly over time. Every summer in the Hudson Bay, on the Eastern side of Arctic Canada, the sea ice melts and the region’s polar bears head inland. But that ice-free season is getting longer, depriving the bears of that frozen platform that they use to pounce on their favourite prey – seals. So what do the bears do all summer? Research Wildlife Biologist Karyn Rode shares how she and her colleagues put a collar with video cameras on 20 polar bears, and what it revealed about their lives.
Is CERN finally going to get a gigantic new particle accelerator? Almost exactly one decade ago, Roland Pease reported from Switzerland about the very first meeting about the successor of the Large Hadron Collider which was used to discover the Higgs Boson. Now there’s an update to the story. Roland is back to tell Vic how far along CERN is with their plans, and how much more time and money it will take to build the Future Circular Collider.
Lovers of certain famous, creamy French cheeses could be in for a bit of a shock. Camembert and Brie are facing extinction as we know them! The Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) in Paris has stated that, over the last 100 years, the food and farming industry has placed too much pressure on the production of these types of cheeses. Now, the fungus traditionally used to grow the famous, fluffy white rinds has been cloned to a point where the lack of diversity in its genetic makeup means it can no longer be reproduced. Turophiles must learn to appreciate more diversity of tastes, colours and textures to protect the cheeses’ future.
Presenter: Victoria Gill Producers: Florian Bohr, Louise Orchard, Alice Lipscombe-Southwell Editor: Martin Smith Production Co-ordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth
BBC Inside Science is produced in collaboration with the Open University.
Bird and dinosaur skull evolution; the wonders of yeast and Science Museum mystery object
What does the science say about the COVID risks of schools reopening? Dolphin ear autopsy
Smart bricks, The Royal Academy of Engineering awards for pandemic engineering solutions and detecting SARS-Cov-2 in sewage
Land use and zoonoses, California's earthquake risk and the Tuatara genome
How sperm swim, the theory of soil & the Big Compost Experiment update
Science Museum mystery objects; home security camera security and Rosalind Franklin at 100
Pre-prints over peer review during the COVID pandemic and roads and birds
Science Fraud & Bias, Immunity to COVID-19
Satellite navigation in the UK; the science of the World Wide Web and Neolithic genomics
Preventing pandemics, invading alien species, blood types & COVID-19.
The Human Genome Project's 20th Anniversary
Coronavirus conspiracy, Listeners' mask questions, Solar Orbiter gets close to the Sun
Engineering out of lockdown and should we castrate male dogs?
Back to School and Covid-19 and Ordnance Survey and the pandemic
Testing & Tracing the coronavirus, and the traces our movements leave behind
Coronavirus-free science, the impact of lockdown on climate change and the odds of both life and intelligent life existing.
Coronavirus R number, genome study of Covid-19 survivors and using aircraft messages to assess aviation
Should the public wear face masks? Did SARS-Cov-2 escape from a laboratory in Wuhan?
Testing for immunity to COVID-19 and Citizen science on BBC Radio past and present
Understanding Covid-19 death rates; Contact tracing apps; Whale sharks and atomic bombs
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