Episode notes
In July 2024 a startling scientific paper was published. Headlined ‘Evidence of dark oxygen production at the abyssal seafloor’, scientists told how they had discovered oxygen being made two and a half miles down, at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. Their claim centred on small polymetallic nodules on the seafloor, and the key question - could these lumps of metal somehow be making oxygen in complete darkness? It was an extraordinary finding that, if proven, could overturn hundreds of years of scientific knowledge about how this crucial ingredient for life is made. It prompted global…
More from Discovery
-
4 May 2026 · 26 min
The Life Scientific: Jens Juul Holst
As recently as a few years ago, the idea of a self-administered injection that would deliver proven weight-loss results might have sounded fantastical. Today, these medications are a reality and a global phenomenon; hailed in many quarters as “miracle drugs" for their success in treating obesity and diabetes. They do this by replicating a gut hormone called GLP‑1, which tells the brain you’ve eaten enough and nudges the pancreas to release insulin; and this hormone was discovered and decoded thanks to years of work by today's guest. Jens Juul Holst is a Professor of Medical Physiology and…
-
27 Apr 2026 · 26 min
The Life Scientific: Jim Ashworth-Beaumont
It's a rare thing to encounter a medical specialist who has experience of his field from the expert and the patient perspective - but not unheard of... Jim Ashworth-Beaumont is an orthotist and prosthetist who spent years helping people adapt to life with artificial limbs and musculoskeletal supports, before a near-fatal accident left him relying on both. This twist of fate might have derailed many - but Jim drew on reserves of resilience and determination forged long before his accident; initially in the army, then by returning to education to earn the qualifications he missed out on as a…
-
20 Apr 2026 · 27 min
Inside Universe 25
“I shall largely speak of mice,” the paper begins “but my thoughts are on man.” So begins a truly extraordinary scientific paper, and an equally extraordinary story. “Death Squared: The Explosive Growth and Demise of a Mouse Population.” was published in 1973 by John Calhoun, and it detailed his increasingly bizarre research into the psychological effects of overcrowding. Over two decades he built a series of ‘rodent utopias’, where he could keep a population of rats or mice, meet all their basic food and shelter needs, but mess around with population levels. He wanted to see how they…
-
6 Apr 2026 · 29 min
Superbugs: Resistance Rising Part 3
The rapid spread of antibiotic resistant bacteria is already claiming lives - and a far greater global crisis is on the horizon. In this three part series for Discovery, reporter Roland Pease traces how we reached this point, uncovers the forces driving resistance ever faster, and meets the scientists racing to outpace evolving superbugs before our lifesaving medicines fail for good. Episode 3 - Failed market. A successful new antibiotic must not only treat bacteria that resist existing therapies, it must be kept in reserve for only the hardest cases lest new kinds of resistance evolve, and…
-
30 Mar 2026 · 26 min
Superbugs: Resistance rising, part 2
The rapid spread of antibiotic resistant bacteria is already claiming lives and a far greater global crisis is on the horizon. In this three part series for Discovery, reporter Roland Pease traces how we reached this point, uncovers the forces driving resistance ever faster, and meets the scientists racing to outpace evolving superbugs before our lifesaving medicines fail for good. Episode 2 - The chemists' challenge. With all the low-hanging fruit in the antibiotic search space gone, chemists are having to work harder and be cleverer to top up the antibiotic pipeline. The chances of finding…
-
23 Mar 2026 · 30 min
Superbugs: Resistance rising, part 1
The rapid spread of antibiotic resistant bacteria is already claiming lives and a far greater global crisis is on the horizon. In the first episode of a three-part series, reporter Roland Pease traces the rise of resistance since the discovery of penicillin, its consequences for patients, and how bacteria are getting widening the treatment gap.
-
5 Oct 2026 · 26 min
The Life Scientific: Ginger Kerrick
What do you do when your childhood dream of becoming an astronaut is grounded at the final hurdle? If you’re physicist Ginger Kerrick, you go on to help run the missions instead. After failing the medical of her astronaut application process, Ginger went on to become Nasa’s first non-astronaut CAPCOM and its first Hispanic female Flight Director. Across a remarkable three-decade career, she helped train the International Space Station’s first long-term crew, logged thousands of hours in Mission Control, and shaped future missions to the moon and Mars. All with her trademark determination and…
-
28 Sep 2026 · 27 min
The ocean within us
Here's a little fact you might have heard before: humans are around 70% water. About the same percentage as a sweet potato, incidentally. But what does that actually mean? Sure, there's blood, that accounts for some of it. And the lymphatic system has a fair amount too, sloshing around. There is water in each of our cells. But that does not add up to the full 70%, so where is the rest of it? In 2018, a scientific paper was published which gives a tantalising clue. The authors revealed for the first time that our 'interstitial spaces' - those gaps, between our bones and joints and all of our…
-
21 Sep 2026 · 27 min
The art of being a Zombie Ant Fungus
An ant becomes infected by a fungus which takes over its nervous system, turning the ant into a vehicle for the fungus’s reproduction and killing the ant in the process. It sounds like science fiction, but it is happening in rainforests around the world. It is a parasitic relationship that has inspired the TV series The Last of Us, but it also reveals a great deal about control, autonomy and the interconnectedness of the natural world. Cultural entomologist Bridget Nicholls investigates this intriguing natural phenomenon with Merlin Sheldrake, mycologist and writer; Philip Ball, science…
-
14 Sep 2026 · 27 min
Women Not Included: Consumer Products
Design is never neutral and small choices can have a big impact. Dr Ella Hubber and journalist Katie Silver explore how consumer products marketed to women are frequently developed without fully understanding their needs. Along with expert insight, they look at everything from footwear based on male anatomy to menstrual products tested with unrealistic methods, revealing how these decisions can affect comfort, performance and even health. As awareness grows, they also ask what change can look like and whether everyday products can finally reflect women’s real needs. Presenter/producer: Ella…
