The Life Scientific - Irene Tracey on pain in the brain - BBC Sounds

Richard Peto on why smoking kills but quitting saves lives

Epidemiologist Richard Peto on the links between tobacco, disease and early death

• 29 mins

Erica McAlister on the beauty of flies

Dr Erica McAlister talks to Jim Al-Khalili about the beautiful world of flies.

• 30 mins

Plastic pollution with Richard Thompson

How Richard Thompson alerted the world to the micro-plastics in the ocean.

• 27 mins

Ewine van Dishoeck on cosmic chemistry

Astrochemist Ewine van Dishoeck tells Jim Al-Khalili about the space between the stars.

• 27 mins

DNA detective Turi King

How geneticist Turi King identified the 500 yr old skeleton of Richard III.

• 28 mins

Katherine Joy on moon rock

Lunar geologist Katherine Joy tells Jim Al-Khalili why we need to go back to the moon.

• 29 mins

Robin Dunbar on why we have friends

Why do we have friends? Robin Dunbar tells Jim Al-Khalili.

• 27 mins

Jonathan Ball on his arms race against viruses

Virologist Jonathan Ball talks to Jim Al-Khalili about his quest to disarm killer viruses.

• 27 mins

Richard Wiseman on lying, luck and the paranormal

How to spot a liar. Professor Richard Wiseman tells Jim Al-Khalili

• 28 mins

Anne Magurran on how to measure biodiversity

Professor Anne Magurran on how nature is going the same way as our high streets.

• 27 mins

Martha Clokie on the viruses that could improve our health

Professor Martha Clokie on the viruses that destroy antibiotic-resistant bugs.

• 34 mins

Adrian Owen on scanning for awareness in the injured brain

Adrian Owen tells Jim Al-Khalili about his search for awareness in brain-injured patients.

• 28 mins

Saiful Islam on materials to power the 21st century

Professor Saiful Islam on the materials that make renewable energy possible.

• 28 mins

Demis Hassabis on artificial intelligence

Demis Hassabis tells Jim Al-Khalili why he wants to create artificial intelligence.

• 32 mins

Elizabeth Fisher on chromosomes in mice and men

Elizabeth Fisher on studying chromosomal abnormalities in mice and men

• 28 mins

Patricia Wiltshire on how pollen can solve crimes.

Using pollen to solve crimes. Prof Pat Wiltshire talks to Jim Al Khalili.

• 33 mins

Susannah Maidment on stegosaurs

Susannah Maidment tells Jim how she came to be a world authority on stegosaurs

• 32 mins

Peter Fonagy on a revolution in mental health care

How Peter Fonagy changed the way we treat our mental health.

• 36 mins

2019 Nobel Prize winner for Physiology or Medicine, Sir Peter Ratcliffe

The 2019 Nobel Prize-winner Sir Peter Ratcliffe on living with low oxygen.

• 28 mins

Optical communications pioneer Polina Bayvel

The invention of the optical fibres that makes ultra-fast broadband possible.

• 33 mins

Myles Allen on understanding climate change

The physicist behind net zero. Prof Myles Allen talks to Jim Al-Khalili.

• 36 mins

Anya Hurlbert on seeing colour

Anya Hurlbert tells Jim Al-Khalili how colours are made in the mind.

• 28 mins

Matthew Cobb on how we detect smells

What maggots teach us about our sense of smell. Prof Matthew Cobb tells Jim Al-Khalli

• 29 mins

Brian Greene on how the universe is made of string

Is the universe really made of string? Physicist Brian Greene talks to Jim Al Khalili.

• 34 mins

Jim McDonald on power networks

Is the National Grid fit for purpose? Jim McDonald talks to Jim Al-Khalili.

• 27 mins

Debbie Pain on conserving globally threatened bird species

Professor Debbie Pain talks to Jim Al-Khalili about conserving our endangered birdlife.

• 28 mins

Frank Kelly on air pollution

The impact of lockdown on the quality of the air we breathe.

• 27 mins

Liz Seward and the dream of spaceflight

Professor Jim Al-Khalili talks to Liz Seward about designing spacecraft.

• 29 mins

Jane Goodall on living with wild chimpanzees

Jane Goodall describes her life with the wild chimpanzees of Gombe.

• 36 mins

Emma Bunce on the gas giants

Professor Emma Bunce shares her passion for Jupiter and Neptune with Jim Al-Khalili.

• 28 mins