This month, how animals hibernate and evidence that muscle myosin makes its own heat in the cold, brain scans to reveal how ketamine relieves resistant depression, the way the brain changes when animals build a bond, the evolution of flu outbre

Apes reveal language origins, and being dyslexic in science

Mar 8th, 2024 36m 4s

This month we hear what orangutans can tell us about the origins of human speech, we ask if science making life even harder for dyslexics, where do the scientists we train end up and do they stay in science, and new insights into the songs whal

Bees can't taste pesticides, and how albatrosses get aloft

Nov 30th, 2023 34m 46s

In the eLife Podcast this month, signs that bees are oblivious to pesticides in nectar, sea anemone stinging strategies, a new means of cell-cell communication to share growth factors and other signals, how plants make a comeback when ice sheet

Cold haemoglobin, and teaching old dogs new ethics

Sep 29th, 2023 35m 35s

This month, how an extinct marine mammal made its haemoglobin work in the cold, how does learning compassion change the shape of the human brain, women publishing cautiously, how populations evolve to social distance in disease conditions, and

How many friends for best brain health?

Jul 31st, 2023 31m 2s

This month join host Dr Chris Smith to hear how a nuclear power station provides the opportunity to test theories of the effects of global warming on how fish grow, evidence that personalised medicines have an added placebo effect, the genes fo

Social media and febrile fish

Jun 6th, 2023 36m 50s

This month we look at a method to raise the bar on the quality and trustworthiness of information shared over social media networks, how fish running a fever heal from infection faster, what miniature bat backpacks can reveal about the eating a

Ancient Genes and Trust in New Tech

Apr 11th, 2023 39m 18s

This month, the genetic variants inherited from millions of years back that protect from disease but can cause illnesses; also, signs that we trust human-sourced information more than what a computer might say, how the whiff of a female can mak

Right handedness, and genes for hairiness

Mar 1st, 2023 36m 55s

Why are 90% of humans right handed and where did we get this from; genes for how - and where - hair grows; the intriguing timing behind how sunflowers flower; how the microbiome of the bee weaponises dietary toxins to deal with parasites, and a

Rebuilding Dinosaurs and Stress from Siblings

Dec 15th, 2022 30m 5s

The ability to recreate dinosaurs inside computers means the true nature of the spinosaurus can now be uncovered, what the Afro Barometer reveals about the potential to use mobile phones to deliver remote health interventions, is intercropping

Babies cry in utero, and pushing preprints

Nov 11th, 2022 33m 1s

This month, what ultrasound scans are revealing about how primates learn to cry before birth, the new imaging technique highlighting brain structural changes linked to speech and language impairments, why eLife is breaking the publishing mould

Urban microbiomes, and crushed cancers

Sep 16th, 2022 32m 22s

This month, what happens to the microbiomes of wild animals when they share cities with humans, how being crushed in a cancer makes metastatic cells more malign, a genetic tool to uncover when populations merged back in history, how mating affe

Does Vaping Inflame the Brain?

Jul 4th, 2022 29m 28s

Signs that some vapes inflame the brain and other organs, how a whiff of CO2 puts mosquitoes into feeding mode, how long, at present rates, it will take before science reaches gender parity, and how babies get their vitamin D. Chris Smith looks

Animal handedness, diabetes and dinosaurs

May 6th, 2022 36m 22s

This month, diabetes and the body clock, the antibodies we raise to Covid-19 vaccines versus infection, dinosaurs armoured like tanks, baboons catching up on sleep, and how language evolution goes hand in hand with handedness... Get the referen

Human birth trigger genes, and clam cancer

Mar 17th, 2022 36m 57s

This month, the genes linked to human birth onset, signs hunter gatherers already had a taste for cereals before farming came along, how sunflowers balance UV protection, aridity resistance and attractiveness to pollinators, a contagious cancer

Sediba's backbone, and antibacterial bacteria

Feb 7th, 2022 38m 14s

This month, the bones missing from Australopithecus sediba's backbone are uncovered, but what do they reveal about this ancient hominid's posture? Also, why a link to the nervous system is crucial for salamander limb regeneration, the bacteria

Can Corals Resist Bleaching?

Dec 14th, 2021 33m 51s

This month, corals that can resist bleaching, signs that the human immune system went up a gear about 8000 years ago, documenting plant cells with an ambitious initiative to generate an atlas all the cell types in all types of plants, new insig

Does stress turn your hair grey?

Oct 18th, 2021 33m 47s

This month, mobile phones are an excellent proxy to test for Covid-19, stress and hair going grey, signs that junk food inflammes the immune system, what makes rats want to help other rats, and the emerging infections in South America linked to

The widowhood effect, and clapped out baboons

Jun 30th, 2021 34m 30s

This month, male baboons pay a high ageing price for climbing the social ladder, evidence for the reality of the widowhood effect whereby breaking a pair-bond provokes cancer growth, a new way to track where vaccine antigens go in the body, an

Motherless gorillas and how hummingbirds hum

May 28th, 2021 27m 17s

This month: how hummingbirds hum, how elephants evolved anti-cancer genes so they can sustain big bodies, gorillas that grow up without their mothers, and why deforestation causes peaks and then troughs in malaria cases... Get the references an

Psychedelic drugs and river water bugs

Apr 15th, 2021 31m 26s

This month: the first self-blinded study into microdosing psychedelics, using DNA analysis to understand what bacteria is in river water, and what's the evidence for parasites preventing inflammatory diseases? Plus, comparing different methods

Egyptian baboons and overlooked COVID genes

Feb 23rd, 2021 35m 44s

This month: how a dose of magnesium can improve long-term memory, scientists scrutinise the world's sourdough microbes, and evidence that we're overlooking important COVID-relevant genes. Plus, shark behaviour in low oxygen environments, and us

Sea slugs and anti-sickness drugs

Dec 17th, 2020 32m 47s

This month we hear about the animals that turn their dinner into solar panels, the first images of anti-nausea drug molecules engaging with their receptors, and what thousands of you told eLife about the people who support their colleagues at w

AI for infertility, and scar-free healing

Nov 13th, 2020 31m 9s

This month we hear about an artificial intelligence (AI) breakthrough for infertility, how ketamine can mimic some of the decision-making difficulties seen in schizophrenia, a new device to observe and document mosquito feeding behaviour, the k

Prostate cancer prediction and bonobo culture

Oct 8th, 2020 35m 20s

This month on the eLife podcast, artificial intelligence reveals a better test for prostate cancer, is the brain stuffed with neuronal stem cells, bonobos with cultural preferences, and why some insects play "follow my leader"... Get the refere

Ears, hearts, and halting Huntington's

Sep 4th, 2020 32m 35s

This month on the eLife Podcast we hear about why whale-watching boats are just too noisy, how oily fish combats heart failure, breakthroughs in halting Huntington's disease, and how your wiggling ears can betray your intentions... Get the refe