BBC Inside Science
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Radio 4,·23 Jul 2026,·28 mins
Available for 21 days
Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth has announced that the US military will be screening military personnel aged 30 and older for testosterone deficiency. Those found with low testosterone levels will be offered voluntary hormone replacement therapy. The secretary says this is to ensure “a healthy, capable, and decisively dominant fighting force”. Tom Whipple is joined by Professor Joe Herbert from the University of Cambridge to discuss why jacking soldiers up with testosterone may or may not be the best idea. Marine Biologist Kathryn Ayres, from the non-profit organisation Beneath the Waves, describes a newly observed behaviour in orcas in which they collaboratively swim so hard into a dead sunfish it explodes. Is it a teachable moment for their young or is it just for fun? Finally, we have Kit Yates, our resident mathematician, to reassure Tom that although AI might one day actually kill us all, at least it can disprove an 87-year-old mathematics conjecture. Presenter: Tom Whipple Producer: Dan Welsh, Alex Mansfield, Imy Harper, Tabitha Taylor Buck Editor: Martin Smith Production Co-ordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth
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BBC Inside Science examines the technical challenge of verifying compliance with the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, which bans nuclear weapons in space but lacks monitoring mechanisms. Researchers at MIT have developed a detection concept recently published in Nature. The episode also features discussions on biomimetic robotics and global nutrition data.
Read the full story at BBC ↗
Use BBC.com or the new BBC App to listen to BBC podcasts, Radio 4 and the World Service outside the UK.
Find out how to listen to other BBC stations
Radio 4,·23 Jul 2026,·28 mins
Available for 21 days
Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth has announced that the US military will be screening military personnel aged 30 and older for testosterone deficiency. Those found with low testosterone levels will be offered voluntary hormone replacement therapy. The secretary says this is to ensure “a healthy, capable, and decisively dominant fighting force”. Tom Whipple is joined by Professor Joe Herbert from the University of Cambridge to discuss why jacking soldiers up with testosterone may or may not be the best idea. Marine Biologist Kathryn Ayres, from the non-profit organisation Beneath the Waves, describes a newly observed behaviour in orcas in which they collaboratively swim so hard into a dead sunfish it explodes. Is it a teachable moment for their young or is it just for fun? Finally, we have Kit Yates, our resident mathematician, to reassure Tom that although AI might one day actually kill us all, at least it can disprove an 87-year-old mathematics conjecture. Presenter: Tom Whipple Producer: Dan Welsh, Alex Mansfield, Imy Harper, Tabitha Taylor Buck Editor: Martin Smith Production Co-ordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth
Read the full story at BBC ↗
The Outer Space Treaty of 1967 prohibits nuclear weapons in Earth orbit Verification and monitoring of treaty compliance has proven technologically difficult over decades Prof Areg Danagoulian at MIT has published a concept for detecting thermonuclear devices in orbit in Nature journal A satellite previously raised concerns about potentially carrying a nuclear weapon in the Van Allen belt An orbital nuclear explosion would damage much of global space infrastructure The episode discusses toddler waddling patterns as models for robot football A new global food consumption database exists to help answer questions about diets and environmental impact
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- A BBC Inside Science episode explores methods to detect nuclear weapons in Earth orbit, addressing a gap in the 1967 Outer Space Treaty's enforcement
- MIT researcher Prof Areg Danagoulian has published a concept in Nature journal for verifying the presence of thermonuclear devices in space
- The episode also covers unrelated topics: toddler locomotion patterns applied to robot football, and a global food consumption database linked to environmental questions