BBC Inside Science
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Radio 4,·03 Sep 2026,·28 mins
Available for 20 days
The quest for Dark Matter just got interesting. Researchers on an international project called the Lux-Zeplin (LZ) Dark Matter Experiment reported they may have discovered the signature of a bit of Dark Matter passing through an underground mine in South Dakota. Kimberly Palladino, professor of physics at Oxford and a member of that LZ collaboration, speaks to Roland Pease to explain how dark matter is being detected. Probiotics have long been all the rage in health advice, but this week we discovered they may also be good for corals. Microbiologist turned ecologist Erika Santoro has been testing a probiotic treatment on reefs in the Red Sea and joins us to divulge her findings. We’re continuing with a tone of optimism with this week’s shortlisted book for the Royal Society’s coveted Trivedi Science Book Prize. Despite it All: A Handbook for Climate Hopefuls by veteran environmental journalist Fred Pearce, focuses on the progress humanity has made in protecting the planet. Plus, mathematician Kit Yates is back, bringing us some of the week’s most exciting science news, including how we might use the earth's magnetic field to authenticate artefacts and a puzzling ten-sided cloud structure on Saturn's south pole. Presenter: Roland Pease Producer: Alex Mansfield, Katie Tomsett, Keiran Manetta-Jones 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,·03 Sep 2026,·28 mins
Available for 20 days
The quest for Dark Matter just got interesting. Researchers on an international project called the Lux-Zeplin (LZ) Dark Matter Experiment reported they may have discovered the signature of a bit of Dark Matter passing through an underground mine in South Dakota. Kimberly Palladino, professor of physics at Oxford and a member of that LZ collaboration, speaks to Roland Pease to explain how dark matter is being detected. Probiotics have long been all the rage in health advice, but this week we discovered they may also be good for corals. Microbiologist turned ecologist Erika Santoro has been testing a probiotic treatment on reefs in the Red Sea and joins us to divulge her findings. We’re continuing with a tone of optimism with this week’s shortlisted book for the Royal Society’s coveted Trivedi Science Book Prize. Despite it All: A Handbook for Climate Hopefuls by veteran environmental journalist Fred Pearce, focuses on the progress humanity has made in protecting the planet. Plus, mathematician Kit Yates is back, bringing us some of the week’s most exciting science news, including how we might use the earth's magnetic field to authenticate artefacts and a puzzling ten-sided cloud structure on Saturn's south pole. Presenter: Roland Pease Producer: Alex Mansfield, Katie Tomsett, Keiran Manetta-Jones 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