The World, the Universe and Us

Episode 409

COP31 is about to take place against the backdrop of a year of accelerating climate disasters, plus a record breaking October and confirmation that we’ve exceeded the Paris climate agreement.

This year's UN climate meeting isn’t planned to be a big one, but will be essential in ironing out a lot of the unresolved agreements made at last year’s meeting in Brazil. But as people continue to question the value of the COP process, can these summits move the needle or do they need major reform?

To discuss what we can expect and whether COP is still effective, Rowan Hooper is joined by environment reporter Madeleine Cuff and Mark Maslin, professor of Earth System Science at University College London.

To read more about these stories, visit https://www.newscientist.com/

Image Credits:

COP 30: hlcchampions, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

COP 21: Guilhem Vellut from Paris, France, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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Episode 407

The latest UN climate report is out and we’ve blown past 1.5 degrees of warming. We’re now in “overshoot” - an acknowledgement that global temperatures will rise beyond 1.5 degrees, but can theoretically be brought back down again through cooling efforts.

But with the world on track fo r2.8 and even as much as 4.5 degrees of warming by 2100, is the challenge of keeping temperatures at a manageable level politically and technologically feasible?

As scientists argue whether “overshoot” is failure, conditions at Thwaites glacier in Antarctica are also worsening. The so-called “Doomsday” glacier is melting and an integral ice shelf is on the verge of collapse.

Now models show the melting is locked in - and can’t be stopped even if we keep global temperatures down. If it collapses, it could reshape the entire coastline of the world.

To discuss the news, Rowan Hooper and Penny Sarchet are joined by Madeleine Cuff and Alison George.

To read more about these stories, visit https://www.newscientist.com/
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Episode 406

The glymphatic system is the brain’s waste disposal system - responsible for clearing out harmful toxins that build up during the day.

Now a new mouse study has connected reduced glyphatic flow to Alzheimer’s disease. And because this glymphatic system cleans the brain during sleep, it’s thought poor sleep may contribute to this reduction in brain function.

Rowan Hooper and Penny Sarchet are joined by science writer Michael Marshall, who explains the study in detail, what we know about the effects in humans and the steps we can take to improve our own glymphatic flow.

To read more about these stories, visit https://www.newscientist.com/
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Episode 405

The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) is a major system of ocean currents that plays a vital role in Earth’s climate. If it collapses, the consequences could be catastrophic. We could see ice-age level winters in Europe, coupled with scalding hot summers - and impacts on food production around the world. The trouble is it’s already weakening.

That’s why scientists are building an early warning system that'll warn us of imminent AMOC collapse. But will a warning come soon enough for us to act - and will anyone actually listen?

The team explains how the warning system would work, what happens if the AMOC does collapse and how soon it could happen. Plus they look at new research which suggests the AMOC may not be a classic tipping point - because we may be able to resuscitate it even if it stops.

To discuss this, Penny Sarchet and Rowan Hooper are joined by climate reporters Alec Luhn and Madeleine Cuff.

To read more about these stories, visit https://www.newscientist.com/

Image Credit:

Tipping Points: CC BY 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=148459736
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Episode 404

Jonathan the tortoise was born in the year 1832, on a beach in the Seychelles. 194 years later and Jonathan is still alive, celebrating his birthday. How exactly has he managed to survive for so long?

Jonathan is a giant tortoise and the world’s oldest known land animal. His genome has now been sequenced, revealing intriguing hints about longevity. And it seems the key to a long life is all down to mitochondrial function.

From Greenland Sharks to the enigmatic quahog, this also seems to be the case for Earth’s other longest-lived creatures - one of which survived for 507 years.

Rowan Hooper and Penny Sarchet discuss what these animals tell us about the science of healthy aging, whether there are any takeaways for us humans - and they celebrate the amazing life of Jonathan.

To read more about these stories, visit https://www.newscientist.com/
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