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12月21日我在济南；12月27日我在成都

We all know it. We've all sung it. Perhaps we've even answered a quiz question about it*. The Twelve Days of Christmas has become as quintessentially festive as a figgy pudding, or the bad joke in your Christmas cracker. But why exactly is your 'true love' gifting all these birds? And importantly, how are they faring nowadays? Prof Andy Gosler (from the Edward Grey Institute in the Department of Biology, and Institute of Human Sciences in the School of Anthropology) is the only professor of 'ethno-ornithology' in the world, specialising in the study of the relationships between birds and people. So, who better to be our guest on this festive edition of the Big Questions Podcast, where we take a deep dive into one of our favourite Christmas carols? (*There are 364 presents in total, by the way!)

Nobelpreis-Festmahl im Wandel der Zeit; Partnertreue im Mensch-Tier-VergleichSendung vom 10.12.2025

Fossilization isn’t luck - it’s geology. Paleobotanist Kirk Johnson explains how fossils only form in certain conditions, the tricks to finding them, and why one fossil leaf can lead to thousands more. For more, check out the extended interview with Kirk Johnson.Learn more about NOVA and subscribe to our YouTube channel. 

In cancer research, the “seed and soil” hypothesis posits that the tumor is like a seed of misbehaving cells taking root in the body. Whether it grows—and where it grows—depends on the conditions, or soil. Since this hypothesis was proposed more than 100 years ago, most research and treatments have focused on the seed, or tumor. For nearly 50 years, Rakesh Jain has been studying the soil. But in a seed-focused field, his work was seen as wasteful and radical. Now, that very same research has led to seven FDA-approved treatments for diseases including lung and liver cancer, and earned him a National Medal of Science in 2016. Host Flora Lichtman talks with Jain about how his fringe idea led to lifesaving cancer treatments. Guest: Dr. Rakesh K. Jain studies the biology of tumors at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital as a professor of radiation oncology.Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Plus, to stay updated on all things science, sign up for Science Friday's newsletters.

NASA’s Perseverance rover has spent nearly five years roaming the Martian surface in search of clues to ancient life. But the ambitious plan to return its precious rock samples to Earth is now on shaky ground. Scientific American senior desk editor Lee Billings joins us to unpack the rover’s mission, the stakes of the stalled return effort and the effects it will have on the future of Mars exploration. Recommended Reading NASA Recruits Mars Perseverance Rover to Monitor Sun’s Activity This Rock May Hold Proof of Life on Mars E-mail us at sciencequickly@sciam.com if you have any questions, comments or ideas for stories we should cover! Discover something new everyday: subscribe to Scientific American and sign up for our daily newsletter. Science Quickly is produced by Kendra Pierre-Louis, Fonda Mwangi and Jeff DelViscio. This episode was edited by Alex Sugiura, with fact-checking by Shayna Posses and Aaron Shattuck. Our theme music was composed by Dominic Smith. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today is our final Q and A episode of the year. We like to gossip so it happens today. How is our "decreasing marijuana use" is going ... LOL - we go OFF on the new Rosalia album. We gossip like crazy about influencers and then decide why we have had such a hard time organizing this podcast. ALSO - we talk about our bickering, our relationship, and what is going to happen if we divorce ... ENJOY. FINAL EPISODE OF THE YEAR IS FULL OF TEA! Enjoy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Got an ‘owwie?’ Could be worse!

Depuis des siècles, le débat oppose deux visions du monde : le matérialisme, selon lequel la matière produit la conscience, et l’idéalisme, qui affirme au contraire que la conscience est première. Les travaux récents de Maria Strømme, physicienne et spécialiste de nanotechnologie et de science des matériaux, ravivent ce débat sous un angle inédit. Dans une étude publiée dans la revue AIP Advances, elle propose une théorie audacieuse : la conscience ne serait pas un produit tardif de l’évolution biologique, mais le substrat fondamental de la réalité. Selon elle, la matière, l’espace et le temps émergeraient d’un champ de conscience primordial.Strømme, qui travaille habituellement sur la structure atomique des nanomatériaux, transpose ici des outils mathématiques et des concepts issus de la physique fondamentale pour décrire la conscience comme une entité physique au sens strict, comparable à un champ quantique. Dans ce cadre, les particules, les atomes, les molécules et même les objets macroscopiques ne seraient que des excitations locales de ce champ de conscience. Autrement dit, la matière ne serait pas la base du réel, mais une manifestation secondaire, dérivée.Cette idée s’accompagne d’une implication majeure : les consciences individuelles ne seraient pas réellement séparées. Elles correspondraient à des fluctuations locales d’un même champ unifié, comme des vagues appartenant au même océan. La sensation de séparation entre individus serait alors une illusion produite par la configuration particulière de ces fluctuations. Ce point ouvre la porte à une vision radicalement différente de l’esprit et de la relation entre les êtres vivants.L’un des aspects les plus fascinants de la théorie est qu’elle offre un cadre théorique pour interpréter certains phénomènes souvent classés dans le paranormal : télépathie, intuition collective, expériences de mort imminente ou encore l’idée que la conscience puisse survivre à la mort physique. Strømme ne présente pas ces phénomènes comme avérés, mais considère qu’un champ de conscience fondamental pourrait, en principe, les expliquer. Elle affirme que ces hypothèses devraient être testables, ce qui leur donne un statut scientifique potentiel plutôt que purement spéculatif.Cette théorie reste néanmoins très controversée. Elle soulève des questions majeures : comment mesurer un tel champ ? Comment distinguer la conscience fondamentale d’une forme d’énergie ou d’information déjà connue ? Aucun consensus n’existe encore, et de nombreux chercheurs considèrent cette approche comme hautement spéculative. Mais la force du travail de Strømme réside dans le fait qu’il propose un modèle formel, issu d’une physicienne rigoureuse, qui tente de relier la science des matériaux aux fondements mêmes de la réalité.En conclusion, selon Maria Strømme, il est possible que la conscience précède la matière. La réalité matérielle serait alors une émergence secondaire d’un champ de conscience universel, bouleversant notre compréhension traditionnelle de l’univers et de notre place en son sein. Hébergé par Acast. Visitez acast.com/privacy pour plus d'informations.

Der Medizin-Nobelpreis für den japanischen Immunsystemforscher Shimon Sakaguchi zeigt, wie Grundlagenforschung Jahrzehnte später zu neuen Therapieansätzen führt. Von Jan Kerckhoff

Офис омбудсмана провёл большое исследование, чтобы понять, как в Латвии работает система ротации чиновников. Вывод неутешительный - перевод чиновников на новое место работы часто является способом для избавления от неугодных специалистов. Об этом в студии программы “Домская площадь” рассказала омбудсмен Карина Палкова.

Xylit, Stevia, Agavendicksaft und Kokosblütenzucker – das Angebot an Alternativen zum herkömmlichen Zucker ist groß. Aber was davon ist tatsächlich gesünder? Von Anna Corves

In this episode from the Institute’s vault, we revisit an October 2007 presentation by theoretical physicist and Institute Fellow Jeremy Bernstein on J. Robert Oppenheimer, the atomic bomb, and the nuclear arms race that followed. As a physicist, Bernstein made contributions to elementary particle physics and cosmology, working at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New York University, and Stevens Institute of Technology, where he became Professor Emeritus in 1967. He held visiting positions at CERN, Oxford, and the École Polytechnique, among others, and was the last surviving senior member of Project Orion, which studied the potential of nuclear pulse propulsion for space travel. Bernstein was a staff writer for The New Yorker for over three decades. He wrote regularly for The New York Review of Books, The Atlantic Monthly, and Scientific American, and authored over two dozen books, including Oppenheimer: Portrait of an Enigma (2004). He passed away on April 20th, 2025 at the age of 95. Here he is in 2007, discussing the topics on which he made a great contribution and helped illuminate. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/science

Did you know that some species of worms can be cut into multiple pieces and each piece will make a new worm? Some can even make a whole new brain. Wild, right?While not all forms of healing are quite as miraculous as this, the body’s ability to repair itself is pretty darned cool. So today, we’re answering your questions about healing. Like…Why do we pick at scabs?Why do animals lick their wounds?How does breath work affect the nervous system?What's the best outdoor activity to help heal from heartbreak?For our next Outside/Inbox roundup, we’re looking for questions all about love! From what happens in our bodies when we fall in and out of love, to whether animals fall in love. Send us your questions by recording yourself on a voice memo, and emailing that to us at outsidein@nhpr.org. Or you can call our hotline: 844-GO-OTTER.Featuring Mansi Srivastava, Mona Gohara, Susan Taylor, Henk Brand, Jane Sykes, Aditi Garg, Carolina Estêvão, and Sandra Langeslag.For full credits and transcript, visit outsideinradio.org. SUPPORTOutside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to become a sustaining member of Outside/In. Follow Outside/In on Instagram or join our private discussion group on Facebook Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

As our brains develop throughout our childhood and teens, they form connections and then prune back the ones that aren't used. What can we learn from them? Guests: Alison Barth, professor in the life sciences at Carnegie Mellon University; Saket Navlakha, associate professor at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory This series was made possible by support from the Annie E. Casey Foundation. Vox had full discretion over the content of this reporting. For show transcripts, go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠vox.com/unxtranscripts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ For more, go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠vox.com/unexplainable⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ And please email us! ⁠⁠⁠⁠unexplainable@vox.com⁠⁠⁠⁠ We read every email. Support Unexplainable (and get ad-free episodes) by becoming a Vox Member today: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠vox.com/members⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Thank you! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

To think through soil is to engage with some of the most critical issues of our time. In addition to its agricultural role in feeding eight billion people, soil has become the primary agent of carbon storage in global climate models, and it is crucial for biodiversity, flood control, and freshwater resources. Perhaps no other material is asked to do so much for the human environment, and yet our basic conceptual model of what soil is and how it works remains surprisingly vague. In cities, soil occupies a blurry category whose boundaries are both empirically uncertain and politically contested. Soil functions as a nexus for environmental processes through which the planet’s most fundamental material transformations occur, but conjuring what it actually is serves as a useful exercise in reframing environmental thought, design thinking, and city and regional planning toward a healthier, more ethical, and more sustainable future. Through a sustained analysis of the world’s largest wastewater agricultural system, located in the Mexico City–Mezquital hydrological region, Thinking Through Soil: Wastewater Agriculture in the Mezquital Valley (Harvard UP, 2025) by Montserrat Bonvehi Rosich & Dr. Seth Denizen imagines what a better environmental future might look like in central Mexico. More broadly, this case study offers a new image of soil that captures its shifting identity, explains its profound importance to rural and urban life, and argues for its capacity to save our planet. This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. You can find Miranda’s interviews on New Books with Miranda Melcher, wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/science-technology-and-society

Этим летом Латвия расширила круг тех, кто может получить  бесплатную прививку от вируса папилломы человека - теперь бесплатная вакцинация доступна всем молодым людям до 26-ти лет, а также взрослым до 55-ти лет из групп риска. Таким образом, наша страна стала лидером в Европе по доступности вакцины от этого заболевания. При этом реальные цифры охвата населения вакцинацией остаются критически низкими. Почему? О мифах и реальности вокруг вируса папилломы человека в передаче “Домская площадь” рассказала гинеколог, член правления Латвийского общества кольпоскопии, руководитель Фонда просвещения по раку шейки матки в Латвии Кристине Пчелкина.

We’re bringing you this month’s From the Theatre episode from the Space Park in Leicester, joined by Professor of Space Physics Suzie Imber. Suzie is a Co-Investigator on the Mercury Imaging X-Ray Spectrometer (MIXS) instrument onboard BepiColombo, the joint mission between ESA and JAXA currently on its way to Mercury. We explore the history of Mercury investigations, why it has been studied so much less than other planets, and what scientists are hoping to learn from BepiColombo. To discover more space science, tune into the 200th CHRISTMAS LECTURES from the Royal Institution with Dame Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock on 28th, 29th and 30th December on BBC4 and BBC iPlayer.   Ri Science Podcast episodes are released on the last Wednesday of every month, and our new ‘From the Theatre’ episodes are released on the second Wednesday of the month. Subscribe to be notified as soon as the next episode is released! Book tickets to upcoming talks on our website Subscribe to our YouTube channel Follow us: @ri_science on Instagram and TikTok Producer and presenter: Lia Hale Music: Joseph Sandy 

 Language has always evolved but it seems like technology has sped that process up to a staggering degree. Memes, algorithms, AI, and social media are altering the words we use and the way we use them. To speak more about the phenomenon, host Dr. Samantha Yammine is joined by Adam Aleksic, an etymologist and author of the book Algospeak. Sam also explores a new search engine that’s being called the Google of DNA and how a fungus once thought to be an Egyptian curse, might just have cancer-fighting properties.   Link to Show Notes HERE  Follow Curiosity Weekly on your favorite podcast app to get smarter with Dr. Samantha Yammine — for free! Still curious? Get science shows, nature documentaries, and more real-life entertainment on discovery+! Go to https://discoveryplus.com/curiosity to start your 7-day free trial. discovery+ is currently only available for US subscribers.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the 1970’s TV show called Six Million Dollar Man, a test pilot is in a horrible accident. The show’s famous line goes, “We can rebuild him. We have the technology.” Now, in the 2025 book, Replaceable You, science writer Mary Roach explores how people have collectively lived up to the task of rebuilding human bodies when they fail, as well as all the ways we may not quite be there yet. In this episode Regina G. Barber and Mary Roach discuss three chapters of the book, get into everything from iron lungs to private parts and try to answer the question, “How replaceable are you?”Interested in more science behind the human body? Check out our episodes on synthetic cells and the first pig kidney transplant. Email us your question at shortwave@npr.org.Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy