Oxford Sparks Big Questions
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Oxford Sparks Big Questions
'Will my bacon sandwich kill me?', 'Is vaping better than smoking?', 'How do you become an astronaut?' - just some of the Big Questions we ask some of the brightest minds behind Oxford science. Join us in each podcast as we explore a different area of science.
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204 þættirHow do you find a theoretical particle?
How do you detect a particle that emits no light - in other words, something invisible? This is the intriguing challenge faced by scientists hunting f...
Is there a better way to screen blood?
What's the best gift you can give? To the millions of people whose lives have been saved by complete strangers, the answer would be simple: blood. But...
How does Ozempic actually work?
Whether you've been served an advert for it, or just heard about it in the media, it's likely that 'Ozempic' isn't a totally unfamiliar word. Now ofte...
Why does a stranger's phone noise annoy me?
We've all been there...you're on the train, maybe tired after a long day, and all you can hear is one side of a fellow passenger's not-too-interesting...
What's the origin of water on Earth?
With more than 70% of its surface covered in water, Earth is rightly known as the "blue planet". But where did this water - so essential to life - ori...
How can robots investigate underwater volcanoes?
What do you do when the subject of your research lies deep beneath the waves? Send down an underwater robot, of course! We chat to volcanologist Sofia...
What is it like to be on Countdown?
"I still don't believe it happened..."
What's it like to face the most famous clock on television? We chat to Oxford mathematician Dr Tom Crawfo...
What happens after a dementia diagnosis?
One in two people will be affected by dementia in their lifetime - whether that is as a patient, or somebody caring for a loved one. But what happens...
Is it OK to laugh at Tourette's?
In popular culture, Tourette's syndrome is wrongly associated solely with outbursts of swearing in the context of lazy jokes. But in reality, the cond...
What is a dinosaur highway?
If you were hunting for some fossilised dinosaur footprints, where would you go? To a remote part of North or South America, perhaps? A deserted wilde...
How horny are hedgehogs?
Shh...hedgehog! It always feels like a privilege to catch a glimpse of one, as it snuffles away under the garden fence. And come the spring, our spiny...
What can batteries of the future learn from eels?
Electric eels are pretty amazing creatures. Their bodies can release powerful electric charges - in some cases reaching 650 volts! So, what can scient...
Why is my bottle cap attached to my plastic bottle?
Whether it's the bottle of water that you hastily grab at the train station, or your favourite guilty-pleasure fizzy pop, you may have noticed somethi...
Why are we seeing the Northern Lights more often?
Even if you’d never previously given much thought to the Northern Lights, chances are they were brought to your attention in 2024, when our social med...
Why track mistletoe?
Mistletoe has long been associated with fertility, and even today, its presence hanging from the ceiling can prompt a few blushes. But, did you know,...
Why are birth rates falling in the UK?
Evolutionarily speaking, it makes sense to have a lot of children. At the very least, we might expect a population to replace itself, with each couple...
What is a wind drought?
Chances are, you didn't notice the week-long wind drought that the UK experienced towards the end of 2023. However, this period of low wind speeds, co...
How do you sequence the genomes of 70,000 species?
Welcome back to the new series of the Oxford Sparks Big Questions Podcast! We are here to answer weird and wonderful questions about our world, with t...
How do I keep my house cool without air conditioning?
Summer is here, and with heatwaves forecast, how do we keep our homes cool without relying on air conditioning?
In the UK, soaring summe...
What time is it on the moon?
Scientists are returning to the moon, but when they get there, what time is it?
Dr Carly Howett from the Department of Physics explains the basi...
How can origami help make energy?
Discover how the ancient art of origami is revolutionising sustainable energy!
Researcher Jingyi Yang, from the Department of Engineering Scienc...
How do you fossilise a brain?
When you think of fossils, you probably imagine dinosaurs. But did you know that soft body parts, like the brain, can become fossils too?
In th...
How do earworms work?
Have you ever had a song stuck in your head that you just can't shake? A few bars or lyrics that just keep looping all day long? Well, we have delved...
How are seals affecting fishing catches?
Are seals the fishermen's friends or foes? The UK is home 35% of the world’s grey seals and we know they like to get their flippers on many of the sam...
Why am I killing my house plants?
House plants can be a cheerful pop of colour in your home. But do you find after the initial burst of life, your plants start to fade, looking sad and...
How are volcanoes formed on other planets?
Volcanoes are pretty amazing! But how do they work on other planets?
Take Mars – it has the largest volcano in the solar system! But vol...
Can we talk to bees?
We are out in the wild today talking to bees!
In this behind the scenes episode, we visited Dr Rachel Parkinson’s bee recording studio t...
Why are people obsessed with how cute cats are?
Cats are pretty adorable! Those big eyes, fluffy paws and cheeky personalities mean that most people find felines cute. But what is the science behind...
How freaked out should I be about bed bugs?
You might have seen them in a hotel. You might have read about them in the news. Maybe you’ve seen them star in social media videos filmed on the Lond...
When did we start kissing?
Have you ever considered when kissing first started? Who, or what, first decided that this was a good way to show affection?
Ancient hi...
How do you stay warm in your house without central heating?
How do we battle the energy use and soaring costs required to keep our homes warm?
We spoke to Dr Brenda Boardman from the Environmental Change...
How will climate change affect wine?
People have been interested in wine growing and quality vintages since the Roman times, but as the climate warms, what does this mean for the future o...
What are the odds of a white Christmas?
As we count down to the festive season and the days get colder, will we see a white Christmas this year? In the last episode of the Big Questions podc...
How do you reintroduce lions?
Lions are iconic species, but they are threatened with extinction. In Zambia, researchers and conservationists are working together to find ways of co...
Does banning smoking work?
As the UK government proposes new plans to reduce the number of people who smoke, we talk to behaviour change researcher Nicola Lindson from the Nuffi...
Why are deep fakes happening?
Welcome to the new series of the Big Questions podcast, where we ask Oxford scientists to shed light on everyday questions that you really want to kno...
What's the cool stuff that we've learnt from the James Webb Space Telescope?
About a year ago, we asked astrophysicist Dr Becky Smethurst why the James Webb Space Telescope is such a big deal. Her answers were pretty exciting,...
Would you want to meet an alien?
What might an experimental petrologist (someone who makes rocks in the lab) and an immunologist (someone who studies the body's defence system) have i...
Could 'Jurassic Park' actually happen?
"Life finds a way"...This year marks the thirtieth anniversary of the release of Stephen Spielberg and Universal Studio's dinosaur masterpiece 'Jurass...
How can we use sound waves to eliminate infections?
Many of us will have had to deal with a bacterial infection at some point or another. The solution? Often, antibiotics. But as the issue of antibiotic...