Science In Action Folgen

A Chinese survey of diseased animals farmed for their fur – such as mink, foxes and raccoon dogs - has revealed high levels of concerning viruses, including coronaviruses and flu viruses, many of which appear to jump easily from species to species. John Pettersson of Uppsala University discusses the threat to us humans. We learnt early on in the Covid-19 pandemic how important the genetic details of the virus were in tracking the spread and spotting new variants. The vaccines were designed from gene sequences shared electronically long before any biological samples became available. Virologist Emma Hodcroft has teamed up with researchers around the world to develop a new virus database, Pathoplexus, to speed up the sharing of gene sequences. Mpox outbreaks are causing concerns in Central and West Africa - particularly in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. A smallpox vaccine has started arriving, giving some protection against mpox. But there’s good news this week in an experimental vaccine developed especially for mpox by Moderna – one of the companies that brought us the mRNA vaccines against Covid-19. Galit Alter, vice president of immunology research at Moderna, tells us animal tests show that it appears to be highly effective. And we discuss embryonic eavesdropping with Francisco Ruiz-Raya of Glasgow University. In the yellow-legged-gull, baby bird embryos that have chattier parents tend to come out chattier themselves – and likely receive better care because of their enhanced communication. Presenter: Roland Pease Producer: Jonathan Blackwell Production co-ordinator: Andrew Rhys Lewis (Image: A mink in a mink farm in the hands of a man. Credit: Neznam/Getty Images)

In 1977 astronomers recorded a brief and strange radio transmission that looked like it perhaps had even come from an alien civilization. It was named the Wow! signal – because that’s what astronomer Jerry Ehman wrote on the computer printout upon its discovery. But now a team including Abel Méndez of the University of Puerto Rico at Arecibo have come up with an astrophysical hypothesis. An oil tanker which was attacked by Yemen's Houthi rebels in the Red Sea last week is still on fire and may be leaking oil, the US Pentagon says. The talk now is of an agreement to salvage the tanker so a crisis may be avoided, but marine ecologist Carlos Duarte of the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Saudi Arabia explains how precious ecosystems are at risk. A meta-analysis of Mediterranean Sea marine species reveals the profound impact of the Messinian Salinity Crisis. Konstantina Agiadi of the University of Vienna tells us how this drastic environmental event resulted in the almost complete evaporation of the Mediterranean Sea roughly 5.5 million years ago and how the resulting changes still influence ecosystems today. Wildfires that swept across Canada last year are still burning in some parts. A new study has confirmed that they put into the atmosphere a vast amount of burned carbon, over half a billion tonnes. Only China, India and the USA emitted more fossil-fuel based carbon in that period. Brendan Byrne of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory has been using satellite-based observations to track the carbon release. Presenter: Roland Pease Producer: Jonathan Blackwell Production Coordinator: Andrew Rhys Lewis(Image: The Wow! signal represented as "6EQUJ5". Credit: NAAPO)

Fishery assessment models – the “backbone” of fisheries management – overestimate the sustainability of the world’s fisheries, according to a study of 230 fisheries worldwide, and populations of many overfished species are in far worse condition than has been reported. We hear from Rainer Froese of GEOMAR - Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel. The lunar south pole contains evidence of ancient magma ocean. An analysis of lunar soil in the Moon’s southern high-latitude regions, performed using data from India’s Chandrayaan-3 mission, suggests the presence of remnants of a former ocean of magma. Roland speaks to Santosh Vadawale of India’s Physical Research Laboratory. Stefanie Haustein of the School of Information Studies at Ottawa University discusses the article processing costs for open access of the journal publishing giants in science. The risk of a banana apocalypse could be near, but biologists, including Li-Jun Ma of the University of Massachusetts, might have found a key to their survival. Bananas are facing functional extinction due to the disease Fusarium wilt of banana caused by a fungal pathogen. Discovery of molecular mechanisms used by the banana-destroying microbe brings hope. Presenter: Roland Pease Producer: Jonathan Blackwell Production Coordinator: Andrew Rhys Lewis(Image: Fisherman emptying net full of fish into hold on trawler. Credit: Monty Rakusen via Getty Images)