Brain implants have moved from science fiction to science fact thanks to innovative research into treatments for neurological illnesses. But could you physically join your brain with an artificial intelligence? What would having a part-machine mind do to your thoughts and your sense of self? Who would be in control? And if a private company owned hardware in your brain, what happens when they want it back? Dr Frederic Gilbert of University of Tasmania talks to Luke Turner about the reality of...

Our bodies are astonishing in all their beautiful, biological complexity – but do you ever wonder if this is as far as the human form can develop? Millions of years of evolution have created a four-limbed, bipedal mammal with opposable thumbs and a powerful, versatile brain. But have we stopped evolving? Are we still subject to natural selection in the unnatural, man-made world we’ve created? And which genetic mutations will thrive, ensuring the continued survival of our species? Evolutionary...

Every CSI fan knows that forensic analysis is crucial to criminal investigations. But it’s not just microscopic blood spatter or clothing fibres that can help nail a perpetrator. Botanical forensics – identifying how long a fungus has grown on a dead body, or which species of pollen a victim has inhaled – can blow a case wide open too. We’re stepping into True Crime territory today as Professor David Gibson, author of Planting Clues, shares gruesome details of incredible real life criminal...

Does your cat meow in Geordie? Does your dog have a Yorkshire accent? Is “animal linguistics” a thing? Incredibly, it is – and the science of animal “voices” is revealing a wealth of information about how wild and domestic creatures think and communicate.  Elodie Floriane Mandel-Briefer, Associate Professor of Animal Behaviour at the University of Copenhagen joins Emma Kennedy to explain the unique and startling world of animal linguistics… plus how dolphins give each other names… how we’re...

It’s the fantasy we revisit obsessively in movies and TV from Her to Humans to Blade Runner to, well, A.I. Artificial Intelligence. Could a thinking machine develop a personality sufficiently human-like that we could share a relationship with it? Could an A.I. become our friend or even our lover? We’re social animals, wired to understand the world through personal interactions. What does that mean when it comes to A.I.? Simple Chatbot apps can help people to cope with loneliness, but do the...

Dads will often say that fatherhood changes you – but did you realise those changes happen at a physical, biological level as well as in fathers’ perspectives and values? We often assume that biologically mens’ bodies are unaffected by the arrival of a child. But huge hormonal changes take place at the point of the child’s birth, and research shows that when fathers interact with their children incredible neural activations take place. How do these changes prepare children for the world? And...

Multiverse theory inspired movie blockbusters like Marvel’s Dr Strange and Everything Everywhere All At Once – but the “Many Worlds” theory of multiple realities isn’t just science fiction. If the science is right, could there be another version of me out there somewhere? The Cosmological Inflating Multiverse, for instance, says that ours is but one universe among billions and no scenario, no matter how bizarre, can be ruled out. Can we prove that the Multiverse is science fact? Theoretical...

As YouTube videos of bopping parrots and breakdancing baboons show, humans aren’t the only species with rhythm and musicality built in. Even dogs wag their tails to a fixed tempo. But why, and what does it tell us? Plus, research shows us that a sense of rhythm isn’t the rule across the entire animal kingdom. Are different species born with it or can it be learned? Is music and rhythm a precursor to language?  Professor Andrea Ravignani of Sapienza University of Rome introduces Ananyo...

Science usually rejects the existence of the soul, or any conscious entity that’s separate from our biology. But there’s increasing evidence that plants, air and even inanimate matter exhibit some properties of consciousness. Could everything in the universe be linked by some invisible force, like Yoda taught Luke in Star Wars? This is not just science fiction but the study of panpsychism, the idea that everything in the universe is conscious and interacts. Today on Why? we’re stepping into...

Artificial Intelligence already controls complex systems that humans depend on, from keeping thousands of planes safe in the sky to autocorrect saving our blushes when we mis-spell ‘Wednesday’. But are we in danger of handing AI too much control? Could machine learning outgrow its human masters? Researchers recently had to turn off two AI chatbots when they invented their own language that humans couldn’t decipher – and that won’t be the last time AI runs ahead of us. Can we really trust...

Why do we always remember the worst things that happened to us and never the best? Excruciating memories of past mistakes have a tendency to haunt us, popping up uninvited to make us cringe and sweat the way good memories just don’t. Why? If every new experience creates new neural pathways in our brain, could we disconnect the ones we don’t want to revisit?  Neuroscientist Dr Dean Burnett joins Luke Turner to find out whether these toe-curling memories serve a biological purpose beyond basic...

We like to think we’re the pinnacle of intelligent life, but were humans really the first to evolve conceptual, self-aware, logical consciousness on Earth? Could an advanced technological civilisation have emerged before? If so, what happened to it? And if our planet produces many kinds of intelligence – octopuses have nine brains! – what is it about Earth that makes intelligent life likely to evolve here?  Evolutionary biologist and writer Dr. Henry Gee joins Ananyo Bhattacharya to talk...

We hear a lot about the technology of space travel, but what about the psychology of leaving Earth for the loneliness of space? If you were strapped inside a rocket hurtling through space, what would it do to your state of mind? Could you still collaborate, concentrate and carry out your vital work? Or would you give in to rising panic as the only home you’ve ever known becomes a tiny blue speck that would take years to return to – if ever? Space psychologist Dr Nick Kanas joins Anna Machin...

At the very centre of the earth, scientists have just discovered a new, previously unknown geological layer inside our world’s dense inner core. What is this strange new fifth layer composed of? How could we not know what’s beneath our feet, albeit very far down? And could we use it somehow? Professor Hrvoje Tkalčić tells Luke Turner how his research group made this discovery and how the inner inner core may be small, but it plays a mighty mighty role in all our lives. Every Monday and...

Could you be forever young? Humans have fantasised about stopping or even reversing the ravages of age for as long as we’ve told stories – but now science is coming closer to making it happen. The global anti-ageing market is worth over $62 billion and the super-rich like Jeff Bezos are pouring billions into research against ageing. Will science soon be able to literally turn back the bodyclock? Dr Andrew Steele tells Olly Mann about the science of ageing, how biologists are reaching down to...

Faster-than-light space travel has been a staple of science fiction since before the Starship Enterprise first went warp-speed. But could it ever really happen? Are we discovering potential ways to get round Einstein’s iron rule about spacetime’s speed limit? And could the secret to travelling at the speed of light be hidden within the underground tunnels at CERN? Theoretical physicist Dr Sabine Hossenfelder explains the latest thinking on ‘FTL’ to Anna Machin. Please fasten your...

Humans now have more control over our long-term evolution than ever before. Developments in DNA research could mean we can by-pass natural selection and dictate our own biological destiny. But where is it leading? We time-travel forward a million years and check in on our (very) distant cousins to see if they resemble us at all. Will they even be recognisably human? Dr Anders Sandberg of Oxford University’s Future of Humanity Institute discusses the future of our species with Ananyo...

Time seems pretty reliable in our everyday lives – but is it as dependable as we think? According to Einstein, both gravity and speed can warp time. Some think time is just a product of our consciousness. Is it even real… whatever “real” is?  Sam Baron, Professor of Philosophy at the Australian Catholic University and co-author of Out Of Time, tells Anna Machin how we all have our own ‘clock’ which doesn’t tick at the same pace as anyone else’s… and whether time is just a construct after...

Who hasn’t looked up at the stars at some point and thought maybe there are other intelligent creatures out there? Astronomers scan the cosmos and they’ve found plenty of intriguing but inconclusive signals so far. Are they no more than magnetic waves from far off dead planets, or something more? Dr. Franck Marchis, Senior Planetary Astronomer at the SETI Institute (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence), tells Luke Turner about the groundbreaking research the institute is doing and how...

We’re a sex-obsessed species, and now we’re building humanoid sex robots. But is there something psychologically, physically and even morally wrong in knocking boots with our metal-and-plastic creations? Dr. Kate Devlin, an expert in artificial intelligence and author of Turned On: Science, Sex and Robots tells Anna Machin about the ethical ups and downs (ahem) of turning one’s desire away from ‘alive’ partners and towards artificial intelligence. Is it wrong? Who are we hurting? Who’s...

While the human race’s ploughs, tunnels and cities have rewritten the face of the planet, an even more fundamental force has been shaping our story: the single-minded focus of our DNA. Research scientist and author of Being Human Professor Lewis Dartnell tells Olly Mann how the hidden flaws and idiosyncrasies of our own bodies produced some of human civilisation’s most influential phenomena – from royalty to the Mafia.  Guest: Professor Lewis Dartnell, author of Being Human; How our biology...

Memory is critical to human function. We simply can’t do anything without it. Yet most of us have memories of events that never occurred. How can that be? Where do these false memories come from and what do they mean? Psychologist Dr Sarita Robinson walks Emma Kennedy down the avenues of the mind to find answers to this strange and disturbing phenomenon. If we can’t trust our own memory, can we trust ourselves? Guest: Dr Sarita Robinson Every Monday and Thursday WHY? takes you on an adventure...