Weekly: The case for Arctic geoengineering; world’s oldest cheese

每周:北极地球工程案例; 世界上最古老的奶酪

New Scientist Podcasts

科学

2024-09-27

25 分钟
PDF

单集简介 ...

Episode 269 Could we re-freeze the Arctic… and should we? The Arctic is losing ice at an alarming rate and it’s too late to save it by cutting emissions alone. Geoengineering may be our only hope. A company called Real Ice has successfully tested a plan to artificially keep the region cold - but what are the consequences and will it work on the scale we need? Octopuses and fish have been found hunting together in packs in an unexpected display of cooperation. Not only do the fish scout out potential prey, they even signal to the octopuses to move in for the kill. And a fish doesn’t prove helpful? They get punched. The world’s oldest cheese has been found in China - and it’s 3,500 years old. As we get a fascinating look into the fermenting habits of ancient humans, find out how modern day fermentation is being repurposed to help us create biofuels, break down microplastics and more. We hear from Tom Ellis, professor of synthetic genome engineering at Imperial College London. Our bodies are littered with microplastics - they’re in our livers, kidneys, guts and even our olfactory bulb. How worried should we be? Microplastics have been linked to some pretty serious health consequences - but are they the cause? Hosts Rowan Hooper and Sophie Bushwick discuss with guests Madeleine Cuff, Michael Le Page and Grace Wade. To read more about these stories, visit https://www.newscientist.com/  Get your tickets for New Scientist Live: https://www.newscientist.com/nslivepod Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
更多

单集文稿 ...

  • Before we start, we want to big up New Scientists Live, our award winning festival of ideas and discovery.

  • It's the ultimate place to expand your mind and feed your curiosity.

  • And it's returning to excel London on Saturday the 12th through Sunday the 13th of October.

  • Over 80 exhibits, over 70 incredible speakers across five stages.

  • It's everything you love about science, technology and the world around you.

  • If you can't make it to London, we'll be live streaming the talks so you can join us from the comfort of your own home and hear some of the world's most interesting people as they discuss everything from the Big Bang to mental health, the magic of mycology and the world's biggest flowers.

  • If you're curious about life, the universe and our place in it, there's a talk for you at New Scientists Live.

  • For more information, visit NewScientist.com NSLivePod.

  • Hello, welcome to your weekly dose of essential science news from New Scientist.

  • I'm Rowan Hooper and with me this week is my colleague Sophie Bushwick.

  • On the show this week, we have the world's oldest cheese and its connection to synthetic biology, plus a collaboration between octopus and fish, and the latest on microplastic pollution and what we know about its impact on our health.

  • That's coming up.

  • But first, a few years ago I wrote about some pretty outlandish ideas on geoengineering to refreeze the Arctic.

  • And we've reported a lot on the podcast about the loss of ice in the Arctic and how it's accelerating.

  • And look, the whole scenario is so nightmarish that some of these outlandish ideas have been developed further.

  • Madeline Cuff is here to tell us the latest.

  • Maddie, you've got hold of some results of a field trial from a startup that's been conducting experiments in the Canadian Arctic.

  • So, but before we get into that, why are we even talking about refreezing the Arctic?

  • Hi, Rowan.

  • Yeah, as we mentioned that we have reported on lots before, the Arctic is one of the fastest warming places on Earth.