We look back on 2024 in science, from billionaires in space, to record-breaking heat here on Earth, and the meteoric rise of new weight-loss drugs. From the biggest stories to the unsung and the plain fun, Inside Science presenter Victoria Gill hosts a special panel, featuring: - Libby Jackson, head of space exploration at the UK Space Agency - Penny Sarchet, managing editor of New Scientist - Mark Miodownik, a materials scientist from University College London Presenter: Victoria Gill Producers: Gerry Holt Editor: Martin Smith Production Co-ordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth  To discover more fascinating science content, head to bbc.co.uk search for BBC Inside Science and follow the links to The Open University.

More species infected than ever, an uptick in human cases, and some concerning biological modifications. How close are we to a bird flu pandemic? We digest the last year of bird flu changes with virologist Tom Peacock and public health journalist Melody Schreiber. Also this week, we address the absurd problem of transporting something that can't be touched, we find out how animals make their epic migratory journeys, and Victoria Gill visits a town which has learnt to ward off a fearsome predator, polar bears.Presenter: Victoria Gill Producers: Ella Hubber & Gerry Holt Editor: Martin Smith Production Co-ordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth  & Josie HardyTo discover more fascinating science content, head to bbc.co.uk search for BBC Inside Science and follow the links to The Open University.

Some social media users have been pouring milk down the drain and chucking their butter in the bin in protest over a new additive in cow feed that claims to reduce methane emissions. The online posts, attacking Arla Food’s trial of Bovaer with three big supermarkets and 30 farms in the UK, have had millions of views. So, what do we know – what is this additive and how is it going to tackle burpy cows? And what is the evidence it is safe? We interrogate the science with Sharon Huws, professor in animal science, and food scientist Dr Stuart Farrimond... Also this week, are billionaires really deserting Earth for space? What is the upshot for our plastic waste problem after global talks on a treaty ended in failure? And why, just why, are orcas being spotted wearing salmon hats? Presenter: Victoria Gill Producers: Sophie Ormiston, Ella Hubber & Gerry Holt Editor: Martin Smith Production Co-ordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth  To discover more fascinating science content, head to bbc.co.uk search for BBC Inside Science and follow the links to The Open University.

The south Wales town of Pontypridd saw cars submerged, people bailing floodwater out of their homes using bins, and the beautiful park and lido transformed into a brown mess, as parts of the UK were flooded. But, it's nothing new. Pontypridd was severely flooded just four and a half years ago – and these are scenes that play out around the UK every winter. So, is the way we warn people about floods failing? We’re going to unpick exactly how floods are forecast – and what went wrong – with natural hazards researcher and hydrologist, Professor Hannah Cloke. Also this week, sharing your microbiome with friends, alternative plastics, and was the most recent climate summit good COP or bad COP? Presenter: Victoria Gill Producers: Gerry Holt, Sophie Ormiston & Ella Hubber Editor: Martin Smith Production Co-ordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth  To discover more fascinating science content, head to bbc.co.uk search for BBC Inside Science and follow the links to The Open University.

As conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine continue to dominate the news, many Inside Science listeners have been in touch with the same question: What is the carbon footprint of war? How significant is the impact – and is it crass to even talk about it? We’re joined by Benjamin Neimark from Queen Mary University in London. Also this week, we chat to the incoming DG of Europe’s particle-smashing facility Cern, what have we learnt by defrosting an extinct big cat and, the beetle that could ruin Christmas... Presenter: Marnie Chesterton Producers: Florian Bohr, Ella Hubber & Gerry Holt Editor: Martin Smith Production Co-ordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth  If you want to test your climate change knowledge, head to bbc.co.uk search for BBC Inside Science and follow the links to The Open University to take the quiz.

A shortage of medical isotopes used to detect cancer has experts concerned that the shortfall could be delaying diagnosis and could even be costing lives. Exactly what these nuclear medicines are and how they are made is key to understanding the national scarcity. So, we’re going back to basics and learning all about medical isotopes. We also speak to world-famous conservationist and primatologist Jane Goodall who, now aged 90, continues to travel the globe campaigning to protect the natural world. Dame Goodall reflects on a life of studying our closest living animal relatives, chimpanzees, and as COP29 gets under way, speaks about the “closing window of time” to turn the tide on climate change and nature loss. Also this week, we answer the listener question “Why don’t we just throw nuclear waste into volcanoes?” and can Marnie spot AI vs real poetry? Presenter: Marnie Chesterton Producers: Ella Hubber & Gerry Holt Editor: Martin Smith Production Co-ordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth  To discover more fascinating science content, head to bbc.co.uk search for BBC Inside Science and follow the links to The Open University.

It’s our Halloween special from a rain-soaked Jodrell Bank in Cheshire. We find out what you can see in a dark, dark Halloween night sky with space-watcher and Professor of astrophysics Tim O’Brien. Also this week, we meet some blood-sucking leeches, the horrors of pumpkin waste and could zombies ever be real? Presenter: Victoria Gill Producers: Ella Hubber, Sophie Ormiston & Gerry Holt Editor: Martin Smith Production Co-ordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth  To discover more fascinating science content, head to bbc.co.uk search for BBC Inside Science and follow the links to The Open University.

Twenty years ago this week two physicists at the University of Manchester published a ground-breaking paper describing the extraordinary qualities of graphene. The thinnest and strongest material known to exist – and better at carrying electricity than any metal – its discovery was hailed as revolutionary. But two decades on, it doesn’t seem to have changed the world, or if it has, it is doing so very quietly. So, what happened? We go on the trail of graphene, meeting Nobel Prize winner and Godfather of Graphene Andrew Geim, and learning what it has – and hasn’t – done and what might be next... Also this week, how to kill an asteroid and we talk the “other” COP with chief scientific adviser to the government, Dame Angela McLean. Presenter: Victoria Gill Producers: Sophie Ormiston, Ella Hubber & Gerry Holt Editor: Martin Smith Production Co-ordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth  BBC Inside Science is produced in partnership with the Open University.

The Earth’s natural carbon sinks absorb half of our pollution. But now, they appear to be collapsing. Why is this happening – and will we be able to reach our climate goals without them?Also this week, why a psychologist won the Nobel Prize in Physics, the culprit behind the second biggest mass extinction event, and does playing video games make you smarter?Presenter: Marnie Chesterton Producers: Sophie Ormiston, Ella Hubber, Anna Charalambou Editor: Martin Smith Production Co-ordinator: Andrew Rhys Lewis BBC Inside Science is produced in collaboration with the Open University.

A woolly mammoth by 2028.That’s the bold claim from US company Colossal Biosciences, who say research is under way that will make this possible.But even if we have the technology to bring back a long dead species, should we? We hear the arguments for and against de-extinction.Also this week, what will Europa Clipper find when it heads to one of Jupiter’s icy moons and how to win a Nobel Prize. Presenter: Marnie Chesterton Producers: Ella Hubber, Sophie Ormiston & Gerry Holt Editor: Martin Smith Production Co-ordinator: Andrew Rhys Lewis BBC Inside Science is produced in partnership with the Open University.

“That’s the end of coal in the UK for electricity.” The UK’s last coal-fired power station has closed, ending Britain's 142-year reliance on coal. But what difference will the closure of Ratcliffe-on-Soar make – and could it mark a new dawn for clean energy? After 20 years of research into microplastics and headline upon headline on their potential harms, how much do we really know about these tiny particles? Also this week, Marnie turns lab rat for a navigation experiment, and why are we all so obsessed with Moo Deng? Presenter: Marnie Chesterton Producers: Sophie Ormiston, Ella Hubber & Gerry Holt Editor: Martin Smith Production Co-ordinator: Andrew Rhys Lewis BBC Inside Science is produced in partnership with the Open University. If you want to test your climate change knowledge, head to bbc.co.uk - search for BBC Inside Science and follow the links to the Open University.

The images beamed back to Earth of the first civilian spacewalk have prompted a very pertinent question from one Inside Science listener: What effect is space travel having on our climate? We're used to delving into the carbon footprint of Earth-bound travel – so this week we’re going to explore the impact of the rapidly growing space industry on our climate. How does a rocket launch compare to a flight taking off? Do we even know the true cost yet – and if it’s significant, what might the solution be? Also on the programme, a personal perspective from a remote island on worrying seabird declines, the results of a project to refreeze Arctic sea ice, and why new evidence unearthed about the Falkland Islands suggests it may once have looked very different... Presenter: Vic Gill Producers: Ella Hubber & Gerry Holt Editor: Martin Smith Production Co-ordinator: Andrew Rhys Lewis Studio Manager: Rhys Morris BBC Inside Science is produced in partnership with the Open University. If you want to test your climate change knowledge, head to bbc.co.uk - search for BBC Inside Science and follow the links to the Open University.