Main content

The state of nature in the UK

A report published this week by 60 conservation and research organisations has found that nature in the UK is in freefall. Victoria Gill finds out more.

In this week’s episode Victoria Gill speaks to Nida al-Fulaij, conservation research manager at the People’s Trust for Endangered Species, about the UK’s new State of Nature report. Climate change, habitat loss and intensive agricultural practices have been blamed for the decline in species. But all is not lost. Victoria pays a visit to an eco-friendly farm and finds out how innovative agricultural practices can boost wildlife in the UK’s fields.

We’re kicking off our series of programmes covering The Royal Society Trivedi Science Book Prize. Chair of the judges is Alain Goriely, Professor of Mathematical Modelling at the University of Oxford. He gives us a rundown of this year’s shortlisted entries.

This week, scientists at CERN in Switzerland announced they have observed how antimatter behaves in the presence of gravity. Particle physicist Jeffrey Hangst, who led the Alpha experiment, tells us why this is a big deal.

We also have the latest on OSIRIS-REx mission, the first NASA mission to return a sample of an asteroid to Earth. The capsule parachuted down into the Utah desert this week. It contained a precious cargo of rock and dust samples taken from an asteroid named Bennu. Jon Amos, the Â鶹Éç’s science correspondent is in Utah and witnessed the return. He tells Victoria all about it.

Â鶹Éç Inside Science is produced in collaboration with the Open University.

Presenter:  Victoria Gill
Producers: Hannah Robins, Harrison Lewis, Alice Lipscombe-Southwell
Editor: Richard Collings   
Production Co-ordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth

Available now

28 minutes

Broadcasts

  • Thu 28 Sep 2023 16:30
  • Thu 28 Sep 2023 21:00

Explore further with The Open University

Â鶹Éç Inside Science is produced in partnership with The Open University.

Podcast