Biodiversity is under threat, and there are many ongoing efforts to help save it, including from within universities. But are academic contributions doing any good? Our cohost Tim Coulson discussed this topic with Professor Dame EJ Milner-Gulland in the Oxford Martin School (OMS) in April. Thanks to Carlyn Samuel, OMS and the OMS team for hosting the debate and allowing us to record.

Artificial intelligence is a modern-day technology that will impact the way we live much as past innovations like mastering fire, and inventing the printing press, home computers and the internet changed civilisation. But what exactly is it, how does it work, and what are the opportunities and risks of its continued development? We talk to Chris Summerfield about Artificial Intelligence and his fabulous new book, “These Strange New Minds: How AI Learned to Talk and What It Means” recently published by Penguin.
https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/460891/these-strange-new-minds-by-summerfield-christopher/9780241694657

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Colossal Bioscience has brought genetic variation back from the grave. It is a remarkable technological achievement, but is it species de-extinction? In this second part of this podcast we talk to Professor Peter Hudson FRS, a world-leading ecologist, who is concerned by Colossal’s claims and what they might mean.

Colossal Bioscience has brought genetic variation back from the grave. It is a remarkable technological achievement, but is it species de-extinction? We talk to Professor Bridgett vonHoldt, a world-leading dog geneticist, who was involved in Colossal Bioscience’s recent dire wolf de-extinction work that has caused some controversy. In part 2 of this podcast we talk a world-leading ecologist who gives us his - different - take.

The link below is a genetics paper, not talking about de-extinction.
https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.04.09.647074v1

A bonus episode in which Tim and Syma discuss how the zombie ant-based creatures seen on popular dystopian future drama Last of Us are based on real fungi (Cordyceps) which infect ants - and then exploit the now zombie ants to produce more fungi, killing the ants in the process. Yes it’s a bit gruesome, but it’s science!

Syma and Tim are joined by Nobel Laureate David Baker, one of the winners of the 2024 Nobel Prize for Chemistry for his work on computational protein design. This follows the interview with Tim Jenkins, and Susana Vasquez in Episode 7 who worked with David. After the interview Tim asks Syma to explain in simple terms the process of protein design and what may be possible in the future.

Colassal says it has de-extincted an animal. Is this a dire wolf or a dire mistake? Join Tim and Syma on this short bonus edition!

Proteins are the workhorses of life, with thousands overseeing and getting involved in reactions within our cells. Biologists have long dreamed of being able to make designer proteins to do specific tasks, and recently a team of scientists have made this happen. Syma and Tim talk to researchers who designed, and then made, a protein that neutralises a type of snake venom. In the first release we talk to Susana Vázquez and Tim Jenkins who were key members of the team, and in the second release, on Sunday, we chat with David Baker who was one of the recipients of 2024 Nobel prize for Chemistry for de novo protein design.

The paper is available here:
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-08393-x