Mosaic Science Podcast

Is there real science in the spiritualism of meditation? Jo Marchant meets a Nobel Prize-winner who thinks so. Written by Jo MarchantRead by Pip MayoProduced by Barry J Gibb For more stories and to read this story, visit mosaicscience.com Subscribe t...Show More

Half of people with Parkinson’s disease experience hallucinations, paranoia and delusions. Mary O’Hara reports on a new hope. Written by Mary O'Hara Read by Michael Regnier Produced by Graihagh Jackson

Priyanka Pulla asks if there can ever be legitimacy in ‘quackery’. Written by Priyanka Pulla, read by Kirsten Irving, produced by Barry J Gibb, audio editing by Geoff Marsh. If you liked this story, we recommend Can meditation really slow ageing? by ...Show More

One in ten people struggle to recognise their emotions. New research suggests a vital link between our ability to sense our physical bodies and knowing how we feel. Written by Emma Young Read by Charlotte Hussey  Produced by Graihagh Jackson

Why is asbestos still killing people? Nic Fleming finds out in a twisting tale of industry cover-ups and misinformation that spans decades. Written by Nic Fleming, read by Pip Mayo, produced by Barry J Gibb

A network of compassionate volunteers caring for their terminally ill neighbours is allowing more people in Kerala, India, to end their days at peace and at home. Jeremy Laurance meets the man leading the movement. Written by Jeremy Laurance Read by ...Show More

Having stamped out a number of tropical diseases – including malaria – decades ago, is America today complacent about a rising wave of infectious disease? By Carrie Arnold. Written by Carrie Arnold, read by Kirsten Irving, produced by Barry J Gibb, a...Show More

The need to mend broken hearts has never been greater. But what if we could simply manufacture a new one? Alex O’Brien studies the legacy of Texan surgeons and artificial hearts. Written by Alex O'Brien, read by Pip Mayo, produced by Barry J Gibb, au...Show More

An early halt to a trial of deep brain stimulation for depression reveals little about the treatment but more about the changing nature of clinical trials. Written by David Dobbs Read by Brian Yim Lim Produced by Graihagh Jackson

Calories consumed minus calories burned: it’s the simple formula for weight loss or gain. But dieters often find that it doesn’t work. Cynthia Graber and Nicola Twilley of Gastropod investigate. Written by Cynthia Graber, read by Charlotte Hussey, pr...Show More

Notoriously illegal and synonymous with hedonism, LSD and ecstasy started life as aids to psychotherapy. Sam Wong meets the band of psychiatrists who are looking to reclaim them for medicine again. Written by Sam Wong, read by Pip Mayo, produced by B...Show More

Telling cancer from non-cancer is tough for brain surgeons. Scorpions, Amazon.com and the legacy of a dying girl might change that, writes Alex O'Brien. Written by Alex O'Brien, read by Kirsten Irving, produced by Barry J Gibb For more stories and to...Show More

Women’s reproductive rights are under attack across the globe. Sophie Cousins investigates the challenges women face in accessing abortion and contraception in two very different countries – India and the USA. Written by Sophie Cousins Read by Kirste...Show More

Oklahoma has lost a million pounds of fat. Ian Birrell asks how – and whether declaring ‘war on obesity’ can really change a city’s infrastructure and encourage healthy living. Written by Ian Birrell, read by Kirsten Irving, produced by Barry J Gibb ...Show More

Headlines scream about “epidemics” of shootings and stabbings – but what if we took that literally? From Chicago to Glasgow, treating violence as a public health problem has produced great results. Written by Samira Shackle Read by Kirsten Irving Pro...Show More

Applying mild electrical currents to your head could take away pain, help memory and improve attention – and the US military is very interested. Emma Young reports. Written by Emma Young, read by Kirsten Irving, produced by Barry J Gibb If you liked ...Show More

In Finland, people whose sickness is linked to certain buildings fear being labelled as mentally ill, while scientists search for evidence that their condition is ‘real’. Written by Shayla Love Read by Graihagh Jackson  If you liked this story, we re...Show More

One nerve connects your vital organs, sensing and shaping your health. If we learn to control it, the future of medicine will be electric. Written by Gaia Vince, read by Kirsten Irving, produced by Barry J Gibb, edited by Geoff Marsh For more stories...Show More

When doctors in rural Italy began to see a surge in cancer cases, they were baffled. Then they made the link with industrial waste being dumped by local crime syndicates. Ian Birrell learns about the tragic consequences.  Written by Ian Birrell Read ...Show More

"Polio was unpredictable. Often no more harmful than any other childhood infection, it could on occasion ‘turn’ with swift, inexplicable savagery, destroying a child’s nerve cells and leaving him paralysed for life. If it damaged the nerves controlli...Show More

Sex workers in Mozambique are providing health support to those at the margins of society. They face political and financial challenges, but against the odds they are helping thousands. Written by Jules Montague  Read by Kirsten Irving  Produced by G...Show More

"Losing enjoyment of food and drink is a common complaint for people who lose their sense of smell. You can taste sweet, salty, bitter, sour and umami with your tongue. More complex flavours – like grapefruit or barbecued steak – depend on smell. But...Show More

Melioidosis is a bacterial infection that quietly causes thousands of deaths each year. Meet the doctor who made it his mission to make the world take notice. Written by Carrie Arnold Read by Michael Regnier Produced by Graihagh Jackson For more stor...Show More

In a world obsessed with beauty, living with a facial disfigurement can be hard. Neil Steinberg explores the past and present to find out what it’s like to look different. Written by Neil Steinberg Read by Pip Mayo Produced by Barry J Gibb Edited by ...Show More

Using sleep deprivation to lift people out of severe depression may seem counterintuitive, but for some people, it’s the only thing that works.  Written by Linda Geddes Read by Rebecca McIntosh  Produced by Graihagh Jackson For more stories and to re...Show More

How have the farm animals of today been shaped by centuries of domestication and selective breeding? Sujata Gupta investigates. Written by Sujata Gupta, read by Kirsten Irving, produced by Barry J Gibb, edited by Geoff Marsh For more stories and to r...Show More

Smiling is one of the fundamental ways people communicate, so what happens if your face can’t do it? Written by Neil Steinberg Read by Charlotte Hussey Produced by Graihagh Jackson For more stories and to read the text original, visit mosaicscience.c...Show More

Women predisposed to ovarian cancer can reduce their risk with surgery, but with it comes early menopause. To avoid this, some doctors propose delaying part of the procedure. But is this safe? Charlotte Huff explores the costs of buying time. Writte...Show More

A disease that killed millions in the 20th century still lingers – and with it the threat of a new epidemic. Why? The answer may have been staring us in the face all along, as Michael Regnier discovered when he travelled to Guinea with scientists sea...Show More

Allergies such as peanut allergy and hay fever make millions of us miserable, but scientists aren’t even sure why they exist. Carl Zimmer talks to a master immunologist with a controversial answer. Written by Carl Zimmer, read by Kirsten Irving, prod...Show More

Twenty-five years after the discovery of the gene behind Huntington’s disease, Peter Forbes reports on the potential first treatment for this devastating condition. Written by Peter Forbes, read by Brian Yim Lim, produced by Graihagh Jackson. For mor...Show More

"We gaze into the eyes of a chimp and see a reflection of ourselves. We glance at a crow and see an alien being that under some jurisdictions can be exterminated with impunity - bringing a sinister second meaning to the phrase "a murder of crows". Su...Show More

More and more people are donating organs, but demand still far exceeds supply. What can the world learn from the country that does it best? https://wellc.me/2mIsHDt  Written by Chris Baraniuk, narrated and produced by Graihagh Jackson.  For more stor...Show More

"Cholera has killed nearly 9,000 Haitians. More than 730,000 people have been infected. It is the worst outbreak of the disease, globally, in modern history. Hundreds of emergency and development workers have been working alongside the Haitian govern...Show More

Meet the scientists finding out how we can defeat our inner trolls and build more cooperative digital societies. Written by Gaia Vince, narrated by Kirsten Irving, produced by Graihagh Jackson. For more stories and to read the text original, visit mo...Show More

"As more Indians adopt more urban lives, chronic conditions like diabetes, obesity and heart disease are on the rise, replacing malnutrition and infectious diseases as the country’s most urgent health worries. Reddy doesn’t want to risk his family’s ...Show More

Cognitive enhancement drugs are usually depicted as a distinctly contemporary phenomenon, however none of these drugs are new. Are we asking the right questions about smart drugs? Marek Kohn looks at what they can do for us – and what they can’t. Wri...Show More

Naloxone can reverse an otherwise fatal heroin overdose within minutes. Carrie Arnold meets the doctors who put this remarkable drug in the hands of the police, families and addicts—and saved thousands of lives. Written by Carrie Arnold, narrated by ...Show More

A mysterious kidney disease is striking down labourers across the world and climate change is making it worse. Jane Palmer meets the doctors who are trying to understand it and stop it. Written by Jane Palmer, narrated by Michael Regnier, produced by...Show More

"Gomez is one of Achatz's regular patients at the A C Camargo Cancer Center in São Paulo, Brazil. He is extraordinarily susceptible to cancer. So too are many members of his extended family; cancer is so common among them - and premature death so pai...Show More

Calories consumed minus calories burned: it’s the simple formula for weight loss or gain. But dieters often find that it doesn’t work. Cynthia Graber and Nicola Twilley of Gastropod investigate. Written by Cynthia Graber, read by Charlotte Hussey, pr...Show More

"She packed up everything and moved to California to die. And she almost did. Less than a week after moving, Ellie was attacked by a swarm of Africanised bees." Ellie Lobel was ready to die. Then she was attacked by bees. Christie Wilcox hears how ve...Show More

After his son’s suicide aged 18, Steve Mallen sees the world differently. Along with a growing number of mental health experts, he wants to reduce the rate of suicide across the world, and is aiming for zero.  Written by Simon Usborne  Read by Kirste...Show More

They were the forgotten army. Taken captive during World War II, they lived lives of desperation and disease, internment and ingenuity. Long unspoken, their tale is now told through the voices of those who survived. Audio producer: Chris Chapman Soun...Show More

Emma Young meets a woman with dissociative identity disorder and discovers what happens when you lose your sense of being an individual. Written by Emma Young Read by Kirsten Irving Produced by Graihagh Jackson To read the full story visit: https://w...Show More

John Osborne has always hated the sound of whistling. But it wasn’t until a man whistling in a café infuriated him so much that he got up and left that he realised it was becoming a problem. Could he even be suffering from misophonia – a condition ch...Show More

Marian Partington is working to forgive Rosemary West – one of her sister’s killers – because she thinks the only way to break the cycle of female violence is to understand it.  Written by Katharine Quarmby Read by Kirsten Irving To read the full sto...Show More

"Men have been circumcised for thousands of years, yet our thinking about the foreskin seems as muddled as ever. And a close examination of this muddle raises disturbing questions. Is American exceptionalism justified? Should we really be funding mas...Show More

Bringing genetics into medicine leads to more accuracy, better diagnosis and personalised treatment – but not for everyone. Carrie Arnold meets families for whom gene testing has led only to unanswered questions. Written by Carrie Arnold Read by Rebe...Show More

Most of us would rather not think about what happens to our bodies after death. But that breakdown gives birth to new life in unexpected ways. Written by Moheb Costandi Read and produced by Barry J Gibb This story was first published in May 2015. Fo...Show More

For the first 20 years of his life, Henry Nicholls had a healthy relationship with sleep. Shortly after his 21st birthday, he began to experience symptoms of narcolepsy, a debilitating disorder that’s plagued him ever since. Sleep research is progres...Show More

Radioactivity stirs primal fears in many people, but Geoff Watts argues that an undue sense of its risks can cause real harm. Written and read by Geoff Watts Produced by Barry J Gibb For more great stories and to read the text original, visit mosaics...Show More

If you’re hit by lightning, there’s a nine in ten chance you’ll survive. But what are the lasting effects of being exposed to hundreds of millions of volts? Written by Charlotte Huff. Read by Kirsten Irving Produced by Graihagh Jackson For more grea...Show More

In this special episode,Mosaic's Editor Chrissie Giles interviews the doctor and best-selling writer Atul Gawande about end-of-life care, the death of his father, and how we can create dignity for all of us as we age and at the end of life. - For mor...Show More

Traditional flush toilets aren’t an option in many parts of the world, but neither is leaving people with unsafe and unhygenic choices. Now, one company is piloting a new loo that's waterless, off-grid and able to charge your phone. Lina Zeldovich tr...Show More

"Almost 30 per cent of children in care in Australia come from an Aboriginal background: 'The Stolen Generation - when Aborigines were forcibly taken away from their families - may not just be a shameful part of Australia's history...'. 'Is this seri...Show More

"What use, if any, is homesickness? 'It's purpose is the same today as it has been for millions of years - to deter us from leaving supportive groups and environments,' writes Mark Leary, Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at Duke University in...Show More

After giving birth, Catherine Carver became convinced that her baby had been swapped and that social workers were plotting to kill her. She recounts her terrifying journey into postpartum psychosis, and how she found healing in unexpected ways. Writt...Show More

"Despite all the ridicule and aversion and shame, we can no longer deny the emerging power of poo. Perhaps it's time to push past the disgust and start giving a shit. And doing so proudly." Brace yourself for the unbelievable next big thing in health...Show More

Out of the blue, Vanessa Potter lost her sight. As she recovered, her senses mingled – hearing and touch changed the way she saw colours. Her quest to understand why introduced her to new tech that uses sound to help blind people see. Written by:...Show More

"By the end of that day the September 11th Fund had been established by two major local charities. Donations poured in. Money first went on immediate aid - hot meals for rescue workers, emergency cheques for victims and their families - and then fund...Show More

When a brain tumour left Pat Long with persistent déjà vu, he began to question the very nature of reality. Here, he tells his story for the first time. Written by: Pat Long Read by: Brian Yim Lim Produced by: Graihagh Jackson If you enjoyed this sto...Show More

"Debbie’s not alone in her enthusiasm for neuroplasticity, which is what we call the brain’s ability to change itself in response to things that happen in our environment. Claims for its benefits are widespread and startling. Half an hour on Google i...Show More

Where do a zebra’s stripes, a leopard’s spots and our fingers come from? The key was found years ago – by the man who cracked the Enigma code, writes Kat Arney. Read by Kat Arney Produced by Jen Whyntie Edited by Geoff Marsh For more stories, visit m...Show More

"Inside, there's plenty of time to think. At first, this feels like a game, even one that is strangely amusing. Then, reality sets in. You're trapped. You see and hear your family lamenting your fate. Over the years, the carers forget to turn on the ...Show More

Surgeons and their patients are finding that virtual reality can relieve the pain and stress of operations – and it’s safer and cheaper than sedatives. Travel to a Mexican mountaintop village to visit a clinic with a difference. Written by Jo Marchan...Show More

"It is clear that something has gone wrong in the UK, where HIV-positive people are shamed and ignored, and HIV-negative people uninformed. Assumptions abound. Infections rise. Asking an HIV-positive person today how they became infected so often eli...Show More

A campaigning doctor has helped make Mongolia a better place to die than many much wealthier nations. Andrew North met her to find out how. Written by Andrew North Read by Kirsten irving Illustrated by Parkin Parkin Produced by Barry J. Gibb To read ...Show More

"Technically, the female condom works. When used correctly, it reduces a woman's risk of contracting HIV by around 94-97 per cent each time she had sex, according to estimates. Studies show that making female condoms available alongside the male vers...Show More

Boxers know they risk injury in the ring. But there’s a more insidious danger they don’t often talk about: the long-term brain damage that repeated blows to the head can cause. Lyra McKee meets the families who are breaking the silence. Written by Ly...Show More

"Hepatitis C - dubbed the slow, silent killer because it can cause chronic liver disease that progresses insidiously, unnoticed for decades - is now within our sights. Just 25 years after the discovery of the virus, we have a cure. In fact, we have s...Show More

Could understanding canine compulsions help find new treatments for people with obsessive–compulsive disorders too? Shayla Love investigates.   Written by Shayla Love Read by Kirsten Irving Illustrated by Clara Lacy Produced by Barry J. Gibb To read ...Show More

"Finding the right time and place to have conversations about things such as progression of disease can be challenging, and patients react in all sorts of ways. "Some people will want to have that conversation when they realise that they're unwell. S...Show More

Can virtual reality really soothe pain? Jo Marchant meets the doctors who say yes, and who hope this is a solution for the country consuming 80 per cent of the world’s opioid supply: the United States of America. Written by Jo Marchant Read by Barry ...Show More

"My most pervasive memory of young childhood, is of being in 'a mood', which really consisted of just the one mood in several shades of monochrome: a spectrum that ranged from a comforting solitary dreaminess inside a softly enclosing gentle shadow a...Show More

How do Scandinavians deal with long, dark winters? And what might this teach us about the relationship between our moods and sunlight?  Written by Linda Geddes Read by Nidhee Jadeja Produced by Barry J Gibb For more stories and to read the text versi...Show More

"Your brain is a dark, damp maze. The 1.5kg or so of soft brain tissue that is folded and pleated in your skull holds within it another, more complex labyrinth of nerve cells reaching out to each other in the darkness, making electrical and chemical ...Show More

Is there a ‘right’ way to bring up your child? Linda Geddes asks whether parent school is the answer. Written by Linda Geddes Read by Rebecca McIntosh Produced by Graihagh Jackson To read the story, visit mosaicscience.com Subscribe to our podcast: i...Show More

In times of economic trouble, governments can choose to cut public services to save money. But at what cost? Meet those on the sharp end of austerity in the UK to find out what it means for mental health. For more stories and to read the text origina...Show More

We know that our diet has a huge influence on our health, but is it possible to use food as medicine for a specific disease? Written by Emma Young Read by Charlotte Hussey Produced by Graihagh Jackson To read the story, visit mosaicscience.com Subscr...Show More

They were the forgotten army. Taken captive during World War II, they lived lives of desperation and disease, internment and ingenuity. Long unspoken, their tale is now told through the voices of those who survived. Audio producer: Chris Chapman Soun...Show More

You may not think of the buzz and whine of insects as musical, but the distinctive pitch of mosquito wingbeats could tell us how to fight malaria. Meet the researchers who are pricking up their ears. Written by Daniel A Gross Read by Barry J Gibb  Pr...Show More

How discovering an equation for altruism cost George Price everything. Written and read by Michael Regnier Produced by Barry J Gibb For more stories and to read the story, visit mosaicscience.com Subscribe to our podcast: iTunes itunes.apple.com/gb/p...Show More

When a gentle glow feels like a spotlight and everyday sounds hurt your ears, life can get anxious and painful. But there may be an upside to being highly sensitive. Written by Emma Young Read by Kirsten Irving Produced by Geoff Marsh  For more stori...Show More

What’s it like to hear voices? Are they hallucinations or a normal human experience? Explore what they are, why they happen and how they are being understood.

A shortage of incubators and a hunch about marsupials inspired a Colombian doctor to try something radical to save premature babies’ lives: constant skin-to-skin contact with parents. It’s cheaper than high-tech neonatal care – and it may be better, ...Show More

In Canada, wheelchair basketball brings people together regardless of their abilities. Find out whether this kind of integration could help dispel stigma, discrimination and misconceptions about disability more widely. Written by Lesley Evans Ogden R...Show More

Traditionally, expectant mothers have been excluded from clinical trials, but could this practice be doing more harm than good? Written by Emily Anthes Read by Charlotte Hussey  Produced by Barry J Gibb For more stories and to read the text original,...Show More

Are the fitness benefits of riding your bike worth the risk of an accident? Take a tour of seven cities on two wheels to find out. Written by Lesley Evans Ogden Read by Kirsten Irving Produced by Barry J Gibb For more stories and to read the text ori...Show More

The basic chemistry of hair dyes has changed little over the last century, but what do we know about the risks of colouring our hair, and why do we do it? Written by Rebecca Guenard Read by Rebecca McIntosh Produced by Barry J Gibb iTunes itunes.appl...Show More

In East Harlem, four times as many adults have diabetes as in the neighbouring Upper East Side. Meet the New Yorkers stopping poverty being a death sentence. Written, read and produced by Meera Senthilingam.  If you liked this story, we recommend Voi...Show More

In the 1970s, radical scientists thought they could change the world – if they could change science first. Written by Alice Bell Read by Nick Dent Produced by Barry J Gibb iTunes itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/mosai…id964928211?mt=2 RSS mosaicscience.li...Show More

We used to believe our brains couldn't be changed. Now we believe they can - if we want it enough. But is that true? Will Storr wades through the facts and fiction.   Written and read by Will Storr Produced by Barry J Gibb Audio editing by Geoff Mars...Show More

John Osborne has always hated the sound of whistling. But it wasn’t until a man whistling in a café infuriated him so much that he got up and left that he realised it was becoming a problem. Could he even be suffering from misophonia – a condition ch...Show More

Adults with anorexia often have distinctive traits that lock them into a destructive relationship with food. Discover how those same traits could help them escape it. Written by Carrie Arnold Read by Kirsten Irving  Produced by Barry J Gibb iTunes i...Show More

In every country in the world, male suicides outnumber female. Will Storr asks why. Written and read by Will Storr Produced by Barry J Gibb Read the full text original published on Mosaic.   For more stories visit mosaicscience.com If you liked t...Show More

While it’s healthy to have a variety of bacteria in our guts, there’s one place where a single dominant type is best: the vagina. Meet the researchers trying to make the world healthier, one vagina at a time. Written by Kendall Powell Read by Kirsten...Show More

Premature babies are at high risk of brain damage – but many are too fragile to make the journey to an MRI machine for a clearer diagnosis. Soon, thanks to the world’s first mini scanner, they may not need to. Written and read by Michael Regnier Prod...Show More

A writhing mass of maggots in a wound might seem like a good reason to seek medical help. But sometimes it’s the doctors who have put them there, adopting an ancient treatment to help heal painful infected injuries. Written by Carrie Arnold Read and ...Show More

The pain and sorrow of bereavement is supposed to get easier to bear as time passes. But what if it doesn’t? Psychiatrists call it ‘complicated grief’ – and it can be treated. Written by Andrea Volpe Read by Pip Mayo Produced by Barry J Gibb iTunes i...Show More

Who would risk their own safety tending to the injured and recovering the dead in one of the most violent cities on earth? Samira Shackle rides along with a driver from the world’s largest voluntary ambulance service. This episode was recorded at the...Show More

Aching, throbbing, searing, excruciating – pain is difficult to describe and impossible to see. So how can doctors measure it? Written by John Walsh  Read by Pip Mayo Produced by Graihagh Jackson Subscribe to our podcast: iTunes itunes.apple.com/g...Show More

When healthcare is expensive, the Amish culture of autonomy and thrift may be a way to balance communal support and individual responsibility. Written by Sara Talpos Read by Kirstin Irving Produced by Ellie Pinney Edited by Geoff Marsh Subscribe to...Show More

Rats can smell tuberculosis. Dogs can smell cancer. Now they're being trained to save your life. Emma Young reports. A special rebroadcast for World TB Day on 24 March. Written by Emma Young, read by Kirsten Irving, produced by Jen Whyntie. For more ...Show More

In Iceland, teenage smoking, drinking and drug use have been radically cut in the past 20 years. Emma Young finds out how they did it, and why other countries won’t follow suit. Written by Emma Young, read by Kirsten Irving, produced by Barry J Gibb ...Show More

"In Jamu, Radha's village in western Nepal, her status is lower than a dog's, because she is menstruating. She is only 16, yet, for the length of her period, Radha can't enter her house or eat anything but boiled rice. She can't touch other women - n...Show More

"An amputee's pain can persist long after the limb has gone. It can be harrowing and difficult to treat with medication or surgery. Stephen helps people deal with their phantom pain, and he does it with mirrors." Phantom pain, experienced in missing ...Show More

"The young Walker relished the culture of exultation, of joie de vivre, and yet was also acutely aware of its passing. He was haunted by the knowledge that ageing would eventually steal away his vitality - that with each passing day his body was slig...Show More

“Society’s embrace of cuteness leads academics in gender studies to wonder whether cute culture is the sugar pill that sexism comes in – training women to be childlike – or could it instead be a form of empowerment?" Discover Japan - a country and cu...Show More

"Cells can be directly democratic, and don't need a special governor or president to orchestrate them. In a village of several hundred, the people can probably get together and decide what to do, but a country would be a total mess without a governme...Show More

Most people in the world speak more than one language, suggesting the human brain evolved to work in multiple tongues. If so, are those who speak only one language missing out? Written by Gaia Vince Read by Kirsten Irving Produced by Barry James Gibb...Show More

When Tal Golesworthy was told he was at risk of his aorta bursting, he wasn’t impressed with the surgery on offer – so he came up with his own idea.   Written and read by Geoff Watts Produced by Barry James Gibb  For more stories, visit mosaicscience...Show More

Despite decades of promising research, the many men who want their own contraceptive pill still have nothing. One of them, Andy Extance, looks at the obstacles – practical, political, economic – and meets the people hoping to make male birth control ...Show More

Like many balding men, Rhodri Marsden has learned to accept losing his hair. But male stoicism and other coping strategies – from hats and wigs to dark humour – often mask deep distress, and even suicidal feelings. Will modern medicine ever find a ‘c...Show More

Chrissie Giles on her generation’s climb to Peak Booze. This episode originally aired in Dec 2015 Written and read by Chrissie Giles Produced and edited by Barry J Gibb For more stories, visit mosaicscience.com For more audio documentaries and audiob...Show More

More than a century after their discovery, we still don’t really know what blood types are for. Do they really matter?  This episode originally aired in May 2015.    Written by Carl Zimmer Read by Segun Akingbale Produced and edited by Barry J Gibb F...Show More

If mega-rich people could buy places on clinical trials, would this help drive forward the development of new treatments that could benefit everyone? Alexander Masters thinks it might just work. This episode originally aired in Nov 2015.   Written an...Show More

The extreme survival tricks of hibernators could help us overcome life-threatening injuries. Written by Frank Swain Read by Michael Regnier Produced and edited by Barry J Gibb Mosaic jingle composed by Mark Richardson For more stories, visit mosaicsc...Show More

It’s supposedly getting easier for innovative drugs for rare diseases like Duchenne muscular dystrophy to reach the market. So why is hesitancy still proving devastating to desperate families? Written by Andy Extance Read by Pip Mayo Produced and edi...Show More

As old age approaches, Geoff Watts confronts an inevitable future in the care of robots. But that doesn’t mean he likes it. Written and read by Geoff Watts Produced and edited by Barry J Gibb Mosaic jingle composed by Mark Richardson For more stories...Show More

A haze has periodically wafted over Asia for 20 years. But despite rising public health concern, the pollution remains as opaque as the smoke itself, Mike Ives reports. Read by Pip Mayo Produced by Jen Whyntie Edited by Barry J Gibb Mosaic jingle com...Show More

How discovering an equation for altruism cost George Price everything. Written and read by Michael Regnier. Produced by Barry J Gibb For more stories, visit mosaicscience.com For more audio documentaries and audiobooks, subscribe to our podcast: iT...Show More

Where do a zebra’s stripes, a leopard’s spots and our fingers come from? The key was found years ago – by the man who cracked the Enigma code, writes Kat Arney. Read by Kat Arney Produced by Jen Whyntie Edited by Geoff Marsh For more stories, visit ...Show More

Written by Carrie Arnold, read by Pip Mayo.  For more stories and to read the text original, visit mosaicscience.com Subscribe to our podcast: iTunes itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/mosai…id964928211?mt=2 RSS mosaicscience.libsyn.com/rss

In times of economic trouble, governments can choose to cut public services to save money. But at what cost? Our podcast meets those on the sharp end of austerity in the UK to find out what it means for mental health. Written by Mary O'Hara, read by ...Show More

In this audio piece, three men talk about living with a condition that affects how the penis looks and works. Hypospadias occurs when the opening that is usually at the tip of the penis is found on the underside. It affects between 1 in 200 and 1 in ...Show More

‘Cyborg’ is a loaded and attention-grabbing term, bearing associations from sci-fi novels and Hollywood, and whether it’s an entirely accurate label for these activities is up for debate. Some commentators broaden the definition to include anyone who...Show More

"Gomez is one of Achatz's regular patients at the A C Camargo Cancer Center in São Paulo, Brazil. He is extraordinarily susceptible to cancer. So too are many members of his extended family; cancer is so common among them - and premature death so pai...Show More

"Kim is unique. Throughout her life she had built up a constellation of values and impulses - endurance, single-mindedness, self-reliance and opposition to authority - that all clicked in when she was confronted with her twin diagnoses. She was predi...Show More

"The best way to get Brian to do something is to tell him that he can’t. Within a year of the accident, Brian was back on the slopes, skiing with disabled ski teams. In his first year he made it to the International Paralympic Committee’s Alpine Skii...Show More

"By the time you read this, I’ll be recovering from the Brighton Marathon. What I’ve learned is that running a marathon isn’t about running a marathon. I mean, it is and it isn’t. I’ll explain what I mean later. But I began by asking what it takes to...Show More

"In Canada at least, wheelchair basketball is a chance for disabled and able-bodied athletes to compete with and against each other. I knew in advance that some of the players I was watching do not use wheelchairs off the court, and that these chairs...Show More

They were the forgotten army. Taken captive during World War 2, this is a tale of detainment and disease through internment and ingenuity long unspoken and told through the voices of those who survived. Audio producer: Chris Chapman Sound designer: E...Show More

"Research has shown that disabled people are less likely to have a long-term partner or marry than non-disabled people, although this is very dependent on impairment type. When a 2014 newspaper poll asked Britons if they had ever had sex with someon...Show More

"For almost an hour, the residents of this neighbourhood will stretch, balance, sweat and lunge. It's hard to spot the instructor through the throng, wedged in as she is between the church wall and a parked mini camper van, her disembodied voice coun...Show More

"Rabies is a vicious killer, a virus transmitted through saliva. Any warm-blooded mammal is susceptible. Dogs can become infected through a bite by a rabid wild animal or fellow canine; in turn, a bite from an infected dog is the most common method o...Show More

"Pontoon boats were enlisted. Donning an orange life jacket, the Monroe County medical examiner boarded one, along with a gaggle of sheriff’s deputies. They hoisted the kayaker’s gruesome find from the chilly lake into the vessel and noted the meagre...Show More

"There are several main ways that sperm are harvested, including needle extraction. As the name suggests, this method involves inserting a needle into the testis and drawing out some sperm. It’s often used in live patients but, because minimising inv...Show More

"In Canada at least, wheelchair basketball is a chance for disabled and able-bodied athletes to compete with and against each other. I knew in advance that some of the players I was watching do not use wheelchairs off the court, and that these chairs...Show More

"Today, after just one miscarriage, the statistics tell me that I have an 80 per cent chance of my next pregnancy being successful. Regardless, I have been worrying that my miscarriage was the result of something that might make me prone to it happen...Show More

"Charles is an African giant pouched rat, a species endemic to sub-Saharan Africa. He's also a pioneer, one of 30 of his species that live and work here in Morogoro, a few hundred kilometres west of Tanzania's largest city, Dar es Salaam, on a progra...Show More

"In Myanmar healthcare and politics are inextricably linked. The repressive military junta that took power in the early 1960s choked off funding for health and other social services, and even though its ruling generals ceded power to a nominally civi...Show More

"Below the surface, the bottom of Pavilion Lake is dotted with something resembling coral reefs: domes and cones and weird shapes much like artichokes. These are not corals, though, which are colonies of tiny animals: they are rock formations called ...Show More

"The results were part of a well-known and seemingly mundane phenomenon that has been driving a quiet revolution in immunology. Its proponents hope that by cutting drug doses, it will not only minimise harmful side-effects but also slash billions fro...Show More

Priyanka Pulla asks if there can ever be legitimacy in ‘quackery’.   Written by Priyanka Pulla Read by Kirsten Irving Produced by Barry J Gibb Audio editing by Geoff Marsh   Read the full text original published on Mosaic. For more stories visit mosa...Show More

Some people suffer eye pain so excruciating they feel suicidal, yet ophthalmologists see nothing wrong. Meet the 82-year-old doctor whose radical idea about the real source of this pain is turning heads.   Written by Bryn Nelson Read by Kirsten Irvin...Show More

Why is asbestos still killing people? Nic Fleming finds out in a twisting tale of industry cover-ups and misinformation that spans decades.   Written by Nic Fleming Read by Pip Mayo Produced by Barry J Gibb Audio editing by Geoff Marsh   Read the ful...Show More

Having stamped out a number of tropical diseases – including malaria – decades ago, is America today complacent about a rising wave of infectious disease? By Carrie Arnold.   Written by Carrie Arnold Read by Kirsten Irving Produced by Barry J Gibb Au...Show More

Ill-health is the price rural Indians have to pay for seeking a better life in the city. Twenty-nine villages near Hyderabad are helping to explain why, Michael Regnier discovers.   Written by Michael Regnier Read by Michael Regnier Produced by B...Show More

Mosaic celebrates its second year anniversary in March 2016. To mark this, we'll be sharing a series of 15min talks featuring Mosaic writers and stories produced in association with the inspiration and ideas series 5x15.   Gaia Vince discusses the ...Show More

Notoriously illegal and synonymous with hedonism, LSD and ecstasy started life as aids to psychotherapy. Sam Wong meets the band of psychiatrists who are looking to reclaim them for medicine again.   Written by Sam Wong Read by Pip Mayo Produced ...Show More

Mosaic celebrates its second year anniversary in March 2016. To mark this, we'll be sharing a series of 15min talks featuring Mosaic writers and stories produced in association with the inspiration and ideas series 5x15.   In the final talk, Alexan...Show More

In Northern Ireland, more people took their own lives in the 16 years after the Troubles than died during them. Why? Lyra McKee finds out.   Written by Lyra McKee Read by Kirsten Irving Produced by Barry J Gibb Audio editing by Geoff Marsh   R...Show More

Mosaic celebrates its second year anniversary in March. To mark this, we'll be sharing a series of 15min talks featuring Mosaic writers and stories produced in association with the inspiration and ideas series 5x15.   Here, Charles Fernyhough explo...Show More

If you could take the high out of drugs, what would be the point in taking them? Sujata Gupta meets the unorthodox doctor who thinks he can block some of the world's most addictive pills.   Written by Sujata Gupta Read by Kirsten Irving Produ...Show More

Mosaic celebrates its second year anniversary in March. To mark this, we'll be sharing a series of 15min talks featuring Mosaic writers and stories produced in association with the inspiration and ideas series 5x15. Jo Marchant discusses the connect...Show More

Ghana has plenty of water. So why do its people buy plastic pouches from street vendors? Shaun Raviv investigates.   Written by Shaun Raviv Read by Pip Mayo Produced by Barry J Gibb Audio editing by Geoff Marsh   Read the full text origina...Show More

Mosaic celebrates its second year anniversary in March. To mark this, we'll be sharing a series of 15min talks featuring Mosaic writers and stories produced in association with the inspiration and ideas series 5x15. In the first, Roger Highfield dis...Show More

We all have an inner voice. But for some, hearing voices can be much more distinct and unusual. Through their stories we explore what it means to hear voices and discover how the phenomenon is being understood, from medieval tales of demonic visions ...Show More

In the war against malaria, one small corner of the globe has repeatedly turned the tide, rendering our best weapons moot and medicine on the brink of defeat. Ed Yong reports.   Written by Ed Yong Read by Pip Mayo Produced by Barry J Gibb Audi...Show More

Brian Bartlett lost his leg at 24. Rose Eveleth hears how a man who just wanted to ski again invented a new kind of knee.     Written by Rose Eveleth   Read by Kirsten Irving   Produced by Barry J Gibb   Edited (audio) by Geoff Marsh     ...Show More

There are a few things science doesn’t know about the menopause: what it’s for, how it works and how best to treat it. Approaching her second – yes, second – menopause, Rose George finds herself with more questions than answers.   Written by Rose G...Show More

In East Harlem, four times as many adults have diabetes as in the neighbouring Upper East Side. Meera Senthilingam meets the New Yorkers stopping poverty being a death sentence. Audio producer: Meera SenthilingamFact checker: Laura DawesEditor: Mun-...Show More

The need to mend broken hearts has never been greater. But what if we could simply manufacture a new one? Alex O’Brien studies the legacy of Texan surgeons and artificial hearts.   Written by Alex O'Brien   Read by Pip Mayo   Produced by Barry ...Show More

Telling cancer from non-cancer is tough for brain surgeons. Scorpions, Amazon.com and the legacy of a dying girl might change that, writes Alex O'Brien.   Written by Alex O'Brien   Read by Kirsten Irving   Produced by Barry J Gibb   Read the ...Show More

A special episode brought to you by Gastropod, the podcast that looks at food through the lens of science and history.   Calories consumed minus calories burned: it’s the simple formula for weight loss or gain. But dieters often find that it doesn’...Show More

Oklahoma has lost a million pounds of fat. Ian Birrell asks how – and whether declaring ‘war on obesity’ can really change a city’s infrastructure and encourage healthy living.   Written by Ian Birrell Read by Kirsten Irving Produced by Barry J G...Show More

Trapped by the Cold War and scarred after a failed revolution, Hungary fought one of its greatest battles against polio.   Written by Penny BaileyRead by Pip MayoAudio editor Geoff MarshProduced by Barry J Gibb   Read the full text original, as p...Show More

What drives people to run a marathon? Join Hayley Birch as she tackles 26.2 miles, aided by science.   Written by Hayley Birch Read by Kirsten Irving Produced by Barry J Gibb Edited by Geoff Marsh   Read the full text original and accompanying...Show More

The most powerful computers in the world cannot perform accurate real-time translation. Yet interpreters do it with ease. Geoff Watts meets the neuroscientists who are starting to explain this remarkable ability.   Written and read by Geoff WattsPr...Show More

"Very few people in the world knew his blood type did - could - exist."   From vein to blood bank, meet the donors, patients, doctors and scientists involved in the complex global network of rare – and very rare – blood.   Written by Penny Bailey, re...Show More

Chrissie Giles on her generation’s climb to Peak Booze     Written and read by Chrissie Giles Produced by Barry J Gibb   Read the full text original, published on Mosaic. For more stories visit mosaicscience.com   If you liked this story, we...Show More