A Question of Science

How important is our gut microbiome and could it hold the key to new treatments for a range of different diseases? How does the gut-brain axis influence our behaviour and will poo transplants become a regular procedure on the NHS? Join our panel of experts as they discuss the secrets of our ‘second brain’ – the gut. From major advances in research to the difference between prebiotics andprobiotics.

Panel:

Prof Glenn Gibson: Emeritus Professor of Food Microbiology at the University of Reading

Prof Lindsay Hall: Chair of Microbiome Research at the University of Birmingham’s Institute of Microbiology and Infection

Prof Jatin Nagpal: Researcher at University College Cork’s APC Microbiome Ireland Centre

Prof Sheena Cruickshank: Immunologist and Professor in Public Engagement and Biomedical Sciences at the University of Manchester

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Our biological sex affects every cell in our body, so how does it influence our health - from embryo development through to the risk of disease and diagnosis? How and why do some conditions affect females and males differently? And what can we do to ensure medicine is safe and effective for everyone, after decades of male biology bias?

Across autoimmune disorders, cancer, dementia, heart disease and even responses to everyday medications, sex‑based biological differences can shape who becomes ill, how symptoms appear and what treatments work.

Join our expert panel as they explore sex differences in biology, hormones and gene regulation.

Panel:

Prof Edith Heard, CEO of the Francis Crick Institute

Natasha Karp, Biostatistician at Astra Zeneca

Prof Petter Brodin, Garfield Weston chair of Neonatology and Professor of Paediatric Immunology, Imperial College, London

Caroline Criado Perez, Author of Invisible Women

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Why do people become addicted? When does a habit turn into self harm and what makes recovery so hard? From drugs and alcohol to gambling and social media, join our panel of experts as they explore the causes of addiction, what it looks like in the brain and potential new treatments, including psychedelic therapies.

Panel:

Prof Sally Marlow: Professor of Public Understanding of Mental Health at KCL

Matt Willis: Musician/actor and podcaster in recovery from addictions

Dr Nicky Kalk: Psychiatrist and addiction specialist at Maudsley NHS Trust

Prof David Nutt: Director of the Neuropsychopharmacology Unit, Imperial College, London

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How is AI revolutionising medicine and drug discovery and could it really improve diagnosis and treatment for everyone? Could the role of doctors and nurses change forever, with AI taking care of admin and analysis at the touch of a button? Can we trust it to safeguard our health and our personal data – and who gets to control it?

Join a panel of experts as they answer your questions and explore how AI is rapidly changing medicine and healthcare, now and in the future.

Panel:

Prof Mihaela van der Schaar: Chief AI Scientist, The Francis Crick Institute

Dr Indra Joshi: Chief Product Officer, Optum UK

Lord Patrick Vallance: Former Minister of State for Science

Prof Samra Turajlic: Group Leader, Cancer Dynamics Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute and Director, Cancer Research UK Manchester Institute

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A Question of Science is back - with free tickets to live recordings available now!

Join Professor Brian Cox in person and put your questions to a panel of leading scientists and experts on a huge range of topics.

We’ll be exploring how A.I. is changing medicine, what’s really happening inside the teenage brain, how can science help save our oceans, beat superbugs, tackle addiction, and what elite sport science can teach us about human strength and endurance.

The series is being recorded in June and July at the Francis Crick Institute in London, one of the world’s leading centres for biomedical research.

To book your tickets visit: http://crick.ac.uk/tickets

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Professor Brian Cox takes a deeper dive into the science of ancient DNA, with two experts returning to answer more of your questions.

How far can we go back in time using DNA? How accurate is ancient DNA when it comes to understanding our past? Why was diversity in DNA vital for the survival of early humans? Do we really share 60% of our genetic code with bananas?

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Professor Brian Cox takes a deeper dive into the science of fertility, with a panel of returning experts answering more of your questions.

Should we sequence the DNA of embryos and use A.I. to choose which to implant? Are ultra-processed foods and microplastics really effecting fertility? And will new technologies mean humans could one day reproduce like squid?

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Professor Brian Cox takes a deeper dive into the science of global warming and how society should adapt, with two experts returning to answer more of your questions.

Will new green technologies really help us reach net zero? What is solar forcing? Which regions of the planet will become uninhabitable and when?

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Professor Brian Cox takes a deeper dive into the science of cancer, with a panel of returning experts answering more of your questions.

Do tumours communicate with the brain, is glucose carcinogenic and could our immune system’s natural killer cells be used to combat cancer?

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Professor Brian Cox takes a deeper dive into the science of nutrition, with a panel of returning experts answering more of your questions.

What is food noise, what is the impact of artificial sweeteners on the gut and why do many women turn from a pear to an apple shape during menopause?

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Professor Brian Cox takes a deeper dive into the science of ageing, with two experts returning to answer more of your questions. How do men and women age differently? Why is it healthy to forget things? What’s the latest research on regenerating old cells?

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Introducing More Questions of Science – bite-size episodes where we revisit some of the biggest ideas from the first 12 episodes of the series and take the conversation even further.

Professor Brian Cox will be in his home studio, catching up with some of the expert panellists from earlier in the series. Together, they’ll tackle your follow-up questions, explore new angles and go deeper into the topics that sparked your curiosity.

And because science never stops, we’ll also bring you the latest breakthroughs, discoveries and developments.

Send your follow up questions on cancer, fertility, ageing, ancient DNA, climate change and nutrition to the team: aquestionofscience@bbc.co.uk

More Questions of Science arrives on YouTube and podcast platforms in early 2026.

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Professor Brian Cox and our expert panel explore the frontier of human bioengineering and building, replacing, and enhancing our bodies.

Will we ever have bionic brains and cloned humans? Is there a danger of science fiction getting too close for comfort?

From mechanical implants to lab-grown organs to whether humans could evolve to live in space, the discussion delves into what’s possible today and where science might take us next.

Panellists

• Mark Pollock – Explorer, motivational speaker and Chairman of Collaborative Cures
• George Malliaras – Prince Philip Professor of Technology, University of Cambridge
• Madeline Lancaster – Group Leader, Medical Research Council (MRC) Laboratory of Molecular Biology
• Robin Lovell-Badge – Group Leader, Stem Cell Biology and Developmental Genetics Laboratory, Francis Crick Institute

Watch the video version of this episode and read a transcript on our website: https://www.crick.ac.uk/podcast/buildahuman

A BBC Studios Production for the Francis Crick Institute.

Music by John Biddle

© BBC Studios / Francis Crick Institute 2025

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Professor Brian Cox and an expert panel explore the elusive science of consciousness – what it is, how it arises, whether it can be observed in the brain, and the most compelling theories explaining it.

In a deep, often mind-bending discussion, the panel tackles the many ways of interpreting consciousness itself, and how fields like psychophysics can be used to quantify imagination and perception.

With questions from the audience, the conversation delves into hallucinations and reality, how memory helps to build identity, and whether AI could ever be conscious too.

Panellists

• Anil Seth – Professor of Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience, University of Sussex
• Katharina Schmack – Consultant Psychiatrist and Group Leader, Neural Circuits and Immunity in Psychosis Laboratory, Francis Crick Institute
• Steve Fleming – Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience, UCL
• Alex O’Connor – Host of ‘Within Reason’ podcast

Watch the video version of this episode and read a transcript on our website: https://www.crick.ac.uk/podcast/consciousness

A BBC Studios Production for the Francis Crick Institute.

Music by John Biddle

© BBC Studios / Francis Crick Institute 2025

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Professor Brian Cox and our expert panel dive into the complex world of diet, nutrition and food choices.

With new probiotic and high-protein products appearing on supermarket shelves every day and conflicting nutritional advice coming from every direction, it’s difficult to cut through the noise when it comes to what we eat.

Our panel uses expertise from their roles as nutritionists, geneticists, gastroenterologists and policymakers to answer audience questions about food advertising, wellness advice, and whether it’s really possible – or worthwhile – to avoid food ‘additives’.

Panellists

• Giles Yeo – Professor of Molecular Neuroendocrinology, MRC Metabolic Diseases Unit, University of Cambridge
• Christina Vogel – Professor in Food Policy and Director of the Centre for Food Policy, City St George’s, University of London
• Saliha Mahmood Ahmed – Gastroenterologist and MasterChef winner, 2017
• Nita Forouhi – Professor of Population Health and Nutrition, MRC Epidemiology Unit, University of Cambridge

Watch the video version of this episode and read a transcript on our website: https://www.crick.ac.uk/podcast/nutrition

A BBC Studios Production for the Francis Crick Institute.

Music by John Biddle

© BBC Studios / Francis Crick Institute 2025

See https://omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Professor Brian Cox and our expert panel explore the science of Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and other conditions that cause dementia.

More than 55 million people around the world are living with dementia, with the number set to rise in ageing populations. How close are we to effective, affordable treatments? What are the genetic risks? Can we prevent it developing?

The panel takes a deep dive into dementia research and where it’s headed, from early detection to the latest drug trials and whether diet, exercise or even doing puzzles like Sudoku really make a difference.

Panellists

• Bart de Strooper – Professor and Group Leader, Cellular Phase of Alzheimer’s Disease Laboratory, Francis Crick Institute and UK Dementia Research Institute
• Julie Williams – Professor and Group Leader, Cardiff University and UK Dementia Research Institute
• Rory Cellan-Jones – Health and technology writer and presenter of the Movers and Shakers podcast
• Sonia Gandhi – Professor of Neurology, UCL, Assistant Research Director, Francis Crick Institute and Consultant Neurologist, National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery

Watch the video version of this episode and read a transcript on our website: https://www.crick.ac.uk/podcast/ageingbrain

A BBC Studios Production for the Francis Crick Institute.

Music by John Biddle

© BBC Studios / Francis Crick Institute 2025

See https://omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Professor Brian Cox and our expert panel explore the science of fertility.

Making babies is big business but our scientific understanding of fertilisation, pregnancy and embryo development is surprisingly limited.

In this episode, our panel discuss emerging technologies that could shape the future of fertility and tackle audience questions on declining sperm counts, egg freezing and the ethics of genetic screening.

Panellists:

• Joyce Harper – Professor of Reproductive Science, UCL
• Gunes Taylor – Molecular Biologist, University of Edinburgh
• Naomi Moris – Group Leader, Developmental Models Laboratory, Francis Crick Institute
• Lucy van de Wiel – Senior Lecturer in Global Health & Social Medicine, King’s College London

Watch the video version of this episode and read a transcript on our website: https://www.crick.ac.uk/podcast/fertility

A BBC Studios Production for the Francis Crick Institute

Music by John Biddle

© BBC Studios / Francis Crick Institute 2025

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Professor Brian Cox and an expert panel tackle the technology, politics and ethics of space exploration.

From space tourism to the search for life on Mars, space is a rapidly expanding, multi-trillion-pound global industry, driven by scientific, commercial and often political goals. But what are the rules of space and who makes them?

In this episode, the panel answers audience questions on how Earth’s geopolitics are reflected in space, when asteroid mining might become a reality, and whether those star-buying kits are value for money.

Panellists

• Carly Howett – Associate Professor of Space Instrumentation, University of Oxford
• Jill Stuart – Visiting Fellow, London School of Economics
• Helen Sharman – Chemist, science communicator and first British astronaut
• Sanjeev Gupta – Professor of Earth Sciences, Imperial College London

Watch the video version of this episode and read a transcript on our website: www.crick.ac.uk/podcast/space

A BBC Studios Production for the Francis Crick Institute.

Music by John Biddle

© BBC Studios / Francis Crick Institute 2025

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Professor Brian Cox and our expert panel are talking all things ancient DNA.

Over the past 50 years, new technology has allowed researchers to sequence and study centuries-old DNA taken from ancient, long-buried human remains. This new insight into our past has led to a whole new understanding of our ancestors, from our migration across the globe, to the environmental changes we’ve experienced, and even the spread of ancient deadly pandemics like the black plague. Our panel of scientists answers questions from a studio audience about the usefulness of commercial DNA tests, the true meaning of ancestry, and what our ancient genetic material could reveal about our future.

Panellists

• Pooja Swali – Research Fellow in Pathogen Genomics, UCL
• Pontus Skoglund – Group Leader, Ancient Genomics Lab, Francis Crick Institute
• Adam Rutherford – Lecturer in Biology and Society, UCL
• Tom Booth – Senior Research Scientist and Archaeologist, Francis Crick Institute

Watch the video version of this episode and read a transcript on our website: https://www.crick.ac.uk/podcast/ancientDNA.

If you have a follow up question about any of the episodes in the series, email us: aquestionofscience@bbc.co.uk

A BBC Studios Production for the Francis Crick Institute.

Music by John Biddle

© BBC Studios / Francis Crick Institute 2025

See https://omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Professor Brian Cox and a panel of experts discuss how to curb rising global temperatures and what life could be like in a warmer world.

Our planet is hotting up. But as temperatures climb, can we cope with a climate emergency? What can science and technology to do help us, and will social and political change make a difference? Our panel answers the audience’s questions on everything from carbon capture to climate sceptics.

Panellists

• Myles Allen – Head of Atmospheric, Oceanic and Planetary Physics, University of Oxford
• Kathryn Brown – Director of Climate Change and Evidence, The Wildlife Trust
• Hayley Fowler – Professor of Climate Change Impacts, Newcastle University
• George Monbiot – Environmental journalist and campaigner

Watch the video version of this episode and read a transcript on our website: https://www.crick.ac.uk/podcast/climate

If you have a follow up question about any of the episodes in the series, email us: aquestionofscience@bbc.co.uk

A BBC Studios Production for the Francis Crick Institute.

Music by John Biddle

© BBC Studios / Francis Crick Institute 2025

See https://omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.