Vagrant birds are those that appear in locations where they are not usually found. They might have been blown off course by a storm or have been affected by changing weather patterns due to climate change. Although a treat for birders, these visitors can also have a big impact on their new environments as Victoria Gill finds out when she heads to Burton Mere Wetlands on the Dee Estuary with Dr Alexander Lees, reader in biodiversity at Manchester Metropolitan University.
As former Prime Minister Boris Johnson gives his testimony, we hear the latest from the UK Covid-19 Public Inquiry with BBC Health Reporter Jim Reed.
A new study reveals that, contrary to a commonly-held view, the brain does not have the ability to rewire itself to compensate for the loss of, for example sight, an amputation or stroke. This is despite what most scientists believe and teach. Moreover, the assumption that it has this ability has led to all manner of erroneous treatments for amputees, stroke victims and other conditions, the study suggests.
We’re joined by the study’s authors, Professor John Krakauer from Johns Hopkins University and Professor Tamar Making of the University of Cambridge. We’ll also hear from one of Tamar’s key case studies, Kirsty Mason, an amputee from the age of 18 who advanced the scientists’ experiments exponentially.
Presenter: Victoria Gill Producers: Hannah Robins and Louise Orchard Editor: Richard Collings Production Co-ordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth
BBC Inside Science is produced in collaboration with the Open University.
Preventing pandemics, invading alien species, blood types & COVID-19.
The Human Genome Project's 20th Anniversary
Coronavirus conspiracy, Listeners' mask questions, Solar Orbiter gets close to the Sun
Engineering out of lockdown and should we castrate male dogs?
Back to School and Covid-19 and Ordnance Survey and the pandemic
Testing & Tracing the coronavirus, and the traces our movements leave behind
Coronavirus-free science, the impact of lockdown on climate change and the odds of both life and intelligent life existing.
Coronavirus R number, genome study of Covid-19 survivors and using aircraft messages to assess aviation
Should the public wear face masks? Did SARS-Cov-2 escape from a laboratory in Wuhan?
Testing for immunity to COVID-19 and Citizen science on BBC Radio past and present
Understanding Covid-19 death rates; Contact tracing apps; Whale sharks and atomic bombs
Lockdown lessons for climate change and the carbon neutral Cumbrian coal mine
Testing for asymptomatic coronavirus carriers, Human Cell Atlas, and invasive parakeets
Coronavirus: Models & being ‘led by the science’; Mars500 isolation tips; Kids’ science - singing glasses
Coronavirus - Lockdown efficacy; viral testing; surface survival; dog walking safety
TB vaccination to replace culling in badgers; Neil Shubin on the wonders of evolution
Biology of the new coronavirus
Banning lead shot for hunting; UK Fireball Network and Extremely thin gold
The Big Compost Experiment; Using AI to screen for new antibiotics; Science of slapstick
Coronavirus questions; HMS Challenger and ocean acidification; Sean Carroll's quantum world
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