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.
The Rutland ‘Sea Dragon’, An Astronomer's Christmas and some Animal Magic
Deep ocean exploration
A new space age?
The Origin of Celtic Culture in Britain?
The James Webb Space Telescope
Initial Omicron Lab Data, Creative Naps, and Fishy Sounds.
When Pandemics Collide
Malaria: what's in it for the mosquito?
Yet More Space Junk; COP-up or COP-out; The End of Bias.
Propane: Keeping Your Cool as the World Warms Around You
How Whales Farmed For Food, COP progress, and The Last Stargazers
Atmospheric Pollutants and Where to Find Them
The Possible Impact of false-negative PCR Tests
Early Alzheimer's Alert
Surprising choice for Nobel prizes in a pandemic?
Covid vaccine boosters; why we don't have a tail; cassowary domestication; Royal Society Science book prize shortlist
La Palma volcano; wind energy in the UK; origins of SARS-Cov2; Formula 1 safety
Perseverance drills on Mars; space tourism; Australian fire debris and algal blooms; DNA vaccines against Covid
Climate change and oil and gas exploration; cutting methane emissions; African wild dog populations; freezing eggs and sperm
Rugby and the brain
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