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.
Halfway to net zero; hydrogen as a fuel; Fagradalsfjall, Iceland’s active volcano
Human embryo research and ethics; sperm whale social learning; Antikythera mechanism
China's green growth plan
Blue carbon; inside Little Foot's skull; reading locked letters
Good COP Bad COP, Shotgun Lead Persistence, and Featherdown Adaptation
Nasa's Perseverance - will it pay off? And spotting likely hosts for future pandemics.
Meeting Mars, Melting Ice, Ozone on the Mend Again, and A Sea Cacophany
Putting a number on biodiversity
Next Gen Covid Vaccines; Man's Oldest Bestest Friend; Bilingual Brain Development
Vaccine Hesitancy and Ethnicity; The Joy of catnip; Lake Heatwaves
UK Science post Brexit; GMOs vs Gene Editing regulation; Identical Twins That Aren't Indentical
Vaccine Dosing and Biodiversity Soundscape Monitoring
Brian Cox and Alice Roberts on a decade of extraordinary science
Space Rocks, Aquatic Dinosaurs and Global Temperatures; 2020 science reviewed
Covid mutation; On the facial expression of emotions; A mystery object
Future risk planning; Millennium Seed Bank; Urban trees
Protein folding; Hyabusa sample return; Holiday Covid testing
26/11/2020
COVID Operation Moonshot; Big Compost Experiment; Gulf of Mexico meteorite and new life
mRNA vaccinations; bacterial space miners; Artemis accords
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