How are segments of DNA preserved from ancient viruses impacting the functioning of the placenta? And how does this lead to pregnancy complications? Jennifer Frost leads a team of researchers at Kings College London, investigating the role of transposons in the placenta which leads to pregnancy complications. She joins us this month to explore what transposons are, why the placenta is so susceptible to their influence, and how this can manifest in pregnancy.

Ri Science Podcast episodes are released on the last Wednesday of every month, and our new ‘From the Theatre’ episodes are released on the second Wednesday of the month. Subscribe to be notified as soon as the next episode is released!

• Explore our Summer Programme on our website
• Subscribe to our YouTube channel
• Follow us: @ri_science on Instagram and TikTok

Producer and presenter: Lia Hale

Music: Joseph Sandy

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From thin film coatings to drug delivery and even antimicrobial resistance, nanoparticles have a huge range of applications. In this month's From The Lab episode, chemist Ivan Parkin explores some of these applications pursued by his research group at UCL ahead of his Discourse in April.

About 'From the Lab':

This is the third of our new 'From the Lab' series, taking the place of our 'From the Theatre' episodes. UCL are celebrating their 200th anniversary in 2026, and we've collaborated with them to host UCL researchers as our Discourse speakers throughout 2026. As part of this collaboration, we'll be bringing you episodes with each of these speakers two weeks before their Discourses to explore their research topics further and give you a sneak peek of what's to come in their Discourse.

Buy tickets to Ivan's Discourse on Friday 24 April on our website.

Ri Science Podcast episodes are released on the last Wednesday of every month, and our new ‘From the Theatre’ episodes are released on the second Wednesday of the month. Subscribe to be notified as soon as the next episode is released!

• Book tickets to upcoming talks on our website
• Subscribe to our YouTube channel
• Follow us: @ri_science on Instagram and TikTok

Producer and presenter: Lia Hale

Music: Joseph Sandy

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The science of consciousness is a complex and constantly evolving field of research. Neuroscientists are still understanding how it originates in humans, but the question now arises of whether Artificial Intelligence could ever become conscious. Cognitive and computational neuroscientist Anil Seth discusses the current theories for consciousness, and the probability of AI ever becoming conscious, in his essay 'the mythology of conscious AI' which won him the 2025 Berggruen Prize Essay Competition.

Read Anil's winning essay here.

Ri Science Podcast episodes are released on the last Wednesday of every month, and our new ‘From the Theatre’ episodes are released on the second Wednesday of the month. Subscribe to be notified as soon as the next episode is released!

• Book tickets to upcoming talks on our website
• Subscribe to our YouTube channel
• Follow us: @ri_science on Instagram and TikTok

Producer and presenter: Lia Hale

Assistant producer: Georgina Gonzalez and Freddie Rodgers

Music: Joseph Sandy

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.