A Little Bit Of Science

From tales of historical idiocracy and scientific genius to weird and wacky cultural phenomena, Dr Rod Lamberts and Dr Will Grant are here to take you on a wild conversational journey, deep diving into the crevices of science, history and culture that you never knew existed.

A Little Bit Of Science is a science podcast hosted by Unknown Host, with 442 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Unknown Host hosts A Little Bit Of Science, a science show with 442 episodes published.

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  A Little Bit Of Science

  River bomb archaeology, AI viruses and Viagra cancer cures

  Aug 18, 202633 min

  This week’s science news is a perfect example of the universe having a weird sense of timing. The Danube River hits record low water levels and suddenly Europe starts coughing up skeletons, WWII war relics, and Roman engineering like it’s doing a historical clear-out. If you’re into archaeological discoveries, ancient history, and the climate change impacts hiding in plain sight, this episode will be right up your alley. We dig into what the shrinking Danube is revealing, from a Wehrmacht motorcycle and German military remains in Hungary to the reappearance of the Constantine Bridge foundations in Bulgaria. It’s fascinating, grim, and a solid reminder that extreme drought and low rivers don’t just change ecosystems; they change what history we can literally see. Then we jump straight into modern science fiction: AI-designed viruses. Researchers used artificial intelligence to design viral genomes, creating bacteriophages that target bacteria like E. coli, and a small number of those AI-generated viruses actually worked. It’s exciting for medicine and antibiotic alternatives, but it also raises big biosecurity and ethics questions about what happens when powerful biotech tools get easier to use. And finally, Viagra shows up with a surprise side quest into cancer research. Studies suggest Sildenafil may be linked to better survival outcomes in men who later develop cancer, especially when combined with statins, possibly by limiting cholesterol pathways cancer cells use to spread (but yes, it’s correlation, not a DIY treatment plan). So that’s the week: Danube archaeology, AI virus design, and Viagra in oncology conversations it was never meant to be part of.   CHAPTER MARKERS 00:00 Introduction 00:32 The Danube and Nuclear Plants 04:04 Low River Reveals Mammoth 04:31 Wartime Wrecks and Remains 07:41 Constantine Bridge Unearthed 11:31 Mohenjo-daro Inequality Math 17:56 AI Designed Viruses 23:53 Science Upside vs Risk 28:37 Viagra and Cancer Link   SOURCES : https://www.routledge.com/Cities-and-Citadels-An-Archaeology-of-Inequality-and-Economic-Growth/Green-Wilkinson-Wilkinson-Highcock-Leppard/p/book/9781032024851 https://www.sciencealert.com/having-rich-friends-when-you-re-young-increases-your-income-later-in-life https://doi.org/10.15184/aqy.2026.10359 https://www.sciencealert.com/worlds-richest-10-are-costing-earth-trillions-study-finds https://www.york.ac.uk/news-and-events/news/2026/research/world-first-city-prospered-wealth-gap-shrank/ https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/06/science/ai-viruses-bacteria-arc.html https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2237126100 https://oncologynews.com.au/editors-choice/could-viagra-help-slow-cancer-spread-study-uncovers-unexpected-anti-metastatic-mechanism/ https://apple.news/AB6vZqjhISTuuD8pHMq1aKg https://www.genome.gov/genetics-glossary/Lysosome https://futurism.com/science-energy/european-drought-heat-wave-climate-change-danube-roman-ruins https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/low-danube-water-levels-bulgaria-expose-roman-era-bridge-2026-08-06/ https://edition.cnn.com/2026/07/31/climate/shrinking-rivers-reveal-past-relics-in-europe https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/mammoth-remains-revealed-bulgaria-after-danube-water-levels-hit-record-low-2026-07-29/ https://edition.cnn.com/2026/07/31/climate/shrinking-rivers-reveal-past-relics-in-europe https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2026/aug/03/europe-heatwave-wildfires-migration-ceuta-spain-latest-news-updates https://archaeologymag.com/2026/08/roman-altar-dedicated-to-jupiter-danube/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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  A Little Bit Of Science

  Snakes have necks, giant sperm physics and fungus fashion

  Aug 12, 202642 min

  Someone once described a snake as “a tail with a face”, and honestly, it’s hard to unsee it. Snakes look like pure commitment to the tube lifestyle, with very little going on besides forward motion and mild judgement. Except a 2015 study basically ruined the idea that snakes are neckless noodles by pointing out they do have a neck, it’s just short. From snakes we zigzag into sperm gigantism, which is exactly what it sounds like and exactly what you wish it wasn’t. Some species produce sperm so long it becomes a genuine physics and storage problem. Then we jump into the world of living textiles, where fungi are being used to create materials that can self-repair and transform. The star here is Cordyceps militaris , which already sounds like it should come with a hazard symbol. The pitch is genuinely cool. You can grow materials, engineer colour using yeast, and make textiles that biodegrade fast, like within 40 days in the right conditions. Still, the idea that your clothes could heal themselves is tempting. It’s just a shame the same feature might also mean they can quietly disappear. We finish with the global happiness report, because after snakes and sperm and fungus pants, we deserve a palate cleanser. And yes, Finland is back at the top because it’s an overachiever apparently. CHAPTERS 00:00 Introduction 02:03 Spine Regions Explained 03:11 Snakes Are Not Tails 08:23 Physics Of Giant Sperm 14:09 World Happiness Rankings 18:29 How Happiness Is Measured 22:36 Trust and Lost Wallets 24:02 Why Finland Wins 26:46 Living Fungal Textiles 32:27 Self Cleaning and Biodegrading Clothes 36:55 Imaginarium of Tears 40:49 Wrap Up    SOURCES https://media.springernature.com/original/springer-static/esm/art:10.1038/s41567-026-03305-4/MediaObjects/41567_2026_3305_MOESM2_ESM.mov ) https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13280-026-02428-5?ref=404media.co https://www.nature.com/articles/s41567-026-03305-4?ref=404media.co https://royalsocietypublishing.org/rspb/article/287/1935/20201661/85862/Exceptional-preservation-of-reproductive-organs https://theconversation.com/snakes-arent-simple-tubes-their-bodies-have-five-regions-including-a-short-neck-288904 https://www.newscientist.com/article/2533390-what-the-worlds-happiest-countries-can-teach-us-about-joyful-living/ https://www.newscientist.com/article/2581227-clothes-made-from-living-fungi-can-clean-and-repair-themselves/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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  A Little Bit Of Science

  Cannibals, MRI snuggle sacks and sex inside a whale

  Aug 5, 202637 min

  Is there any evidence-based reason cannibalism shouldn’t make a comeback? It’s a question that really should come with a warning label, but we couldn’t resist digging into it properly this week. We’ve got researchers running the numbers on human-eating, rats in MRI “snuggle sacks” while tripping on mescaline, ants living their best fake-queen lives thanks to a tapeworm, and an eel story that is both medically relevant and spiritually scarring. We also take a quick detour into the delicate art of scanning animal brains without turning the whole experiment into a panic response, plus a reminder that humans have always been weird about big animals (including the time people could literally walk into a whale’s mouth, until they ruined it for everyone). So that’s the week: cannibalism analysed like a spreadsheet problem, parasites cosplaying queens, and a cautionary tale that should permanently retire “DIY constipation remedies” as a concept. Stay curious, stay critical, and for the love of all that is holy, keep the eels in the water.   CHAPTER MARKERS 00:00 Introduction 00:28 Should We Be Cannibals? 02:43 Math Model Approach 04:11 Disease Chain Risks 05:42 Kuru And Prions 07:19 Limits And Social Payoffs 08:34 Anthropic: Rare Books AI Scanning 10:53 Destroying Books To Digitise 14:59 Mescaline Rats In MRI 20:52 Rats Head Posts Training 22:36 Other Species Training 24:57 Malm Blue Whale Exhibit 30:10 Cordyceps Ant Zombies 31:01 Tapeworm Queen Ants 34:58 Orcas Fear Pilot Whales 35:46 Eel Medical Oddity   SOURCES: https://www.bnr.nl/nieuws/tech-innovatie/10604219/tweedehandsboekverkopers-slaan-alarm-ai-bedrijven-kopen-obscure-boeken-op-om-te-versnipperen https://esawebb.org/ https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2607.09460 https://www.sciencealert.com/thermodynamics https://www.sciencealert.com/amazing-footage-shows-how-eels-escape-death-after-being-swallowed https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijscr.2024.110401 https://doi.org/10.1016/S0039-6060(03)00076-X https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sigmoid_colon https://www.sciencealert.com/why-you-dont-faint-every-time-you-stand-even-though-you-should https://www.sciencealert.com/harmful-bacteria-can-trigger-pain-in-your-gut-and-now-we-know-how https://bsky.app/profile/jordantyranny.bsky.social/post/3mrsiprbgac2k https://www.cabinetmagazine.org/issues/33/gronberg_magnusson.php https://www.404media.co/ai-companies-are-buying-tons-of-old-books-because-theyre-free-of-ai-slop/?ref=daily-stories-newsletter https://www.sciencealert.com/mathematics-reveals-why-human-cannibalism-keeps-reappearing https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9017993/ https://www.sciencealert.com/a-hallucinogenic-compound-found-in-cacti-may-rewire-the-brains-sensory-filter https://www.sciencealert.com/a-wild-parasite-makes-ants-live-longer-and-tricks-others-into-worshipping-them-scientists-finally-know-how See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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  A Little Bit Of Science

  Invention of the wheelie suitcase, orphan-powered vaccines and the Barbie drug

  Jul 28, 202647 min

  This week’s line-up is a reminder that humans will do anything except choose the obvious option straight away. We’ve got a wheelie suitcase that was probably invented by a woman, then ignored until a man made it respectable, plus a smallpox vaccine rollout that sounds like a historical thriller, and a drug that went from medical research to TikTok tan hack with a side of “please don’t”. First up, the wheelie suitcase. It’s such a simple idea you’d think it would have been embraced instantly, but apparently rolling your own bag was once seen as soft, feminine, and not what a “proper” man would do when he could haul it like a martyr. The suitcase didn’t change, the story around it did. Then we head into smallpox, where public health was never just science, it was logistics with a pulse. The Balmis Expedition kept cowpox alive across an ocean by passing it through a chain of orphan children, which is horrifying now and was still pretty intense then, but it helped deliver vaccination where refrigeration didn’t exist. And finally, the “Barbie drug”. Melanotan II was developed with a serious purpose, but online it got rebranded into a shortcut to a tan, complete with side effects that are not cute and risks that don’t fit neatly into an influencer caption. Different centuries, same theme: culture gets involved, and suddenly the obvious, the safe, and the sensible are no longer the default.   CHAPTER MARKERS 00:00 Introduction 00:28 Gendered Tech History 01:55 Wheelie Suitcase Mystery 06:16 Sexism Blocks Adoption 13:17 Masculinity Shapes Innovation 14:42 Smallpox Devastation 19:58 Balmis Expedition Challenge 21:26 Orphans As Vaccine Carriers 25:08 Tokyo Half Pants Heat 27:05 Speeding And Emissions 29:11 Tanning Drug Priapism 36:41 Influencer Surveillance Stunts 39:09 Fitbit AI Coach  43:22 AI Health Advice Gone Wrong   SOURCES: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_World https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Variolation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inoculation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Jenner https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaccine https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cowpox https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Campeche https://www.linkedin.com/in/bharat-jayaprakash-351b26159/ https://www.anthropocenemagazine.org/2025/08/could-your-smartphone-be-the-secret-to-cutting-vehicle-emissions-without-compromising-traffic-speed-or-safety/ https://www.anthropocenemagazine.org/2026/04/will-high-gas-prices-lower-carbon-emissions/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19329842/ https://www.anthropocenemagazine.org/2026/07/obeying-the-speed-limit-would-save-57000-tons-of-carbon-a-day-it-would-cost-you-54-seconds/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=heres-how-everyday-drivers-can-cut-tons-of-carbon-emissions-in-under-a-minute https://www.nature.com/articles/s44458-026-00100-3 https://bsky.app/profile/molly.wiki/post/3mr4cworzeu2g https://www.404media.co/ai-companies-are-buying-tons-of-old-books-because-theyre-free-of-ai-slop/?ref=daily-stories-newsletter https://www.sciencealert.com/new-study-reveals-why-ancient-roman-concrete-keeps-getting-stronger https://www.sciencealert.com/dermatologists-alarmed-by-concerning-injectable-tan-trend https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2021/jun/24/mystery-of-wheelie-suitcase-how-gender-stereotypes-held-back-history-of-invention See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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  A Little Bit Of Science

  Pig Orgasms, Placebo Power and How iPhones are Ruining Sex

  Jul 21, 202643 min

  This week we went from “surely that can’t be true” to “oh… that’s actually happening”. We fact check the legendary pig orgasm claim, then get weirdly hopeful about placebo pills that work even when you’re told they’re fake. From there, we look at research that points a finger at the iPhone era for a chunk of the fertility slide, and what that might really be measuring in modern life. Then we’re back on humanity’s favourite hobby, trying to control the weather, now rebranded as “weather jiu jitsu”. We finish with a satellite reality check, because apparently we’re speed running our way to a sky full of moving dots. If you like your science with a side of disbelief, this one’s for you.   CHAPTER MARKERS   00:00 Wild Orgasm Facts 01:05 Guinness Pig Claim 01:45 Meet the Hosts 03:03 Darwinian Doubts 05:50 Fact Checking Begins 06:08 Boar Taint Explained 07:37 Collecting Semen Methods 10:33 Four Ejaculation Phases 11:44 Verdict and Takeaways 12:42 iPhone Baby Bust 14:55 How the Study Works 19:00 Placebos and Aging 20:25 Open vs Deceptive Placebo 21:54 Open Placebo Ethics 22:17 Study Design Breakdown 22:43 Results That Shocked 24:16 Why Placebos Work 24:55 Open Placebos Everywhere 27:26 Weather Control Obsession 28:55 Weather Jiu Jitsu Explained 33:17 Nudging Storms Risks 35:50 Satellite Boom Warning 39:19 Night Sky Light Pollution 40:42 Governance and Fixes 42:34 Wrap Up and Contact   SOURCES: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJNwAKSL17s https://www.eso.org/public/news/eso2607/ https://journals.plos.org/water/article?id=10.1371/journal.pwat.0000562&ref=404media.co https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0349765&ref=404media.co https://www.nber.org/papers/w35310 https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/10/9/1665 https://apple.news/AtTrEygKCQkCxuXk4Sb6Ojg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boar_taint https://www.business.qld.gov.au/industries/farms-fishing-forestry/agriculture/animal/industries/pigs/breed/boars/collect See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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