Tomorrow's World

Attention, those with uteruses; if you’re taking a hormonal contraceptive pill, you’ll want to tune in to this. Stella and Isla speak to Dr Rachel Sumner from the University of Auckland about her research into hormonal birth control’s impacts on the brain, and the mind. They also include a quick explainer about  how it works. 

What's hiding in your soil? This week Stella and Isla work through a written interview with Dr Emma Sharp about the work of Soilsafe Aoteroa. Chatting metal contaminants and citizen science.

What methods do quantitative and population geneticists use to unpick genetic diversity in populations, and analyse genetic contributions to differences in characteristics? Hold on... what do any of those words mean? Stella and Isla chat to Dr Anna Santure from the University of Auckland, an expert in the field, about the basic principles of the discipline. 

Dr Santure is a bFM veteran! She spoke to Trishil on The Wire last week about her most recent research. Check it out here: https://95bfm.com/bcast/evolutional-adaptation-and-the-hihi-bird-w-dr-anna-santure  
 

This week, Stella and Isla explore the recently announced SPOTS study (Sex and Prevention Of Transmission Study), including patterns of HIV transmission, why some populations are more vulnerable, and the mechanisms by which HIV infects. They speak to Joshua McCormack, and Cameron Leakey, two researchers on the SPOTS team.