Science Weekly Folgen

Scientists have found the first robust evidence that people’s genes affect their chances of developing myalgic encephalomyelitis or chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), a mysterious and debilitating illness that has been neglected and dismissed for decades by many in the medical community. To find out more, Madeleine Finlay speaks to science editor Ian Sample and to Nicky Proctor, who has ME and took part in the research. She also hears from Beth Pollack, a research scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who studies ME/CFS and related conditions, about how scientific understanding of the illness has improved and how scientists are transforming this knowledge into ideas about future treatments. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod

After three years of negotiating, talks over a global plastics treaty came to an end in Geneva last week with no agreement in place. So why has it been so difficult to get countries to agree to cut plastic production? Madeleine Finlay hears from Karen McVeigh, a senior reporter for Guardian Seascapes, about a particularly damaging form of plastic pollution causing devastation off the coast of Kerala, and where we go now that countries have failed to reach a deal. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod

Europe is suffering from another heatwave as deadly temperatures of up to 44C hit the continent and wildfires blazed across the Mediterranean. To find out why Europe is heating faster than anywhere else, Madeleine Finlay speaks to the Guardian’s Europe environment correspondent, Ajit Niranjan, and to Adam Taylor, professor of anatomy at Lancaster University, to find out how we can try to stay cool as the temperature rises. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod