51³Ô¹ÏÍø

In this edition: What testing on transport says about coronavirus transmission, how new virus variants are emerging, and chatting to a cardiologist.

Play the complete podcast (above)

You can catch the podcast on all your favourite platforms. Just click on any of the icons below.

OR listen to individual chapters:

– We hear how dragonflies perform mid-air backward somersaults to right themselves, why making more immersive audio experiences could improve virtual interactions, and discover what the next Mars rover, landing on the red planet this week, will investigate.

– 51³Ô¹ÏÍø researchers are working with the London transport network, testing air and surfaces for the coronavirus (and thankfully finding nothing). We learn what this means about transmission of the virus and how it feeds into a larger project into subway environments.

– Variants of the coronavirus are emerging worldwide and hitting the headlines. We find out what these variants mean for controlling the pandemic and the potential impact on vaccines.

You can also covering the latest knowledge on the pandemic and what questions remain.

– We chat to a trainee cardiologist about her experience taking part in an 51³Ô¹ÏÍø Lates Valentine’s event and her research understanding blood flow through the heart and arteries.

You can also catch up on the full .

–

The podcast is presented by Gareth Mitchell, a lecturer on 51³Ô¹ÏÍø's MSc Science Communication course and the presenter of on the BBC World Service, with contributions from our roving reporters in the Communications and Public Affairs Division.