Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Jim Al-Khalili @jimalkhalili.bsky.social · 16d

🧪 I have a new TV offering: a 2-part Horizon special on BBC2 going out on 29th Sep and 6th October. It is called Secrets of the Brain. See
See www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...

BBC Two - Secrets of the Brain, Series 1, Episode 1

Jim Al-Khalili reveals how the staggeringly complex human brain evolved.

www.bbc.co.uk

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Jim Al-Khalili @jimalkhalili.bsky.social · Sep 5

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youtu.be/JpLGXAmPEnc

Does Quantum Physics Make Sense Yet? - Jim Al-Khalili

YouTube video by Alex O'Connor

youtu.be

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Jim Al-Khalili @jimalkhalili.bsky.social · Aug 18

Damn. That's very poor planning on the part of the two greatest ever quantum communicators.

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Jim Al-Khalili @jimalkhalili.bsky.social · Aug 18

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www.rigb.org/whats-on/dis...

Discourse: A New Quantum World: “spooky” physics to tech revolution

Jim Al-Khalili explores emerging technologies powering the future of quantum, and looks at how we got here.

www.rigb.org

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Jim Al-Khalili @jimalkhalili.bsky.social · Jul 30

🧪Physicists disagree wildly on what quantum mechanics says about reality, Nature survey shows

From nature.com
www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Physicists disagree wildly on what quantum mechanics says about reality, Nature survey shows

First major attempt to chart researchers’ views finds interpretations in conflict.

www.nature.com

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Reposted by Jim Al-Khalili

Paul Bierman @paul-bierman.bsky.social · Jun 26

Why should we let science 🧪 get in the way of making America sick again. We and our kids are fully vaccinated.

theconversation.com/im-a-physici...

I’m a physician who has looked at hundreds of studies of vaccine safety, and here’s some of what RFK Jr. gets wrong

The health secretary has made many inaccurate statements about vaccines. But the science is clear that vaccines have dramatically reduced childhood illness, disability and death.

theconversation.com

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Reposted by Jim Al-Khalili

National Museum Directors' Council @nmdcnews.bsky.social · Jun 23

The Life Scientific at the Mary Rose Museum
Jim Al-Khalili in conversation with Eleanor Schofield, Director of Collections @jimalkhalili.bsky.social @maryrosemuseum.bsky.social maryrose.org/events/the-l...

The Life Scientific at the Mary Rose Museum - The Mary Rose

In a special event recorded for BBC Radio 4’s programme 'The Life Scientific', Professor Jim Al-Khalili talks to Professor Eleanor Schofield.

maryrose.org

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Reposted by Jim Al-Khalili

Andrew Copson @andrewcopson.bsky.social · Jun 20

Many tens of thousands of people in the years to come will have better lives and better deaths because of @kimleadbeatermp.bsky.social - her calm principled leadership has been an inspiration. Few legislators have so great and permanent a positive impact and she takes her place among that noble few.

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Reposted by Jim Al-Khalili

Kevin Fong @drkevinfong.bsky.social · Jun 16

Honoured (though a little surprised) to be last lab coat up in the current series of #LifeScientific. Lovely to chat with @jimalkhalili.bsky.social for this. Tune in tomorrow Radio 4 9am. www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...

BBC Radio 4 - The Life Scientific, Kevin Fong on medical planning for Mars and Earth-based emergencies

Kevin Fong on pestering Nasa, medical planning for Mars and handling major A&E incidents.

www.bbc.co.uk

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Jim Al-Khalili @jimalkhalili.bsky.social · Jun 8

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Rebekah Higgitt @rhiggitt.bsky.social · Jun 8

There's a special episode of The Sky at Night tomorrow night, celebrating thee 350th anniversary of the founding of the Royal Observatory, Greenwich. I was delighted to be asked to take part in the dinner party and discussion! www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...

BBC Four - The Sky at Night, Greenwich: A Journey Through Space and Time

The team celebrate the 350th anniversary of the Royal Observatory.

www.bbc.co.uk

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Jim Al-Khalili @jimalkhalili.bsky.social · Jun 4

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Rubin LSST:UK @lsstuk.bsky.social · Jun 3

What a joy to listen to @astroroyalscot.bsky.social talking to @jimalkhalili.bsky.social about @vrubinobs.bsky.social and all things #astronomy on The Life Scientific today. Her passion for helping people become interested in astronomy transmits through the airwaves! www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

The Life Scientific - Catherine Heymans on the lighter side of the dark universe - BBC Sounds

Astronomer Royal for Scotland Catherine Heymans talks telescopes, dark matter and comedy.

www.bbc.co.uk

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Jim Al-Khalili @jimalkhalili.bsky.social · Jun 4

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Astronomer Royal for Scotland | Catherine Heymans @astroroyalscot.bsky.social · Jun 3

Huge thanks to @jimalkhalili.bsky.social who is so wonderfully warm & spot-on smart and intelligent; the fab LS producer Lucy Taylor who is just the nicest person you could hope to meet; and to my dear friend, colleague & comedy partner @joezuntz.bsky.social who this show is actually all about.

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Jim Al-Khalili @jimalkhalili.bsky.social · May 28

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Tim Coulson @timcoulson.bsky.social · May 27

Really enjoyed chatting with @jimalkhalili.bsky.social on the Life Scientific episode that was broadcast this morning. Thank you for having me on.

www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

The Life Scientific - Tim Coulson on how predators shape ecosystems and evolution - BBC Sounds

Professor Tim Coulson on how the wolves of Yellowstone National Park shape the ecosystem.

www.bbc.co.uk

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Reposted by Jim Al-Khalili

Tim Coulson @timcoulson.bsky.social · May 27

Really enjoyed chatting with @jimalkhalili.bsky.social on the Life Scientific episode that was broadcast this morning. Thank you for having me on.

www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

The Life Scientific - Tim Coulson on how predators shape ecosystems and evolution - BBC Sounds

Professor Tim Coulson on how the wolves of Yellowstone National Park shape the ecosystem.

www.bbc.co.uk

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Jim Al-Khalili @jimalkhalili.bsky.social · Apr 8

Put it this way, Elon Musk may be an FRS, but he’ll never be an FLS.

But listen out for first ep of Life Scientific’s next run (29 Apr) when my guest will be Tony Fauci (FRS, FLS).

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Jim Al-Khalili @jimalkhalili.bsky.social · Apr 8

For my scientific and engineering colleagues, what are the more prestigious letters after a name: FRS (Fellow of the Royal Society) or FLS (Fellow of the Life Scientific)? 😊🧪

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Jim Al-Khalili @jimalkhalili.bsky.social · Apr 3

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Yes, LLMs can now pass the Turing test, but don’t confuse this with AGI, which is a long way off.

arxiv.org/abs/2503.23674

Large Language Models Pass the Turing Test

We evaluated 4 systems (ELIZA, GPT-4o, LLaMa-3.1-405B, and GPT-4.5) in two randomised, controlled, and pre-registered Turing tests on independent populations. Participants had 5 minute conversations s...

arxiv.org

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Jim Al-Khalili @jimalkhalili.bsky.social · Mar 26

My review of Quantum Drama by physicist and science writer Jim Baggott and the late historian of science John L Heilbron. cerncourier.com/a/beyond-boh...
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Beyond Bohr and Einstein – CERN Courier

Jim Al-Khalili reviews Quantum Drama, a new book by physicist and science writer Jim Baggott and the late historian of science John L Heilbron.

cerncourier.com

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Jim Al-Khalili @jimalkhalili.bsky.social · Mar 23

Not quite. My two-part Horizon special for BBC2 on the evolution of the brain will air later this year.

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Jim Al-Khalili @jimalkhalili.bsky.social · Mar 22

It’s exciting, but not as earth shattering as the original 1998 discovery of dark energy. There are a lot of data and lots of ways of interpreting them. There are error bars and uncertainties. But the main thing is it shows that there’s still so much we have yet to understand about the universe
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Jim Al-Khalili @jimalkhalili.bsky.social · Mar 20

www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
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Human Intelligence - Manhattan Project: Niels Bohr - BBC Sounds

A scientific genius who saw poetry in the subatomic world

www.bbc.co.uk

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Jim Al-Khalili @jimalkhalili.bsky.social · Mar 20

Yes.
But what do I know?

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Jim Al-Khalili @jimalkhalili.bsky.social · Mar 20

But the heat death IS the big freeze. I mean we should have a G&T or two then anyway. We'll need warming up.

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Jim Al-Khalili @jimalkhalili.bsky.social · Mar 20

correct

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Jim Al-Khalili @jimalkhalili.bsky.social · Mar 20

If dark energy is weakening then, yes this means it could approach zero in the future and gravity may yet gain the upper hand and lead to a Big Crunch. But this is preliminary data. It does hint at dark energy changing over time, but my money is still on a big freeze (not big rip or Big Crunch).

James Robinson @drjameschums.bsky.social · Mar 20

So weakening expansion, will this lead to the Big Crunch with dark energy getting stronger as universe shrinks?

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