Mothers these days might be told that 'breast is best' when it comes to feeding their baby. But why is that the case, when infant formula has been an option for decades? What does that mean for mothers that struggle with their breastfeeding journey, and how does it affect a child in the short and long term? In this episode, Leila and Kim dive into the chemistry of breastmilk and infant formula, as well as the science and data behind the choices you make, and how it affects your baby.

Last week, a certain loudmouth in America told pregnant people to stop taking paracetamol (or “acetaminophen” or “Tylenol,” pick your flavour, they're all the same thing), claiming it might cause autism in their kids. That advice set off alarm bells everywhere. Expectant mothers have long been told that paracetamol is one of the safest over-the-counter options for managing pain or fever during pregnancy. But now that single “safe” drug is getting dragged into a storm of fear. Some mothers whose children are autistic may feel guilt or anxiety that a past choice “caused” their child’s autism.

Last year I was handed one of those rare and delightful projects as a science communicator: a deep-dive story that was as strange as it was true, and that went on to reach more than 6.5 million viewers on YouTube (so far!) The video: “An Ancient Roman Shipwreck May Explain the Universe”, was later named a Webby Award Honoree. It still feels surreal to type that. The story begins 2,000 years ago, when a Roman merchant ship, laden with more than 30 tonnes of lead ingots, sank off the coast of Sardinia.

When you’re baby-proofing your home, it feels like there’s danger lurking in every corner. Hot pans, sharp edges, cleaning sprays… and those mysterious little holes in the wall where the electricity lives. It’s no wonder so many parents rush to buy socket covers. They seem like an easy win: pop in some plastic, and your toddler can’t stick their fingers where they don’t belong. But here’s the surprising truth: in the UK, those socket covers don’t make things safer. In fact, they can actually make things more dangerous. UK Sockets Are Already Among the Safest…

Every so often, I come across a story in geology that reminds me how much of Earth we still don’t fully understand. Take the Younger Dryas: a sudden, sharp return to ice-age cold about 13,000 years ago. It coincided with the disappearance of mammoths, and with the vanishing of the Clovis people in North America. For decades, scientists have argued over what caused this dramatic cold snap. Was it ocean currents, volcanoes, or something more dramatic like an asteroid impact? That last idea got a huge boost in the 2010s, when radar surveys of Greenland revealed a vast, circular hole beneath the Hiawatha Glacier.

Social media can be a great tool for discovering new people and new things (including maybe this podcast and blog?!) but it has a dark side. The "algorithm" which determines exactly what social media content you see is a highly efficient beast of hyerconnectivity. It can reveal things about your inner wants, desires, and fears that you didn't even realse yourself. And if used indiscriminately, it can be damaging to the mental health of new parents. In this episode, Kim and Leila talk about how, since starting our parenting journeys, our social media feeds have been…

As a new parent, it’s easy to feel like every choice you make is under the microscope. Even something as simple as enjoying a glass of wine with dinner can spiral into questions: Is this safe? Will it affect my baby? Should I pump and dump? So, is it safe to drink alcohol while breastfeeding?The advice out there often feels contradictory. Some people will tell you that one drink is no problem, others will insist that you avoid alcohol entirely until you’ve weaned. The truth, as usual, lies somewhere in between.

On May 5th 2024, a 4.8 magnitude earthquake shook New Jersey. It was the first sizeable quake the region had seen in years, and it made headlines across the US. What struck me, though, was how different the response was compared to the west coast, where quakes of that size happen fairly often without much fuss. That contrast became the focus of a SciShow episode I wrote recently. On the surface, a 4.8 is a 4.8, no matter where it happens. But as I dug into the research, I was reminded that geology has a way of complicating even the neatest numbers.

When I look into my baby’s eyes, I can’t help but marvel at them. My husband swears they’re blue, while I’d call them more of a slate grey. But the truth is, whatever colour they look right now probably isn’t their final shade. Like many newborns with lighter skin, he was born with eyes that appear blue-grey, but they’ll likely change as the months go by. Most babies are born with blue or grey eyes Why Are Babies Born with Blue or Grey Eyes? The secret lies in melanin, the pigment that gives colour to our skin, hair, and eyes.

When I first became a mum, I found myself constantly Googling everything about babies: sleep, feeding, milestones, and the quirky little things I never expected. Because I’m a science communicator at heart, I couldn’t stop digging into the actual research behind those questions. That’s how Science Baby began. What started as a few fun TikTok videos quickly grew into a community of parents and carers who, like me, wanted evidence-based parenting science explained in a way that’s warm, funny, and relatable to real life. Why Start a Parenting Science Podcast?

Like many children, I was captivated by museum gift shops, especially the shelves of glittering geodes. Crack one open and you’re rewarded with a surprise display of crystals hidden inside. Those pocket-sized treasures, though, are nothing compared to the largest geode in the world – one so vast it could swallow the entire gift shop whole. The story begins in 1897 on South Bass Island, Ohio, where German-American winemaker Gustav Heineman had set up a vineyard. When he ordered a well to be dug to supply water for his vines, workers broke into a cavern 12 metres down.

Parenting today often feels like walking through a minefield of opinions. Whether it’s about how we feed our babies, whether we use car seat mirrors, or even whether a mum can enjoy a glass of wine while breastfeeding, there seems to be no shortage of strong voices ready to weigh in. If you’ve ever scrolled through the comment sections on parenting content (ours included!), you’ll know just how intense and judgmental these discussions can get. And for new parents, already balancing sleepless nights and a flood of anxieties, this judgment can cut deep.

At first glance, epidote might look like a perfectly ordinary rock: greenish, slightly glassy, nice enough to put on your bookshelf. But this mineral is far more than just decoration. Epidote could help unlock the mystery of life’s earliest origins on Earth, and perhaps even beyond. The fossil record is our best archive for understanding the history of life, but it has limits. The deeper back in time you go, the harder it becomes to find intact fossils. Earth’s plate tectonics are constantly recycling rocks, and the fossils that do survive tend to be battered, squashed, or melted beyond recognition.

If there’s one thing newborn babies are good at, it’s crying. Loud, insistent, impossible-to-ignore crying. But if you’ve ever held a newborn, you might have noticed something strange: those first wails come with sound, but not with visible tears. When Science Baby cried real tears for the first time, at about a month old, it was a moment I’ll never forget. Up until then, his cries had been noisy and demanding, but when those first tears rolled down his cheeks, it hit me differently. Suddenly his distress looked raw and human in a way that made my heart lurch.

Did you know that if you’ve ever been pregnant, you’re not just you anymore? You’re a blend of yourself and every baby you’ve ever carried. Scientists call this phenomenon fetal microchimerism, and it means that long after pregnancy, tiny traces of your baby remain inside you. What Is Fetal Microchimerism? During pregnancy, nutrients, oxygen, and waste products flow between mother and baby through the placenta. But it’s not just nutrients that cross the barrier. Cells and DNA can also travel both ways: from mother to baby, and from baby back into mom.

Back in the 1840s, the hills of California glittered with the promise of fortune. Prospectors rushed west, hoping to strike it rich in the Gold Rush, only to find themselves duped by an impostor: pyrite, better known as fool’s gold. But pyrite might not be as foolish as we once imagined. Far from worthless, it’s turned out to be one of the most useful and versatile minerals we’ve ever dug out of the ground. A Spark of Inspiration The name pyrite comes from the Greek pyr, meaning “fire,” because striking it against metal produces sparks.

When you bring a newborn home, you expect the tiny cries, the soft snuffles, and maybe the occasional projectile poo. But what if your baby starts… producing milk? No, you didn’t misread that. Some newborns, both boys and girls, can lactate. It’s just as weird, wonderful, and unsettling as it sounds. This phenomenon is called witch’s milk, and while the name sounds like it belongs in a cauldron, it’s actually perfectly natural. What Is Witch’s Milk, Exactly? Witch’s milk is the old-fashioned nickname for neonatal galactorrhea—the production of small amounts of breast milk by newborns.

When you picture the materials behind our modern gadgets, gemstones probably don’t spring to mind. We expect wires, silicon, and circuits — not jewelry-box treasures. Yet one humble mineral, tourmaline, bridges the glittering world of gemstones with the hidden forces powering today’s technology. Tourmaline is one of Earth’s most colorful crystals. It can emerge pink, green, blue, yellow, black, or even striped like a slice of watermelon. This kaleidoscope of color comes from its unusual crystal structure — a silicate “cage” that traps different mineral ions. Swap in iron, manganese, chromium, copper, or vanadium, and you get an entirely new hue.

'Wednesday is for Wiggling' is all about finding the joy in everyday life. Whether it's having playdates with friends, hanging out with mum or dad, or simply going to the library, the lively text and charming illustrations bring a typical pre-schooler's week to life like never before.

If your toddler is starting to talk, some of the first words in their repertoire are likely to be the numbers. I for one was especially proud when science baby learned all his numbers from 1 to 10. He could finish off a sequence, and even say them backwards (countdown to blast-off, anyone?!). But it turns out, saying the numbers isn’t the same as truly using them. Real counting, where kids actually end up understanding how many things they have, is a whole other skill, and it’s going to take a bit of teaching and time before they acquire it.

Whether your baby is right or left handed is going to affect how they do pretty much everything, for the rest of their lives. But when does that hand preference get decided, and how soon can you tell?

When science baby was born, pretty much the only thing we heard for the first year or so was how much he looked like his dad! Which, as a mother (who had gone through the gruelling, invasive process of IVF, carried and grown this child for nine months, and gone through four days of induction and birth, not to mention feeding him from my own body and having my mind and body completely transformed by the process), was the last thing I wanted to hear. The worst part was, they were right!

When science baby was a few months old, I was finally starting to feel a bit more human after the whirlwind of pregnancy and childbirth. But just when I thought things were settling down… surprise! I started losing hair. A lot of hair. Like, coming out in clumps in the shower a lot of hair! It can be worrying, but would you believe it’s totally normal? If you’re a new parent and you’ve started shedding like your dog in summer, you’re not alone. Postpartum hair loss (or telogen effluvium, if you want the sciencey name) is incredibly common—and thankfully, temporary.

Struggling to get your baby to sleep? You’re not alone. Newborn parents will be painfully aware of how unhinged their baby’s sleep schedule is, and no amount of physical flipping will flip their concept of day and night. From endless renditions of Baa Baa Black Sheep to tiptoeing through the house like a ninja, most parents have tried just about everything to coax their baby into slumber. But now, science might finally be on your side, with a lullaby that’s been specifically engineered to soothe. Any parent knows that they’ll try anything to get their baby to sleep, just so they can get a little shut-eye themselves!