Weekly Science Updates Podcast
with Olivia Montgomery as your host
Join Olivia Montgomery each week as she guides you through the most significant scientific breakthroughs and discoveries from around the world. From medicine to space exploration, from conservation to cutting-edge technology, stay informed with the Scottish Science Society's Weekly Science Updates Podcast.
All Episodes
Episode 8: Webb Telescope Discovers a New Class of Sulphur World
Released: April 10, 2026
The James Webb Space Telescope reveals L 98-59 d, a bizarre molten exoplanet just 35 light-years away with underground magma oceans trapping sulphur. Astronomers at the University of Oxford identify an entirely new class of planet that challenges our models of planetary formation and atmospheric evolution.
Episode 7: AlphaFold's Next Level — AI Predicts Millions of Protein Complexes
Released: April 3, 2026
The AlphaFold database expands to include protein pairing, with millions of AI-predicted structures for protein complexes added through a collaboration between EMBL-EBI, NVIDIA, Google DeepMind, and Seoul National University. A monumental leap for drug discovery and structural biology.
Episode 6: Artemis II — Humanity Returns from the Moon
Released: March 27, 2026
NASA's Artemis II mission concludes with a triumphant splashdown in the Pacific Ocean. Astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen have travelled farther from Earth than any humans before them, proving the systems that will establish a sustainable lunar presence.
Episode 5: NVIDIA's Physical AI Revolution — Robots Enter the Real World
Released: March 20, 2026
National Robotics Week 2026 marks the arrival of Physical AI. NVIDIA's Open Physical AI Data Factory Blueprint, simulation-first robot training, and edge-first large language models are transforming autonomous vehicles, healthcare robotics, and manufacturing.
Episode 4: AI Cracks Quantum Computing's Encryption Threat
Released: March 13, 2026
Researchers at Google and Oratomic achieve a breakthrough in quantum error correction using advanced machine learning, suggesting quantum computers capable of breaking internet encryption may arrive before the decade is out. The race to implement post-quantum cryptography becomes an immediate necessity.
Week of January 9, 2026
Released: January 9, 2026
This week: Human bipedalism origins pushed back to 7 million years ago, revolutionary plant breathing research for drought-resistant crops, ancient viruses discovered in human DNA, Europa's ocean may be lifeless, and exercise rivals therapy for depression treatment.
Week of January 4, 2026
Released: January 4, 2026
This week's highlights from the world of science covering the latest research and discoveries in medicine, technology, and the natural world.
Week of December 28, 2025
Released: December 28, 2025
A look back at late 2025's major breakthroughs: First non-opioid painkiller Suzetrigine approved, revolutionary cholesterol treatments, James Webb's most distant supernova discovery, the controversial dire wolf "de-extinction" claim, and hope for endangered axolotls.