Giant drones to scan Antarctica: Tech & Science Daily podcast

Plus! Flat Earth news...planet ‘not always round’
The autonomous drones are being tested in Antarctica (Windracers/British Antarctic Survey/PA)

Twin-engine drones are being tested by the British Antarctic Survey to help carry out research into global warming and marine ecosystems.

Each Windracers Ultra UAV is 10 metres long and can carry up to 100kg of cargo or sensors over hundreds of miles, navigating the whole journey on autopilot.

The artificial intelligence-equipped UAVs will also investigate tectonic structures and interaction between ocean water and the atmosphere.

Extreme weather forecasters are warning about the dangers of avalanches as more people skiing and driving snowmobiles signal an increased risk of getting trapped under collapsed snow.

America’s Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Centre say their work’s becoming more difficult as climate change brings extreme weather, plus surging numbers of skiers, snowboarders and snowmobilers visiting off-the-beaten-track locations since the Covid pandemic.

A report by the Academy for Medical Sciences suggests many British children are suffering an “appalling decline” in health.

The study cites soaring rates of obesity and tooth decay - with nearly a fifth of five-year-olds enduring rotting teeth - and claims progress on improving child health has “stalled”.

Research by the University of Central Lancashire suggests planet Earth may not always have been round - and once even resembled the squashed shaped of a Smarties chocolate a few million years after birth.

Cancer Research UK says a sponge-on-a-string test could transform the way oesophageal cancer is diagnosed.

New maps reveal a hidden hydrothermal system beneath New Zealand’s Lake Rotorua, which sits within a vast dormant volcano crater.

Researchers from Heriot-Watt University and the University of Edinburgh have tested a nuclear magnetic spectroscopy technique to detect the “chemical fingerprint” of gin in seconds, which it’s hoped could help producers beat fake booze.

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