Inside Science: Animal-testing alternatives, coronal mass ejections from distant stars, and rescued Swiss glacier ice

This episode surveys progress in replacing animal experiments with organoids and organ-on-a-chip technologies, discusses when animals remain essential in drug development, and highlights the discovery of radio bursts from a distant star indicating CME-like activity and planetary implications. It also features a personal look at a Swiss glacier fragment stored in a home freezer, the fate of Alpine ice, and new research on sleep, bee cognition, and memory of climate change through scientific storytelling.

Overview

The podcast investigates how science is moving away from animal testing, the potential and limits of new lab techniques like organoids and organ-on-a-chip, and the policy push toward replacing animals in basic and applied research. It also brings in astronomy news about detecting coronal mass ejections from another star, a glacial memory project from Switzerland, and new neuroscience and bee cognition findings. Throughout, guests discuss practicalities, ethics, and the science that bridges biology, technology, and climate science.

Animal testing and the three Rs

The discussion centers on the UK's five-year strategy to eliminate animal use in science except where absolutely necessary. The three Rs — replacement, reduction, refinement — guide the shift toward alternatives such as 3D organoids, organ-on-a-chip systems, and sophisticated computer models. A retinal organoid example shows human cells forming a functional retina in vitro, enabling drug testing for toxicity and efficacy without animals. However, some contexts, like certain fetal development studies and veterinary medicines, currently require animal data or in vivo work, because no in vitro or computational method fully replicates complex biology or embryo development. “the three R’s are the replacement, reduction, and refinement of the use of animals in research.” - Natalie Burdon

Despite progress, experts acknowledge that complete retirement of lab animals is not imminent, though the trajectory is accelerating toward a tipping point. The panel highlights that certain therapies, especially humanized antibodies, may still need primate testing for immune response insights, and there are scenarios that organisms in vivo uniquely address.

Auroras beyond the Sun

Roland Pease reports on a discovery linking distant stars to aurora-like phenomena via radio bursts detected by LOFAR. The team identified a striking radio signature from the M dwarf star STKM 1-1262, suggesting a coronal mass ejection has detached from the star, producing a bright radio flare. This observation supports the idea that many stars host planets and that CME-like activity could influence planetary atmospheres. “the CME that would hit it is about 1000 times stronger than anything we've seen before from the sun.” - Joe Cullingham

The finding raises questions about the habitability of planets around red dwarfs, which, while common, may experience intense space weather capable of stripping atmospheres if planetary magnetic fields are weak. The research uses advanced radio astronomy to infer bursts that accompany stellar storms, extending our understanding of how stars shape their planetary systems.

Glacier ice in the freezer

Matthias Huss discusses the rapid loss of Swiss alpine ice, with Switzerland losing about a quarter of its glaciers in two decades and record-shattering melt in 2022. One small glacier, Pitt Glacier, persists only in fragments and a researcher’s freezer as a memory of what has disappeared. The ice piece, rescued during fieldwork, serves as a poignant counterpoint to the scale of climate change and the hazards it brings, such as permafrost thaw and increasing glacier collapses that threaten communities. If warming is limited to 2 degrees Celsius globally, most smaller glaciers will vanish, leaving only a few outlines of their former mass. Huss emphasizes the difficulty of implementing climate policies that balance economic concerns with the urgent need to reduce emissions and preserve glacier heritage.

Bees, sleep, and memory

The New Scientist review spotlights a study where bees learned to distinguish Morse code-like signals, with longer and shorter stimulations guiding them toward rewards or penalties, illustrating sophisticated temporal processing in insects. In sleep science, Grace Wade summaries Nature Neuroscience work that redefines how we fall asleep, showing a two-phase approach followed by a tipping point about 4.5 minutes before sleep onset, offering a concrete window into the moment of transition from wakefulness to sleep.

Conclusion

The episode weaves together biology, technology, astronomy, and climate science to show how 3Rs-driven innovations, space weather research, glacier science, and cognitive neuroscience contribute to a more trustworthy, interconnected view of science in action. The conversations underscore both the potential to reduce animal use and the ongoing need for careful evaluation of when living systems provide irreplaceable insights while highlighting climate resilience as a defining challenge for policymakers and researchers alike.