Pluto’s planetary status, animal-language prize, and Alaska’s Tracy Arm megatsunami: Inside Science round-up

Overview

The podcast surveys two big debates and a dramatic natural event. It covers a push to restore Pluto’s planet status, a major prize for advancing animal language, and a megatsunami in Alaska, with context on dating in later life and how new data sources are changing our understanding of human relationships.

Key insights

• Pluto vs eight planets: the debate centers on IAU criteria and the value of categorization for science and education.
• Collar Dolittle Prize: two-tier prizes evaluate progress in decoding animal communication and the prospect of autonomous animal-language machines.
• Alaska megatsunami: a massive 481 meter wave in Tracy Arm, triggered by a landslide, with implications for cruise ships in fjord regions.
• Dating over 50: shifting demographics and data biases challenge our understanding of later-life romance and social connection.

Introduction

The podcast, a showcase of Inside Science from the BBC World Service, opens with two seemingly disparate stories that illustrate how science progresses through debate, data, and technology. The host and guests move rapidly between astronomy and biology, geography and sociology, anchored by a narrative that science is as much about words and definitions as it is about measurements and models.

Pluto and the planet debate

The central thread concerns Pluto’s status as a planet. The discussion retraces Pluto’s discovery by Clyde Tombaugh in 1930 and how a 2006 decision by the International Astronomical Union to redefine what counts as a planet led to Pluto's reclassification as a 'dwarf planet'. Jared Isaacman’s remarks frame a public push to restore Pluto to planetary status, while astronomer Chris Lintott offers a nuanced critique. Lintott explains the IAU criteria: orbit the Sun, be round due to self-gravity, and clear your orbit. He notes Pluto satisfies the first two but not the third, which creates debate about fuzzy definitions and the role of categorization in science. He also contrasts scientific definitions with geological or planetary-science perspectives, which emphasize a world’s geology, landscapes, and processes rather than its orbital dominance. The program also features a contrast between public schooling expectations (the number of planets learned in school) and evolving scientific understanding, with a nod to the cultural and national sentiments surrounding Pluto’s discovery and popular storylines such as New Horizons’ flyby in 2015.

Penny Sashay from New Scientist weighs in from a biology perspective, arguing for a more expansive view that embraces a larger number of significant planetary objects or eight major planets plus many dwarfs depending on usefulness for understanding planetary science. The discussion underscores that this debate is largely about semantics and culture rather than a scientific discovery that would alter planetary science in a fundamental way.

Collar Dolittle Prize for talking with animals

The conversation shifts to the Collar Dolittle Challenge, a $10 million prize designed to explore two-way communication with animals using advances in AI and large datasets of animal vocalizations. Yossi Yovel of Tel Aviv University explains the prize structure: smaller prizes for decoding animal communication and a grand prize for a machine capable of autonomous two-way communication in multiple contexts. The segment includes clips from finalists, notably Catherine Crockford on chimpanzee communication, showing that chimp calls can carry semantic content and be combined into longer utterances with context-dependent meanings. Yovel clarifies that human language is unique in its combinatorial capabilities, but animal communication is richer than previously thought, with complexity in calls and any potential for multiple-context conversations. They discuss other species such as the African striped mouse, whose ultrasonic vocalizations convey information about the caller’s identity, neighbor vs. stranger, and social context. The possibility of teaching animals to use human communication interfaces, such as dog keyboards, is highlighted as a parallel avenue to improving our understanding and interaction with animals. The conversation also addresses philosophical questions about whether a machine could truly converse with an animal and what that would imply for cognition and animal welfare.

Alaska megatsunami in Tracy Arm

Roland Pease presents an in-depth update on last year’s Tracy Arm megatsunami, the second-largest ever recorded. A mass of rock, estimated around 165 million metric tons, detached from a mountainside and plunged into the fjord, generating a wave that initially could reach around 100 meters and, as it propagated, culminated in a peak of about 481 meters above the sea surface. The event was captured by seismic data and modeled with numerical simulations. The discussion covers the sequence: a glacier retreat, rock mass failure, a one-minute landslide, and a few minutes later, a wave that surged down the fjord. The talk emphasizes that the fjord environment amplifies wave height due to steep walls and glacial moraine, and warns that climate change and rising tourism could increase the risk of such events in similar settings. The Alaska story connects to broader themes of natural hazards in a warming world and the challenges of protecting coastal cruise-ship operations in fjords with hidden risk factors.

Dating over 50 and data revolution

Penny Sashay returns to discuss dating in later life, referencing a Royal Society All About Love conference. The focus is on how people over 50 are dating more, aided by longer lifespans and changing social norms around repartnering after bereavement or breakup. The talk highlights biases in research on dating, as most data come from undergraduate populations, which does not reflect late-life dating patterns. The discussion also emphasizes that social relationships influence mental well-being and aging, raising important questions about how dating changes when biological clocks are less constraining for women and men. Sashay notes that online dating platforms, such as Tinder, provide vast datasets that researchers can tap into, potentially unlocking insights into partner preferences and dating dynamics across age groups. The program closes with a light-hearted nod to the host’s dog Wellington and a farewell.

Conclusion

The podcast illustrates how science integrates diverse fields to address big questions. From planetary classification and language in animals to the dynamical hazards of megatsunamis and the social science of dating, listeners are reminded that scientific debates often hinge on definitions, data access, and interdisciplinary collaboration. The show invites listeners to share ideas for future investigations, underscoring the ongoing evolution of scientific understanding and communication.