The Naked Scientists Weekly Roundup: MI6 Cyber Threats, Obesity Drugs, Urban Birds, and the Roman Space Telescope

This episode stitches together security, health, ecology, and space science in a brisk news roundup. It examines MI6’s call for stronger cyber resilience, the cost and access issues surrounding GLP-1 obesity medications, observed rapid beak-shape changes in Los Angeles junkos during the COVID lockdown, and an in-depth look at NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, its capabilities, and the political factors affecting its launch.

Overview

The Naked Scientists deliver a cross-disciplinary briefing that spans intelligence technology, weight-management pharmacology, urban ecology, and space astronomy. The program highlights how modern threats, medical innovations, urban adaptation, and space exploration intersect in shaping public policy and everyday life.

MI6 cyber threats and AI readiness

The UK’s intelligence chief warned that the world is more dangerous and contested than in decades, emphasizing the explosive growth of cyber threats and the need to blend human intelligence with cutting-edge technologies. A focal point is the increasing role of artificial intelligence and open-source information, paired with selective secret intelligence to stay ahead of adversaries, notably Russia, in a digital arena that includes ransomware and cyberattacks on major companies.

"our world is more dangerous and contested now than it has been for decades." - Blaise Metrovelli, MI6 chief

Weight-loss drugs, access, and health economics

Navid Sattar explains how GLP-1 receptor agonists, first diabetes drugs, now show substantial weight loss potential (between 10% and 30%), with broad licensure for individuals with BMI above 30 and comorbidities. The discussion covers high current costs, NHS threshold policies, and the tension between treating obesity at scale and managing budget impact. A key question is whether widespread use could be cost-effective if drug prices fall, and whether treatment at diagnosis could delay diabetes progression in the future.

"these drugs are currently very expensive, so at the moment we are treating the people at the highest risk where the net savings are matching the net costs" - Navid Sattar, University of Glasgow and UK obesity czar

Bird beak evolution during the COVID lockdown

Ellie Diarmont describes a rapid, climate-driven example of human-induced environmental change: dark-eyed junkos in Los Angeles developed shorter, stubbier bills in urban settings, a pattern that reversed during campus closures and re-emerged after reopening. The team suggests selection favors birds able to exploit human waste and urban resources, with genetic testing underway to distinguish population-level adaptation from individual movement. The result is a striking demonstration of rapid phenotypic change in a relatively short time frame, tied to urban resource dynamics.

"we observed rapid changes in beak shape during campus lockdowns, reverting after reopening" - Ellie Diarmont, Bard College

NASA Roman Space Telescope: capabilities and politics

Matt Bothwell outlines the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope’s unprecedented wide field of view, about 100 times that of Hubble, enabling huge cosmological maps and exoplanet imaging. The discussion covers its placement at the L2 point for stable thermal conditions, its optical design, and the political hurdle posed by budget cuts in the United States. The team notes that even in worst-case funding scenarios, the mission is not canceled, though execution may hinge on congressional decisions.

"its field of view is about 100 times the Hubble Space Telescope" - Matt Bothwell, Institute of Astronomy

Join us next time as we tally the year’s best stories and reflect on the evolving relationship between science, policy, and society.