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Melting Antarctic Ice Shelf
Nothing can stop the collapse of the Antarctic Western Ice shelf. That is according to NASA this week. Key glaciers in Antarctica are irreversibly retreating, and according to the scientists studying this region they’ve reached a state of irreversible retreat - the point of no return. Bat jamming moth noises and other insects that go bump, chirrup, squeak in the night

Bat Jamming Moth Noises
Entomologist, Dr. Tim Cockerill has been exploring a whole soundscape that’s hidden from our limited hearing range. Including, eavesdropping on a secret sonic arms race between echo-locating bats and bat-jamming acoustics created by the genitals of a hawkmoth.

Brain Enhancing Devices
If given the option, would you think faster or increase your attention span? Neuroscientists now say that non-invasive brain stimulation using electrical currents could do just that. The technology is still fairly new but is now being sold by commercial companies often marketed to gamers suggesting that it could increase your attention and make you think faster. But do they actually work? Our reporter Melissa Hogenboom went to Oxford to try one out and to discuss the science behind the hype.

Hearing Loss
One in 20 people in the world have a disabling hearing loss. Sometimes it is caused by prolonged exposure to loud noises, perhaps at work or listening to music on headphones, or a single loud noise such as a gunshot can cause permanent damage to the inner ear. The good news is that there are drugs to treat noise-induced hearing loss on the horizon, but for now, prevention is key. Health Check speaks to Dr Mathias Basner from the University Of Pennsylvania Perelman School Of Medicine, whose recent paper in the Lancet reviewed the effects of noise on health.

(Photo: Antarctic ice)