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Science Weekly

The science behind yo-yo diets, bird flu news and which Brits can spot a fake accent

Science Weekly

The Guardian

Science

4.21K Ratings

🗓️ 21 November 2024

⏱️ 21 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Science editor Ian Sample joins host Madeleine Finlay to discuss some of the most intriguing science stories of the week. From a study finding that fat cells ‘remembering’ past obesity drives yo-yo dieting, to concerning developments in the bird flu virus, and research pinpointing which parts of the UK are best at spotting fake accents. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod

Transcript

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0:00.0

This is The Guardian.

0:10.8

All of us have our particular ways of speaking.

0:15.1

And trying to mimic someone else's can land you in hot water, turn you into a meme.

0:20.2

Oh.

0:22.1

Wait. Oh, wait.

0:24.1

Oh, barley, isn't it?

0:25.7

Sorry.

0:31.0

Based on his play outside Mullingar,

0:35.3

Oscar-winning writer John Patrick Shanley directs Wild Mountain Time. Its trailer is packed with heavy-hitting Hollywood stars, but it's their accents that have

0:40.5

everyone talking.

0:42.1

It has compelled airline Ryanair to tweet what it called a public service announcement

0:46.3

that Irish people don't sound like this.

0:49.1

Or in the case of Madonna, and unfortunately a lot of Americans trying to put on a British accent,

0:55.7

just be a bit cringy. For me, it was never about consciously thinking about reinventing.

1:02.3

It was about growing and changing. But according to new research, how good you are at being

1:09.5

able to tell whether an accent is authentic

1:12.3

or a fake depends on where you hail from.

1:18.8

That's not the only intriguing science story this week. It turns out that the body really does

1:24.7

keep the score, or more accurately, the numbers on the scale.

1:29.3

And in yet another worrying development in the Bird Flu saga, a teenager in Canada has been

1:35.4

hospitalized with the virus. And it appears this variant has mutations that would make it

1:41.1

better at infecting us. A teen from the Fraser Health region is in critical condition at BC Children's Hospital

...

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