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oxfordsparks.bsky.social
Oxford Sparks
@oxfordsparks.bsky.social
A place to explore the cutting-edge scientific research taking place at the University of Oxford (@ox.ac.uk) and meet the scientists behind it 🧑🏽‍🔬🌍🧪🦋
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🎙️ Where do baby penguins come from?

We're joined by #penguinologists Dr Ignacio Juarez Martinez & Dr Fiona Suttle to learn all about the breeding habits of #penguins, for our #Valentines special 🐧💕

🎧 pod.fo/e/38d8ea

@biology.ox.ac.uk @mplsoxford.bsky.social @ox.ac.uk
🎙️ Where do baby penguins come from?

We're joined by #penguinologists Dr Ignacio Juarez Martinez & Dr Fiona Suttle to learn all about the breeding habits of #penguins, for our #Valentines special 🐧💕

🎧 pod.fo/e/38d8ea

@biology.ox.ac.uk @mplsoxford.bsky.social @ox.ac.uk
February 11, 2026 at 2:53 PM
📽️ #Santorini might be better known for its beaches & archaeological sites, but did you know it's also a #volcano? 🌋
Join @sofiadellasala.bsky.social as she takes us behind-the-scenes on her first #fieldwork #expedition, exploring the world of #hydrothermal systems...

@oxuniearthsci.bsky.social 1/2
January 30, 2026 at 11:36 AM
🎙️ New #podcast!

Dr Fabian Stephany (@oii.ox.ac.uk) strongly believes that #AI isn't here to steal our jobs, and that actually #AItools can be used to help us secure better jobs and raise our salaries. So...how?

🎧 pod.fo/e/38260e

@ox.ac.uk @mplsoxford.bsky.social
January 28, 2026 at 2:17 PM
We chat to space instrumentation specialist Dr Carly Howett about the search for life in the outer Solar System, and why #Saturn's icy moon #Enceladus could be a great place to look...

🎧 www.oxfordsparks.ox.ac.uk/podcasts/cou...

@oxfordphysics.bsky.social @ox.ac.uk
January 14, 2026 at 3:14 PM
📽️ "I willingly contracted #malaria..."

Malaria ‘challenge’ studies teach us more about how the body responds to malaria infection and how we can improve malaria vaccines and treatments. But how does a malaria ‘challenge’ work and what is it like to take part in these studies? 1/2‬‬‬‬‬‬
December 17, 2025 at 3:58 PM
🎙️ What happened to the #birds in #TheTwelveDaysOfChristmas? 🦢🎶

We take a look at one of our favourite #ChristmasCarols with Prof Andy Gosler.

🎧 Listen here! pod.fo/e/3638a8

@egioxford.bsky.social @biology.ox.ac.uk @oxfordhumsci.bsky.social @oxford-anthro.bsky.social
December 10, 2025 at 2:40 PM
🎙️ As we near the end of the International Year of Quantum, we ask experimental physicist William Cutler to break it down for us...what exactly is quantum computing?

🎧 www.oxfordsparks.ox.ac.uk/podcasts/wha...

@oxfordphysics.bsky.social @mplsoxford.bsky.social @ox.ac.uk @ukri.org #QuantumComputing
November 26, 2025 at 3:17 PM
🎙️ Could #vaccinations stop people from getting #cancer?

What if we could stop cancer before it even starts? We chat to Prof Sarah Blagden @oncology.ox.ac.uk & Anna Fry.

🎧 www.oxfordsparks.ox.ac.uk/podcasts/cou...

@sarahblagden.bsky.social @oxfordcancer.bsky.social @medsci.ox.ac.uk @ox.ac.uk
November 12, 2025 at 5:12 PM
🎙️ The #BigQuestions #Podcast is back for a brand new series! We're kicking off with a question that we know will resonate with many people...

🤚 Why do I bite my nails?

We chat to Prof Clare Mackay (@claremackay.bsky.social) to find out all about #BFRBs

🎧 www.oxfordsparks.ox.ac.uk/podcasts/why...
October 29, 2025 at 2:35 PM
Reposted by Oxford Sparks
Will you still need me, will you still feed me, when I'm 94?

Happy Birthday Roger.
August 8, 2025 at 9:14 AM
🎙️ In the series finale of the Big Questions #Podcast, we chat to Lizzie Bloomfield @oxfordphysics.bsky.social about #DarkMatter, how we know it's out there, and why she's heading deep beneath an Italian mountain to try and find it...

🎧 www.oxfordsparks.ox.ac.uk/podcasts/how...

@ox.ac.uk
August 6, 2025 at 1:35 PM
🔍 Suspicious Minds: The Secrets of Fossil Brains 🧠

#Fossils provide us with a tantalising glimpse into the past. But can something as seemingly fragile as the #brain fossilise?

Alexandra Morton-Hayward tells us about her research into ancient nervous tissue, and what it might teach us.

1/2
July 30, 2025 at 9:30 AM
You can learn more about Antje's work in our next documentary, out soon! Stay tuned! 👀

#OxfordClimate
July 2, 2025 at 10:24 AM
🎙️ New #podcast! We chat to Dr Richard Mayne from Oxford's Experimental Medicine Division about #genomics, Next-Generation Sequencing, #BloodScreening (...and #StarTrek!).

@ndm.ox.ac.uk @medsci.ox.ac.uk @ox.ac.uk @nihr.bsky.social

🎧 pod.fo/e/2eed29
June 25, 2025 at 4:43 PM
🎙️ How does Ozempic actually work?

You might have heard about it in the media, but what actually *is* #Ozempic? Marketed as a drug for #diabetes, it is now commonly associated with #weightloss. We chat to #hormone doctor Annie de Bray about how it works.

🎧 pod.fo/e/2e38fe
June 11, 2025 at 8:33 PM
🎙️ PODCAST | The tinny sound of music blaring from a nearby phone is enough to irritate anybody, but for #misophonia sufferers it's more than a mere annoyance. Find out more with ‪@drjanegregory.bsky.social‬‬ from @oxexppsy.bsky.social in our brand new #podcast episode 👇‬

🎧 pod.fo/e/2db930
May 28, 2025 at 1:56 PM
🎙️ NEW PODCAST: What's the origin of water on Earth? 🌏💧

Did #hydrogen hitch a ride to #Earth on #asteroids? Or were the building blocks for #water always closer to home? We chat to Tom Barrett @oxuniearthsci.bsky.social about his amazing new discovery.

🎧 www.oxfordsparks.ox.ac.uk/podcasts/wha...
May 16, 2025 at 9:44 AM
🎙️ New #podcast! How can #robots investigate underwater #volcanoes? 🌋🤔

We chat to Sofia Della Sala @oxuniearthsci.bsky.social about her recent #fieldwork #expedition to #Santorini 🛳️

🎧: www.oxfordsparks.ox.ac.uk/podcasts/how...

@sofiadellasala.bsky.social @ukri.org @ox.ac.uk
April 30, 2025 at 11:53 AM
We're very proud to be working with @ovg.ox.ac.uk to create a brand new video documenting the #malaria challenge trial this summer.

If you are eligible, please do consider taking part in their invaluable research 👇
Volunteers wanted for a bone marrow sample for scientific research.

If you are aged 18 to 45 years old, in good health and live in the Thames Valley, then you may be eligible to take part in the BIO-004 study Group 3. The total study duration is 3 months.

www.ovg.ox.ac.uk/studies/bio004
April 25, 2025 at 1:42 PM
Subscribe to our YouTube channel to explore the exciting #science taking place @ox.ac.uk 👇

bit.ly/OxfordSparks...

#OxfordScience #OxfordUniversity #DocumentaryFilms
April 23, 2025 at 9:42 AM
Reposted by Oxford Sparks
🔬 New research shows that anaemia in early pregnancy may raise the risk of congenital heart disease in babies 👶🫀. The study found a 47% higher risk when anaemia was present in the first 100 days of pregnancy.

Researchers are now looking into whether iron supplements could help prevent this.
Child heart disease may be more likely if mother has anaemia during pregnancy
New research shows the chance of a child having congenital heart disease increases if the mother is anaemic during pregnancy.
www.phc.ox.ac.uk
April 23, 2025 at 9:03 AM
Good morning, Bluesky! 🦋

We are very happy to be here, sharing stories of the cutting-edge #scientific #research taking place @ox.ac.uk and shining a spotlight on the incredible #scientists behind it 👩‍🔬

Head to oxfordsparks.ox.ac.uk to watch our award-winning films & listen to our inhouse #podcast
April 23, 2025 at 9:21 AM