Helen Czerski
@helenczerski.bsky.social
Physics, bubbles, oceans, hot chocolate and curiosity. Professor at UCL, writer, broadcaster. Author of Storm in a Teacup and Blue Machine https://linktr.ee/helenczerski Co-host of BBC Radio 4's Rare Earth
Oh, I love this. A new species of sea anemone was discovered recently that parks itself on top of a hermit crab shell like a hat. It seems to feed partly off the crab's faeces, but it also excretes a hard shell that extends the crab's home. In return, it's carried around the seafloor like a king.
November 10, 2025 at 9:57 PM
Oh, I love this. A new species of sea anemone was discovered recently that parks itself on top of a hermit crab shell like a hat. It seems to feed partly off the crab's faeces, but it also excretes a hard shell that extends the crab's home. In return, it's carried around the seafloor like a king.
Exciting times at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, home of the Meridian Line! It's 350 years old & needs a bit of a refurb, caring for the wonderful buildings & making them more accessible, easier to navigate & even more exciting. 2 yr project starts now! More here:
www.rmg.co.uk/royal-observ...
www.rmg.co.uk/royal-observ...
November 8, 2025 at 11:50 AM
Exciting times at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, home of the Meridian Line! It's 350 years old & needs a bit of a refurb, caring for the wonderful buildings & making them more accessible, easier to navigate & even more exciting. 2 yr project starts now! More here:
www.rmg.co.uk/royal-observ...
www.rmg.co.uk/royal-observ...
Rare Earth will be back on air soon & in preparation for a programme on Darwin, Wallace & evolution, I found this ace example of evolutionary adaptation. The plant C. argenteum makes seeds that look & smell like dung, so dung beetles roll them away, bury them, then lose interest. Free seed planting!
November 5, 2025 at 8:45 PM
Rare Earth will be back on air soon & in preparation for a programme on Darwin, Wallace & evolution, I found this ace example of evolutionary adaptation. The plant C. argenteum makes seeds that look & smell like dung, so dung beetles roll them away, bury them, then lose interest. Free seed planting!
Loved the Oscar Wilde quote read out at the start of Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction ceremony this evening:
“If you cannot write well, you cannot think well; if you cannot think well, others will do your thinking for you.”
Yay books!
(book in pic was in my goody bag, not the winner)
“If you cannot write well, you cannot think well; if you cannot think well, others will do your thinking for you.”
Yay books!
(book in pic was in my goody bag, not the winner)
November 4, 2025 at 11:46 PM
Loved the Oscar Wilde quote read out at the start of Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction ceremony this evening:
“If you cannot write well, you cannot think well; if you cannot think well, others will do your thinking for you.”
Yay books!
(book in pic was in my goody bag, not the winner)
“If you cannot write well, you cannot think well; if you cannot think well, others will do your thinking for you.”
Yay books!
(book in pic was in my goody bag, not the winner)
He wrote it pretty much at the peak of the problem, and it did take actual action after he wrote it to fix things, at least mostly. But we still have polluted cities today, just not nearly as bad (and see data for Delhi on this plot, so lessons were not universally applied).
October 31, 2025 at 1:34 PM
He wrote it pretty much at the peak of the problem, and it did take actual action after he wrote it to fix things, at least mostly. But we still have polluted cities today, just not nearly as bad (and see data for Delhi on this plot, so lessons were not universally applied).
Wow. I did not know that Alfred Russell Wallace (co-discoverer of evolution by natural selection) wrote a book in 1904 about the biological potential for life on other planets, and I've just found this extraordinary paragraph setting out the insanity of atmospheric pollution [1/3]. In 1904!
![But the sketch I have here attempted to give of its varied functions shows us that it is really a most complex structure, a wonderful piece of machinery, as[ 259] it were, which in its various component gases, its actions and reactions upon the water and the land, its production of electrical discharges, and its furnishing the elements from which the whole fabric of organic life is composed and perpetually renewed, may be truly considered to be the very source and foundation of life itself. This is seen, not only in the fact of our absolute dependence upon it every minute of our lives, but in the terrible effects produced by even a slight degree of impurity in this vital element. Yet it is among those nations that claim to be the most civilised, those that profess to be guided by a knowledge of the laws of nature, those that most glory in the advance of science, that we find the greatest apathy, the greatest recklessness, in continually rendering impure this all-important necessary of life, to such a degree that the health of the larger portion of their populations is injured and their vitality lowered, by conditions which compel them to breathe more or less foul and impure air for the greater part of their lives. The huge and ever-increasing cities, the vast manufacturing towns belching forth smoke and poisonous gases, with the crowded dwellings, where millions are forced to live under the most terrible insanitary conditions, are the witnesses to this criminal apathy, this incredible recklessness and inhumanity.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:2g72wvrmzdfakrjq56d3lddj/bafkreidgfp3g5erh7m3rdhzqvar2th65nqj72arwtpxrzak4yvtepmshba@jpeg)
October 31, 2025 at 1:20 PM
Wow. I did not know that Alfred Russell Wallace (co-discoverer of evolution by natural selection) wrote a book in 1904 about the biological potential for life on other planets, and I've just found this extraordinary paragraph setting out the insanity of atmospheric pollution [1/3]. In 1904!
If you need an injection of positivity, I strongly recommend watching Power Station, if it's on near you (screening list & trailer here: power.film/pages/screen...). It's a beautiful story of a community taking action to make their on electricity supply cleaner, greener and cheaper. Brilliant stuff.
October 31, 2025 at 12:01 PM
If you need an injection of positivity, I strongly recommend watching Power Station, if it's on near you (screening list & trailer here: power.film/pages/screen...). It's a beautiful story of a community taking action to make their on electricity supply cleaner, greener and cheaper. Brilliant stuff.
If you fancy a bit of ocean in your life this Friday, come to the Royal Festival Hall for this FREE talk on the ocean by Liz Bonnin & me, followed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra playing a whole evening of ocean music (that bit isn't free). Tickets & more info here: lpo.org.uk/event/harmon...
October 28, 2025 at 8:29 PM
If you fancy a bit of ocean in your life this Friday, come to the Royal Festival Hall for this FREE talk on the ocean by Liz Bonnin & me, followed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra playing a whole evening of ocean music (that bit isn't free). Tickets & more info here: lpo.org.uk/event/harmon...
Yay for small things that make the world better! Every time I see something like this (swimming goggles today) that used to be sold covered in unnecessary plastic and now has paper/cardboard packaging, it makes me so happy. Manufacturers, I *will* choose this. Keep going! Make a better world real!
October 26, 2025 at 3:00 PM
Yay for small things that make the world better! Every time I see something like this (swimming goggles today) that used to be sold covered in unnecessary plastic and now has paper/cardboard packaging, it makes me so happy. Manufacturers, I *will* choose this. Keep going! Make a better world real!
Today I am very much enjoying the range of sea creatures depicted in the 1539 Carta Marina (the "Marine map and description of the Northern lands"). We know now that the ocean has even more wonderful things in it (that really exist!), but I love the brave attempt at making a then-unknown world real.
October 23, 2025 at 1:12 PM
Today I am very much enjoying the range of sea creatures depicted in the 1539 Carta Marina (the "Marine map and description of the Northern lands"). We know now that the ocean has even more wonderful things in it (that really exist!), but I love the brave attempt at making a then-unknown world real.
Small afternoon rant: we need to stop talking about the ocean in terms of “secrets” & “mystery”. That tends to be an excuse for not actually looking at its wonderful (known) richness properly. It’s not a void… it’s a fascinating physical part of Planet Earth. We know a lot and we will know more! 🌊
October 16, 2025 at 3:53 PM
Small afternoon rant: we need to stop talking about the ocean in terms of “secrets” & “mystery”. That tends to be an excuse for not actually looking at its wonderful (known) richness properly. It’s not a void… it’s a fascinating physical part of Planet Earth. We know a lot and we will know more! 🌊
Takeaways after fab 2 days hosting at Everything Electric:
- vehicle-to-grid charging might FINALLY be here
- sodium-ion batteries are advancing quickly and could be made in the UK with local materials, reducing reliance on China for lithium.
- People want this. This was our biggest UK show yet🎉
- vehicle-to-grid charging might FINALLY be here
- sodium-ion batteries are advancing quickly and could be made in the UK with local materials, reducing reliance on China for lithium.
- People want this. This was our biggest UK show yet🎉
October 12, 2025 at 5:18 PM
Takeaways after fab 2 days hosting at Everything Electric:
- vehicle-to-grid charging might FINALLY be here
- sodium-ion batteries are advancing quickly and could be made in the UK with local materials, reducing reliance on China for lithium.
- People want this. This was our biggest UK show yet🎉
- vehicle-to-grid charging might FINALLY be here
- sodium-ion batteries are advancing quickly and could be made in the UK with local materials, reducing reliance on China for lithium.
- People want this. This was our biggest UK show yet🎉
It's been a brilliant first day here at Everything Electric in Farnborough... the tech to make your travel/home cleaner & greener is getting better and easier all the time. So much is on show here and available now. More tomorrow - do join us! uk.everythingelectric.show/south
October 11, 2025 at 5:37 PM
It's been a brilliant first day here at Everything Electric in Farnborough... the tech to make your travel/home cleaner & greener is getting better and easier all the time. So much is on show here and available now. More tomorrow - do join us! uk.everythingelectric.show/south
Although the heartwood of a tree technically is dead (the living bits are only the outside layers), that heartwood is what's holding the tree up. I've always thought it was a very strange phrase - heartwood is jolly useful. We make ships & houses & furniture out of it. And it holds trees up.
October 2, 2025 at 4:59 PM
Although the heartwood of a tree technically is dead (the living bits are only the outside layers), that heartwood is what's holding the tree up. I've always thought it was a very strange phrase - heartwood is jolly useful. We make ships & houses & furniture out of it. And it holds trees up.
On Oct 31st, the London Philharmonic Orchestra will be celebrating the ocean, and the ace @lizbonnin.bsky.social and I will be speaking on stage beforehand about all things ocean. Tickets are available here, if you'd like to join us and immerse yourself in our water world: lpo.org.uk/event/harmon...
October 2, 2025 at 10:47 AM
On Oct 31st, the London Philharmonic Orchestra will be celebrating the ocean, and the ace @lizbonnin.bsky.social and I will be speaking on stage beforehand about all things ocean. Tickets are available here, if you'd like to join us and immerse yourself in our water world: lpo.org.uk/event/harmon...
Fluorescent cycling jackets have dyes that absorb invisible ultraviolet (UV) light and re-emit visible light. This UV can pass through clouds & there's lots on a dull day. So the jacket gets a brightness boost. This is also what "optical brighteners" in laundry powder do (see pic). Also scorpions!
October 1, 2025 at 12:22 PM
Fluorescent cycling jackets have dyes that absorb invisible ultraviolet (UV) light and re-emit visible light. This UV can pass through clouds & there's lots on a dull day. So the jacket gets a brightness boost. This is also what "optical brighteners" in laundry powder do (see pic). Also scorpions!
A real treat today to see the original work of John Tyndall, all still kept at the Royal Institution. He demonstrated the greenhouse effect (using this kit) in 1859, during a very active scientific and mountaineering life.
September 30, 2025 at 7:21 PM
A real treat today to see the original work of John Tyndall, all still kept at the Royal Institution. He demonstrated the greenhouse effect (using this kit) in 1859, during a very active scientific and mountaineering life.
The first steam-powered passenger rail trip was on 27th Sept 1825 (200th bday is nuanced - regular passenger steam slightly later). Here's transport carbon footprint today - Eurostar easily cleanest cos fully electrified. I hope the next 200 yrs has even more (electric) trains! With lower prices...
September 27, 2025 at 2:08 PM
The first steam-powered passenger rail trip was on 27th Sept 1825 (200th bday is nuanced - regular passenger steam slightly later). Here's transport carbon footprint today - Eurostar easily cleanest cos fully electrified. I hope the next 200 yrs has even more (electric) trains! With lower prices...
It's a huge honour to receive the Athelstan Spilhaus Award from the AGU for public engagement. But it's particularly pleasing because the Spilhaus projection was the original UK hardback cover of Blue Machine, and still the best of them all. Kudos to @davidho.bsky.social for the original suggestion.
September 25, 2025 at 9:56 AM
It's a huge honour to receive the Athelstan Spilhaus Award from the AGU for public engagement. But it's particularly pleasing because the Spilhaus projection was the original UK hardback cover of Blue Machine, and still the best of them all. Kudos to @davidho.bsky.social for the original suggestion.
In this week's edition of Rare Earth on animal migration, @tomheap.bsky.social and I had a great time finding out about the incredible things we're learning as tech improves and what the future holds.
Available now on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts: www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
Available now on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts: www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
September 21, 2025 at 4:56 PM
In this week's edition of Rare Earth on animal migration, @tomheap.bsky.social and I had a great time finding out about the incredible things we're learning as tech improves and what the future holds.
Available now on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts: www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
Available now on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts: www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
If you're in London today (Sat 20th), don't miss the spectacle that is the Great River Race! This historic race is a fabulous way to see all sorts of traditional (from many traditions) boats - skiffs, coracles, gigs & more - race through central London. You can keep up here: greatriverrace.org.u...
September 20, 2025 at 11:05 AM
If you're in London today (Sat 20th), don't miss the spectacle that is the Great River Race! This historic race is a fabulous way to see all sorts of traditional (from many traditions) boats - skiffs, coracles, gigs & more - race through central London. You can keep up here: greatriverrace.org.u...
The Swedish translation of Blue Machine, published this week. It’s a beautiful hardback. Do share the news with any Swedish speaking friends who need the ocean in their life! And thank you to the Voice of the Ocean foundation for hosting me in Stockholm today.
September 17, 2025 at 11:15 AM
The Swedish translation of Blue Machine, published this week. It’s a beautiful hardback. Do share the news with any Swedish speaking friends who need the ocean in their life! And thank you to the Voice of the Ocean foundation for hosting me in Stockholm today.
I had a lovely morning (after the lost bag debacle) riding on a battery powered train during trials. The station rapid-charging tech is impressive (it reaches down from the train to a track-level charger). What else might the future of the railways hold? Listen to next week’s Rare Earth to find out.
September 16, 2025 at 5:02 PM
I had a lovely morning (after the lost bag debacle) riding on a battery powered train during trials. The station rapid-charging tech is impressive (it reaches down from the train to a track-level charger). What else might the future of the railways hold? Listen to next week’s Rare Earth to find out.
We've just recorded a Rare Earth on animal migration & this app is amazing. It's called Animal Tracker (www.icarus.mpg.de/29... ), and it's real time data on 100s of animals - birds, foxes, bison & more. Their tracks are fascinating, taking clear routes with intent. More to come next wk on the air!
September 10, 2025 at 7:18 PM
We've just recorded a Rare Earth on animal migration & this app is amazing. It's called Animal Tracker (www.icarus.mpg.de/29... ), and it's real time data on 100s of animals - birds, foxes, bison & more. Their tracks are fascinating, taking clear routes with intent. More to come next wk on the air!
No idea what’s going on, but isn’t the Mall in London amazing as a pedestrian street? A place for people, not metal boxes. More of this!
September 6, 2025 at 11:59 AM
No idea what’s going on, but isn’t the Mall in London amazing as a pedestrian street? A place for people, not metal boxes. More of this!