This week we’re finding out whether the magnetic poles flipping killed the Neanderthals, asking how a bird species could hide for 170 years, marvelling at a swarm of tiny robot bees, wondering how two species of sea slugs manage to lose their heads but keep their cool, having a disco party with some glowing sharks, and wishing a very Happy Mother’s Day to the world’s oldest bird mum.

If you find some fun science that you think deserves its place on the show, we'd love to hear from you! Get in touch with us at lockdownsciencepodcast@gmail.com and follow us on @LockdownScience on Twitter and @LockdownSciencePodcast on Instagram.

Bioluminescent sharks:

Mallefet et al. (2021): https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.633582

Insect drones:

YuFeng Chen et al. (2021): https://doi.org/10.1109/TRO.2021.3053647 & video: https://news.mit.edu/2021/researchers-introduce-new-generation-tiny-agile-drones-0302

Black-browed babbler:

Akbar et al. (2020): https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5c1a9e03f407b482a158da87/t/6034c09a3440914018d3c306/1614071211606/Black-browed-Babbler.pdf

Adams Transitional Geomagnetic Event:

Cooper, Turney et al. (2021): https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abb8677

Autotomising sea slugs:

Mitoh and Yusa (2021): https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2021.01.014

The Brilliant Abyss:

Helen Scales: https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/the-brilliant-abyss-9781472966865/