Ancient Malta Seafaring, Dementia Speed Training, and Maggie Adderin Pocock on Space

In this episode, New Scientist takes listeners from the ancient seas to modern science. First, a Malta discovery suggests Stone Age hunter-gatherers crossed open ocean channels to reach the island, implying sophisticated navigation and boat-building long before farming. The show then reports a groundbreaking 20-year randomized trial showing speed training can reduce dementia risk by 25 percent, a possible causal link previously suggested only by observational studies. Finally, space scientist Maggie Adderin Pocock talks about her memoir Starchild, her career from the Clangers to the James Webb Space Telescope, and her philosophy of dreaming big to drive scientific progress. The conversation links ancient navigation, cognitive science, and space exploration in a single episode.

Introduction

New Scientist delivers a multi-faceted exploration of science that spans archaeology, neuroscience, and space. The episode opens with人 discussions of how our ancestors navigated oceans and what that reveals about human cognition, then shifts to a landmark dementia study, and finally features an in-depth interview with Maggie Adderin Pocock about space, science communication, and her memoir.

Ancient Malta and the Oceans of the Stone Age

The program delves into new archaeological evidence from Malta, suggesting hunter-gatherers sailed across the Mediterranean from Sicily to reach the remote island. Malta's distance from Sicily, the near-impossibility of paddling there in daylight, and the need to navigate by stars frame a narrative in which Stone Age people demonstrated significant maritime skills long before farming took hold in the region.

The discussion highlights how archaeologists, led by Eleanor Sherry at the Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, excavated a sinkhole in northern Malta revealing hearth ash, stone tools, and animal bones dating to around 8,500 years ago. This implies deliberate seafaring and sustained coastal knowledge, challenging stereotypes about hunter-gatherers and underscoring their capabilities in craft, navigation, and planning.

Beyond Malta, the episode touches on broader questions of early watercraft: the oldest known boat, the Pesa Canoe from the Netherlands, about 10,000 years old, and evidence from Australia suggesting humans reached Sahul (Australia) up to 65,000 years ago. The hosts discuss how lower sea levels during ice ages could have connected landmasses, creating multiple seaways that required complex, planned journeys and perhaps even early trade between islands.

The conversation weaves in archaeoastronomy as a key thread—how night sky observations guided navigation and how such knowledge reflects the cognitive landscapes of our ancestors. The impact of these findings on our understanding of the ancient mind, cooperation, and courage to voyage beyond the horizon is a throughline of this segment.

Dementia and Speed Training: A 20-Year Randomized Trial

The show then shifts to Alexandra Thompson’s report on a long-awaited intervention against dementia. The study involved nearly 3,000 adults aged 65 and over, randomly assigned to three training programs or a control group. The interventions included speed training, memory training, and reasoning training, delivered as intensive sessions with booster courses in year one and beyond.

Twenty years later, researchers tracked dementia diagnoses via Medicare data and found that only the speed training group with booster sessions showed a 25% reduced risk of an Alzheimer's-type dementia compared with controls. Remarkably, neither memory training nor reasoning training produced a similar effect, making speed training the standout finding of the trial. The discussion emphasizes that this is the first large-scale randomized trial to measure dementia outcomes rather than proxy cognitive functions, addressing causality rather than mere correlation.

Experts discuss the potential mechanism: speed training relies on implicit learning, which appears to confer a long-lasting brain reserve that buffers against cognitive decline. The program also considers how social interaction and physical activity may interact with cognitive training, potentially amplifying benefits. The questions raised include whether a more prolonged or different dosing schedule might yield even larger effects and how to optimize such interventions for broad public health impact.

Maggie Adderin Pocock: Starchild, Space, and Science Outreach

The final segment centers on Maggie Adderin Pocock, a renowned space scientist and communicator. The interview covers her memoir Starchild, My Life Under the Night Sky, and touches on her extraordinary career spanning The Sky at Night, JWST, Gemini, and her efforts to inspire children and adults alike. Maggie discusses the power of having a dream, the role of perseverance, and how personal journey can translate into public engagement with science.

Key personal narratives include her experiences as a Black woman in physics at Imperial College London, her late discovery of dyslexia, and the realization that imperfection can coexist with high achievement. The conversation also explores Artemis and the Moon, the ethical and aesthetic questions about exploring space, and the balance between megastructures and preserving the Moon’s iconic role as a celestial mirror. Maggie speaks about the importance of diverse voices in science, the challenges of trust in science today, and how astronomy connects people to broader existential questions. Her philosophy of encouraging dreamers to pursue their passions, even if the path is uncertain, resonates with the show’s broader theme of curiosity and discovery.

Takeaways

• Archaeology reveals sophisticated ancient seafaring and navigational skills that challenge traditional views of hunter-gatherers.
• A long-term randomized trial demonstrates that speed training can modestly reduce dementia risk, underscoring the potential of implicit learning and cognitive reserve as protective factors.
• Space science storytelling, through Maggie Adderin Pocock, blends rigorous research with outreach that can inspire the next generation of explorers.