Episodes
Episode | Title | First Broadcast | Comments |
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20060406 | |||
20060413 | |||
Alarming Decline in West African Chimpanzees | 20081016 | Alarming Decline in West African Chimpanzees
Invisible Islands
Efficient Electricity
Space Junk
Routes Out of Africa
Geoff Watts discovers whether the chimps can be saved from extinction. Geoff Watts explores the world of science and the people, passions and policies behind it | |
Altering the Climate and The Mary Rose | 20080228 | Grow your own Climate
Hair Today, Jail Tomorrow
Space Junk
The Mary Rose
Microscopic Engineering
Could analysing the particles inside raindrops allow us to alter the weather? Geoff Watts explores the world of science and the people, passions and policies behind it | |
Anamorphic Art and Genes That Make You Eat More | 20081211 | Anamorphic Art
Genes That Make You Eat More
Melting Ice May Cool the Planet
The future of the Orang-utan
Geoff Watts discusses art and maths of anamorphosis. Geoff Watts explores the world of science and the people, passions and policies behind it | |
Anthropology And Environment | 20090917 | Geoff Watts talks to anthropologist Prof Tim Ingold, who has lived with reindeer herders in Lapland, and is now working with artists and designers to discover how to live truly sustainable lives. According to Ingold, design can change our relationship with our environment. Central to understanding that relationship, he says, is anthropology. He lived for several years with reindeer herders in Lapland, studying their relationship with animals and nature. Fascinated by how people make their place in their environment, he then worked with artists, architects and even hillwalkers to study how they learned through their daily activities, improvising along the way. This led to his rather curious latest passion, lines - the lines we draw, the paths we walk, the threads we weave, and even the storylines we tell. Ingold has just launched a new project in Glasgow called Designing Environments for Life. This brings together anthropologists, architects, artists and designers to bridge the gap between our familiar everyday environments and the abstract 'environment' of government-speak and global warming messages. If they can convince us that they are one and the same, we might manage a more sustainable life. Joining Geoff in the studio is another person who is passionate about the design and anthropology of the urban environment. Prof Gloria Laycock is director of the Jill Dando Institute of Crime Science at UCL, where she is concerned not so much with solving crime but with preventing it in the first place. Through an understanding of human behaviour, she says, designers and architects can reduce crime and make the urban environment a safer place. Geoff Watts reveals how anthropology can change the relationship with our environment. Geoff Watts explores the world of science and the people, passions and policies behind it | |
Astronomical Discoveries and Future Space Exploration | 20091119 | 2009 has been the International Year of Astronomy. It comes, says astronomer-historian Dr Paul Murdin, at the climax of the best century astronomers are ever likely to have; a period of exploration in which we have had our first look through many new windows on the Universe and our first close-up encounters with other planets. There is plenty left to do, he tells Geoff Watts, but never again can we have that exciting first view.
Our telescopes can see back to the dawn of the Universe, but in terms of space exploration, we've hardly stepped out of the door. In a year's time, the US Space Shuttle is due to be retired from service, leaving NASA without its own rocket that can launch humans and supply the International Space Station. Geoff hears how the space agency is turning to the private sector to design and build its launch vehicles and what that implies for a return to the Moon and exploration beyond, to Mars.
Plus news from the past and present of forensic science, in fiction and reality. Sherlock Holmes was arguably the first fictional character to make use of forensic science, but what techniques were available to him and how accurately did Sir Arthur Conan Doyle portray them? Today, TV series such as Silent Witness and Waking the Dead are built on forensic science. How do they compare to the realities of moden techniques?
Geoff Watts looks back on great astronomical discoveries and future space exploration. Geoff Watts explores the world of science and the people, passions and policies behind it | |
Attitudes to Darwin | 20090604 | Geoff Watts examines attitudes to Darwin and his theory of evolution, both during his own time and now. Even today, 150 years after it was first published, Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection arouses passions. Indeed, for some it seems just as controversial now as it was in Victorian times.
Geoff is joined by Dr Eugenie Scott, Director of the US National Center for Science Education, which has challenged attempts to teach creationism in American schools, and by Dr Denis Alexander, Director of the Faraday Institute for Science and Religion in Cambridge. He is co-author of a recent report in which he seeks to 'rescue Darwin' from the crossfire between atheists and creationists.
Dame Gillian Beer, Emeritus Professor of English Literature at the University of Cambridge and author of Darwin's Plots: Evolutionary Narrative in Darwin, George Eliot and Nineteenth-Century Fiction, describes how Darwin's own cautious attitude to human evolution and the value of religion changed over the years.
Plus a report from a Darwin exhibition in Turkey and a creationist museum in the USA, highlighting the front line in the battle for public acceptance between evolutionary science and creationist religion.
Geoff Watts investigates attitudes to evolution. Geoff Watts explores the world of science and the people, passions and policies behind it | |
Brain Pathway And Obesity | 20081002 | Brain Pathway and Obesity New ideas on how to treat the global epidemic of obesity and diabetes are desperately needed. Dr Dongsheng Cai of the University of Wisconcin is attracting interest with his recent paper published in Cell. In it he describes how a signalling pathway in the brain which controls the bodies immune system can also be activated by eating too much. Nobel Prize 2008 Whether it's Hollywood Oscars or the church fete cake-baking competition, we all love awards. In fact there's only one thing we love more: criticising the judges' decisions. Nobel Prizes are, of course, no exception. Roland Pease of the BBC Radio Science Unit anticipates this year's results. Tongan Tsunami Boulders It has always been a puzzle how to account for the presence of a number of gigantic boulders lying a short way inland on the otherwise flat Western shore of the Pacific island of Tonga. Geoscientist Cliff Frohlich and his colleagues have been to Tonga to see if they can solve the mystery. Song of the Whale Beaked whales can be found around the Canary Islands, and in particular the most southerly, called El Hierro. Not much is known about this particular whale family - but a group of scientists on a research vessel operated by the International Fund for Animal Welfare is aiming to put that right. BBC environment correspondent Richard Black is spending a week with them. Sleight of Hand There is a well known psychological phenomenon where people can be tricked into believing a rubber hand is their own. But now Professor Charles Spence of Oxford University has taken the illusion one step further. Geoff Watts reports on new ideas on how to treat the global epidemic of obesity. Geoff Watts explores the world of science and the people, passions and policies behind it | |
Can Science Be Creative? | 20090611 | Can scientific research be creative and how can funding agencies ensure that it is? Geoff Watts asks Professor David Delpy, head of the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, what he is doing to stimulate and recognise original, innovative research. Professor Delpy also describes his own career path, from inventing the anti-cancer bra to leading a 800 million pound-per-year agency. Is science open to new ideas, or does the peer review process only fund and publish work that supports the status quo and the vested interests of the reviewers? Geoff meets Don Braben, a visiting lecturer at UCL and former science impresario, who thinks that a percentage of the nation's science budget should go to supporting 'blue skies' research that is not focused on any recognised goal. He sees scientific freedom as a basic human need. Geoff also meets writer and inventor Anne Miller, who has published a book on 'how to get your ideas adopted (and change the world)'. It is something she is clearly quite good at herself, with 39 patents to her name and a claim to be Britain's most prolific female inventor. But what's the secret? How can scientists and inventors become more creative? The programme also features creativity and innovation from the past, as Geoff heads to the Science Museum in London to sample their Centenary Journey trail around the 10 exhibits proposed by curators as the most iconic exhibits in the museum. Visitors and listeners can vote for their choice at the museum or on its website. Geoff Watts asks if science can be creative. Geoff Watts explores the world of science and the people, passions and policies behind it | |
Childhood Stress | 20090129 | The Effects of Childhood Stress on the Immune System
Genes and Social Networks
The Aurora Borealis
Fifty Years of Pheromones
Battlefield Archaeology
Geoff Watts reports on the effects of childhood stress on the immune system. Geoff Watts explores the world of science and the people, passions and policies behind it | |
China\u2019s Space Industry and Intelligent Cars | 20071025 | China in Space
Can We Save Kyoto?
Intelligent Cars
Geoff Watts asks whether space-faring nations could mine the Moon for precious resources. Geoff Watts explores the world of science and the people, passions and policies behind it | |
Climate Change and Himalayan Stargazing | 20070329 | A Whole New Climate
A Mammal Family Tree
Himalayan Stargazing
New Ideas for New Stars
A History of Plate Tectonics
Geoff Watts reports on new research on climate change. Geoff Watts explores the world of science and the people, passions and policies behind it | |
Cloning Adult Primates and Brain Boosting Drugs | 20071115 | Human Cloning - A Step Closer?
I, Cockroach
Botox for the Brain
Half an Eye for an Eye
Grumpy Google
Are we a step closer to human cloning? Geoff Watts explores the world of science and the people, passions and policies behind it | |
Cooking and Human Evolution | 20091112 | Geoff Watts follows an archaeological theme, beginning at a critical stage of human evolution about 1.9 million years ago. Our ancestors then were unlike any other ape. Not only were they walking upright, but their mouths and teeth were smaller and their digestive tracts shorter - just like modern humans. Harvard anthropologist Richard Wrangham thinks that was possible because of cooking. Cooked food is easier to chew and digest, freeing up time for other activities, and requiring patience, ingenuity and division of labour around the cooking fire.
Another revolution occurred a mere 10,000 years ago, with the Neolithic revolution and the dawn of settled agriculture. Dr Tamsin O'Connell of Cambridge University describes how the change of diet left its traces in bones and how she can distinguish between diets based around different crops, meat or seafood.
Archaeologists are now exploring the oldest Atlantis - a Mycenaean city submerged beneath the Mediterranean. The ruins of Pavlopetri were discovered off the Greek coast in 1967, but now Dr Jon Henderson of Nottingham University is surveying them for the first time and has shown that they date back almost 5,000 years, through the Bronze Age and into the Neolithic.
The underwater search continues almost to modern times, with the quest to trace the lost ships of Sir John Franklin's ill-fated 1845 expedition to the frozen waters of the North West Passage. Robert Grenier of Parks Canada is leading the search, and meets Geoff at an exhibition about the North West Passage at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich.
Geoff Watts dives into underwater archaeology and how cooking transformed human evolution. Geoff Watts explores the world of science and the people, passions and policies behind it | |
Corals in Danger and Avian Flu | 20080710 | Geoff Watts looks at the top science stories of the week, with science writer Gabrielle Walker.
Corals in Danger
Avian Flu
Birdman of Bognor
International Year of the Potato
Geoff Watts reports on the state of the world's corals, now sadly under serious threat. Geoff Watts explores the world of science and the people, passions and policies behind it | |
Darwin's Sacred Cause | 20090122 | 2009 is the bicentenary of the greatest biologist of all time, Charles Darwin. To celebrate, Jim Moore, professor of the history of science at the Open University, and Adrian Desmond of University College, London, have written a new book, Darwin's Sacred Cause. It challenges the conventional view of the man, saying that the motivation for his theory of evolution was his strong anti-slavery beliefs. Darwin's Sacred Cause is published on the 29th of January by Penguin A Guide to Darwinalia Science writer and broadcaster Adam Rutherford, is slightly bemused about the current glut of Darwinalia - but he also has some sound advice! Mobile Diagnosis That familiar cry of the mobile phone user - `I'm on the train!` - might one day be replaced by another: `I've got the sample`. Scientists in California are developing a phone to help with the diagnosis of disease. It would be faster and cheaper than sending a test tube off to a lab. Leading Edge reporter Jon Stewart went to the University of California to meet Professor Aydogan Ozcan. Medicine at the Gallop The University of Glasgow Equine Hospital is the first in the UK to look inside a horse as it gallops at full speed. Many horses suffer from breathing problems and a new diagnostic technique allows vets to see inside the horses as they are exercising, leading to better diagnosis and treatment. Geoff Watts talks to the authors of a new book marking the bicentenary of Charles Darwin. Geoff Watts explores the world of science and the people, passions and policies behind it | |
DNA diversity and the AAAS | 20080221 | DNA diversity
AAAS
Earth-like planets
Tracking baseball players
Sharks in Antarctica
Memory and predicting the future
Geoff Watts reports from the American Association of the Advancement of Science. Geoff Watts explores the world of science and the people, passions and policies behind it | |
Ecstasy: The A to B of drugs | 20090212 | Ecstasy: The A to B of drugs
Origins and Futures: Science in the United States
Calculating Love | |
Endurance-enhancing Drugs | 20080731 | Geoff Watts looks at the top science stories of the week, with Roger Highfield, science editor of the Daily Telegraph.
Endurance-enhancing Drugs
Where Next for NASA?
Recognising Faces
Darwinian Architecture
Alcoholic Tree Shrews
Scientists have created what they believe is the world's first endurance-enhancing drug. Geoff Watts explores the world of science and the people, passions and policies behind it | |
Euro 2008 And What To Do About Whales | 20080626 | Geoff Watts looks at the top science stories of the week with Daily Telegraph science editor, Roger Highfield. Spot the Ball Free kicks and corners in Euro 2008 may have been hampered by the new football designed for this year's tournament. Tiny pimples have been introduced across the ball's surface. According to theoretical physicist Ken Bray, they have made its aerodynamics `too good`, causing headaches for goalkeepers and strikers alike. What to do about Whales The growing threat to whale species is being discussed in Chile this week at the International Whaling Commission. It's not only hunting that's causing their numbers to dwindle. Whales are caught in fishing nets, hit by ships and affected by climate change and over-fishing. New diseases are also springing up, such as stinky whale' syndrome. BBC Environment correspondent Richard Black reports from the meeting. Antarctic Sealife Whales, penguins and seals are normally what you'd expect to find in the Antarctic. But, as Gabrielle Walker found out, giant clams and ugly worms are far more abundant in the sea. She ventures out with the British Antarctic Survey on a dive near Rothera Research Station. Four-legged Fish How did fish evolve to survive on land? A paper published in the journal Nature this week describes a new creature, Ventastega which may help plug an evolutionary gap in our knowledge. The size and shape of an alligator, it had a fish-like tail and four legs each containing around nine toes. Geoff Watts talks to Swedish palaeontologist Per Ahlberg who discovered this fishy beast. ERNIE - the First Computer Celebrity ERNIE, the 50 year old random number generator, has just gone on show at the Science Museum in London. It produced numbers for the national Premium Bonds draw, launched by Harold Macmillan, then Chancellor of the Exchequer, in November 1956. The first numbers were drawn the following June by ERNIE, a first generation 'computer' the size of a transit van. Geoff meets one of the original engineers, Jack Armitage and museum curator Tilly Blythe, who has collected cards and poems sent to ERNIE by the British public. Euro 2008 may have been affected by the new football designed for the tournament. Geoff Watts explores the world of science and the people, passions and policies behind it | |
Europe\u2019s First Mission to the Moon and Bio-Fuels | 20071206 | Bird-Brained Singing Lessons
Super SMART-1
Bio-Fuelled Con
The Learning Brain
Will bio-fuels will save us from global warming? Geoff Watts explores the world of science and the people, passions and policies behind it | |
European Space Research | 20081120 | European Space Research
Stem Cells and Bioengineering
The Worlds First Nuclear Family
Forensic Tattoos
Geoff Watts talks to UK Science minister Lord Drayson. Geoff Watts explores the world of science and the people, passions and policies behind it | |
Extreme Polar Environments | 20091008 | Geoff Watts investigates life in extreme polar environments and the perils facing scientists who study it.
In polar regions, life hangs by a thread. It's hard enough for the scientists studying it, braving the cold and ice, not to mention bears and giant mosquitoes in Arctic regions. For the organisms that live there all the year round without heating or protective clothing, extreme strategies are essential.
Dr Pete Convey, of the British Antarctic Survey, introduces Geoff to tardigrades, tiny creatures resembling six-legged teddy bears the size of a full stop. They can dry to a husk or freeze in liquid nitrogen. But a drop of liquid water and they pop back to life and walk away.
Geoff also hears from Antarctica, where the biggest land creatures could hide behind the letters of this text; from Austria, where beetles follow in the path of a retreating glacier; and from Alaska, where the permafrost is thawing and tundra-surfing could become a new sport.
Geoff Watts meets the scientists who study polar life in freezing conditions. Geoff Watts explores the world of science and the people, passions and policies behind it | |
Face Recognition in Chimps | 20081218 | Face Recognition in Chimps
Pedigree genetics
Hobby-Eberley Telescope
Dinosaur Extinction
Chimps share our ability to recognise faces. But what\u2019s going on in their brains? Geoff Watts explores the world of science and the people, passions and policies behind it | |
Flood Prediction and The AD 365 Tsunami | 20080313 | Flood Prediction
The AD 365 Tsunami
Horse Hydrotherapy
NASA Future
Monkey Talk
What degree of flooding can we expect in future summers and winters? Geoff Watts explores the world of science and the people, passions and policies behind it | |
Funding Research | 20091001 | If two unknown young scientists came to the funding agencies today and said they wanted to try building wire models of molecules, would they get support? Unlikely perhaps, but in 1952, the young Crick and Watson were supported for just that and, as everyone knows, they went on to discover the secret of life: the structure of DNA.
Today, the chief executive of Britain's Medical Research Council is Sir Leszek Botysiewicz, and he tells Geoff Watts about his prorities for funding basic research. They discuss if there is a place among all the urgent needs of clinical medicine for fundamental research that may not bear practical fruit for decades. Roger Highfield, editor of New Scientist, joins the discussion.
Geoff hears an example of promising current research from Jackie Maybin from Edinburgh University, who is studying how the lining of the womb repairs itself every month and how that healing power might be applied to other injuries. She also knows how to communicate her research, having just won the MRC's Max Perutz Award for science writing.
And Geoff visits a new Life Sciences teaching museum at King's College, London where Jill Sales shows him how pickled specimens and bones can inform students.
Geoff Watts investigates the methods and motivations behind basic medical research. Geoff Watts explores the world of science and the people, passions and policies behind it | |
Funding Science in the Recession | 20090205 | Funding Science to Escape the Recession
Diary of a Teenage Scientist
Bert the Humanoid Robot
Cancer Connections
Is Britain Getting Worse at Maths?
Can funding science help the recession? Geoff Watts explores the world of science and the people, passions and policies behind it | |
Humans and Robots | 20091022 | Geoff Watts meets robotics expert Professor Noel Sharkey and explores the relationship between humans and robots - past, present and future.
One day in the early 1940s, a boy playing in the basement of his house discovered a robot; it became his secret playmate. A few years later the robot disappeared, and they didn't meet again for 50 years. The robot, called Elektro, was built by Westinghouse corporation in 1937. Over two metres tall, it was remarkably advanced for the time. Although he was actually intended as a PR stunt, he was designed by some of the finest engineers of the time and represented the forefront of technology. Elektro rapidly became a superstar, and received a rapturous welcome at the New York World's Fair in 1939. For a couple of years he lived the high life - then everything changed.
When war came he was packed away and ended up in a basement where the boy found him. After the war, he (the robot that is) fell in with the wrong people and ended up playing a randy robot called Thinko in a 1960 porn movie. After that he disappeared, only to be rediscovered recently by the man, now in his 70s, who had played with it as a child.
Robots are now taking on new tasks beyond assembly lines and science fiction films. Can robot nannies look after our child care and befriend the elderly? Should they be left in charge of our weapons systems?
The programme also includes a report from the University of Hertfordshire on robot-human interractions. How can robots be made more personable so that, for example, they don't invade our personal space? Might they help to teach social skills to autistic children who cannot relate to other people?
Geoff Watts explores the relationship between humans and robots. Geoff Watts explores the world of science and the people, passions and policies behind it | |
Hydrogen Biofuels | 20080410 | Hydrogen biofuels
Super strong squid beaks
The brain circuitry in drug addiction
Phoenix on Mars
Geoff Watts examines a revolutionary process for converting plant sugars into hydrogen. Geoff Watts explores the world of science and the people, passions and policies behind it | |
Inside the Mind of Paedophiles and Venus Express Results | 20071129 | On this week's programme - studying the brains of paedophiles, using ultrasound in the operating theatre, results from the Venus Express spacecraft and why meditation makes you happier.
Venus Express Results
Inside the Mind of Paedophiles
Ultrasound and Bloodless Surgery
Meditation and the Brain
Geoff Watts reports on studying the brains of paedophiles. Geoff Watts explores the world of science and the people, passions and policies behind it | |
Insulin and Old Age | 20080320 | Insulin and Old Age
Arthur C Clarke
Extinctions on Earth
Artificial Muscle
Bat Navigation
Geoff Watts reports on an important new effect that insulin has on the body. Geoff Watts explores the world of science and the people, passions and policies behind it | |
Larynx Transplant and The First Fish Embryo | 20090226 | Larynx Transplant
First Fish Embryo
Location, Location
Understanding Cruelty
Geoff Watts discusses the future of the larynx transplant procedure. Geoff Watts explores the world of science and the people, passions and policies behind it | |
Life\u2019s Building Blocks - From the Stars | 20080619 | Life's Building Blocks - From the Stars
Science Book Prize
Robot Language Teachers
ASTRONET
Does life on Earth have an extraterrestrial origin? Geoff Watts explores the world of science and the people, passions and policies behind it | |
Lord Martin Rees | 20090625 | Geoff Watts meets Lord Martin Rees, Astronomer Royal and President of the Royal Society, who shares his perspective on how he has adapted to the role and the influence it can have on the international stage.
Lord Rees discusses the role that science academies have in setting international standards for things like carbon emissions, nuclear test bans, the protection of wilderness areas such as Antarctica and the freedom of scientists to travel and communicate across political boundaries.
The Royal Society, which celebrates its 350th birthday in 2010, is the nation's science academy, rewarding those it sees as the greatest living scientists with fellowships as well as giving out research grants, holding meetings and publishing journals. Increasingly, it is issuing statements of opinion, often of its President, on science-based political issues such as climate change, GM food or sustainable energy.
Geoff Watts meets Lord Martin Rees, Astronomer Royal and President of the Royal Society. Geoff Watts explores the world of science and the people, passions and policies behind it | |
Lord May and Insect Art | 20090903 | Geoff Watts meets Lord May, President of the British Science Association, who has held many of the most senior scientific offices in the land, having been government chief science advisor and President of the Royal Society. Never afraid of speaking his mind - perhaps a product of his Australian upbringing - Bob May famously accused President George W Bush of being a modern-day Nero over climate change.
His address at this year's Science Festival in Guildford will focus on his own subject of population biology and the apparent problem of natural selection; why do we do things for the common good when 'survival of the fittest' is a key principle of evolutionary theory?
Also, insect art comes to London's South Bank in a 'Pestival' of the amazing, inventive and sometimes artistic world of six-legged creatures.
Geoff Watts meets Lord May, President of the British Science Association. Geoff Watts explores the world of science and the people, passions and policies behind it | |
Lusi Eruption And Selective Memory | 20081023 | Lusi Eruption What caused the devastating mud volcano in East Java, in October 2006? Geoff speaks to geologists Adriano Mazzini and Richard Davies at the Geological Society in London. Selective Memory All of us have some memories we'd prefer to wipe out. And now, it seems, we have the first evidence that this may be a realistic hope. Brain scientist Dr Joe Tsien tells Geoff demonstrates that the selective erasure of specific memories is possible. Phoenix Mars Lander Oxford University astronomer Chris Lintott reflects on the high and lows, the satisfactions and frustrations of interplanetary exploration by remote control. Fossil Forest Researchers have recently been studying some spectacular ancient forests found in the coal mines of Illinois. Professor Scott Elrick of Illinois State Geological Survey took our reporter Andrew Luck-Baker to see what has remained hidden for millions of years. Defining Sweet Music Geoff visits Cambridge University, where musician and researcher Claudia Fritz is trying to define what makes one violin sound different to another. Geoff Watts explores the world of science and the people, passions and policies behind it | |
Mars Mission | 20080612 | Mars Mission Update
As Old as Methuselah
Wine and Climate Change
Including a report on how the wine industry is coping with climate change. Geoff Watts explores the world of science and the people, passions and policies behind it | |
Martian Rocks, Kidney Stones and Climate Change | 20080717 | Geoff Watts looks at the top science stories of the week, with James Randerson, science correspondent at the Guardian.
Martian Rocks
Kidney Stones and Climate Change
Building the pyramids
OCD
Geoff Watts reports on a planned mission to collect the first rock samples from Mars. Geoff Watts explores the world of science and the people, passions and policies behind it | |
Meteorite Hunters and the Comedy of Change | 20091105 | The oldest rocks on Earth are aliens! They are the left-over building rubble from the formation of the solar system and can be dated to an incredible 4,568 million years old. A surprising number fall to Earth each year as meteorites.
November 5th is probably the worst night of the year for spotting incandescent rocks streaking through the sky, but tracking down a fresh meteorite, before it gets contaminated by terrestrial chemicals, is the ultimate prize for the hunters. A rare few carry complex carbon compounds - perhaps remnants of the material out of which the first life on Earth formed.
Geoff Watts hears from meteorite hunters who scour the deserts of Arizona and Australia and the ice of Canada and Antarctica to seek out extra-terrestrial rocks and meets those who analyse them, using traces of rare elements to track their history and reveal their origins.
Also in the programe, how evolution and the behaviour of birds inspired a new ballet. Cambridge Professor of Evolutionary Psychology - and tango enthusiast - Nicky Clayton and Rambert Dance Company artistic director Mark Baldwin describe the creation of the Comedy of Change.
Plus the winner of the Wellcome Trust Book Prize and the Science Museum's Centenary Icon.
Geoff Watts meets meteorite hunters tracking down the birth of planets. Geoff Watts explores the world of science and the people, passions and policies behind it | |
Mind Reading Machine and Hunting the Hosts of HIV | 20080306 | Mind reading machine
Hunting the hosts of HIV
Optical clock
Conquering the queues
Bach to the Future
A machine that can read your mind has just moved one step closer. Geoff Watts explores the world of science and the people, passions and policies behind it | |
Music and the Mind | 20090924 | Violinist and music psychologist Paul Robertson tells Geoff Watts about his lifelong journey to find out why humans have always been a musical species, a quest that has introduced him to neuroscientists and therapists as well as musicians, and taken him from concert hall to brain scanner.
Musicality, he believes, is more than a form of 'brain candy', an accidental side effect of our biological evolution. Perhaps it is central to highly-prized human capacities such as verbal and emotional communication, abstract and symbolic representation, memory and even identity.
Geoff hears, from discussion and performance, how music transforms the life of gifted autistic musicians and can play a key role in mental development from womb to grave. And how music helped Paul Robertson through a coma and severe illness while preparing the first performance of a new work by Sir John Tavener which describes in music the process of a peaceful death.
Geoff Watts traces a musical map of the mind. Geoff Watts explores the world of science and the people, passions and policies behind it | |
Nobel Prizes For Science 2008 | 20081009 | The Nobel prizes for Medicine, Physics and Chemistry were all announced this week. Geoff reviews the winners and asks whether there were any losers. Conservation of Jargon? The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) World Conservation Congress is taking place this week in Barcelona. Over 8000 delegates are attending. BBC environment correspondent Richard Black argues that their important message would be clearer if they used less jargon. Quantum Cryptography Perfect secrecy has come a step closer with the launch of the world's first computer network protected by unbreakable quantum encryption. The network was demonstrated at a scientific conference in Vienna and connects six locations across the city and in the nearby town of St Polten. Roland Pease was there. Conserving the Cutty Sark In May 2007 a fire broke out in the Cutty Sark leading to fears that she could not be saved. Now nearly 18 months later Geoff goes to see how the conservation of the ship is progressing. A report on the winners of this years Nobel prizes for Medicine, Physics and Chemistry. Geoff Watts explores the world of science and the people, passions and policies behind it | |
Nuclear Power, Science and Politics and Near Death Experience | 20090305 | Nuclear Power
Science Friction
Heart Disease
Near Death Experience
Is the nuclear power option sustainable? Geoff Watts explores the world of science and the people, passions and policies behind it | |
Nuclear Weapons Testing | 20091029 | The human race's brief relationship with element 92, uranium, has been a tempestuous one, from Nazi research and Hiroshima to Iran and North Korea. Geoff Watts opens secret archives and hears the science behind the fragile peace that has held since 1946.
He begins by talking with Amir Aczel of Boston University, author of Uranium Wars, which examines the early history of research into the element. Dr Aczel once met pioneering physicist Werner Heisenberg and has spent many hours reading letters and archives of the pioneering days of atomic physics.
Though not used against people as a bomb since 1946, uranium hit the headlines again during the first Gulf War, when it was used in armour-piercing shells due to its high density. Professor Simon Wessely, Director of the Centre for Military Health Research at King's College, London tells Geoff about the consequences and about his theory for the cause of Gulf War Syndrome.
With a few notable exceptions, including North Korea, India and Pakistan, most of the major nations have signed the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. Most of those, with exceptions such as the USA, China and Iran, have ratified the treaty, agreeing not to let off a nuclear explosion anywhere on or within the Earth. But how can scientists tell if the treaty has been broken?
Geoff Watts investigates the shady world of nuclear weapons testing and asks how UN inspectors can tell if there has been an illegal underground test. He hears about major exercises in Kazakhstan and Slovakia to see just what the inspectors are able to find out.
Geoff Watts finds out how scientists investigate nuclear test ban treaty violations. Geoff Watts explores the world of science and the people, passions and policies behind it | |
Obesity Gene And Ear Protectors | 20071108 | Obesity Gene Scientists have gained new understandings of the gene which triggers weight gain in some people. Geoff speaks to Chris Schofield and Stephen O'Rahilly about their research which could help find ways of tackling obesity and related illnesses. Ear Protectors Why can you shout without making yourself go deaf? Now biologists are experimenting on crickets to find out. Molly Bentley reports from the Society for Neuroscience Conference. Volcano Rising The `supervolcano` in Yellowstone's National Park is rising faster than ever before. Robert Smith at the University of Utah has been tracking the ground to keep an eye on the movement of the magma. A Cracking Idea? Are artists stealing the limelight from engineers? Mark Miodownik of King's College London, visits the 167m crack at the Tate Modern to call engineers to arms. Geoff Watts reports on new understandings of the gene which can trigger weight gain. Geoff Watts explores the world of science and the people, passions and policies behind it | |
On the Origin of the Species | 20091126 | Geoff Watts examines the impact of Darwin's On The Origin of Species on science, society and religion, then and now, on the 150th anniversary of its publication.
To mark the occasion for the final edition of Leading Edge, he visits 50 Albermarle Street in London, the home and office of Darwin's publisher, John Murray. There he meets another John Murray, direct descendent, and Randall Keynes, great great grandson of Charles Darwin, who tell him the circumstances of publication.
He also meets relatives of the fancy pigeons kept and bred by Darwin to demonstrate the unnatural selection of characteristics desired by humans. Pigeon breeder John Ross describes how Darwin showed they were all descended from the humble rock dove.
One of the mysteries that Darwin did not solve was the origin of life. Dr Graham Cairns-Smith of Glasgow University descibes how he thinks natural selection was at work even there to enable inorganic chemicals and crystals to evolve as precursors of the complex biochemical systems we see today.
A simple understanding of natural selection might suggest that a few vigorous weeds would dominate plant habitats, but instead you get flowery meadows with rich diversity. Professor Jonathan Silvertown of the Open University has shown how plants adapt differently to tiny variations in local conditions, which is why there can be 40 species in an English meadow and how about 30 ancestral types in the Cape Province of South Africa have evolved into 4,500 species.
Professor EO Wilson of Harvard University is one of the world's leading evolutionary biologists. He assesses Darwin's legacy and how it is leading towards a new unification between reductionist and ecological approaches to biology.
Geoff Watts looks back on the 150 years since Darwin's Origin of Species was published. Geoff Watts explores the world of science and the people, passions and policies behind it | |
Physics in Crisis? | 20080724 | Geoff Watts looks at the top science stories of the week, with Jonathan Amos, assistant editor of science and nature for bbc.co.uk.
Physics in Crisis?
The Scare Factor
Detecting Explosives
Geoff Watts talks to particle physicist Professor Brian Cox. Geoff Watts explores the world of science and the people, passions and policies behind it | |
Polar Bears and Britain's Carbon Footprint | 20071213 | Bear facts
Teeth the size of bananas
Carbon capture
Silicon minds
The promise of technology
Work that gene
A report on the discovery of a polar bear jaw bone, older than any previously discovered. Geoff Watts explores the world of science and the people, passions and policies behind it | |
Predicting Hurricane Intensity, Robots with Emotions and the UK\u2019s First Cold Temperature Facility | 20070301 | Eye of the Storm
I-Robot
Champagne Supernova
It's Freezing in Bristol
Secrets of the Stradivari
Geoff Watts visits the UK's first low temperature experimental facility in Bristol. Geoff Watts explores the world of science and the people, passions and policies behind it | |
Professor John Beddington | 20090521 | Geoff Watts with the latest stories from the world of science. He is joined by the government's Chief Scientific Advisor, Professor John Beddington, whose background is in population biology, specialising in fish populations and the effects of fisheries on them.
That knowledge has helped Professor Beddington in understanding the economics and sustainable management of renewable resources more generally, equipping him to advise on many of the big scientific issues of our time, from fisheries and food to energy and climate change.
Professor Beddington is concerned that rising demand for food, water and energy will coincide with depleted resources and global change to produce the conditions for what he calls a 'perfect storm' - a global crisis that could strike by the year 2030. We need to use science and technology to put measures in place now, he says, if we are going to avoid global shortages of food, water and energy in 20 years time. If we do nothing, shortages and price rises will coincide with droughts, storms and rising sea level, leading to famines, migration and instability.
Last year, Cambridge physics professor David MacKay paid to publish the book he had written on sustainable energy. But bit by bit, the momentum grew. First it was spotted by the writers of blogs, then by the regular media. In the book, MacKay concentrates on the facts and figures, showing the impact of different energy strategies and the futility of some at addressing climate change.
Writer and broadcaster Gabrielle Walker reviews the book and then discusses it with David MacKay and John Beddington.
Geoff Watts is joined by the government's Chief Scientific Advisor, Prof John Beddington. Geoff Watts explores the world of science and the people, passions and policies behind it | |
Public Engagement with Science | 20090702 | As international science journalists meet in London for the sixth World Congress of Science Journalists, Geoff Watts examines progress towards greater public engagement with science.
He talks about the issues facing the profession with editor of New Scientist magazine, Roger Highfield, and director of the Science Media Centre, Fiona Fox, who was also one of the organisers of the Congress. Some of the questions they discuss are whether all science journalists should have a science degree, and the role of science journalists in the reporting of controversial issues such as the MMR vaccine debate.
Geoff interviews Fred Kavli, one of the new entrepreneurs who have put much of their wealth back into science and technology. Fred trained as a physicist in his native Norway and is now in his early 80s. He made his money in the US in companies that make sensors. His most recent venture has been to found the Kavli Prizes, which are intended to complement those of his better-known Scandinavian predecessor, Alfred Nobel.
Goeff also talks to a prize-winning science fiction writer, Paul McAuley, who also worked as a scientist for more than a decade. They discuss the role of science fiction in giving the public an image of science fact.
Geoff Watts examines progress towards greater public engagement with science. Geoff Watts explores the world of science and the people, passions and policies behind it | |
Recreating Woolly Mammoths | 20081106 | This week Japanese scientists announced they had created clones from the frozen bodies of mice. This work, they claimed, raised the possibility of recreating extinct animals such as woolly mammoths and sabre tooth tigers. For Leading Edge, Geoff went to the Natural History Museum in London to ask mammoth expert Professor Adrian Lister, if this was possible or even desirable? Animal research The European Commission has this week presented proposals for strengthening the protection of laboratory animals. John Stein, professor of neuroscience at Oxford University and professor emeritus Michael Balls of FRAME (Fund for the Replacement of Animals in Medical Experiments) debate the phasing out of non-human primates in research. Scientific Biographies It's time we all understood more about science, says biographer Richard Holmes and a very good way to do this is to understand the lives of the scientists themselves. Synthetic Biology Synthetic biology is a new science, by which you can build your own organism, removing the bits of its chemistry you don't want, and replacing them with something different. The 2008 International Genetically Engineered Machine competition, iGEM for short, takes place this weekend at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in America. Geoff went to meet the young scientists from Cambridge entering the competition. Geoff Watts investigates the creation of mammoth clones from the frozen bodies of mice. Geoff Watts explores the world of science and the people, passions and policies behind it | |
Reports From The American Association For The Advancement Of Science | 20070222 | Geoff Watts reports from the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science - the year's most important gathering discussing the latest research from a vast range of science medical and technological fields. Global warming New research provides dramatic evidence of climate change. Lonnie Thompson of Ohio State University reveals his latest findings for the Quelccaya ice cap in Peru. Infant memory Scientists have often been puzzled by our inability as adults to remember events from early life. Recent studies have shown that infants DO form memories, so why do we fail to hang on to them? Bionics and the brain Bionic eyes and replacement electronic arms are two of the latest smart prosthetics currently being trialled in patients to restore lost function after injury. Geoff hears how the adaptability of our brain in learning how to work with this new technology has been largely underestimated. Maths and the visual arts Mathematics is being used to decipher distinct statistical signatures from an artists work. This offers new insights into a consistency of style and could help uncover fakes. Geoff Watts explores the world of science and the people, passions and policies behind it | |
Science and the Recession | 20090219 | Science and the Recession
Childhood Memory: Karl Sabbagh
Memory in the Dock
Ageing and Memory
How has and will science be affected by the current global economic crisis? Geoff Watts explores the world of science and the people, passions and policies behind it | |
Slumbering Aid Memory and the Japanese Space Agency | 20070308 | Smells and Slumbering Aid Memory
The Trouble with Physics
Space Station Justification
Birds Behaving Badly
Geoff Watts discusses the Japanese space agency, plus the week's top science stories. Geoff Watts explores the world of science and the people, passions and policies behind it | |
Spaceflight and Weightlessness | 20090528 | It has been a good month for spaceflight, with the launch of robotic telescopes, a successful servicing mission to the Hubble Space Telescope and the selection of a British astronaut. But what is the value of human spaceflight and why has the UK resisted subscribing to it for so long? Geoff Watts puts those questions to astronauts, scientists and politicians.
Jonathan Amos reports from Paris where the European Space Agency has just announced its selection of six new astronauts, including British Army helicopter pilot Major Tim Peake. Jacques Dourdain, head of ESA, says he hopes it will lead to a UK contribution to ESA's human spaceflight programme, but David Williams, Director of the British National Space Centre, says that this is not a priority.
Space physiologist Dr Kevin Fong explains his interest in space and the long-term effects of microgravity on the human body. Former space shuttle astronaut Jeff Hoffman, now Professor of Astronautics at MIT, describes the sensation of spaceflight, explains why astronauts need patience and outlines the first and last Hubble Space Telescope servicing missions.
The BBC's Martin Redfern joins scientists from the European Space Agency for their 50th in a series of what they call 'parabolic flight campaigns'. It used to be known as the vomit comet, though now it is an Airbus A300. It flies out over the Atlantic and then free-falls for 22 seconds. The result is weightlessness, a brief taste of conditions in orbit. The cycle is repeated 30 times each flight. But what can researchers hope to achieve in such brief bursts of zero-G?
Geoff Watts also discusses the value of microgravity research and human spaceflight and hears how zero-gravity flights might come to the UK.
Geoff Watts finds out the use of experiments in weightlessness, similar to being in orbit. Geoff Watts explores the world of science and the people, passions and policies behind it | |
Student Astronauts | 20081204 | Student Astronauts
Street Science
The Silent Epidemic
Medical Futures
Reporter Anna Lacey auditions for Leicester University's astronaut course. Geoff Watts explores the world of science and the people, passions and policies behind it | |
The 2009 Science Book Prize Winner and The Evolution of Technology | 20091015 | Geoff Watts meets Richard Holmes, winner of the 2009 Royal Society Science Book Prize; he hears how history and biography can reveal the workings of science and discusses science literature with former Guardian science and literary editor Tim Radford.
Also, does technology evolve? According to W Brian Arthur, a professor at the Santa Fe Institute in New Mexico and author of The Nature of Technology, machines develop in some ways akin to biological organisms. Instead of natural selection, humans and markets force the changes. Instead of genes, sub-systems and new materials come together from diverse sources. And sometimes there are innovations rather than incremental developments - jet engines did not result from gradual changes to propeller engines. But overall, the argument is that technologies do indeed evolve.
And how much can computers tell us about the way the human brain processes information? Two cognative neuroscientists, Padraic Monaghan from Lancaster University and James Keidel from Manchester University, discuss their research.
Geoff Watts discusses science books, biography, brains and the evolution of technology. Geoff Watts explores the world of science and the people, passions and policies behind it | |
The Brain's Calorie Counter | 20080327 | The Brain's Calorie Counter
The Able Prize for Maths
Shark Tagging
Transplanting Hearts
Geoff Watts examines new research into a so-called 'calorie counting' area of the brain. Geoff Watts explores the world of science and the people, passions and policies behind it | |
The British Science Association's Festival | 20090910 | Geoff Watts reports from the British Science Association's Festival in Guildford.
At the 2008 Festival, Prof Michael Reiss suggested that science teachers should be prepared to discuss creationist beliefs in the classroom if asked about them by pupils. The resulting controversy led to his departure from the post of Education Director at the Royal Society. He is now Professor of Science Education at the Institute of Education and returns to the Festival to argue the case for discussing controversial issues in science classes.
Geoff Watts attends the festival and discusses science education with Prof Reiss and irrational belief with Prof Bruce Hood, a psychologist at Bristol University.
He also hears from choreographer Suba Subramaniam, sculptor Shelley James and Oxford neuroscientist Morten Kringlebach about the neural basis for creativity and the pleasure of performance, and from young scientists for whom posters have brought a new perspective on the social implications of their science.
Geoff Watts reports from the British Science Association's Festival in Guildford. Geoff Watts explores the world of science and the people, passions and policies behind it | |
The Earliest Americans | 20080403 | The Earliest Americans
TB Transmission
Antarctic Tourism
Sleeping On It
Geoff Watts reports on the discovery of human fossil faeces from a cave in Oregon. Geoff Watts explores the world of science and the people, passions and policies behind it | |
The Evolution of Childhood and Microscopy | 20070315 | The Evolution of Childhood
Microscopy
Disease Eradication
Driverless driving?
Water on Mars
Geoff Watts investigates a new microscopic imaging technique. Geoff Watts explores the world of science and the people, passions and policies behind it | |
The Evolution of Echolocation and The Cause of CJD | 20080214 | The Evolution of Echolocation
Polar Ponderings
Deep Impact
Doubts about cause of CJD
AI in Art
Did bats learn to fly before they learned to listen for echoes? Geoff Watts explores the world of science and the people, passions and policies behind it | |
The First Forests and Minimising Earthquake Damage | 20070419 | The First Forests
Minimising Earthquake Damage
In Praise of Water
Smart Dust
Uranus Discoveries - Old News?
A 385 million year old complete fossil tree sheds light on the world\u2019s earliest forests. Geoff Watts explores the world of science and the people, passions and policies behind it | |
The Future For Stem Cells and The Science of Smoking | 20071122 | The Future For Stem Cells
Climate Change and World Food Production
The Egg and Sperm Race
The Science of Smoking
Geoff Watts reports on new stem cell research. Geoff Watts explores the world of science and the people, passions and policies behind it | |
The Future of Gene Sequencing | 20090709 | Geoff Watts explores the world of science and the people, passions and policies behind it.
Hardly a week passes without a mention of new developments in genetics. This editon is all about genetic developments and their implications. Geoff Watts discusses the future of gene sequencing with Jane Rogers, director of the newly created Genome Analysis Centre in Norwich, and Jane Peterson, an associate director of the US National Human Genome Research Institute.
The House of Lords Science and Technology Committee has just published a report on genomic medicine. This is the use of genomic information in predicting a person's risk of disease, improving diagnosis and prognosis, and selecting the best treatment option: 'personalised' or 'stratified' treatment, as it is described.
Their Lordships compiled a raft of recommendations on research, training, service delivery and much else. They describe genomic medicine as offering 'a real opportunity for medical care'. Geoff discusses the findings of the report with Lord Warner, one of the committee, and Professor Sir John Bell, of Oxford University, one of the UK's leading biomedical scientists.
Geoff also talks about biomedical science with UK government minister for science, Lord Paul Drayson.
Geoff Watts and guests discuss genomic medicine and the future of gene sequencing. Geoff Watts explores the world of science and the people, passions and policies behind it | |
The Genome of the Rhesus Macaque Monkey and the Pterosaur Puzzle | 20070412 | Macaque Map of Life
Pterosaur Puzzle
Space Cycle
Economic Equality
Geoff Watts reports on the sequencing of the genome of the rhesus macaque monkey. Geoff Watts explores the world of science and the people, passions and policies behind it | |
The Philosophy of Morals and Docile Dinosaurs | 20070322 | The Philosophy of Morals
Docile Dinosaurs
Classroom Cacophony
Desert pools
Mechanochemistry
Do we make moral judgements based on societal rules or based on our emotions? Geoff Watts explores the world of science and the people, passions and policies behind it | |
The Royal Society Summer Exhibition | 20080703 | Geoff Watts looks at the top science stories of the week with Daily Telegraph science editor, Roger Highfield.
Royal Society Summer Exhibition
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome
Mountain Gorillas
The Sounds of Earth
Geoff Watts gets an insight into phantom limb syndrome at the Royal Society Exhibition. Geoff Watts explores the world of science and the people, passions and policies behind it | |
The Science of Seasonality | 20090618 | As midsummer in the Northern Hemisphere approaches, Geoff Watts looks into the science of seasonality in animals and ourselves. Winter blues and summer celebrations - from hibernation to sex - the seasons affect the living world, including humans.
On the other side of the world, in Antarctica, it is midwinter and those creatures that can't migrate are employing intriguing adaptations to slow their body processes, virtually stopping respiration and even heartbeat as they enter hibernation. Scientists have even discovered something akin to hibernation in cold-blooded fish.
Geoff hears what it's like to dive beneath Antarctic ice from Lloyd Peck of the British Antarctic Survey, and he meets some of the strange creatures that live in freezing waters.
He also hears about an unlikely alliance between scientists of different backgrounds, drawn together by an interest in hibernation, the chemicals that control it and how they might help to protect the brains of premature babies and battlefield casualties.
And there's a new book, Seasons of Life, by Oxford biologist Russell Foster, who shows how the seasons affect human as well as animal life, even in our 24/7 society.
Geoff Watts looks into the science of seasonality in plants, animals and humans. Geoff Watts explores the world of science and the people, passions and policies behind it | |
The Secret of Ageing | 20081127 | The Secret of Ageing
Particle Accelerators prevent Wine Fraud
House of Lords Science and Technology Committee
Minimising Pain
Scientists have unravelled the mechanism that drives ageing in mice. Geoff Watts explores the world of science and the people, passions and policies behind it | |
The World Cancer Research Fund Report and Tracking Wild Fires | 20071101 | How to Cut Cancer
Tracking Wild Fires
Race and Genetics
Ants and Adhesive
The findings of the largest-ever study of diet and cancer. Geoff Watts explores the world of science and the people, passions and policies behind it | |
US Elections | 20081030 | US Elections
Voice Recognition
100% Chemical Free
Midge Thermometer
As America goes to the polls, what will a new administration mean for American science? Geoff Watts explores the world of science and the people, passions and policies behind it | |
Who Should We Trust? | 20081113 | Who Should We Trust?
Galaxy Zoo
First Pictures of Exoplants
Sticky Tape X-Rays
Saving the World's Rarest Wolves
As banks collapse and interest rates drop, how do we know who to trust? Geoff Watts explores the world of science and the people, passions and policies behind it | |
01 | Climate Change and Our Cities, NASA row and Tracking the Walrus | 20070607 | Climate Change and Our Cities
NASA Row
Tracking the Walrus
Astronauts and Zero Gravity
Geoff Watts visits Greenland to investigate the migratory habits of the walrus. Geoff Watts explores the world of science and the people, passions and policies behind it |
02 | New Insights into DNA and The Big Bang Recreated | 20070614 | New Insights into DNA
Origin of Ancient Clay Tablets Traced
Global Warming Threatens Reef
Big Bang Recreated
Robotic Surgery
Jonathan Stewart looks at the Great Barrier Reef's role in the climate change debate. Geoff Watts explores the world of science and the people, passions and policies behind it |
03 | Birth Order IQ and Human Susceptibility to HIV | 20070621 | Birth Order and IQ
Musical Proteins
Bat Lab
Human Susceptibility to HIV
Scientists have worked out why elder children have a higher IQ than younger siblings. Geoff Watts explores the world of science and the people, passions and policies behind it |
04 | Artificial Bacteria and Endangered Parrots | 20070628 | Synthetic Life
Success in Science?
Endangered Parrots
Pole to pole
The Cat's Whiskers
What might Gordon Brown's leadership might mean for science and research? Geoff Watts explores the world of science and the people, passions and policies behind it |
05 | Royal Society Summer Exhibition | 20070705 | Royal Society Summer Exhibition
Live Earth
Lovell Telescope
Geoff Watts visits the Royal Society to see some of the science on display. Geoff Watts explores the world of science and the people, passions and policies behind it |
06 | Giant Watery Planet And Robot Physiotherapists | 20070712 | Giant Watery Planet Geoff Watts talks to Professor Jonathan Tennyson of University College London about the discovery of a distant giant planet that appears to have significant amounts of water in its atmosphere. He finds out whether this planet could be a candidate in the search for extra terrestrial life. Storm Chasing Professor Stephen Mobbs and Dr Alan Gadian of the National Centre for Atmospheric Science talk to Geoff from the Black Forest in Germany where they are studying severe weather in an area they describe as a natural "cloud laboratory", to make better predictions about our climate. Robot Physiotherapists Jon Stewart reports on two new robots that have been designed to help victims of stroke. As Marshes War |
07 | Flood Split Europe and Arctic Aquatics | 20070719 | Flood Caused Europe Split
Competition Drives Vocalization?
MagnetoEncephaloGraphy
Arctic Aquatics
How did Britain become separated from mainland Europe? Geoff Watts explores the world of science and the people, passions and policies behind it |
07 | Fossil Findings in China and Corn as a Biofuel | 20070405 | Out of Africa
Doggy DNA
No to Corn as a Biofuel
Perpetual Motion
Dartsboard deductions
Geoff Watts reports on new fossil findings in China. Geoff Watts explores the world of science and the people, passions and policies behind it |
08 | The UK's Wet Weather and Leonardo's Great Lady | 20070726 | Wet weather
Pterosaurs
Students uncover clues in mass grave
Leonardo's Great Lady
Geoff Watts reports on a new study linking increased global rainfall to human activity. Geoff Watts explores the world of science and the people, passions and policies behind it |