Material World
By BBC Radio 4
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Podcast Description
Weekly science conversation, on everything from archaeology to zoology, from abacus to the antipodean rodent zyzomys, by way of meteorites. Presented by Quentin Cooper, and airing every Thursday, 4:30 pm.
| Name | Description | Released | Price | ||
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1 |
Material World 24th May 2012: Perceptions of energy generation, light loving bugs, new faster chips, & not predicting earthquak | Energy generation perceptions, light loving bugs, fast chips, and predicting earthquakes. | 24 5 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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2 |
Material World 17th May 2012: Pollen and war crimes, art and emotion science versus politics and underground railways | Why pollen provides the key evidence in the Bosnian war crimes trials, experimenting with arts and emotions and why all tube networks are fundamentally the same. | 17 5 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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3 |
Material World 10th May 2012: Alchemy, hormones and Afghan astronomy | The influence of alchemy on modern science, how hormones can determine profit and loss in financial markets and Afghanistan’s schools using astronomy as a way into science. | 10 5 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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4 |
Material World 3rd May 2012: North Sea wind power, Bending Gamma rays horrid noises and how to hack. | Developing North Sea wind power, Bending Gamma rays to help cure cancer, the nature of horrid noises and a hackers guide to hacking. | 3 5 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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5 |
Material World 26th April 2012: Intelligent travel, cosmic rays and voices. | How to keep the cars of the future moving on the roads of the future. The origins and dangers of cosmic rays, and what factors determine how you speak? | 26 4 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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6 |
Material World 19th April: Breast cancer breakthrough, maths of politics, CT scan, SYWTBAS | A breast cancer breakthrough, reclassification may lead to better treatment, how maths can improve politics, the history of CT scans and stripes on parade in our experiment. | 19 4 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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7 |
Material World 12th April : | Titanic telecommunications, undersea earthquakes and do people sound how they look. | 12 4 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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8 |
Material world 05 Apr Strings, spies and science | Henry Moore’s scientific influence, how to spy on line and is science boring? | 5 4 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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9 |
MW 29 Mar;Gas Bacteria, Geoengineering, SYWTBAS | Gas eating bacteria, how to save the world and what stripes might do to your figure. | 29 3 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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10 |
Material World 22 Mar: auctions, marine pharmaceuticals, sleep | The science and tricks behind closed-bid auctions; searching the ocean depths for medicines; horrible noises; a very short introduction to sleep. | 22 3 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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11 |
MW 15 Mar; Hominin puzzle, Art, Robots and Avatars | A new set of hominin remains from a cave in China are difficult to fit on the Human family tree, while human-like "Robots and Avatars" assemble at a new exhibition in Liverpool. | 15 3 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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12 |
MW 8 Mar; Antarctic, Meteors, Noises, Starquakes | Quentin Cooper investigates aliens in Antarctica, a controversial collision that may have changed the climate, why we hate nasty noises and how star-quakes could help us discover habitable planets. | 8 3 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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13 |
Material World 01 March Science advisers, lab animals, oldest forest | Quentin looks in to the role of government science advisers, the use of animals in research, and a 400 million year old forest. | 1 3 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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14 |
Material World 23 Feb Y-chromosome, Kilogram, Neutrinos, Fuel | Quentin Cooper asks if Y-chromosome degeneration will make men extinct, how to redefine the kilogram, how neutrinos are not so fast after all and how to turn sunshine into fuel. | 23 2 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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15 |
Material World 16 Feb: Star on the brink of a supernova explosion; Our global water footprint; New Elizabethans | Star on the brink of a supernova explosion; Our global water footprint; New Elizabethans. | 16 2 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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16 |
Material World 9 Feb Freud, Climate, Vostok, LARES | How would Freud fare as a scientist today?; cold winters and global warming; what's next after Russians penetrate Antarctic Lake Vostok?; and LARES, the disco ball bound for space. | 9 2 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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17 |
Material World 2nd Feb 2012: A genome ethics survey, having friends takes brains, emotional art and triggering an ice age | Quentin discusses sharing genetic information, the link between brain size and how many friends you have, researching emotion in art and what triggered the little ice age. | 2 2 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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18 |
Material: 26 Jan The next flu pandemic, an Arctic bulge, faces and voices and the Panama Canal. | Weighing up the risks and benefits of flu research, a fresh water bulge in the Arctic, how faces affect voices and cutting carbon by widening the Panama Canal. | 26 1 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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19 |
Material World: 19 January. 3D Maps, Darwin, Do Stripes Make You Thinner and the Kharma Empire. | Quentin hears about mapping the world in 3D, Darwinâ¿¿s lost fossils, what stripes do for your body image, and drought and the fall of an empire. | 19 1 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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20 |
Material 12 Jan 12 Computers, Dark matter, Pests | Quentin reports on teaching computer science, mapping dark matter, emerging garden pests and amateur science to investigate nasty noises. | 12 1 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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21 |
Material 05 Jan 12 End of the World | Quentin asks if the world will end in 2012 and if not, why do people make apocalyptic predictions? | 5 1 12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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22 |
MW 29 Dec 11: SYWTBAS judges' meeting | Adam Rutherford joins our panel of judges, chaired by Sir Paul Nurse, to find out which four of the ten shortlisted entrants will have their ideas turned into experiments. | 29 12 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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23 |
New planets, brain chips, amateur scientists, Christmas trees and robins - 22 Dec 11 | A new planet the size of the Earth, simulating the brain with analogue chips, the last four in the long list of potential amateur scientists, how robins choose a sexy mate and how a warming climate is bad for your Christmas tree | 22 12 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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24 |
The Higgs, MPs Meet Scientists, Moon art – 15 Dec 11 | Quentin Cooper presents the latest on the search for the Higgs particle, hears about a scheme to pair scientists with members of Parliament, announces the next group of shortlisted candidates for So You Want to Be a Scientist and sniffs the smell of the Moon from a lunar exhibition in Liverpool. | 15 12 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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25 |
Rare Metals, Collecting Carbon, Strange Shrimp - 08 Dec 11 | Quentin Cooper asks if it's worth extracting carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and how industry is planning for a world shortage of rare elements. A 500 million year old monster eye with 16 000 lenses and the first finalists shortlisted from listeners who want to be a scientist. | 8 12 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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26 |
Permafrost; Space Worms; DNA Barcoding - 01 Dec 11 | This week, Quentin Cooper hears about the impact of thawing permafrost on climate change; how generations of space worms may lead the way for humans to reach Mars; and how DNA barcoding is identifying species and spotting fraud. | 1 12 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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27 |
Material: 24 Nov 11: Scientists on risk, Insect flight | The UK’s top science advisers discuss communicating risk and uncertainty to politicians and the public. And Quentin explores the secrets of locust flight. | 24 11 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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28 |
MW: Geo-engineering; Mars; Canary Island 17 Nov 11 | Quentin investigates risk and regulation of geo-engineering; the risks of getting to Mars; and a new volcanic island that may be rising from the Atlantic. | 17 11 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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29 |
Fracking; Hidden Heroes; SYWTBAS? Periodic Knitting | This week: fracking for oil and gas and listening to the ground, Hidden Heroes at the Science Museum and a last chance for amateur scientists. | 10 11 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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30 |
Fission at Fukushima; Airships – The Future of Air Travel; Legend of the Sunstone | Has nuclear fission restarted at the Fukushima NPP in Japan. Is the future of air travel airships? Is there truth in the legend of the Viking SunStone | 3 11 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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31 |
Material World at the National Maritime Museum. | Material World this week comes from the London Science Festival. Quentin Cooper presents an outside broadcast recorded in front of an audience at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich. The programme celebrates citizen science and do-it-yourself discovery, as part of 'So You Want to Be a Scientist?', Radio 4's search for the next BBC Amateur Scientist of the Year. | 27 10 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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32 |
EU stem cell ruling, The Population Process, Viruses, SYWTBAS? | Following the EU ruling that human stem cells can’t be patented, Quentin discusses the issue with Christophe Then, the Greenpeace campaigner who championed the issue, and Alexander Dennon, a laywer who specialises in stem cell regulations. Also on the programme, the methodology behind population change and the man who’s developed an early warning system for pandemics. | 20 10 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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33 |
Stem cells, Black Death,Lawrence M Krauss and KickSat project | Quentin Cooper on the latest advances in stem cell technolgy, cloning and gene therapy, he unpicks the organism that caused the Black Death and converses with Lawrence Krauss | 13 10 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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34 |
Nobel Prizes 2011 | Quentin Cooper runs through the 2011 Nobel Prizes for Medicine or Physiology, Physics and Chemistry and discovers why the winners deserved to win. | 6 10 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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35 |
'So you want to be a Scientist?', Neutrinos faster than light and Catalytic clothing | Material World announces the return of 'So You Want to Be a Scientist?' - the search for the BBC's Amateur Scientist of the Year. Also neutrinos faster than light and catalytic clothing. | 29 9 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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36 |
Ehsan Masood on biodiversity, slippery surfaces, drugs from ladybirds and fire. | Ehsan Masood reports on attempts to protect biodiversity, to mimic the slippery slope of the pitcher plant, to isolate new drugs from the harlequin ladybird and to be ready for the next big wildfires. | 22 9 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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37 |
Quentin reports from the British Science Festival in Bradford on new discoveries in science. | Quentin reports from the British Science Festival in Bradford on thorium reactors, plants to clean up explosives, lie detection, ethical tissue and artificial volcanoes to counter global warming. | 15 9 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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38 |
Quentin on human ancestry, beautiful genomes and gold from the sky. | Quentin reports on a possible human ancestor, beautiful genomes and what happened to all the gold on – or in - Earth. Quentin Cooper hears about the fossils of a small but surprisingly well-formed possible human ancestor from South Africa; how one writer has come to understand and live with her beautiful genome; and how all the gold we can mine once rained down from above. | 8 9 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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39 |
Hand axes, New lithium batteries, Cloning wildcats, The moon | Quentin Cooper hears about the first skilled toolmakers, a battery that won’t set your laptop ablaze, cloning wildcats and, despite Apollo 18, why we should go back to the Moon. | 1 9 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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40 |
Oldest fossils, Tracking cholera, Playing with uncertainty and Counting species. | Oldest fossils, tracking cholera, playing with uncertainty and counting species. Quentin looks at the oldest fossils; tracks cholera across continents, plays games with weather forecasts and asks how many species there really are on Earth. This week, Quentin Cooper looks at what may be the oldest fossils on Earth; he tracks cholera across continents, plays games with weather forecasts to understand uncertainty and asks how many species there really are on Earth. Producer: Martin Redfern | 25 8 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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41 |
Jaws, Plesiosaurs, Time perception, Surgery, Bees | Quentin Cooper looks at tactile surgery, brainy bees, the evolution of jaws, viviparous sea monsters and our split-second perception of time | 18 8 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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42 |
Material: Mob psychology, multiple sclerosis, chimp communication and shrunken heads. | This week Quentin Cooper investigates the psychology that turns a peaceful protest into a rioting mob. He hears about a major international study that is tracking down the genetic background to multiple sclerosis. As a new documentary is released about Project Nim, he revisits the classic experiment to bring a chimpanzee up like a human child. And he learns how Amazon tribes shrank human heads. | 11 8 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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43 |
Material: Quentin on Milgram’s Obedience Studies, the science behind illusioneering and our lopsided moon. | Quentin Cooper discusses Stanley Milgram’s obedience experiments on their 50th anniversary, the science behind illusioneering and new research which suggests our Moon’s lopsided shape is due to a collision with a companion moon. | 4 8 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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44 |
Material World: Searching for Higgs, badger cull, diamonds, music and neuroscience | Quentin hears how scientists are closing in on the Higgs, if culling badgers is scientific, how diamonds reveal the first continental drift and how neurons inspire music. | 28 7 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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45 |
Material World | Quentin Coopers hears about the arrival of NASA’s Dawn spaceprobe at the asteroid Vesta, the last Space Shuttle flight, reducing animal experiments, and the physics of cricket. | 21 7 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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46 |
Material World: Hidden landscapes, Mythical monsters and Tibetan singing bowls. | This week, Quentin Cooper explores hidden landscapes under the ice of Antarctica and underwater volcanoes off its coast. He hears of a vast land that emerged from the North Atlantic, only to be lost again beneath the waves. He asks what the quest for mythical monsters can bring to human psychology and the study of rare species. And he hears the mathematical secrets of the Tibetan singing bowl. | 14 7 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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47 |
Krill, Royal Society sensations, Science of body art | Quentin Cooper hears how krill fertilise the ocean; he visits the Royal Society’s Summer exhibition to investigate sight, sound and smell and hears how science meets art in the artist’s body | 7 7 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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48 |
Climate models, Early universe, Happy faces, Mobile Phones | Quentin looks at climate models, the early Universe, happy faces, and how mobile phones influence behaviour | 30 6 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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49 |
Material World: City stress, Darwin's library, science/health reporting | Quentin Cooper on city stress, Darwin’s annotated books and the debate of how science/health should be presented in the media. The producer is Tamsin Barber | 23 6 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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50 |
Material World: Ocean Drilling, Future technology for air planes, Dreams and Oxford English Dictionary | Quentin Cooper hears about some of the latest science research including: plans to drill the ocean floor to study climate, disasters and life underground; advanced technologies for the planes of the future; the influx of science words being added to the Oxford English Dictionary and why, what and when we dream. The producer is Martin Redfern | 16 6 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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51 |
Heart, Neolithic Building Boom, Amber | Quentin Cooper on how to make broken hearts heal themselves, how dating techniques have revealed a building boom in the Neolithic and an old tail in the hunt for fossils in amber. | 9 6 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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52 |
Material: new E-coli strain, Teeth, science innovation, zero gravity | New E-coli strain found in Germany. Early cavemen had foreign brides! Researchers have studied hominid teeth from two caves in South Africa. They looked at the ratios of different types or isotopes of strontium in the teeth which they thought might reflect changing diet due to seasonal migration. Instead, they found a significant difference between the teeth of males and females. Professor Julia Lee-Thorp, from Oxford University, explains more. Writer Mark Stevenson, has curated a series of talks at the British Library. His talk 'The Age of Entanglement' looks at human interaction with science and innovation and whether we are too dependent on technology. Quentin talks to Mark Stevenson and Sir Martin Taylor. Fly Your Thesis! Postgraduate students from Leicester are back from a series of flights in France with the European Space Agency aboard a plane sometimes dubbed the vomit comet. David Gray and Dr Charly Feldman from Leicester University, join Quentin. | 2 6 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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53 |
Icelandic eruption, Electron shape, Urban gardens | Adam Rutherford investigates the latest Icelandic eruption, the shape of the electron and the benefits of urban gardens | 26 5 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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54 |
Smallpox, Colour photograph, Higgs Higgs! | Smallpox, should it be destroyed? One hundred and fifty years of the first colour photo and when will we know if we’ve found the Higgs'? | 19 5 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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55 |
Material: New epoch, Fungi discovery, Domesday Project | A new human geological epoch, a surprising fungi discovery and the rediscovery of the Domesday Project. | 12 5 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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56 |
Einstein proved right; how fat can cause dementia; the science of tornadoes; and mapping English orchards | Being overweight can raise your chance of dementia according to a new study, but what's the connection?; The tornadoes in the USA last week broke all records - is something going on?; The satellite that has proved (at last) a key part of Einstein's theory of gravity; and the 2000 varieties of apples to be found in Olde English orchards | 5 5 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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57 |
Ocean tea, Shuttle search for antimatter, Cosmati Pavement, Robot ethics | Quentin investigates ‘ocean tea’ in the Arctic and salt in the South; how the Space Shuttle will search for antimatter, restoring the ground under Kate and William’s feet and re-writing Azimov’s laws for robot ethics | 28 4 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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58 |
Material World: Deepwater Horizon, Chernobyl, Penguin clean up, Saturn | Deepwater Horizon, the world's worst oil disaster, 1 year on; Chernobyl, the world's worst suclear accident, a quarter of a century later; Penguin clean up on Tristan da Cunha; and Saturn and its amazing moon Enceladus. | 21 4 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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59 |
Material World: Fossils, Biofab, Harrison Timekeeping, Gagarin | Oxford University's Leila Battison describes fossils of some of the first life forms on Earth, found by Loch Torridon in northwest Scotland. Also Dr Drew Endy, director of BIOFAB, the world's first open-source synthetic biology factory, on how he hopes to provide generic genetic parts to bioengineers to speed up developing new organisms. Quentin goes to the Royal Observatory in Greenwich to see one of the oldest chronometers being refurbished ahead of the 300th anniversary of the 1714 Longitude. And Doug Millard, Space Curator from the Science Museum talks about Yuri Gagarin and the technology used to blast him into space. | 14 4 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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60 |
Material World: Pre-pregnancy screening, mathematics of Life, scientific travel archive | Quentin Cooper presents his weekly digest of science in and behind the headlines. He talks to Professor Alison Bruce from Brighton University about the latest developments at the Fukushima plant in Japan. Dr. Fred Kavalier a GP and former genetics consultant discussues pre-pregnancy screening and what genetic conditions it could possibly help detect. Professor Ian Stewart will explain why maths is fundamental to biology, which is also the subject of his latest book "Mathematics of Life" and Royal Society Head Archivist Keith Moore is describing some of the scientific travel manuscripts that have been scanned and put online for all to enjoy. | 7 4 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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61 |
Material: Japan, Beaked whales, Birds, Sergei Korolyov | Japan is to decommission four stricken reactors at the quake-hit Fukushima nuclear plant. Adam Rutherford talks to Dr. Jim Smith and Professor Gerry Thomas. Scientists from the University of St Andrews have found that beaked whales are particularly sensitive to unusual sounds. Professor Ian Boyd explains. A new study shows that large birds of prey and sea birds crash into wind turbines and power lines because they do not look where they are going. Adam talks to Professor Graham Martin. The play 'Little Eagles' tells the story of Sergei Korolyov, chief designer of the Soviet space programme. Writer Rona Munro joins Adam to explain more. | 31 3 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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62 |
Material: Japan, Penguins, Films, Sports Science 24 Mar 11 | Quentin Cooper presents his weekly digest of science in and behind the headlines. He talks to Professor Robin Grimes, the Director of the Centre of Nuclear Engineering at Imperial College, London about the latest developments at the Fukushima nuclear plant. We speak to an ornithologist who is battling to save penguins in one of the remotest parts of the world - the islands of Tristan da Cunha - following an oil spill. Also on the programme; can Hollywood put real science into the movies and the latest in sport engineering and how it can lead to gold medals. | 24 3 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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63 |
Material: Japan Nuclear Power Crisis | In this week’s programme, Material World examines and explains the science behind the nuclear power plant crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in Japan. Quentin talks to Professor Andrew Sherry, Director of the Dalton Nuclear Institute, about the science and engineering of nuclear power stations. Professor Richard Wakeford explains what radiation is and its effects. Professor Geraldine Thomas, Chair in Molecular Pathology, Imperial College London, explains the health effects of exposure to radiation. Malcolm Grimston, expert on nuclear energy technology and policy from Chatham House discusses what went wrong in Japan and implications and lessons for elsewhere. | 17 3 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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64 |
Material: Space, Daffodils, Watt, Ig Nobel 110.03.11 | Adam Rutherford presents the weekly digest of science in and behind the headlines. Joining him on the programme this week is Dr Ian Crawford from Birkbeck College, University of London, who will be discussing the future of human space flight and what it holds now that the final shuttle missions are almost completed. Also on the show; we find out what daffodils are really made of and we visit the science museum where the orginal workshop of engineer James Watt is about to be opened to the public. Finally, the champion of science that makes us laugh and think Marc Abrahams, the creator of the Ig Nobel awards, is in the studio. | 10 3 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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65 |
Material: Women, Meteorites, Squirrels 03 03 11 | The UNESCO 2011 Women in Science Awards recognises five outstanding women scientists. Quentin talks to Clare Lloyd, Professor of Respiratory Immunology at Imperial College, about the importance of these awards in encouraging female scientists. Researchers in America have discovered a meteorite which is rich in the gas ammonia. It could lend weight to the argument that life on earth may have been seeded from space. Quentin talks to Professor Sandra Pizzarello, who led the research and Dr Caroline Smith, Curator of Meteorites at the Natural History Museum in London. Following last week’s piece on grey squirrels, Quentin responds to a listener’s email asking about black squirrels. Helen McRobie from the Anglia Ruskin University joins Quentin to explain more about these creatures. | 3 3 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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66 |
Material: Earthquake, Squirrels, Carbon animals, RHS 24 Feb 11 | Before the earthquake in New Zealand last September, the fault line it occurred on wasn’t known about. Following the damaging and deadly aftershock, there are concerns whether the whole area is much more vulnerable than we previously thought. Quentin is joined by Dr Elisabetta Mariani, who has just returned from drilling the major fault line in New Zealand. Two thirds of people in the UK now think that grey squirrels should be controlled or even removed- according to a survey by the European Squirrel Initiative. Quentin finds out more from Dr Craig Shuttleworth. Tiny Antarctic marine creatures collected 100 years ago by Antarctic explorer Captain Robert Falcon Scott give new clues about change in polar animals. Dr David Barnes, joins Quentin to explain more. The Royal Horticultural Society is announcing a new campaign to raise nearly £600,000 for a new research facility. It is the only independent organisation that funds research into gardening. Dr. Roger Williams explains more. | 24 2 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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67 |
Material: Human impact on flooding, Van Gogh’s fading paint, Tempel 1, Solar flare 17 Feb 11 | Scientists have discovered that green house gases have significantly increased the risk of extreme rainfall. Dr Richard Allan and Professor Mark Maslin join Quentin to explain more. X-ray analysis has been used to explain why the bright yellows in his paintings have faded to brown over time.... Quentin talks to Professor Koen Janssens, from the University of Antwerp, who led the research. On February 14th NASA’s Stardust-NExT mission hooked up with the Tempel 1 Comet, which back in 2005 had been subject to a vicious and unprovoked assault by another NASA probe, Deep Impact. Quentin talks to Professor Alan Fitzsimmons from Queen’s University, Belfast. The largest solar flare in four years has erupted from the sun. The eruption, called an X-flare is the strongest type and can affect communications on Earth. Dr Alan Thompson from the BGS joins Quentin to explain more. | 17 2 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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68 |
Material: Science in Egypt, Marine Invaders, Climate change, Flea jumping | As the protests continue in Egypt, Quentin talks to Professor Hassan Azzazy, from the American University in Cairo about how the regime has effected science and research and how he hopes that a regime change may benefit Egyptian scientists in the future. Engineering the Future (EtF) is an alliance of the UK’s leading engineering and technological institutions. On 8 February they published a report, commissioned by DEFRA, on the challenges of adapting the UK’s infrastructure to the threat of climate change. Quentin speaks to Professor Will Stewart and Professor Eric Sampson. Scientists from Cambridge University have solved the mystery of how fleas jump. Professor Malcolm Burrows and Dr. Gregory Sutton have discovered that fleas jump by pushing off with the toes instead of their ‘hips’. | 10 2 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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69 |
Material: Cyclone,Extrasolar Sys,Ramsay,Lake Vostok | Cyclone Yasi – the strongest cyclone in a century - has battered the state of Queensland, Australia, leaving a trail of destruction. Quentin finds out about the extreme weather that has occurred in the country. The team from the Kepler Space Mission have announced the discovery of an extrasolar system consisting of a Sun-like star called Kepler-11 with six transiting planets. Few stars have more than one known transiting planet, making this very unusual. English Heritage are dedicating a blue plaque to chemist and nobel prize winner Sir William Ramsay. Discoverer of noble gases, Sir William has been described as the greatest chemical discoverer of his time. A Russian team are metres away from reaching the water surface of Lake Vostok, the largest and deepest of the freshwater lakes beneath Antarctica's ice sheet. The project, launched more than 20 years ago, has been repeatedly delayed by technical glitches and concerns from the international community. | 4 2 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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70 |
Material: Oldest galaxy; Living art; Back to bed bugs & Chemical engineering | Quentin finds out more about what may be the oldest galaxy ever seen. There is also a look at a part art/part science exhibition containing living dolls. Bed bugs complete with smells make a come back on Material World and we look at why more and more people want to become chemical engineers. | 27 1 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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71 |
Material: UK Swine flu autopsies, Genetic study of bed bugs, Science out of the classroom 20 Jan 11 | As swine flu is still an ongoing concern,Quentin looks at the latest reports from UK autopsies of last winter's swine flu deaths and how the research may help with diagnosis. He talks to pathologist Professor Sebastian Lucas and Dr Imogen Stephens. Bed bugs have plagued us since prehistoric times, but pesticide-resistant strains have now taken over New York and threaten to spread across the planet. The first genetic study of bed bugs promises to find the causes of that resistance and more about the bugs' biology. Quentin talks to the study’s co-author Om Mittapalli and Professor Mike Siva-Jothy. How do we get more children interested in science? A report from the Association for Science Education claims that if we want pupils to become enthusiastic about science then you have to take them out of the classroom. Marianne Cutler, the Executive Director of the Association for Science Education explains why. | 20 1 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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72 |
Material: Medical Research bureaucracy, Corruption and Earthquakes, Music Moods | Medical research in the UK is being hampered by bureaucracy and burdensome regulation according to a report published this week. Quentin hears how damaging the delay can be to UK science and how things can be improved. Corruption is the leading cause of death in earthquakes according to seismologist Roger Bilham in this week's edition of Nature. Corrupt governments fail to enforce simple building regulations which could save many lives when the ground starts shaking, he argues. Quentin finds out about the global transparency index. Chills in music arise in the same way as cocaine-fuelled highs, according to neuroscientists. Tracking the mental, chemical and physiological changes of volunteers hearing their favourite music, the researchers found primitive 'reward' centres of the brain fire up at moments of peak emotion. Valorie Salimpoor, who led the research, reveals the ups and downs of the musical experience. | 13 1 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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73 |
Material: International Year of Chemistry | 2011 is the International Year of Chemistry: Quentin hears about the largest synthesised molecule, how legitimate research on neurochemicals was subverted by designer-drugs makers, the value of rare earth elements, and green chemistry. | 6 1 11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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74 |
Material: So You Want to be a Scientist catch-up 30 Dec 10 | Quentin Cooper catches up with the four finalists of the So You Want to be a Scientist talent search. And he reports on the public impact of the Royal Society's Year of Science | 30 12 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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75 |
Material: New Hominid; Einstein; Cooking for Geeks 23 Dec 10 | DNA analysis of the fragment of finger bone found in Siberia has shown that it is likely to be a new species of hominid: we discuss the findings; Quentin meets former chemistry professor Peter Plesch who reminisces about family friend Albert Einstein; and Jeff Potter, author of 'Cooking for Geeks', tells Quentin how to cook a perfect Christmas turkey in just 15 minutes. | 23 12 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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76 |
Material: Science and Disasters, Deepwater Horizon, Haiti Earthquake 16 Dec 2010 | 2010 - year of disasters. Floods, wild fires, volcanoes, earthquakes, and a record breaking oil spill. Material World has time and again been reporting on some of the disasters that have struck over the year. And earth scientists gather at the American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting in San Francisco to review their data from each event, Quentin Cooper asks how science helped, and what the lessons are for the future. | 16 12 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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77 |
Material: Drugs policy, Space travel and Genome sequencers | Quentin Cooper presents his weekly digest of science in and behind the headlines. In the programme this week he discusses the new government proposals to include fewer science voices on the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs. Getting into space is still proving harder than it looks, Quentin looks back on recent mishaps in man's attempts to conquer space. Also in the programme, will we soon be sequencing our own genomes in our own homes? | 9 12 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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78 |
Material: Cold weather, African self-sufficiency, Maple seed flight, Red dwarfs; 02 Dec 10 | This week on Material World, we find out why some places in the UK are particularly cold. What makes these ‘frost hollows’ so much colder than their surrounding regions. Could Africa feed itself within a generation, apparently it could according to a leading figure in the field of international development. A new flying vehicle based on the maple seed has been developed by students in the US. The new invention could be used to map remote canyons on Earth and Mars, as well as gather atmospheric climate date for years at a time. And many, many more stars in the sky than we thought. | 2 12 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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79 |
Material: Recession and a warming world, Liquid Universe, Stranded cetaceans, Alan Turing; 25 Nov 10 | Gareth Mitchell discusses the recession and its impact on the climate, high energy nuclear collisions at CERN, stranded cetaceans and Alan Turing's papers. | 25 11 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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80 |
Material: fighting crop disease, anti-matter, Tycho Brahe 18 Nov 2010 | Quentin Cooper presents this week’s digest of science in and behind the headlines. In this edition: the development of disease resistant crops the better to feed our swelling population; trapping anti-hydrogen atoms to unravel one of the great mysteries in physics; and exhuming the body of Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe to find out whether he really died of a bladder infection. | 18 11 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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81 |
Material: Large Hadron Collider, snow and global warming, invisible material 11 Nov 2010 | Quentin Cooper presents this week’s digest of science in and behind the headlines. In this edition: The Large Hadron Collider and how smashing lead ions together help our understanding of what happened at the birth of our Universe; after the first snowfall this season, a look at what scientists have discovered about last year’s cold snap and how it relates to global warming; and the first steps to an invisibility cloak that will hide any object wrapped inside. | 11 11 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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82 |
Material: Space Station; Dragonflies; Turbine 04 Nov 2010 | The International Space Station - is it worth the cost? Giant Dragonflies from the First Forests; The Electrical Generator that Changed the World. | 4 11 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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83 |
Material: Indonesia Tsunami; Merapi Volcano; Space Tourism; First Electronics 28 Oct 10 | Indonesian disasters: Quentin hears from the experts about the causes of this week's Sumatran earthquake and tsunami, and the latest eruption of Mount Merapi on Java, and how science can help. And pollution from space travel. As the world's richest line up for the first private flights into space, experts warn that rocket exhausts could exacerbate the problem of global warming. Also, after the last in the series A History of the World in a Hundred Objects celebrates the latest in electrical gadgetry, Quentin sees the humble glass electrical valve that kick started the whole electronic revolution. | 28 10 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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84 |
Material: Science & The Spending Review 21 Oct 2010 | Science Minister David Willetts tells Quentin Cooper and a panel of experts about the effects of the spending review on the research budget. | 21 10 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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85 |
Material: Stem cell trials, Archaeology & human remains, Interplanetary encounters: 14 Oct 2010 | Stem cell trials - Geron's spinal cord therapy starts after years of regulatory wrangles. Human remains and archaeology - researchers complain of burdensome regulations. And a brief encounter with a comet chaser NASA's Deep Impact space probe is closing in on the Comet Hartley 2; Quentin hears about the science astronomers hope to learn from the encounter. | 14 10 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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86 |
Material: Nobel Prizes, the Sun & climate 07 Oct 2010 | This week the latest science Nobel Laureates have been announced and Quentin will not only look at who got what and why, but how the awards are being used to argue against UK government plans to cut science funding; and new research into the Sun’s effect on the Earth’s climate seems to be contrary to expectations. | 7 10 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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87 |
Material: Gliese 581 g, Dry water, Mobile and internet use, Crick 30 Sep 2010 | Discovery of new planet Gliese 581 g, a demonstration of dry water, patterns in mobile phone and the internet usage and the lost correspondence of Francis Crick. | 30 9 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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88 |
Material: Sept 23rd 2010 | Gene therapy, 20 years after the first trial. Forensic archaeology in the search for the 'disappeared' from Northern Ireland's troubles. And British geology in your pocket. | 23 9 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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89 |
Material: So You Want To Be A Scientist Final | Quentin hosts the live final of the "So You Want To Be A Scientist" competition. The four finalists present their findings to a panel of judges. Who will be this year's best amateur scientist? | 16 9 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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90 |
Material: 9th September 2010 | Quentin Cooper presents this week’s digest of science in and behind the headlines. In this edition; Business Secretary Vince Cable has unveiled plans for a squeeze on public funding for scientific research. Quentin discusses what this could mean for British Science. An attempt to answer the question of why human evolution defies the principles of natural selection and why, although we dominate the planet, we have become the weakest ape, physically. The European eel is on the decline with no obvious reason why. The ‘Eeliad’ project will use GPS find out what happens on their migration across the Atlantic Ocean. A week before the So You Want To Be A Scientist final, Nina Jones and her mentor Dr Bernie Hogan talk to Quentin about their findings as they continue to analyse the results from their Facebook experiment. | 9 9 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
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91 |
Material: Cluster Mission, SYWTBAS Update, Bioconcrete, Fruit Flies 02 Sep 10 | The Cluster mission is ten years old this week; Quentin discusses how its findings help us understand the protective properties of the magnetosphere against solar winds. The problem of cracking concrete and its potential bacterial solution is discussed as he looks at bio-concrete which uses a strain of mineral-eating bacteria to do the job. As the humble fruit fly stars in its own conference Quentin takes a closer look at how important Drosophilia are in genetic experiments; and he interviews all four So You Want To Be A Scientist finalists at the crucial results phase of their experiments. | 2 9 10 | Free | View In iTunes |
| Total: 91 Episodes |
Customer Reviews
This is my top tip for long distance travelers
Material World has long been a favourite of mine when in the car. Now, with the podcast, I can take in on the plane as well. Long haul just whizzes by when you have this kind of brain food to digest. Also try out my other favourites: In Our Time, Friday Night Comedy and (gulp) Russel Brand.
You cant buy quality. so get it for free
Iv listened to this for so long and enjoyed evey one ish and have been sad to miss any . BUT NOW i cant miss anymore YEEEE HAAAA !
material world
delightfully nerdy funny and interesting, I am a big fan
