- Philip Strange
In 2009, the synthetic stimulant mephedrone became a hugely popular recreational drug for young people in the UK while at the same time it was demonised by the media. Although it was eventually made illegal, drug policy and availability will never be the same...
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- David Collins
Countless atomic recipes and crystal arrangements mean there are literally trillions of possible materials that could be made. So, without hunting for the equivalent of an atom-sized needle in a galactic-scale haystack, how do we find the ones with the properties we want? Materials scientists David Collins and Bryce Conduit are on the case...
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- John Aveson
Spinning hundreds of times per second and carrying a load equivalent to the weight of a family car, often at temperatures approaching the melting point of the metal, the blades in a modern jet engine have to withstand what is arguably one of the harshest environments any engineered material must face. So what are the substances that can rise to this challenge, and how do they beat the odds? To find out, materials scientist John Aveson explores the science of the superalloy...
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- Katrina Stewart
Have you ever wondered why people donate their body to medical science? Or what goes on in the dissection room? Medical student, Katrina Stewart speaks to doctor and film-maker, Paul Trotman, about his new film, Donated to Science. The film explores the journey of body donation from the point of view of both the donors and the students.
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- Caroline Bell
Barnacles and mussels have an intimate relationship, but are they welcome house guests or uninvited squatters?
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- Jeff Zilahy
The digital world is all around us, and is becoming evermore layered and integrated into our lives. Technology, computing, the Web and mobile phones, to name but a few, are now accepted parts of our lives, but are not all that well understood. Jeff Zihaly introduces the maths behind your computer screen...
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- Natalie Roberts
As more carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere, the world's oceans become more acidic, affecting the ability of marine organisms to produce shells. So can these species survive?
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- Smitha Mundasad
First came fire. Cavemen rubbed sticks together and there it was, a source of ‘artificial’ heat and light, giving us freedom from the night and control over our days. Torches, candles, lanterns and kerosene lamps have each played their part in the evolution of human-controlled light over the last two millennia. In some respects though, the problems with the ways in which the world gets its light, haven’t changed since ancient times.
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- Richard Lomax
The seabed is surprisingly clean considering the amount of waste, both natural and man-made, that gets dumped in the oceans. So how does the ocean do it?
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- Richard Lomax
Southern right whales live in the southern oceans that surround Antarctica. In the winter, they move north, settling in the warmer waters around Argentina, Australia and South Africa. Although a major tourist attraction, very little is known about these majestic sea mammals. Richard Lomax, a keen diver and snorkeller from South Africa, tells us about one of his encounters with this elusive whale.
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