Science Interviews

The Microbiology of Cheese

Professor Martin Adams talks through how cheddar and stilton cheeses are made.Martin Adams, University of Surrey

Speedy Neutrinos, Hydrogen Cells and Promiscuous Females.

A roundup of the week's science news including neutrinos moving faster than light, anti-virals from sharks, limitless Hydrogen supplies and the benefits of female promiscuity... James Gillies, CERN; Michael Zasloff, Georgetown University; Bruce Logan, Pennsylvania State University; Matthew Gage, University of East Anglia

Fact Impact - Asteroids

Fact Impact: A high-speed run-down of facts about AsteroidsAnna Dodge and Carolin Crawford

Future Fridges

The CEO of Camfridge, Neil Wilson, explains new refrigeration technology which could double the efficiency of household fridges.Neil Wilson, Camfridge

Where do all the salmon go? Planet Earth Online

Salmon numbers in the UK have been falling since the 1970s. This isn't down to overfishing, so scientists are trying to find out why. However, salmon are pretty tricky to follow. Their life cycle takes them from rivers into the open oceans, and then back again to rivers to breed. Now, a new technique that uses samples of the fish’s scales could change all that.Dr Clive Trueman & Dr Kirsteen MacKenzie, University of Southampton

Cryoprotectant Molecules - Nature's Anti-freeze

Freezing is a great way to slow down chemical reactions and this is why we use a freezer to stop food going off and why organs that are going to be transplanted are kept cold. Freezing can do serious damage to biological tissues, but some organisms have evolved very clever chemical ways around this. Lorna Dougan is biophysicist at Leeds University who's been trying to figure out how this works.Lorna Dougan, University of Leeds

Controlling Cooling to Preserve Organs

New advances in preserving organs so that they are healthy for transplantation...Barry Fuller, UCL

X Ray Vision from New Super CT Scanner

Prehistoric marine monsters, human tissue, aircraft wings and even fossilised crocodile dung are yielding their innermost secrets to a unique new X-ray Imaging Centre.Professor Ian Sinclair, University of Southampton

Planting Vaccines, Detecting Lies and Paternal Men

A round up the week's science news including the planting of vaccines, lie detection, elements at risk and testosterone levels in fathers...Brian Ward, McGill University; Frances Wall, University of Exeter; Prashant Pillai, University of Bradford; Hassan Yugail, University of Bradford; Christopher Kuzawa, Northwestern University.

What are Supercomputers used for?

Paul Calleja explains the workings and uses of the Cambridge University High Performance Computing Resource Cluster named 'Darwin'...Paul Calleja, University of Cambridge

How do Supercomputers Work?

Supercomputers are, as the name suggests, extremely powerful computing devices. They are used to model extremely complicated systems such as the weather as well as for high precision simulations and complex calculations required in quantum physics. So that might be molecular modelling, it might even be predicting revolutions and many, many more things. Chris Maynard from the EPCC explains more...Chris Maynard, Edinburgh Parallel Computing Centre

The World Community Grid

Joe Jasinski explains the workings of the World Community Grid and this supercomputer hopes to benefit benefit humankind...Joe Jasinski, IBM Research

Attracting Bees with Wild Flowers - Planet Earth Online

Over the last few years there have been various government schemes here in the UK to pay farmers to plant live grass strips around the edges of fields of crops. The idea is to encourage wildlife but research suggests they might be better off planting wild flowers...Robin Blake, University of Reading & Mark Robbins

Special Stem Cells With Single Sets of Chromosomes

Researchers in Cambridge have created mammalian stem cells that only contain a single set of chromosomes. Most mammalian cells are diploid - they contain two copies of each chromosome. This is a complication for cell biologists and geneticists, hoping to study the function of individual genes...Anton Wutz, Cambridge University

Social weight Loss, Youthful plants and Moon Landings

Socialising to lose weight, polymers for probiotics, the never-ageing plant and picturing Moon landings...Matthew During, Ohio state University, Iza Radeska, University of Wolverhampton, Johan Erlean, Stockholm University, Mark Robinson, NASA

Whaling logs help us dive into past climates

Whaling log books from the 18th and 19th centuries are providing unlikely but powerful insights into our changing climate.Dinah Molloy Thompson, Scott Polar Research Institute

Critter of the month - Loggerhead turtle

Wallace J. Nichols picks a long distance migrant on a fascinating pan-ocean journey as our critter of the month.Wallace J. Nichols, California Academy of Sciences

Science and management of whale hunting

Is there such a thing as sustainable whaling? And will the hunt continue? We find from the Secretary and head scientist of the International Whaling Commission.Simon Brockington and Greg Donovan, International Whaling Commission

Carbon Capture and Utilisation - Planet Earth Online

Richard Hollingham explores the process of carbon capture and utilisation where the carbon removed from our atmosphere could be turned into bricks and mortar...Anthony Benham, Marco Drea, Mercedes Maroto-Valer, University of Nottingham

The James Webb Telescope

Dr. Matt Mountain explains the design of the James Webb Telescope and how infra-red will be used to study the very first galaxies that ever formed...Dr. Matt Mountain, Space Telescope Science Institute