Physics Interviews

Seeking Out Storms - Planet Earth Online

2012 began with gale force winds, localised flooding and travel disruptions in the UK. But not everyone is sorry to see the stormy weather. Here's Professor Robin Hogan telling us how he tracks, and predicts, thunderstorms..... Professor Robin Hogan, Reading University

The Magnetic Moon

When Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin brought back the first samples of moon rock in 1969, scientists were surprised to see telltale signs in the material that the moon had once had a magnetic field – much like the one we have around the Earth. Now, another look at one of those 1969 samples has revealed something very unexpected...Erin Shea, MIT

Meeting MIRI - The Mid Infra Red Instrument

The Mid Infra Red Instrument, or MIRI, is due to fly on the James Webb Space Telescope, and will observe distant galaxies and cold gas and dust. It can observe light with a wavelength of 5 to 27 microns, which is virtually impossible on Earth, where it is absorbed by the atmosphere. MIRI hopes to see the most distant galaxies and shed light on the distribution of hydrogen gas in the universe...Dr Helen Walker, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory

Astronomical Imaging, NEOShield and the Aurora

Robert Massey returns with a roundup of news from the Royal Astronomical Society. This month; The history of astronomical imaging, Near Earth Objects and Auroras above northern Britain...Dr Robert Massey, Royal Astronomical Society

Suicidal Comets and Dancing Beetles

Comets plummeting into the Sun's atmosphere, why exercise can keep diabetes at bay, how the public are helping seismology research and why Dung beetles like to dance...Carey Lisse, John Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory; Congcong He, University of Texas Southwestern medical centre; Richard Allen, UC Berkeley; Emilay Baird, University of Lund

Wiring the Brain to Robotic Limbs

Scientists are moving closer to developing ways to interface with the brain and to decode what nerve cells are saying to each other, and can use this neural chatter to connect the brain to artificial limbs...Professor Andrew Schwartz, University of Pittsburgh

Implants to improve impaired vision

How implanting a new chip which contains light sensors and an amplifier could be a treatment for impaired vision for patients with retinitis pigmentosa...Dr. Marcus Groppe, Nuffield Laboratory of Ophthalmology

What is cybernetics?

What is cybernetics? Does it include things like pacemakers and cochlear implants? How is it being used to treat Parkinson's, Depression and Tourette's Syndrome? Kevin Warwick discusses what we can learn about ourselves by mixing man with machine...Kevin Warwick, Reading University

Potentially Pandemic H5N1

Should we publish details of how to make viruses with pandemic potential? We explore the controversy and meet one of the scientists whose work is under question...Mark Peplow, Nature; Ron Fouchier, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam

Walking on the Seabed, Miniature Steam engines and Cool Mosquitoes

We explore how African lungfish are providing insight into the evolution of walking, the design of the world's smallest steam engine, how birds tweet at a higher pitch to be heard in the city and reveal just how mosquitoes keep their cool...Heather King, University of Chicago; Clemens Bechinger, University of Stuttgart; Emily Mockford, University of Aberystwyth; Claudio Lazzari, University of Tours

The Naked Scientists Dream Gadgets

The team discuss what they would most like to get under their tree this Christmas...Dominic Ford, Helen Scales, Dave Ansell

The Death of Biostatistics?

Given that people are increasingly using crowd source data in their research, are old style stats still up to the job? Arnoldo Frigessi explores...Arnoldo Frigessi, University of Oslo in Norway

Gleaning the mood of the nation

Social scientists have been taking advantage of mobile phones and social networking sites to unobtrusively capture vast amounts of information in order to analyse our behaviour. We discuss how such tactics are deployed...Dr Jason Rentfrow, Cambridge University

Underwater Welding

Welding up at metal pipe doesn't sound terribly tricky, but what about when it's 1 km underwater? Engineer Neil Woodward has pioneered a robotic underwater solution...Neil Woodward, Isotek Oil and Gas Ltd, Cranfield University

Gauging Photo Fakery

Also this week - scientists in the US have developed a computer programme that can spot the degree to which photos have been digitally doctored... Hany Farid, Dartmouth College

Imaging with sound

One technique which will probably be familiar with from medicine is sonography or imaging with sound. To find out how ultrasonic waves can help us see inside metal components, I met Bristol University’s Professor Bruce Drinkwater...Professor Bruce Drinkwater, Bristol University

Imaging with heat

Now most people will have seen a thermal camera - a special type of camera that can detect the far infrared radiation that's emitted by hot things. These are used by rescue workers to find injured people and also by the police to find hiding criminals. They’re also incredibly useful in the world of non-destructive evaluation as the technique of thermography is great at seeing otherwise invisible defects in materials.....Tony Dunhill, Rolls Royce and British Institute of Nondestructive testing

Lensless Microscopes

Changhuei Yang explains his design for a lensless microscope...Professor Changhuei Yang, University of California Institute of Technology

Bionic Lenses, Night Vision and Stress on the Brain...

Lenses displaying emails before your eyes, flowing materials, stress on the mind and a night flowering orchid...Babak Parviz, University of Washington; Erno Hermans, Donders Institute; Zhengwei Pan, University of Georgia; Andrew Shuiteman, Kew Gardens

Flu vaccines from tabacco plants

A new biotechnology company called Medicago have developed a technique for quickly and cheaply producing vaccines using tobacco plants. Genes from the flu virus are added to the plants using a bacterial Trojan horse and Professor Brian Ward from McGill University is the medical officer for Medicago and he told me how it works.......Professor Brian Ward from McGill University