Science Interviews

Unlocking secrets of the West African manatee

Exploring the mysterious lives of and a threatened marine mammal.Lucy Keith Diagne, Sea to Shore Alliance

Critter of the Month - Stoplight fish

Bioluminescence expert Edie Widder chooses a sneaky deep sea fish for Critter of the MonthEdie Widder, Ocean Conservation and Research Association

New Ways to Monitor Diabetes

We explore how chemists at the University of Bristol are finding new molecules to monitor and treat diabetes...Charles Rennie, University of Bristol

The Conservation Hotlist - Planet Earth Online

Richard Hollingham explores the hotlist of conservation issues facing the world today...Bill Sutherland, University of Cambridge

Fooling the Brain with Diet Foods

Could diet foods be making you fat? We investigate whether low calorie foods such as sweeteners and low fat alternatives can fool our brains into underestimating the energy content of the full fat versions...Susie Swithers, Purdue University

Eating Behaviour and Appetite

The eating habits we develop early in life can be very hard to change. Marion Hetherington discusses why this is and how it could be changed...Marion Hetherington, University of Leeds

Elephants in the Outback

Introducing new species has proved disasterous for the Australian ecosystem. So it's no wonder that ecologist David Bowman has met controversy with his suggestion that, to stablise the system, we may need to introduce even more...David Bowman, University of Tasmania

Eavesdropping with Electrodes, Predicting an Eruption and muscle repair with a massage!

How scientists are eavesdropping using electrodes, predicting eruptions using magma, healing wounds with honey and massaging away your aches and pains...Brian Pasley, University of California, Berkeley; Tim Druitt, Blaise Pascal University; Sarah Maddocks, University of Cardiff; Mark Tornopolsky, McMaster University

Studying seagrasses: from plastic bucket to planet

J. Emmett Duffy, Virginia Institute of Marine Science

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

Mapping a Mushroom Trip, Speedy genes and Magnetic Soap!

How mapping a mushroom trip could provide treatments for depression, the gene behind a winning racehorse, the world's first magnetic soap and the social networks of our ancestors...Robin Carhart-Harris, Imperial College London; Emmeline Hill, University College Dublin; Julian Eastoe, University of Bristol; Coren Apicella, Harvard Medical School.

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

Distortions Detect Dark Matter

Gravitational lensing is allowing us to detect things we otherwise wouldn't be able to see. Oxford University’s Dr Lance Miller explains to Andrew Pontzen how we can use distortions caused by the gravitational pull of dark matter to explore its distribution...Dr Lance Miller, Oxford University

Vitamin D and Cancer

An international consortium last year confirmed that aspirin can protect people with a genetic predisposition to bowel cancer. Now, they are turning their attention to finding out what Vitamin D could do for cancer...Professor Sir John Burn, Newcastle University

New Species at Hydrothermal Vents - Planet Earth Online

We explore the disovery of new species in the hydrothermal vents of Antarctica...Katrin Linse and Ali Graham, British Antarctic Survey

Vitamin D Deficiency and Multiple Sclerosis

How is Vitamin D linked to autoimmunity and the central nervous system? With us to discuss the research is Prof. George Ebers from Oxford University, expert in Multiple Sclerosis....Professor George Ebers, Oxford University

The Epidemiology of Vitamin D

Introducing Vitamin D: how deficient are we? And what disorders are linked with deficiency?Elina Hypponen, University College London

The balance between Vitamin D production and Skin Cancer prevention

Apart from food, a major source of vitamin D is exposure to sunlight which makes the hormone in the skin. So, some sun is good but therein lies the rub because sunlight can also cause skin cancer. Kat Arney discussing how to balance between the two...Kat Arney, Cancer Research UK