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24th Jun 2007

ARMAGEDDON! - The Science of Supervolcanoes, Meteor Strikes, Earthquakes and Arsenic


Chris Smith

Kat Arney

This week a rabies-based Trojan Horse that smuggles drugs across the blood-brain barrier, why first-borns are brighter, progress with Parkinson's and a lunar telescope more powerful than Hubble. Plus in this week's ARMAGEDDON-focused show we look at supervolcanes, earthquakes and arsenic, find out why curtains are absolutely lethal and why a meteorite impact probably didn't dispense with the dinosaurs after all. Also, in Kitchen Science, we test the claim that tapping the top of a fizzy drink before you open it stops it spraying all over you...

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Science News

 

Backing up your Immune System - On Ice

A UK-based company, LifeForce, are offering an "immune system backup" facility whereby they store white blood cells collected when an individual is healthy so that they can be reinfused...
 

It’s true – big sisters are smarter…

Here’s some news that confirms what our Dr Kat has suspected for some time – the oldest child in a family is likely to have a higher IQ than his or her siblings.  A Norwegian team found that firs...
 

Rabies-based Trojan Horse to Smuggle Drugs into the Brain

Harvard Scientists have tamed one of nature's nastiest pathogens by turning part of the rabies virus into a powerful therapeutic tool. Manju Swamy and his team borrowed the surface coat of the virus t...
 

Parkinson’s progress

A study in the latest edition of the Lancet suggests that a new gene therapy might be a safe and effective way to stave off the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease.  A dozen patients with advanced Pa...
 

Mirror Mirror on the Moon

Space scientists have come up with a way to make a moon-based telescope 1000 times more powerful than Hubble. But unlike traditional telescopes their's uses a liquid as its mirror. The idea relies on ...

Kitchen Science

 

Coke Can Eruption


Does tapping the top of a can keep you safe from a fizz eruption?
Dave,

re, kitchen science. Is this also the reason why drink machines drop your can on it's side, to dislodge some of the bubbles?...
- paul.fr - 29th Jun 07

It will do this, and I think it is because the impact is absorbed by the drink spinning rather than shaking and going turbulent which tends to mix in ...
- daveshorts - 29th Jun 07

excellent, cheers dave....
- paul.fr - 30th Jun 07
Whole Thread | Post Reply

Interviews

 

It's GigaCurtains for us!

Joel Veitch, Rathergood.com
 

How Dinos Died - Meteorites, Flood Lava and Supervolcanoes

Dr Janet Sumner, the Open University.
 

Deep Quake

Dr Peter Kelemen, Columbia University
 

Poisoned Land - Arsenic in Argentina

Dr Michael Watts, British Geological Survey
 

Science Update - Health

Chelsea Wald and Bob Hirshon, AAAS

Questions

 

Why do we use carbon dioxide to make drinks fizzy? Why not air, or some other gas?


 

Why is it that when beer has gone flat, the fizz seems to come back when you add some salt? It there a chemical reaction at work?


 

Should there be a sign at fuel stations about soccer (football) shirts causing sparks? I seen the sparks from the shirt but never seen sparks caused by a moblie phone etc. We have signs about phones etc. at the fuel station. Is there more potential to start a fire from a shirt then a phone?


 

In an eleven month period recently I had 3 CAT scans and one PET scan. For the last two CAT scans they said “no contrast”, which was, apparently something to drink 15 minutes before the scan. I thought it might be something with a large scattering cross section for X-radiation but I don’t know – 15 minutes seemed like a short time to get to the blood. What is it and what does it bring out??


 

Sometimes, as I fall asleep, I feel my legs jerk powerfully. This is usually accompanied by a dream about falling. Why does this happen?


ARMAGEDDON! - The Science of Supervolcanoes, Meteor Strikes, Earthquakes and Arsenic - More about this podcast

 

Natural Hazards

 This week on the Naked Scientists Radio Show we're looking at Natural Hazards, with Dr Janet Sumner from the Open University, Prof Peter Kelemen of Columbia University and Dr Michael Watts of the British Geological Survey.

Super-eruptions

Super-volcanoes have had a lot of press attention recently, particularly with regard to Yellowstone, but are we really at risk from an eruption that could wipe out all living things or is it just a minor possibility millions of years from now? Janet is a Research Fellow at the Open University in Milton Keynes, and she'll be on the show to explain how super-eruptions work. She's researched lots of active volcanoes including Stromboli, Etna and Hawaii. She does lots of work in the field (climbing active volcanoes can be pretty dangerous stuff) and also does experiments in her laboratory which focus on fluid dynamics. This can be quite a tasty experience as some of her lab apparatus includes a bucket of golden syrup and creme eggs, to find out how they contribute to her knowledge you'll have to tune in to the show.

Cracking research

Peter is researching intermediate-depth earthquakes, which are notoriously difficult to understand because at a depth of 50 kilometres or more in the Earth the pressures on faults deep beneath the surfaces are so large that it is not clear how they can undergo brittle fractures. Different types of earthquake occur at different depths in the ground particularly in the so-called ring of fire around the Pacific, where oceanic crust and upper mantle are being pushed beneath the surrounding continental plates. There are earthquakes from a whole range of depths, from very near the surface to several hundred kilometres. Peter will be on the show to explain how earthquakes starting at depths of 50 kilometres in the Earth may occur because of the rapid melting and viscous creep in the rock. The idea is that this work will take us a step closer to being able to predict when earthquakes are about to happen.

 Mining in Afghanistan

Afghanistan is a country which has been ravaged by war in recent years, it is now gradually being rebuilt. Part of the reconstruction involves developing the country's natural resources, which include: gold, silver, copper, zinc, coal, natural gas and oil and precious and semi-precious stones, such as lapis, emerald and azure. Accurate geological surveys need to be carried out in order to locate deposits of mineral resources, which will be helpful for potential investors. This calls for the rebuilding of the Afghanistan Geological Survey (AGS), which is happening now with the help of geological surveys from the UK, US, Japan and Czech Republic.

Michael is a chemist with the British Geological Survey (BGS), he is the deputy leader of the BGS project which aims to get the AGS laboratories up and running. So far, five laboratories have been established: a sample preparation lab (for crushing rocks), an industrial mineral lab (for testing the physical properties of minerals), a thin-section lab (produces samples for microscopic examination), a petrographic lab (for classifying and characterising rocks samples) and a gem analysis lab. Michael who has just returned from Afghanistan will be on the show to tell us about his work out there, including challenges such as contaminated land and what the next stages of the project hold.

To learn more about super-eruptions, mid-depth earthquakes and geological hazards in Afghanistan – tune in the The Naked Scientists Radio Show and Podcast.

 

 

 

 

 




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