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Wave crashing

Making waves

... world. But how do we study them and why do they matter? Tom Crawford went along to Cambridge University’s Maths ... So it’s a very long tank that we use to produce waves. Tom - Along the line, it looks like about a 10-metre long ...

The Millennium Maths Problems

Solve this and you'll win $1 million...

... Dollars. Graihagh Jackson spoke to Cambridge University's Tom Crawford to find out what these problems are... Tom - So, yeah. These are sort of a second reincarnation of ...

A human heart and lungs

Looking inside your heart

... correctly and that the heart muscle is a healthy shape. Tom Crawford volunteered to be a guinea pig… Clare - I’m ... also do 3D images so we can get a 3D model of the heart. Tom - From my point of view, looking at the machine, it kind ...

A fireball caused by an explosion

The blast lab

... an explosion. Bill and his PhD student David Sory showed Tom Crawford around their bomb lab... Tom - Here we are at Imperial or more precisely, the physics ...

Hands on a fence

Game theory: The prisoner's dilemma

... game theory to model early human behaviour and he spoke to Tom Crawford... Sergey - In our models we included two different ... group or territory over some amazing opportunities. Tom - So would I be right in thinking the idea of us versus ...

Intravenous Drip

Simulating Operations

... And it can be very realistic, and very stressful, as Tom Crawford found out when Gareth Wills from Vascular ... see the coronary arteries. And your wire is in the arm… Tom - I can see it inside the… Gareth - This is the forearm ...

Why are fingerprints unique?

This week, Tom Crawford put Helen's question under the magnifying glass to ... unique and if so, whether the same applies to toeprints? Tom - The movies say that if your fingerprints are found at ...

A knotted rope

Scientists tie the nano-knot

... bend and entwine short strings of carbon-rich molecules. Tom Crawford heard how from lead author David Leigh... David - ... it the tightest knotted physical structure ever made. Tom - How small is this thing? David - The width of the ...

The Science of Wimbledon tennis

... And it’s a match of the titans today. Georgia Mills and Tom Crawford have come armed with their top tennis facts. It's ... fibre set in glue which is high strength and low weight. Tom - And not all rackets are vegetarian. Some strings are ...

Bioluminescent bamboo coral

Glow in the dark corals

... hearing about the amazing glow in the dark corals, we sent Tom Crawford along to Jorg Wiedenmann's exhibit at the Royal Society Summer Exhibition to check them out... Tom - Jörg has brought me inside a very darkly lit room and ...

Cyanobacteria, one of the sources of oxygen on the early Earth

The algae that started it all

... led to the birth of the science we now call optogenetics. Tom Crawford went to see Cambridge University’s Otti Croze and ... and in these circumstances in extreme conditions... Tom - It’s about minus 10. Well it’s not but it’s ...

A person holding a cup of coffee while using a smartphone

Are electronic personal assistants the future?

... is: will we spend all of our time talking to gadgets? Tom Crawford spoke to tech expert and Angel Investor Peter Cowley ... can add entries into your calendar, etc. - lots of things. Tom - You’ve brought one of them along with you to the ...

Sunday Lunch

Do roast potatoes give you cancer?

... or black, to help to reduce the amount of acrylamide. Tom Crawford spoke to Jasmine Just at Cancer Research UK… ... gives it that roasted, charred taste that you might know. Tom - So we’re thinking roast potatoes or brown toast? ...

A sperm and egg meeting

The Nuts and Bolts of Fertility

How do you make a baby? Tom Crawford and Georgia Mills have been finding out; here’s ... about the cells that make reproduction possible… Tom - Men produce sperm non-stop throughout their life. It ...

Cyclists make their way up the Cote de Buttertubs in Yorkshire for the Tour de France

The science of faster bicycles

... riders, there’s some serious science behind the bikes as Tom Crawford has been finding out. But first, a flashback to five ... of cycling. Sir Chris Hoy is in uncharted waters now… Tom - It still gives me goosebumps even now. Not content with ...

Woman pulling metal weight in physiotherapy

Naked mole rat treatment for stroke

... to the cells in their body without using oxygen. He told Tom Crawford more about these fascinating creatures… Ewan - ... animals are workers so it’s a very highly social mammal. Tom - You’ve discovered how they are able to survive ...

How fluids move has puzzled scientists and mathematicians for centuries...

Navier Stokes: equation to rule them all

... body. Fluids expert and mathematician Keith Moffatt took Tom Crawford down to the deep dark depths of Cambridge's maths lab... Tom - We've just gone underground and we're stood outside a ...

Anglerfish

Critter of the Week: Anglerfish

In the final Critter of the Week, Tom Crawford is here to reveal this week’s villainous candidate. Tom - Name: anglerfish, Phylum: chordate. Location: ...

DNA

The Naked Science of a DNA test

... seriously should we take their results? Izzie Clarke and Tom Crawford spoke to Garrett Hellenthal from UCL and Julianna Cintron from 23andMe in order to find out… Tom - Fill the tube with saliva to the black wavy line… ...

A variety of pills

Can a pill make you fitter?

... for a much longer period of time and gained less weight! Tom Crawford spoke to senior researcher Weiwei Fan to find out ... genes that burn sugar for energy that your muscle needs. Tom - So basically, when we exercise this protein is ...

An ant walking

Can ants feel pain?

Tom Crawford went crawling around for the answer with York ... but feeling no pain is what’s known as nociception. Tom - I find it hard to separate the idea of feeling pain and ... in which they experience pain, but without nociception. Tom - So we know that ants can sense harm and react to it - ...

Branching pattern in tissues

How do tissues grow?

... arise in tissues such as the lungs, kidneys and pancreas. Tom Crawford spoke to researcher Edouard Hannezo... Edouard – ... in a simple way in order to generate a mature organ. Tom – So in some sense each cell is kind of doing its own ...

Astronaut Buzz Aldrin poses for a photograph beside the United States flag

What would happen if I peed on the moon?

... from the University of Glasgow was on hand to help Tom Crawford with Michael's question. Chris - The answer depends ... times further than on earth depending on the trajectory. Tom - So when I pee on earth, what shape is the arc that ...

Smiling laptop

Are Internet Filters Really Keeping Children Safe?

... of blocking or ‘overblocking’ of useful content. Tom Crawford spoke to Oxford University’s Victoria Nash… ... in stopping children from having nasty experiences online. Tom - How did you assess how effective these filters were ...

Line of cocaine

Cocaine addiction leads to iron build up in the brain

... the team don’t yet know what the iron is doing there. Tom Crawford spoke with lead author Dr Karen Ersche... Karen - We ... in the blood, and increased levels of iron in the brain. Tom - What did you do in this study to find these results? ...