
Lab-grown leather; Goal line technology; Bacteria outrage; Marine buoy
Cultured meat was on the menu earlier this week, but Mark Post's public tasting of his lab-grown burger marks the culmination of decades of research on producing artificial meat. Adam Rutherford talks to one of the other major players in the world of manmade animal products, Gabor Forgacs. However, his company, Modern Meadow, is concentrating on launching a different product first - cultured leather.The football season is about to start, and for the first time electronic Goal Line Technology will be introduced. This year will see the Hawk-Eye system deployed at all Premier League grounds in an attempt to help referees make more informed decisions. But how will it work, and how accurate can it be? Inside Science speaks with the inventor, Paul Hawkins, and the engineers who are testing it to international standards.A bacteria or a bacterium? We sparked a controversy on last week's programme by using bacteria to describe a singular microbe. Adam talks to evolutionary biologist Mark Pagel about how words evolve and whether scientists can halt their adaptation.This week on 'Show Us Your Instrument', oceanographer Helen Czerski introduces her giant marine buoy. She'll be sailing into the eye of a storm just off the south coast of Greenland later this year, where the buoy will measure bubbles to help refine climate models.
8 Elo 201327min

2D supermaterials; Inside an MRI; Antarctic architecture
Nobel Prize and - as of this week, Copley Medal - winner Andre Geim outlined in Nature today his vision for the next generation of super-materials. Chemist Prof Andrea Sella joins Adam to explain how the discovery of graphene may have been the start of a remarkable new class of tailor made materials technically known as 'Van der Waals heterostructures'.This week on Show Us Your Instrument, Prof Sophie Scott introduces the MRI machine and explains why you never press the 'quench' button, unless you want to blow the roof off.Finally, an exhibition on Antarctic architecture opens on Friday 26th July in Glasgow, commissioned by the British Council and curated by The Arts Catalyst. We talk to Hugh Broughton who designed the new Halley VI base, a Thunderbirds inspired building, perched on top of stilts, on top of skis.Plus, Adam calls the current Halley Base Commander, Agnieszka Fryckowska, to find out what it's like to live and work during three months of darkness.Producer: Michelle Martin.
25 Heinä 201327min

Animal research; Astronaut selection; Show us your instrument
This week saw the publication of the annual government statistics on scientific research on animals. Overall, it again shows an increase, but does that tell the whole story? Wendy Jarrett of the organisation Understanding Animal Research shares her thoughts.We hear from amateur and professional would-be astronauts about their training regime and selection process from Major Tim Peake, the UK’s next astronaut, to science broadcaster, Sue Nelson.Plus, the first in our new series ‘Show Us Your Instrument’. Material scientist Mark Miodownik introduces the wonders of the Transmission Electron Microscope, with music composed by the New Radiophonic Workshop.
18 Heinä 201329min

Bioscience to bioweapons; Synthetic diamonds; Stem cell transplants
Scientists investigate viruses in order to save lives. But could that same knowledge also help other people create dangerous viruses to use as weapons of terror?This Thursday evening, a public debate is being held by the Society of Biology around these issues of "Dual Use" research. In an age of synthetic biology, mail order genes, and open access publication, what are the pros and cons of sharing virology research?Also this week, a new centre for research into synthetic diamonds was opened by UK Science Minister David Willetts. Inside Science reporter Marnie Chesterton took a tour of the new facility to find out how diamonds might be a quantum computer's best friend.Plus, the first formal trial of a stem cell based organ transplant is happening in the UK. Martin Birchall from University College London is working on replacing the larynx. But if a patient receives a new voicebox from a donor, whose voice will they have?
11 Heinä 201328min

Bovine TB; Coral sunscreen; Space junk
Today the government announced a plan to rid England of bovine TB within 25 years. Adam Rutherford looks back at how this issue has evolved and the extent to which scientific evidence has informed the eradication strategies, from culling badgers to vaccination programs.Pharmacognosy is the study of medicines found in nature. Reporter Gaia Vince travels to the seaside to find out how corals could save us from sunburn in summers to come.There are an estimated 23,000 pieces of space junk around the size of a tennis ball floating above us. But there are millions of smaller bits of flotsam and jetsam, from the exploded rocket debris to fleck of paints. Even a 1cm bit of space debris could deliver the same energy as a car impacting on a concrete wall at 30 miles per hour.
4 Heinä 201327min