Personal genome; Solar cells and music; Asteroids; Alfred Russel Wallace
BBC Inside Science7 Marras 2013

Personal genome; Solar cells and music; Asteroids; Alfred Russel Wallace

A hundred thousand Britons are being asked to donate their sequenced DNA, their personal genome, to a vast database on the internet, so scientists can use the information for medical and genetic research. The Personal Genome Project-UK was launched today and participants are being warned, as part of the screening process, that their anonymity won't be guaranteed. Stephan Beck, Professor of Medical Genomics at University College London's Cancer Institute and the Director of PGP-UK, tells Dr Lucie Green that anonymised genetic databases aren't impregnable, and that it is already possible for an individual's identity to be established using jigsaw identification. This new "open access" approach, he says, will rely on altruistic early-adopters who are comfortable with having their genetic data, their medical history and their personal details freely available as a tool for research. Jane Kaye, Director of the Centre for Law, Health and Emerging Technologies at the University of Oxford, describes the rigorous selection procedure for would-be volunteers.

Scientists at Queen Mary University London and Imperial have created Good Vibrations by playing pop songs to solar panels. Exposing zinc oxide PV cells to noise alongside light generated up to 50% more current than just light alone. Pop and rock music had the most effect, while classical was the least effective genre.

Thanks to the Russians' enthusiasm for dash-cams in their cars, the twenty metre asteroid that came crashing into the atmosphere above the town of Chelyabinsk, East of the Urals in February this year, was the most filmed and photographed event of its kind. Mobile phones and cameras captured the meteor, moving at 19 kilometres a second (that's 60 times the speed of sound) and the enormous damage caused by the airblast. The plethora of footage allowed researchers to shed light on our understanding of asteroid impacts and in a new study, published in Nature, Professor Peter Brown from the University of Western Ontario in Canada questions whether using nuclear explosions is an appropriate way to model these airbursts and whether telescopes could underestimate the frequency of these events.

Seventh November this year is the hundredth anniversary of the death of Alfred Russel Wallace. As the Natural History Museum in London unveils the first statue of him, we ask why, as co-discoverer of the theory of evolution by natural selection, Wallace doesn't share Charles Darwin's spotlight. Dr George Beccaloni, from the NHM, explains to Lucie why Wallace deserves both glory and commemoration.

Producer: Fiona Hill.

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Spooky Science

Spooky Science

It’s our Halloween special from a rain-soaked Jodrell Bank in Cheshire. We find out what you can see in a dark, dark Halloween night sky with space-watcher and Professor of astrophysics Tim O’Brien. Also this week, we meet some blood-sucking leeches, the horrors of pumpkin waste and could zombies ever be real? Presenter: Victoria Gill Producers: Ella Hubber, Sophie Ormiston & Gerry Holt Editor: Martin Smith Production Co-ordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth  To discover more fascinating science content, head to bbc.co.uk search for BBC Inside Science and follow the links to The Open University.

28 Marras 202428min

Whatever happened to graphene?

Whatever happened to graphene?

Twenty years ago this week two physicists at the University of Manchester published a ground-breaking paper describing the extraordinary qualities of graphene. The thinnest and strongest material known to exist – and better at carrying electricity than any metal – its discovery was hailed as revolutionary. But two decades on, it doesn’t seem to have changed the world, or if it has, it is doing so very quietly. So, what happened? We go on the trail of graphene, meeting Nobel Prize winner and Godfather of Graphene Andrew Geim, and learning what it has – and hasn’t – done and what might be next... Also this week, how to kill an asteroid and we talk the “other” COP with chief scientific adviser to the government, Dame Angela McLean. Presenter: Victoria Gill Producers: Sophie Ormiston, Ella Hubber & Gerry Holt Editor: Martin Smith Production Co-ordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth  BBC Inside Science is produced in partnership with the Open University.

21 Marras 202428min

Are our carbon sinks failing?

Are our carbon sinks failing?

The Earth’s natural carbon sinks absorb half of our pollution. But now, they appear to be collapsing. Why is this happening – and will we be able to reach our climate goals without them?Also this week, why a psychologist won the Nobel Prize in Physics, the culprit behind the second biggest mass extinction event, and does playing video games make you smarter?Presenter: Marnie Chesterton Producers: Sophie Ormiston, Ella Hubber, Anna Charalambou Editor: Martin Smith Production Co-ordinator: Andrew Rhys Lewis BBC Inside Science is produced in collaboration with the Open University.

14 Marras 202428min

Should we bring back extinct animals?

Should we bring back extinct animals?

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7 Marras 202428min

Could coal shut-down mark new era for energy?

Could coal shut-down mark new era for energy?

“That’s the end of coal in the UK for electricity.” The UK’s last coal-fired power station has closed, ending Britain's 142-year reliance on coal. But what difference will the closure of Ratcliffe-on-Soar make – and could it mark a new dawn for clean energy? After 20 years of research into microplastics and headline upon headline on their potential harms, how much do we really know about these tiny particles? Also this week, Marnie turns lab rat for a navigation experiment, and why are we all so obsessed with Moo Deng? Presenter: Marnie Chesterton Producers: Sophie Ormiston, Ella Hubber & Gerry Holt Editor: Martin Smith Production Co-ordinator: Andrew Rhys Lewis BBC Inside Science is produced in partnership with the Open University. If you want to test your climate change knowledge, head to bbc.co.uk - search for BBC Inside Science and follow the links to the Open University.

31 Loka 202428min

How green is space travel?

How green is space travel?

The images beamed back to Earth of the first civilian spacewalk have prompted a very pertinent question from one Inside Science listener: What effect is space travel having on our climate? We're used to delving into the carbon footprint of Earth-bound travel – so this week we’re going to explore the impact of the rapidly growing space industry on our climate. How does a rocket launch compare to a flight taking off? Do we even know the true cost yet – and if it’s significant, what might the solution be? Also on the programme, a personal perspective from a remote island on worrying seabird declines, the results of a project to refreeze Arctic sea ice, and why new evidence unearthed about the Falkland Islands suggests it may once have looked very different... Presenter: Vic Gill Producers: Ella Hubber & Gerry Holt Editor: Martin Smith Production Co-ordinator: Andrew Rhys Lewis Studio Manager: Rhys Morris BBC Inside Science is produced in partnership with the Open University. If you want to test your climate change knowledge, head to bbc.co.uk - search for BBC Inside Science and follow the links to the Open University.

24 Loka 202428min

Is lab-grown meat the future of food?

Is lab-grown meat the future of food?

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17 Loka 202427min

The first civilian spacewalk

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Today incredible images were beamed around the world of civilians walking in space – for the very first time. All eyes were on businessman Jared Isaacman and engineer Sarah Gillis as they ventured outside a Space X capsule. But is this an historic space exploration milestone - or just a very exciting holiday for a billionaire? We'll find out more from the BBC’s own expert space-watcher Jonathan Amos. Also this week, we visit Sellafield which processes and stores more radioactive material per square metre than any other site in Europe. But it is getting full. So where is our nuclear waste going to go in future? As the UK searches for a new potential site, we look at the science of what we do with nuclear waste and why. We’ll also delve into the fascinating world of nuclear semiotics. How can we communicate the dangers of nuclear waste to people living 100,000 years from now? Presenter: Vic Gill Producers: Sophie Ormiston & Gerry Holt Editor: Martin Smith Studio manager: Cath McGhee Production Co-ordinator: Andrew Rhys Lewis

10 Loka 202428min

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