Navigating With Smartphones
A combination of smartphones, GPS and radar could help the blind navigate the cities of the future.
Podcast for 16 March 2012
SCIENCE OF SOCIETY - Do wealthier people tend to have fewer scruples? The social costs of mass incarceration. Seeing-eye smartphones for the blind. And, new evidence calls an accepted tenet of science into question. Also: how to make plastic from plants.
Podcast for 9 March 2012
NEW MEDICINE - A rare mutation that protects people from diabetes and cancer. How the pancreas "tastes" sugar. And a new implantable microchip that delivers an osteoporosis drug. Also: chimpanzees may yawn for the same reason humans do.
Plants into Plastic
A new technique generates two key plastic components from plant material.
Podcast for 2 March 2012
ALL ABOUT LANGUAGE - Neuroscientists are beginning to reconstruct what we've heard by listening to brainwaves, how scientists measure language delays around the world, using technology to keep endangered languages vibrant, and a musical instrument that allows you to sing...with your hands, Also: decoding the secret language of worms.
Drug Microchip
An implantable microchip can deliver drugs one day at a time for at least a year.
Nanotech Roundup
The flight of butterflies could inspire miniature flying robots.
Safer Cookstoves
Cleaner cookstoves could save millions of lives and slow global warming.
Music-Powered Sensor
Sound waves from music, particularly rap, could charge up medical implants.
New Materials Roundup
New fabric coatings could allow clothes to clean and disinfect themselves simply by hanging out in the sun.
Solar Energy Roundup
Researchers have created a combination of fool’s gold and silicon that could be used to make inexpensive solar cells.
Energy Technology Roundup
Researchers unveil new designs for longer-life batteries.
Light-Based Pacemaker
Scientists have designed a pacemaker that restarts the heart with light instead of electricity.
Nanotube Muscles
Improved artificial muscle fibers can twist at high speeds while carrying heavy loads.
Electronic Skin
Engineers have packed medical electronics into a thin, stretchy temporary tattoo.
Podcast for 26 August 2011
FEAR, LIES & SHRINKING BRAINS - Why our brains shrink, but chimps' don't, why computers are better at spotting lies than we are, and an enzyme for fear. Also, medical electronics that resemble tattoos, and how organic chicken farms could be a boon to public health.
Safe Water Software
New software can quickly flag tainted water supplies.
Podcast for 19 August 2011
WATER EVERYWHERE - Astronomers have discovered the largest cache of water ever, and researchers are developing new software for detecting contamination of municipal water supplies. Also: Round robots to help safeguard nuclear power plants.
Nuclear Reactor Robots
Robots offer a safer way to inspect nuclear reactors for defects.
Tiny Chip Roundup
The tiniest camera in the world can record the firing of single neurons.
Killer Whale Microphone
An underwater microphone takes inspiration from the ears of killer whales.
Loudest Animal
The mating calls of an insect called the water boatman are much louder than expected given the bug’s diminutive size.