RNZ: This Way Up

Dr Roger Harker and Jason Johnston of Plant and Food Research are trying to work out why people like some apples more than others.

Why do animals with huge bodies- even primates like gorillas- have far smaller brains than us humans? The key, suggests Professor Suzana Herculano-Houzel and her colleagues at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, is cooking.

Chris Smith beams in with more naked science. This week, easy-peel medical tape, and the British Medical Journal says it won't publish research where the underlying clinical data isn't published and freely available to all.

Feathers can keep you warm, and help birds to fly and find a mate. We're speaking to the American biologist Thor Hanson about his book 'Feathers: The Evolution of a Natural Miracle'.

Peter Griffin with the latest from the world of technology. This week, vanity web searching pays off big time as Google loses a defamation case in Australia; and New Zealand becomes the first country in the world where you can apply for a passport online.

We head to Italy, where the world's biggest shipwreck salvage is underway. Plus the Vatican gives the latest Bond film the thumbs-up! With Tom Kington of the Guardian.

Putting a financial value on waves is proving an effective way to protect a natural resource from construction and development. Dr. Linwood Pendleton is an economist who's used the tactic to protect surf breaks in places like California and Puerto Rico.

An ambitious plan to photograph and catalogue more than 200,000 paintings held in galleries, stately homes, fire stations, hospitals and police stations across the UK. With Andy Ellis of the Public Catalogue Foundation.

Anna-Louise Taylor beams in from England. This week, blood rain, traffic lights in the supermarket, and encouraging students to spend more cash by locking them in shopping malls with DJs and free drinks!

Have you ever noticed that freshly brewed coffee never quite tastes as good as it smells? Well according to Professor Barry Smith it all comes down to how smells enter the body, either through the nose (obviously!)but also through our mouth.

Last year more than 100,000 people changed their Kiwisaver provider. So when and why should you break up with your Kiwisaver fund, and how hard is it to do? With Chris Douglas of Morningstar Australasia and Amanda Morrall of interest.co.nz.

Europe is going crazy for e-bikes or electric bikes. Last year some 700,000 ebikes were sold in Western Europe alone. Peter Walker from the Guardian's been looking at the phenomenon.

The history of the ringpull, that easy-to-open tab that sits on top of a fizzy drink can. With Tom Vanderbilt of Slate.com.

We're cooking garlic for a taste test with Julie Clark of Floriditas. Crushed, chopped, or sliced- how does the way you prepare garlic affect the overall flavour of a dish?

Sir Richard Friend is the Cavendish Professor of Physics at Cambridge University. He's trying to reverse engineer nature to make a new generation of more efficient solar panels, and better screens for our smartphones and TVs.