Material World

Quentin looks at climate models, the early Universe, happy faces, and how mobile phones influence behaviour

Quentin Cooper on city stress, Darwin’s annotated books and the debate of how science/health should be presented in the media. The producer is Tamsin Barber

Quentin Cooper hears about some of the latest science research including: plans to drill the ocean floor to study climate, disasters and life underground; advanced technologies for the planes of the future; the influx of science words being added to the Oxford English Dictionary and why, what and when we dream. The producer is Martin Redfern

Quentin Cooper on how to make broken hearts heal themselves, how dating techniques have revealed a building boom in the Neolithic and an old tail in the hunt for fossils in amber.

New E-coli strain found in Germany. Early cavemen had foreign brides! Researchers have studied hominid teeth from two caves in South Africa. They looked at the ratios of different types or isotopes of strontium in the teeth which they thought might reflect changing diet due to seasonal migration. Instead, they found a significant difference between the teeth of males and females. Professor Julia Lee-Thorp, from Oxford University, explains more. Writer Mark Stevenson, has curated a series of talks at the British Library. His talk 'The Age of Entanglement' looks at human interaction with science and innovation and whether we are too dependent on technology. Quentin talks to Mark Stevenson and Sir Martin Taylor. Fly Your Thesis! Postgraduate students from Leicester are back from a series of flights in France with the European Space Agency aboard a plane sometimes dubbed the vomit comet. David Gray and Dr Charly Feldman from Leicester University, join Quentin.

Adam Rutherford investigates the latest Icelandic eruption, the shape of the electron and the benefits of urban gardens

Smallpox, should it be destroyed? One hundred and fifty years of the first colour photo and when will we know if we’ve found the Higgs'?

A new human geological epoch, a surprising fungi discovery and the rediscovery of the Domesday Project.

Being overweight can raise your chance of dementia according to a new study, but what's the connection?; The tornadoes in the USA last week broke all records - is something going on?; The satellite that has proved (at last) a key part of Einstein's theory of gravity; and the 2000 varieties of apples to be found in Olde English orchards

Quentin investigates ‘ocean tea’ in the Arctic and salt in the South; how the Space Shuttle will search for antimatter, restoring the ground under Kate and William’s feet and re-writing Azimov’s laws for robot ethics

Deepwater Horizon, the world's worst oil disaster, 1 year on; Chernobyl, the world's worst suclear accident, a quarter of a century later; Penguin clean up on Tristan da Cunha; and Saturn and its amazing moon Enceladus.

Oxford University's Leila Battison describes fossils of some of the first life forms on Earth, found by Loch Torridon in northwest Scotland. Also Dr Drew Endy, director of BIOFAB, the world's first open-source synthetic biology factory, on how he hopes to provide generic genetic parts to bioengineers to speed up developing new organisms. Quentin goes to the Royal Observatory in Greenwich to see one of the oldest chronometers being refurbished ahead of the 300th anniversary of the 1714 Longitude. And Doug Millard, Space Curator from the Science Museum talks about Yuri Gagarin and the technology used to blast him into space.

Quentin Cooper presents his weekly digest of science in and behind the headlines. He talks to Professor Alison Bruce from Brighton University about the latest developments at the Fukushima plant in Japan. Dr. Fred Kavalier a GP and former genetics consultant discussues pre-pregnancy screening and what genetic conditions it could possibly help detect. Professor Ian Stewart will explain why maths is fundamental to biology, which is also the subject of his latest book "Mathematics of Life" and Royal Society Head Archivist Keith Moore is describing some of the scientific travel manuscripts that have been scanned and put online for all to enjoy.

Japan is to decommission four stricken reactors at the quake-hit Fukushima nuclear plant. Adam Rutherford talks to Dr. Jim Smith and Professor Gerry Thomas. Scientists from the University of St Andrews have found that beaked whales are particularly sensitive to unusual sounds. Professor Ian Boyd explains. A new study shows that large birds of prey and sea birds crash into wind turbines and power lines because they do not look where they are going. Adam talks to Professor Graham Martin. The play 'Little Eagles' tells the story of Sergei Korolyov, chief designer of the Soviet space programme. Writer Rona Munro joins Adam to explain more.

Quentin Cooper presents his weekly digest of science in and behind the headlines. He talks to Professor Robin Grimes, the Director of the Centre of Nuclear Engineering at Imperial College, London about the latest developments at the Fukushima nuclear plant. We speak to an ornithologist who is battling to save penguins in one of the remotest parts of the world - the islands of Tristan da Cunha - following an oil spill. Also on the programme; can Hollywood put real science into the movies and the latest in sport engineering and how it can lead to gold medals.