Material World

In this week’s programme, Material World examines and explains the science behind the nuclear power plant crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in Japan. Quentin talks to Professor Andrew Sherry, Director of the Dalton Nuclear Institute, about the science and engineering of nuclear power stations. Professor Richard Wakeford explains what radiation is and its effects. Professor Geraldine Thomas, Chair in Molecular Pathology, Imperial College London, explains the health effects of exposure to radiation. Malcolm Grimston, expert on nuclear energy technology and policy from Chatham House discusses what went wrong in Japan and implications and lessons for elsewhere.

Adam Rutherford presents the weekly digest of science in and behind the headlines. Joining him on the programme this week is Dr Ian Crawford from Birkbeck College, University of London, who will be discussing the future of human space flight and what it holds now that the final shuttle missions are almost completed. Also on the show; we find out what daffodils are really made of and we visit the science museum where the orginal workshop of engineer James Watt is about to be opened to the public. Finally, the champion of science that makes us laugh and think Marc Abrahams, the creator of the Ig Nobel awards, is in the studio.

The UNESCO 2011 Women in Science Awards recognises five outstanding women scientists. Quentin talks to Clare Lloyd, Professor of Respiratory Immunology at Imperial College, about the importance of these awards in encouraging female scientists. Researchers in America have discovered a meteorite which is rich in the gas ammonia. It could lend weight to the argument that life on earth may have been seeded from space. Quentin talks to Professor Sandra Pizzarello, who led the research and Dr Caroline Smith, Curator of Meteorites at the Natural History Museum in London. Following last week’s piece on grey squirrels, Quentin responds to a listener’s email asking about black squirrels. Helen McRobie from the Anglia Ruskin University joins Quentin to explain more about these creatures.

Before the earthquake in New Zealand last September, the fault line it occurred on wasn’t known about. Following the damaging and deadly aftershock, there are concerns whether the whole area is much more vulnerable than we previously thought. Quentin is joined by Dr Elisabetta Mariani, who has just returned from drilling the major fault line in New Zealand. Two thirds of people in the UK now think that grey squirrels should be controlled or even removed- according to a survey by the European Squirrel Initiative. Quentin finds out more from Dr Craig Shuttleworth. Tiny Antarctic marine creatures collected 100 years ago by Antarctic explorer Captain Robert Falcon Scott give new clues about change in polar animals. Dr David Barnes, joins Quentin to explain more. The Royal Horticultural Society is announcing a new campaign to raise nearly £600,000 for a new research facility. It is the only independent organisation that funds research into gardening. Dr. Roger Williams explains more.

Scientists have discovered that green house gases have significantly increased the risk of extreme rainfall. Dr Richard Allan and Professor Mark Maslin join Quentin to explain more. X-ray analysis has been used to explain why the bright yellows in his paintings have faded to brown over time.... Quentin talks to Professor Koen Janssens, from the University of Antwerp, who led the research. On February 14th NASA’s Stardust-NExT mission hooked up with the Tempel 1 Comet, which back in 2005 had been subject to a vicious and unprovoked assault by another NASA probe, Deep Impact. Quentin talks to Professor Alan Fitzsimmons from Queen’s University, Belfast. The largest solar flare in four years has erupted from the sun. The eruption, called an X-flare is the strongest type and can affect communications on Earth. Dr Alan Thompson from the BGS joins Quentin to explain more.

As the protests continue in Egypt, Quentin talks to Professor Hassan Azzazy, from the American University in Cairo about how the regime has effected science and research and how he hopes that a regime change may benefit Egyptian scientists in the future. Engineering the Future (EtF) is an alliance of the UK’s leading engineering and technological institutions. On 8 February they published a report, commissioned by DEFRA, on the challenges of adapting the UK’s infrastructure to the threat of climate change. Quentin speaks to Professor Will Stewart and Professor Eric Sampson. Scientists from Cambridge University have solved the mystery of how fleas jump. Professor Malcolm Burrows and Dr. Gregory Sutton have discovered that fleas jump by pushing off with the toes instead of their ‘hips’.

Cyclone Yasi – the strongest cyclone in a century - has battered the state of Queensland, Australia, leaving a trail of destruction. Quentin finds out about the extreme weather that has occurred in the country. The team from the Kepler Space Mission have announced the discovery of an extrasolar system consisting of a Sun-like star called Kepler-11 with six transiting planets. Few stars have more than one known transiting planet, making this very unusual. English Heritage are dedicating a blue plaque to chemist and nobel prize winner Sir William Ramsay. Discoverer of noble gases, Sir William has been described as the greatest chemical discoverer of his time. A Russian team are metres away from reaching the water surface of Lake Vostok, the largest and deepest of the freshwater lakes beneath Antarctica's ice sheet. The project, launched more than 20 years ago, has been repeatedly delayed by technical glitches and concerns from the international community.

Quentin finds out more about what may be the oldest galaxy ever seen. There is also a look at a part art/part science exhibition containing living dolls. Bed bugs complete with smells make a come back on Material World and we look at why more and more people want to become chemical engineers.

As swine flu is still an ongoing concern,Quentin looks at the latest reports from UK autopsies of last winter's swine flu deaths and how the research may help with diagnosis. He talks to pathologist Professor Sebastian Lucas and Dr Imogen Stephens. Bed bugs have plagued us since prehistoric times, but pesticide-resistant strains have now taken over New York and threaten to spread across the planet. The first genetic study of bed bugs promises to find the causes of that resistance and more about the bugs' biology. Quentin talks to the study’s co-author Om Mittapalli and Professor Mike Siva-Jothy. How do we get more children interested in science? A report from the Association for Science Education claims that if we want pupils to become enthusiastic about science then you have to take them out of the classroom. Marianne Cutler, the Executive Director of the Association for Science Education explains why.

Medical research in the UK is being hampered by bureaucracy and burdensome regulation according to a report published this week. Quentin hears how damaging the delay can be to UK science and how things can be improved. Corruption is the leading cause of death in earthquakes according to seismologist Roger Bilham in this week's edition of Nature. Corrupt governments fail to enforce simple building regulations which could save many lives when the ground starts shaking, he argues. Quentin finds out about the global transparency index. Chills in music arise in the same way as cocaine-fuelled highs, according to neuroscientists. Tracking the mental, chemical and physiological changes of volunteers hearing their favourite music, the researchers found primitive 'reward' centres of the brain fire up at moments of peak emotion. Valorie Salimpoor, who led the research, reveals the ups and downs of the musical experience.

2011 is the International Year of Chemistry: Quentin hears about the largest synthesised molecule, how legitimate research on neurochemicals was subverted by designer-drugs makers, the value of rare earth elements, and green chemistry.

Quentin Cooper catches up with the four finalists of the So You Want to be a Scientist talent search. And he reports on the public impact of the Royal Society's Year of Science

DNA analysis of the fragment of finger bone found in Siberia has shown that it is likely to be a new species of hominid: we discuss the findings; Quentin meets former chemistry professor Peter Plesch who reminisces about family friend Albert Einstein; and Jeff Potter, author of 'Cooking for Geeks', tells Quentin how to cook a perfect Christmas turkey in just 15 minutes.

2010 - year of disasters. Floods, wild fires, volcanoes, earthquakes, and a record breaking oil spill. Material World has time and again been reporting on some of the disasters that have struck over the year. And earth scientists gather at the American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting in San Francisco to review their data from each event, Quentin Cooper asks how science helped, and what the lessons are for the future.

Quentin Cooper presents his weekly digest of science in and behind the headlines. In the programme this week he discusses the new government proposals to include fewer science voices on the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs. Getting into space is still proving harder than it looks, Quentin looks back on recent mishaps in man's attempts to conquer space. Also in the programme, will we soon be sequencing our own genomes in our own homes?