Material World Folgen

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.