Science & Technology Archived programmes
previous programmes
2013
June 2013 - The Graphene Revolution, Back to the slide rule, An acre is 10 square chains, An argument on climate change, Circadian rythyms, Theories on consciousness.
July 2013 - Food fads
August 2013 - The Moebius strip, Drakes equation, TED website, The perception of danger, Bubbles treating cancer.
September 2013 - Food scares;the aftermath. Sequencing and patenting the human genome.
October 2013 - The antikythera mechanism, Rox coupler and BP control, Genetics of memory extinction, Moores law and the power of computers, Henry V111 was a psychopath.
November 2013 - Cuisinaire rods and learning mathematics.
December 2013 - no meeting
2014
January - TED talks we like: Why is X the unknown? Does money make you mean? Could tissue engineering mean personalised medicine? How simple ideas lead to scientific discoveries. My radical plan for small nuclear reactors.
February - The impact of technology on evolution
March - Tomorrows world and predicting technology change. Properties of black holes. The role of wind turbines. Why research into obscure topics should be funded. The London sewers. Fighting cybercrime.
April - Paradoxes
May - Gene therapy and a cure for blindness. Weighing ball bearings problem. How caffeine intake affects Alzheimers disease. The numerical distribution and definition of species. The growth of computing power - are there any limits. Aeroplane winglets and their impact on fuel use.
June - Patents and inventions
July - Navigating without satellites;4-D printing; Developing new antibacterial treatments; Oxadiazoles and MRSA; Chemical bonds and explosives; Current proposals on statin use; The genetic origin of apples; TED talk on What humans can learn from semi-intelligent slime.
August - no meeting
September -The science of camouflage; Dendrogramma a living fossil; Carbon capture and storage; The origins of measurement
October - The Art of giving the same name to Different things
November - Cardiac stents;the SS Enterprise disaster;the development of the machine gun;flight QF32
December - Drug research
2015
January - Longitude;Darwins potatoes;Did Beethoven have arrythymia;print your kidney stones;science in pictures;Colour blindness
February - The Dark Ages
March - Denture making;Crossrail project;where do drugs come from?;xkcd.com/whatif;focusing on each other;gadgets that don't work.
April - How long is a piece of string and how much does it weigh?
May - Swiss cheese plant;Superantibiotic isolation;Early DNA comparison;Electric cars - how green?;Who makes subtitles?;The future of antibiotic research.
June - Epigenetics
July - Developing a malaria cure;Finding the age of the earth;audio description;whole body transplant;ancient human genomes;robotic operating arm;graphene lightbulbs now on sale;microbeads in toiletries
August - Chemotherapy drug development
September - Papillon nebula; John Bonica and pain management;Sounds in space;Medical detection dogs; Measurement of temperature; the formula for perfect Pooh sticks
October - The Ebola virus
November - Phases- travels in metallurgy
December - Assistive technology;why the nordmann fir keeps its needles;20 interesting facts about brussel sprouts; building a wall of the periodic table of elements;the rules of magic squares
2016
Jan - Heuristics, biases and related matters
Feb - Dinosaurs and dark matter;Keeping track of dates;Chemistry of the VW emissions scandal;Charles Boys and quartz fibres;the Moon system, an alternative to Braille;Planes that never land;Benfords law.
Mar - Mind Change and why do we have chins?
Apr - Thorium nuclear power; calculating prodigies;dyson motor;fat bears;spider silk;smart glazing.
May - Quantum Biology
Jun - Meta lenses;Trip to JCB factory;Chill your coffee;Ziko virus and GM mosquitoes
Jul - Moonwalking with Einstein
Aug - no meeting
Sep - Toxins
Oct - Why are people frightened of science?;spurious correlations;anthrax in Siberia;how many friends do you have?;petunias powers.
Nov - cancelled
Dec - It's cold out there
Boomerang Nebula,coldest in the galaxy;why Penguins don't freeze;Superconductors;Select your laundry temperature; How humans maintain body temperature; how fast does Santa travel?
2017
Jan - Chaos
Feb - Death by lychee;glasses for life;femtochemistry;queuing and six;black holes;John Mitchell;the falling cost of light;why people believe weird things.
Mar - Past Present and Future AI
Apr - Dragonfly drone;water from thin air;Stirling engine;camphylobacter in chickens;andiamo;new breast cancer drug;where not to put your nuclear power station;scanning for autism;graphite oxide;VR in teaching surgery.
May - Codes and Ciphers
Jun - Generating random numbers using brainwaves;elements we may run out of;the game of go;why the boomerang nebula is so cold;sudor anglicus;are exams getting easier?
Jul - Deep Mind and AI
Aug - no meeting
Sep - Wheatflour and breadmaking processes;Cassinis last pictures;Mpemba effect;lithum found in Cornish tin mines;GSA satellite atomic clock failures
Oct - The Immune System
Nov - Ambulance drones;micro eletro-mechanical systems;albedo effect of greenland ice sheet decreases;review of serious errors in drug testing regime;the arguments on vehicle emissions
Dec - The earths poles
Magnetic pole switches;how the poles came into existance;penguins;the explorers and the bears;the northern lights
2018
Jan - will the antartic go green again?; timekeepers and the railways;calculating aquaria
Feb - success in aquaria;developements in fuel cells;a brief history of platinum;oscillations and sound;musk ox in Greenland;fatter Mr Fox;macular degeneration
Mar - CRISPR
Apr - Software defined radio
May - CRISPR update;spontaneous combustion;radium cures;helical stents;ecological succession;bottle opening gadgets;using buttercups to age meadows.
Jun - Is your gizmo really necessary?
Jul - Fracking
Aug - no meeting
Sep - Ignobel awards;kidney stones and roller coasters;plastic eating fungus;cane toads;oyxycodone in the USA;semi-artificial photosynthesis;magnifying text;why tropical plants have big leaves;smart trousers
Oct - The microbiome
Nov - Out of Africa - the genetic origin of Britain.
Dec - A christmas dinner
Genetic aversion to sprouts;chemistry of spices;namimg your pudding;cooking your turkey in parts;what caused Rudolph's red nose? Formation of snowflakes;oranges not just fruits;Santas sleigh and sonic mufflers;Christmas crackers;preserving your pudding; cooking your cookies.
2019
Jan Replacement of the airwaves system;parrots use Alexa;Plants hear bees;New human organ discovered;UK per capita electricity use goes down;climbing a pole from the moon to the earth;trees solving air pollution;worlds oldest cheese.
Feb Advancements in Science
Mar Bags made of potato starch;Tin plague;Springiness;Drug abuse;Population of England since Domesday;Chocolate chemicals;Sesquizygotic twins;Microscopic robots;The oldest living thing; validating social science claims.
Apr Weather and the importance of being Gustav.
May Wasps have deductive reasoning;UK biobank research;Centre for climate repair;Research in chemotherapy;Panama virus and bananas;Optical migraine;Vilanterol;SF shapes vision of future;Starlink;Reversed anatomy;Rise of the fabella;PIN nos for the blind.
Jun Flow cytometry
Jul 50th anniversary of the moon landing;Computing power of Apollo 11;Why calculator and phone keypads are different;Ethanol in petrol;Planetary collision provides elements for life;Graphene for potholes;Cruachan power station; Gravitational wave hunt.
Aug No meeting
Sep The periodic table
Oct Spider silks resist cold; Speedy ants; Sunfall book review; What are we worth-the 59 elements. Spectroscopic testing for Alzheimers; Walking speed predicts health; macular degeneration; rats detect landmines.
Nov Suspenders, stays and braces.
Dec
A short history of alcohol; formula for the 12 days of Christmas; rock rover looks for life on Mars; low O2 in the oceans; sants sleigh damaged by space debris; ants on Christmas Island; rats removed from South Georgia.
Programme 2020
Jan Why American coot chicks are ornamented; Statistics in sport; Easter is a moveable feast; recycling rates of smartphone metals;formation of the solar system; opioid addition
Feb Statistics - a story
Mar Cancelled
April cancelled
May Our first Zoom meeting! How long to read the Encyclopaedia Brittanica; the Templeton Award; Science and Islam; use of CRISPR in testing for Covid-19; the big bang first moments; particles and forces in the standard model for Physics; thermo-chronology finds the missing geological record in super-continent formation; increasing wind energy; reducing your carbon footprint; reseeding corals.
Jun Graphene in cars; Mechanism of DNA copying; Geoffrey Burnstock - ATP and neurotransmission; High entropy alloys; Vetruvian man; Marbled crayfish parthenogenisis; Potential computer crash due to time tracking limits.
Jul Overflow in computer systems; the food supply chain; UK Biobank update; Mimivirus and large viruses; determining the age of the universe
Aug Bacteria and viruses generating electricity; potential numbers of complex concentrated alloys; Queensferry bridge closed by icicles; progress on Covid19 vaccine; killing viruses with UV light; 23 million year old leaves.
Sept Ignoble awards; lockdown reduces earths vibrations; defining the distance from the earth to the sun; how to steer a hot air balloon; Duolingo app; side effects of the coronavirus; bio-degradable wrapping materials from organic sources.
Oct Venus flytrap short term memory; bat-tailed godwit travels Alaska to New Zealand non-stop in 11 days; food that can kill; piezo-electricity and nano-generators; Blooms taxonomy; Nobel prize for work on CRISPR.
Nov Room temperature superconductors; role of platelets in evolution; development of QR codes; using seaweed for fuel; 2030, the end of diesel and petrol cars; long-term changes in standard body temperature; Henrietta Lox and her cells; Supernovae development.
Dec A young mans book of amusements; the asteroid that destroyed the dinosaurs; driverless cars; the difference between soil and compost; greater conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn; Dennis Haspice; public perception of science
2021
Jan Solar panels using vegetable dyes; UV sequestration; CRISPR for sickle cell anaemia; reducing the CO2 impact of cement; reflections on the speed of light; development of mRNA vaccines; medical advances; covid stimulates global co-operation in vaccine development and trials.
Feb Connecting older people digitally: Cotoneaster reducing air pollution; Why bats dont get sick; Disrupting viral replication; eradicating polio; long covid and mitochondria; African genomic research centre; advances in material science to increase computing power.
Mar Walking on custard and non-Newtonian fluids; china clay and the Eden project; the importance of seagrass; the discovery of streptomycin; beekeeping; Ta2NiSe5 promises improvements in computing power.
Apr Commercial applications of graphene: Don't put metal in a microwave; Falling Co2 allowed dinosaurs to get to Greenland; new cars without internal combustion engines from 2030; the shaking aspen largest organism in the world; Uses of tantalum; rare earth metals in Greenland
May The science of chocolate; antisense RNA; Protein shape affects function; swiss cheese model for risk management of covid19; can fruit flies drive better than robots?; people add by default; learning about air pollution from the pandemic; a different DNA alphabet.
Jun Comet strike kicks off human groups?; the magic number 6; groups defined in processed food; time periods and groups; stats on U3A groups; grouping stars; group theory; Oxycontin, Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family.
Jul The benefits of carrots; hydrogen as a fuel in motorsport; gulls trip out on flying ants; AI identifies emotions in mice; why plants are green; how safe is your data collected by apps?; Aesthetics of science and Miroslav Horub; how to improve your memory.
Aug The invention of Sudoku; Carrot genetics; only a tiny part of us is uniquely human; the invention of the guillotine in Halifax; Mammoths lived on until about 650BCE; David Hockney using technology to create and display art.
Sep Aspect ratios in paper sizes; catalysts enhancing reactions; prioritisation of waiting lists; prediction of Covid19 cases; DNA manipulation could eliminate invasive species; new phase of matter appears to contradict law of entropy; perceptions of time versus measured time.
Oct cancelled
Nov Beipangiigang bridge; carbon capture technologies; geothermal drilling technology; Covid patient zero; the Golden Ratio; Bacton Gas Terminal; Spinal injury repair gel; sectioning under the mental health act.
Dec cancelled
2022
Jan Antibiotics and resistance
Feb MRI scanners treating tumours; nuclear fusion; James Webb telescope; quantum field theory; future of replacements for gas boilers
Mar An update on graphene
Apr Algorithms
May Does p=np; Virus checking tool; First photograph; space rocket catapult launcher; origins of syphilis;
Jun Nanoscience and nanotechnology
Jul Hot water freezes faster than cold; quantum computing; smart materials; friction
Aug Big oil vs the world; batteries; communication in science; restoring the function of pig organs after death; DNA robots; bunions in the 14thc
Sep QR codes
Oct Mine detection using drones; mechanism of antikythera; range of electric vehicles; optimisation of ev chargers
Nov Marie Curie
Dec Window cleaning; origins of saccaromyces; new metric measures; water cycle; in praise of Zoom; yellowstone eruption not likely
2023
Jan Bad science in fiction; Neanderthal gene doubles covid risk; energy saving scams; graphene electrodes split water; artificial leaves; roman concrete; route finding; singing lessons for endangered birds; five minutes walking every half hour reduces BP and blood sugar
Feb Mass extinctions
Mar Development of multicellular organisms: Does the first law of thermodynamics always apply?;Octopus farming; cosmological crisis and dark energy; ocean plastic pollution.
April The Fermi Paradox
May NomowMay; why is the weather news always bad?; CO2 sequestration and soil; China's domination of rare earth production; is synthetic petrol carbon neutral; spotting data fraud in research papers; mitochondria as prokaryotic organisms; AI generated images and text.
Jun 10th anniversary outing to Woolsthorpe Manor - the life and works of Isaac Newton.
Jul Magpies use bird spikes to protect nests; Australia origin of bird diversity; why are there dimples in Pears soap?; liquid safety cushioning technology; origins of GPS and how it works;the surprise paradox; chia seeds confirm Turing's theory on morphogenesis; earliest horse riders.
Aug Dan Levitt and bias; greenhouses gases; recycling rubbish into power; metals can heal; progress on fusion reactors; "Horizons" book on future of science; an umbrella for the earth; perfumes and memory.
Sep Rare earth metals
Oct Computer scams; Dog fox hybrid; capacitance in defibrillators; immunotherapy advances in cancer treatment; chatbots.
Nov Leonid meteor shower; closure of UK fusion lab; preventing muscle loss in mice ;King Johns jewels lost in tidal bore?; bluetooth capacity and Hedy Lamarr; white hydrogen; life evolved through bouncing comets?; paint analysis of Girl with a Pearl Earring.
Dec Red/green colour blindness; why do fruits and berries turn red?; Decking the halls good for mental health; tuning the light in your laser; reindeer problem; why dont people have green hair?; flourescing frogs; why are emeralds green?