Material World
Science programme reporting on developments across the disciplines. Each week, scientists describe their work, conveying the excitement they feel for their research projects
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Series & Episodes
209 items available
Material World
Quentin Cooper joins scientists, artists and musicians on a research cruise to Greenland.
Material World
Quentin Cooper and scientists from Imperial College investigate dust taken from a comet.
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Quentin Cooper discusses the science of the International Polar Year project.
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Quentin Cooper hears about genes, science and patents.
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Quentin Cooper discusses the postwar boom in science and technology with Ben Russell.
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Quentin Cooper visits the Royal Society's Summer Exhibition on London's Southbank.
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The earthquakes in southeast Asia; China's greenhouse gases; green but mean; spintronics.
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Quentin Cooper explores the relationships between flowers and insects.
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Quentin Cooper talks to Explorer Pen Hadow from his arctic ice expedition.
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Quentin Cooper reports from the Royal Society's Summer Science Exhibition 2009.
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Quentin Cooper celebrates the 250th anniversary of the birth of Thomas Telford.
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Quentin Cooper talks to scientists publishing their research in peer reviewed journals.
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Quentin Cooper hears how we recognise faces and how to design against crime.
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Quentin Cooper investigates the news in science and science in the news.
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Quentin Cooper is joined by a panel to discuss the role of science in our world.
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Quentin Cooper investigates plans to redefine the standard measure of a kilogram.
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Quentin Cooper and Oliver Morton discuss what happened to the great polymaths of the past.
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Quentin Cooper on oil-eating bacteria, ancient pigs, noctilucent clouds and Kavli Prizes.
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Quentin Cooper investigates the huge fireball that exploded in June 1908 in Siberia.
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Rail upgrades, econophysics, flu at school and milk genes.
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CERN particle smashing; secrets of toughest bacterium; lab pork; how to live longer.
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Quentin Cooper finds out how microscopic bubbles could boost biofuel production.
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Quentin Cooper discusses the science of earthquakes.
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Quentin Cooper reports from the Cheltenham Science Festival.
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Quentin Cooper explores the thin and flexible world of plastic electronic engineering.
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Quentin Cooper talks to a group who are attempting to understand the nature of memory.
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The International Space Station; Giant Dragonflies; Objects that changed the World.
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Quentin and scientists measure the exchange of methane between plans and the atmosphere.
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Quentin Cooper hears about ambitious balloon flights carrying a special telescope.
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Quentin Cooper hears about the latest remarkable example of natural selection.
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Quentin Cooper investigates climate change and its contribution to the origin of mankind.
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Quentin Cooper looks at materials that can map decay in a child's teeth.
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A collaboration between researchers has dispelled many myths about the Amazonian piranha.
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Quentin Cooper dissects the latest science.
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DNA nano-machines; the demise of the Nazca; SMOS satellite.
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2011 International Year of Chemistry: the largest molecule; green chemistry, rare elements
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Quentin Cooper explores scientific developments.
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Stopping the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and Plasmonics, the ability to control light.
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Psychopathy under the microscope; mice without mothers; drones at war.
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Quentin Cooper investigates how much we could recycle if we really wanted to.
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Quentin Cooper explores important new research into the Deep Carbon Cycle.
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Quentin Cooper looks at a brighter future for Light Emitting Diode technology.
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Quentin Cooper launches 'So You Want to Be A Scientist?'.
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Quentin Cooper explores scientific developments.
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Quentin Cooper looks at the 'Two Cultures' divide in goverment.
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Quentin Cooper explores new materials which can map potential decay in children's teeth.
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Quentin Cooper and guests assess this week's Nobel Science Prizes.
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Quentin Cooper learns about student contributions to front-line space projects.
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Science programme exploring the uses of underwater sonar imaging technology.
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Tsunami simulator; spring advances; nanoelectronics.
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Quentin Cooper presents the science magazine.
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Quentin Cooper dissects the latest science.
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Quentin Cooper and guests assess the latest batch of Nobel Science Prizes.
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Quentin Cooper talks to Prof Andy McIntosh about his research into the Bombardier beetle.
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Forty years after the first British Concorde flight what happened to the supersonic dream?
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Quentin Cooper hears about the birth of an ocean off the Horn of Africa.
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Quentin Cooper visits Bath to meet students on the Technology in Action course.
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Discussing Vince Cable's plans to squeeze public funding for scientific research.
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Quentin Cooper meets the scientists fascinated by the feats of speckled bush crickets.
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Quentin Cooper investigates the news in science and science in the news.
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Quentin Cooper reports on a new technique which is shedding light on life in Roman times.
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Quentin Cooper reveals how domesticated crops spread through Europe.
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Quentin Cooper investigates Cafe Scientifique, an informal discussion forum.
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Quentin Cooper on Polar Year, conker canker, penalties and molecular gastronomy.
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Quentin Cooper is joined by Julian Griffin to discuss the potential of metabolomics.
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Quentin Cooper hears what became of the Large Hadron Collider.
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Ocean observatories? Quentin Cooper looks at global plans to monitor the deep sea.
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Quentin Cooper visits the BBC's R&D HQ to see what new technologies are on the horizon.
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Quentin Cooper hears about science and the recession.
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Low-energy housing, cancer DNA, Swine Flu, plus stories of impending planetary collision.
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Quentin Cooper reports from the British Association Science Festival in Liverpool.
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The Peppered Moth and its significance in the debate about Darwin's evolutionary theory.
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Bigger bangs at CERN; Last winter's deep cold; Invisibility cloaks.
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Quentin Cooper discusses the transmission of plague through gerbil populations.
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Quentin Cooper finds out if humans can sense pheromones.
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Quentin Cooper hears about the DNA reading machine, the ribosome.
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Quentin Cooper on a new instrument designed to look for evidence of how galaxies form.
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Quentin Cooper looks at the iodine content of seaweed and its connection to local weather.
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Snail trails could lead scientists to the answer of where our ancestors came from.
Material World
Quentin Cooper on meteors, carbon capture, plastic solar cells and noctilucent clouds.
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Quentin Cooper presents a special edition from Cardiff University.
Material World
Quentin Cooper investigates the news in science and science in the news.
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Sue Nelson investigates research into a new generation of lighter and cleaner batteries.
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Deep water exploration, the maths of electoral reform, snail trails and lasers turn 50.
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The greatest fossil field yet found, the archaeology of hurricanes and Saturn edge-on.
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Quentin Cooper visits the annual Science Festival in York.
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Quentin Cooper and guests discuss the latest developments in the world of science.
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Quentin Cooper reports on the restoration of the Cutty Sark.
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Gareth Mitchell hears about Neanderthals, dogs, telescopes and the coldest place on Earth.
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Quentin Cooper learns about an Antarctic volcano which erupted more than 2,000 years ago.
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Quentin Cooper reports on the final Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission.
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Quentin Cooper explores the ecology of urban landscapes.
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Quentin Cooper investigates new methods of utilising heavy oil.
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Stem cell trials; human remains and archaeology; and a brief encounter with a comet chaser
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Quentin Cooper investigates the nature of superorganisms.
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Quentin Cooper finds out computers can simulate the acoustics of any building.
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Quentin Cooper looks into the life and work of mathematician Leonhard Euler.
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Quentin Cooper reports from the Edinburgh International Science Festival.
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Quentin Cooper follows research into how the TB bacterium has evolved over the centuries.
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Quentin Cooper with the latest from the BP oil spill, and the L'Aquila earthquake.
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Arctic ice loss; an inflating universe; conserving the world's plants at Kew Seed Bank.
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Quentin Cooper ask are the vast majority of fish species doomed?
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Quentin Cooper samples the delights of the Edinburgh International Science Festival.
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New strategy for climate and energy; Down's syndrome; moon dust; solar eclipse.
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Quentin Cooper joins a group of Open University geology students on a field trip.
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Quentin Cooper finds out about the latest clues to unlocking the mystery of Stonehenge.
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Quentin Cooper investigates the news in science and science in the news.
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Quentin Cooper, Gary Lyon and John Lucas discuss how to protect plants from viruses.
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Quentin Cooper explores scientific developments.
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Quentin Cooper explores scientific developments.
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Quentin Cooper with science for MPs, bionic bones, animal ethics and a weird material.
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Diana Edwards and Quentin Cooper discuss restoration in Venice's Basilica di San Marco.
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World Ozone Day, 20 years on; Feed the World.
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Predicting our climate future; revealing heat of cosmic creation; mapping cancer's genome.
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Quentin Cooper meets the man behind CryoSat-2, rebuilt to study changing polar ice.
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Uncertatinty in science; artificial photosynthesis; a UK space agency?
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Quentin Cooper checks out microbes, maths behind football's calendar and Leominster's air.
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Quentin Cooper investigates the effects of volcanoes in the most unlikely areas.
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Quentin Cooper talks finds out why there are so many more left handed people.
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Crop breeding improved; catching anti-atoms; Tycho Brahe exhumed.
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Quentin Cooper discovers the value of sensible mathematical and scientific estimations.
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Quentin Cooper investigates the cultural and genetic evolution of language.
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Quentin Cooper hears about problems in the supply of medical isotopes.
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Quentin Cooper explores scientific developments.
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Quentin Cooper celebrates the 60th anniversary of the modern computer.
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Quentin Cooper peers into the smog of London's past.
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Gareth Mitchell explores DIY on the International Space Station, hot cities and wolves.
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Quentin Cooper reports on new climate change research ahead of the Copenhagen summit.
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Quentin Cooper investigates the news in science and science in the news.
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Quentin Cooper investigates research into how the brain processes complex sounds.
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Cleaning up the oil spill, biodiversity, tree rings and quantum kilograms.
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The fastest man alive, algae blooms, naming stars and moving stem cells with magnets.
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Quentin Cooper investigates the arithmetic of road pricing and broadband charges.
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Quentin Cooper joins Open University scientists on Mount Etna.
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Quentin Cooper and phoneticians Francis Nolan and Peter French discuss voice recognition.
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Gareth Mitchell investigates the latest science news and inventions from 1,000 years ago.
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Quentin Cooper investigates solar power and how it can most effectively be utilised.
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Quentin Cooper looks at the maths of scrappage and the science of the missing link.
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Sue Nelson talks to Ken Arnold, director of the new Wellcome Collection in London.
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Quentin Cooper reports on a new satellite designed to map the Earth's gravitational field.
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Science Minister David Willetts tells Quentin about the government's spending plans.
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How neutrons are revealing the secrets of materials, from spider silk to Samurai swords.
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Exploring just why laughter is so contagious, with Quentin Cooper.
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Quentin Cooper reports on long-term studies looking at the health of the nation.
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Quentin Cooper announces the results of a talent search for amateur scientists.
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Quentin Cooper reports on ingenious new techniques in the fight against crime.
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Quentin Cooper on security cameras, earworms, Anzacs, Facebook and the God particle.
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NASA's new Ares 1 rocket; Ardi the human ancestor.
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How machines are learning to recognise and express emotions.
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Apollo 11's long-surviving scientific legacy and the first man to map the moon.
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Quentin Cooper joins students on an Open University course studying the environment.
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Quentin Cooper investigates the news in science and science in the news.
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Quentin Cooper finds out about the latest clues to unlocking the mystery of Stonehenge.
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Our latest hominid cousin, lessons from Einstein and cooking the perfect Christmas turkey.
Material World
Quentin Cooper investigates the complex chemical language used by bacteria.
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Quentin Cooper explores new research into keeping warships and aircraft undetected.
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Quentin Cooper explores the history of plastics and asks what the future may bring.
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Could Venus actually be very similar to Earth? Quentin Cooper finds out.
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Quentin Cooper explores the possibility of past or future life on Mars.
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New hopes of an effective AIDS vaccine; the wet summer of 2009; a new carbon-fibre violin.
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Quentin Cooper and an expert panels of guests answer listeners' questions.
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Quentin Cooper hears that the universe is made of information.
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New species of ancient human; shipping: the hidden polluter.
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Quentin Cooper champions chimp culture, measures dinosaurs and dissects elections.
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Quentin Cooper looks at research using hair to find a person's biological markers.
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Quentin Cooper reports from Manchester's first science festival.
Material World
Quentin Cooper investigates the news in science and science in the news.
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Quentin Cooper tells the story of biochemist Emil Abderhalden.
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Quentin Cooper puts listeners' science questions to a panel of experts.
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Quentin Cooper examines the findings of the European space probe Venus Express.
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Quentin Cooper explores the latest research into the sexual habits of the malaria parasite
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Quentin Cooper explores the phenomenon of a bicycle's stability.
Material World
Quentin Cooper investigates the news in science and science in the news.
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The scientific impact of 'Climategate'; deep Ocean survey; drilling earthquake zones.
Material World
Quentin Cooper investigates the news in science and science in the news.
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Quentin Cooper visits Edinburgh for its International Science Festival 2008.
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Quentin Cooper investigates volcanic ash, new rockets and supersize dinosaurs.
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Solar storms, catastrophe financing, the disappearing honey bees and Taser guns.
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Quentin Cooper, Adrian Barnett and Bruna Bezerra talk about the shy uacari monkeys.
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Quentin Cooper joins scientists on a beach in search of clues about one of Saturn's moons.
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Quentin Cooper invites a panel of experts to answer science questions from listeners.
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Our latest hominid cousin; lessons from Einstein; cooking the perfect Christmas turkey.
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Quentin Cooper reports on progress towards personalised cancer treatment.
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Quentin Cooper explores incredible advances in microscope technology.
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North Korea's nuclear ambitions, the causes of the 1930s 'Dustbowl', and tool-using rooks.
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Quentin Cooper explores the links between science and drama.
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Quentin Cooper explores new ideas to reduce traffic chaos.
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Indonesian disasters; The first electronics; Pollution from space travel.
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Developments in evolutionary psychology and how it can help policy-makers.
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Quentin Cooper talks to two civil engineers who want to build houses from recycled rubbish
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Escaping oil, a manifesto for innovation, glowing clouds and brain traces.
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Quentin Cooper talks to scientists at the Hay Literary Festival.
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Quentin Cooper dissects the latest science.
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Quentin Cooper explores mundane science fiction, where imagination meets reality.
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Quentin Cooper and Nick Jennings discuss computer programs which make their own decisions.
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Science behind the potential flu epidemic emanating from the Mexican 'swine' flu outbreak.
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The genetics of cystic fibrosis, 20 years on.
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Quentin Cooper joins an Open University psychology course in Durham.
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Quentin Cooper investigates the news in science and science in the news.
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Quentin Cooper explores research into the brain's integration of visual and audio cues.
Material World
Quentin Cooper investigates the news in science and science in the news.
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Quentin Cooper investigates the science of systems biology.
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Quentin Cooper visits the Hay Festival. Professor Steve Jones shows him the countryside.
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Quentin Cooper explores the origins of clouds and asks if pollution is making them worse.
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Quentin Cooper looks into the continuing role of enthusiasts at the front line of research
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Quentin Cooper investigates the experimental cancer treatment, 'charged particle therapy'.
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The BBC's Amateur Scientist of the Year is revealed at the 2010 British Science Festival.
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Quentin Cooper reports on attempts to explore lakes beneath the Antarctic ice sheet.
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Quentin Cooper talks to Clive Beggs and Kevin Kerr from the University of Bradford.