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Science in US election

What are Barack Obama's and Mitt Romney's views on scientific issues?

US Presidential Election
Over a dozen science and engineering organisations worked with the website sciencedebate.org, to ask some key questions of both the Barack Obama and Mitt Romney camps. Ivan Semeniuk US news editor of the journal Nature, was involved in the project and discusses with Jon Stewart the candidates’ answers on climate change and stem cells.

Super Storm Sandy
Professor Gifford Miller of University of Colorado, Boulder, talks about climate change and the storm that devastated the East Coast of the US this week and about how cities should be prepared for this kind of event.

1000 Genomes Project
The 1000 genomes project has sequenced genomes from individuals all over the world. Dr Richard Durbin, from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Centre in Cambridge and one of the c-chairs of the project, explains how the information it provides will help researchers understand individuals' chances of developing certain diseases.

Decision Making
We like to think we're in control of our decisions, especially when it comes to important things like borrowing money. But new research from Professor Anuj Shah suggests that a change in our circumstances can dramatically alter the decisions we make. Being poor might actually change the way we prioritise the choices available to us. Are people with fewer resources making decisions in different ways to those who have more? Can being poor lead us to make bad decisions about our future?

Photo credit: AFP/Getty Images

Available now

18 minutes

Last on

Fri 2 Nov 2012 11:32GMT

Chapters

  • Science and the US Election

    What are the presidential candidates' opinions on scientific issues?

    Duration: 05:57

  • Super Storm Sandy

    How cities should be prepared for more such storms.

    Duration: 02:03

  • 1000 Genomes Project

    Sequencing genomes can help understand the risk of disease.

    Duration: 03:58

  • Decision-making and Poverty

    New research suggests that how much time and money we have affects how we make decisions.

    Duration: 04:50

Broadcasts

  • Thu 1 Nov 2012 19:32GMT
  • Fri 2 Nov 2012 00:32GMT
  • Fri 2 Nov 2012 04:32GMT
  • Fri 2 Nov 2012 11:32GMT

Podcast