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THE MATERIAL WORLD
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PROGRAMME INFO |
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Quentin Cooper reports on developments across the sciences. Each week scientists describe their work, conveying the excitement they feel for their research projects.
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Contact Material World |
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LISTEN AGAIN Ìý30 min |
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PRESENTER |
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"For me science isn't a subject, it's a perspective. There are fascinating scientific aspects to everything from ancient history to the latest gadgets, outer space to interior decorating; and each week on The Material World we try to reflect the excitement, ideas, uncertainties, collisions and collaborations as science continues its never-ending voyage into the unknown".
Quentin Cooper |
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PROGRAMME DETAILS |
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| Dr Rupert Soar inspects a termite mound |
Termite engineering
Termite mounds are the most complex structures found in nature.
These giant soil towers hide an intricate maze of veins and chimneys that exchange gas and moisture with the outside environment.Ìý This allows the mound to 'breathe', providing a cool, constant habitat.
But how do termites construct these amazing abodes that battle with extremes of heat, wind and rain?
Quentin Cooper talks to engineer Rupert Soar and termite expert Scott Turner. They're building the world's largest scanning machine, the size of a two storey building, to explore the termites' inner world.
Could these tiny builders inspire energy-free systems to heat and cool our homes?
Sugar science
Sugars provide fuel for our bodies. They also have a vast array of other uses, decorating the surface of each human cell like icing on a cake.
Can sugars explain why we are more complex than fish, although we share a similar number of genes?
Joining Quentin to unwrap sugar science are Dr Ben Davis from Oxford University and Prof Ann Dell from Imperial College, London.
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