Business Daily

It's a rapidly emerging technology that has the potential to solve problems at an incredible pace.

At the moment its uses are limited but that hasn’t stopped investment rolling into the sector and businesses from making money as the technology develops around the world.

Gareth Mitchell speaks to three different quantum businesses to discuss its viability and its risk.

Presenter: Gareth Mitchell

(Image: Quantum entanglement. Credit: Getty Images)

We travel to a facility in the south of England to see one of the super-fast computers in action.

We’ll find out what quantum computing has the potential to do, what its going to take to make that a reality and importantly whether quantum businesses are making any money...

Presenter: Gareth Mitchell

(Image: A quantum computer. Credit: Oxford Quantum Circuits)

For all the exciting developments in the synthetic biology industry, there are also concerns.

People can edit genes in their garages these days, so who’s regulating this space?

Plus - we’ll hear about the exciting new business models with biology at their core, including one of the first synbio businesses to trade as a public stock - Ginkgo Bioworks.

Presenter: Gareth Mitchell

(Image: A petri dish in a lab. Credit: Getty Images)

In this week’s series focusing on business and science, we start things off by looking at the world of synthetic biology.

The industry is estimated to be worth around $30bn in the next few years, but how is that money actually made?

We speak to businesses across the world to find out how they’ve taken the building blocks of synthetic biology and engineered them into products that we use on a daily basis.

Presenter: Gareth Mitchell

(Image: A scientist working with lab grown meat. Credit: Getty Images)

Many of us have drawers and boxes full of beauty products that we never end up finishing.

We meet the Nordic start-ups who are trying to cut some of that waste by changing the way we shop.

We find out about tech which personalises products, and then makes it 'on demand' rather than in bulk.

And will the use of AI actually end up encouraging people to buy more, rather than less?

Presented and produced by Maddy Savage

(Image: A scientist at Swedish tech start-up Ellure. Credit: BBC)

Does the paper industry use too much water? As concern about plastic waste grows, many companies have switched from plastic packaging to paper, but how environmentally friendly is paper production?

Uruguay, in South America, has been suffering from drought and its forestry and pulp milling industries are coming under increasing scrutiny for the amount of water used.

We’ve been to an enormous new pulp mill in central Uruguay, capable of producing more than two million tonnes of pulp every year, to find out more.

Producer / presenter: Grace Livingstone

(Image: Water protests in Uruguay; Credit: BBC)

How does sleep relate to your job, your income, or your socio-economic status?

We look at the impact of a good, and bad night’s rest. We discuss the factors affecting sleep, including access to health care, where and how you live, and how that might influence other aspects of your life.

Plus we look at the growing market in devices to ‘cure’ sleep problems.

Producer and presenter: Elizabeth Hotson

(Image: A man in bed in a deep sleep. Credit: Getty Images)

Delegates will soon descend on Saudi Arabia for perhaps the most consequential meeting in UNESCO’s history. With an extended agenda after last year’s cancellation, it’s the first World Heritage Committee meeting to be held in-person for four years.

In this episode we examine the so-called ‘UNESCO effect’ - and hear from entrepreneurs around Angkor Wat, in Cambodia, about the mixed consequences of its listing. We also hear from officials in Liverpool, in England, about UNESCO's decision to remove World Heritage status from the city's historic centre and docklands.

Presenter / producer: Laura Heighton-Ginns

These tech powerhouses bring in money and jobs but can be environmentally problematic and in Ireland data centres account for almost a fifth of the electricity consumption.

We explore how Ireland can keep hold of this valuable industry and make sure it's energy supply isn't affected.

Producer / presenter: Leanna Byrne

(Image: Data centre; Credit: Getty Images)

Taylor Swift's Eras tour is predicted to make a record $1 billion - but how?

As countries around the world grapple with high inflation, how has Taylor Swift been able to persuade fans to spend money?

Olivia Wilson speaks to Brittany Hodak, author of Creating Superfans, to understand the role Swiftomania has played in her commercial and financial success.

Tyler Morse is the CEO of MCR, the third largest hotel owner-operator in the United States. He explains how Taylor Swift’s concerts have had a significant impact on the local economies of the cities she has toured in – including some of his hotels in Phoenix, Arizona.

Presented and produced by Olivia Wilson.

(Image: Taylor Swift performing in Seattle. Credit: Getty Images)