Discovery

By BBC World ServiceScience

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Discovery episodes

April 18, 2011 18/04/2011 GMT
Explorations in the world of science.
18 min
April 18, 2011 Happiness
Claudia Hammond investigates why happiness seems to have hit the headlines recently and asks whether happiness and a sense of wellbeing are skills that can be taught.
A growing body of evidence, from fields such as positive psychology, suggests that happier, more optimistic people live longer and are ultimately more successful than people with a more pessimistic nature. But is optimism something that can be learnt, and can it be applied to an entire nation?
The British government's recent announcement that it will be measuring the nation's wellbeing as an alternative indicator to the nation's progress has caused some controversy.
Discovery delves into the world of positive psychology and asks if how we feel as a population really matters, and whether a happier nation is ultimately a more successful one.
18 min
April 11, 2011 The Gagarin Legacy
In a special edition, the BBC's Discovery programme marks the 50th anniversary of the world's first manned space flight
50 min
April 11, 2011 Fifty Years of Human Spaceflight - The Yuri Gagarin Legacy
Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Russian space programme was in disarray.
Starved of funding and with cosmonauts orbiting in the Mir Space Station having lost the nation that sent them, even the main launch site at Baikonur was no longer in the same Union.
But a legacy of solid, reliable rockets has ensured their future as a commercial launch provider.
In particular, Russian rockets have been the main vehicles for delivering both cargo and crew to the International Space Station.
With the end of space shuttle flights, they will, for a while at least, be the only way of getting humans to the ISS. They have even flown fare-paying tourists.
In this programme, Richard Hollingham reviews recent successes and asks a panel of experts what the next 50 years might hold for the Russian space programme.
Guests
Frank de Winne (ESA astronaut who has commanded the International Space Station)
Dr Iya Whiteley (Psychologist at UCL, the European Astronaut Centre and the University of Bath)
Dr Roald Sagdeev, (former Head of the Soviet Space Science Institute and advisor to President Gorbachev)
Yuri Karash (Moscow-based commentator on Russian space)
50 min
April 04, 2011 04/04/2011 GMT
Explorations in the world of science.
18 min
April 04, 2011 Science Betrayed
What happens when science goes bad? From the anthropological hoax of Piltdown man back in 1912, through to more recent cases, such as that of Dr Hwang Woo-suk, the Korean scientist accused of faking his "breakthrough" in stem cell research.
There have been some dramatic and spectacular examples of scientists, who, for whatever reason, have chosen to be less than honest with their research and data.
Adam Rutherford looks at the impact of science fraud, and asks if deceit and misconduct are more common than we think. And what can be done to halt the cheating before it does any damage.
18 min
March 28, 2011 28/03/2011 GMT
Explorations in the world of science.
18 min
March 28, 2011 Fingerprints on Trial
Fingerprinting has long-been seen as the Gold Standard of forensic science. This century-old discipline has played a key role in evidence-gathering for law enforcement agencies around the world.
But Claudia Hammond investigates the science behind fingerprinting and hears claims that this branch of forensic science is fallible, subjective and lacking in scientific rigour.
She considers a growing body of research from cognitive psychology and neuroscience which demonstrates the very real potential for mistakes, despite the fact that for years, fingerprint experts have claimed that if their methods are used correctly, their error rate is zero.
Claudia hears from Brandon Mayfield, a lawyer from Oregon in the USA, who faced a possible death penalty when FBI experts asserted that they were one hundred per cent sure that his fingerprints matched a print found at the scene of the 2004 Madrid train bombings. The FBI was forced to release Mr Mayfield and issue a public apology.
But his case and another high-profile fingerprinting error, the Shirley McKie case in Scotland, have turned a critical spotlight onto fingerprint evidence around the world.
18 min
March 23, 2011 Caught In The Web
Vera Frankl investigates 'Internet Addiction', talking to web users and experts from the UK, USA and China.
27 min
March 16, 2011 Memristors
Memristors - the next stage in computer technology, offering faster computing and vastly increased memory.
27 min