Discovery

By BBC World ServiceScience

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Typical duration
27 min
per episode

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Discovery episodes

March 09, 2011 Artificial Meat
Would you eat artificial meat, grown in a lab? Geoff Watts investigates.
27 min
March 09, 2011 09/03/2011
It doesn't look like the start of a food revolution, but small scraps of pig muscle tissue growing in a Dutch laboratory might be just that. Professor Mark Post and his research team at the University of Maastricht are the first to have persuaded cells taken from the muscle fibres of a live pig to grow in dishes in a laboratory.
With increasing pressure on food supply and growing criticism of meat as an inefficient and environmentally costly form of nutrition, Geoff Watts looks at the science behind the idea of growing artificial meat.
Geoff visits Maastricht in Holland to see the muscle tissue being grown. It’s on a small scale at the moment, and is limited by cost and production techniques. Professor Post is optimistic about scaling up production, but he can’t predict how long it will take to transform the present short, thin strips of tissue into something with the texture and taste of real meat.
Geoff also talks to meat expert Professor Jeff Wood at the University of Bristol. Jeff says that the flavour of meat is every bit as complicated and subtle as tasting wine. He’s sceptical that an artificial product can ever be as tasty and satisfying as the real thing.
Mark Post accepts that producing meat in a lab doesn’t compare to raising live animals. But unless large numbers of people change their eating habits, artificial meat production might become a case of "needs must".
27 min
March 02, 2011 Fixing the Nitrogen Fix
Chemistry's reputation is not always good. Roland Pease asks if chemistry can change its profile and be seen to be green.
27 min
February 23, 2011 Episode 1
Chemistry's reputation is not always good. Roland Pease asks if chemistry can change its profile and be seen to be green.
28 min
February 16, 2011 Last Chance To Fly The Space Shuttle
As NASA prepares for the final flight of the Space Shuttle program, astronaut Jeff Hoffman looks back on its 30 year history.
27 min
February 09, 2011 Honey - The Golden Treasure
Dr Adam Hart explores the remarkable properties of honey, from its basic chemistry to the biological processes that create it.
27 min
February 02, 2011 Episode 3
We not only live in the atmosphere, we live because of it. It is a transformer and a protector, though ultimately also a poison.
27 min
January 26, 2011 Episode 2
We not only live in the atmosphere, we live because of it. It is a transformer and a protector, though ultimately also a poison.
27 min
January 19, 2011 Episode 1
We not only live in the atmosphere, we live because of it. It is a transformer and a protector, though ultimately also a poison.
27 min
January 12, 2011 Episode 3
Professor of Acoustic Engineering Trevor Cox talks to musicians and scientists to look at the acoustics of musical instruments.
27 min