Futureproof with Jonathan McCrea

The peopling of the Americas has long been a hot topic.

After all, there are no written records and scant archaeological evidence to tell us what happened or how it took place. 

There have been many different models put forth to explain how the Americas were peopled but recent strides in the field of genetics are upending some long-held assumptions.

Jennifer Raff is an associate professor of anthropology at the University of Kansas and author of ‘Origin: A Genetic History of the Americas’ - she joined Jonathan to discuss.

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If you ask most people how the universe began, they might say “the Big Bang” - but it’s hard to be satisfied with that answer and to resist the temptation to ask “but what happened before that?”

Well, that is precisely the question that Will Kinney, Professor in the Department of Physics at the University at Buffalo, strives to answer in his new book - 'An Infinity of Worlds: Cosmic Inflation and the Beginning of the Universe'.

He joined Jonathan to discuss.

Dr.Ruth Freeman from SFI & Dr. Lara Dungan also joined Jonathan to run through some of the week's biggest science stories for Newsround.

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In our efforts to better understand the very fabric of the universe we sometimes have to think outside the box.

So it might seem strange then to think that in our search for the elusive dark matter we need not necessarily look to the depths of the solar system, the Milky Way, or the universe itself but to the ground beneath our feet.

Alan Kelly, Professor in Astrophysics and Director of Space Technology and Industry Institute at Swinburne University of Technology in Australia joined Jonathan to talk about The Stawell Underground Physics Laboratory - held inside an active gold mine 1 km beneath the surface of the earth.

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The climate change problem can often seem intractable and in a political sense, painfully slow.

But it's important to remember that some progress is being made and we are innovating new techniques and technologies to address the issue.

One such innovation is CO2 upcycling - Andrea Ramirez Ramirez, Professor in the Faculty of Low-Carbon Systems and Technologies at Delft University of Technology joined Jonathan to discuss.

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In our efforts to better understand the very fabric of the universe we sometimes have to think outside the box.

So it might seem strange then to think that in our search for the elusive dark matter we need not necessarily look to the depths of the solar system, the Milky Way, or the universe itself but to the ground beneath our feet.

Alan Kelly, Professor in Astrophysics and Director of Space Technology and Industry Institute at Swinburne University of Technology in Australia joined Jonathan to talk about The Stawell Underground Physics Laboratory - held inside an active gold mine 1 km beneath the surface of the earth.

Listen and subscribe to Futureproof with Jonathan McCrea on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

  

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You can also listen to Newstalk live on newstalk.com or on Alexa, by adding the Newstalk skill and asking: 'Alexa, play Newstalk'.

Joining Jonathan on Futureproof this week was Dr Matthew Campbell - Associate Professor in Trinity’s School of Genetics and Microbiology . Dr Campbell has pioneered research on what actually triggers Epileptic seizures in the body.

Epilepsy is a central nervous system (neurological) disorder in which brain activity becomes abnormal, causing seizures or periods of unusual behavior, sensations and sometimes loss of awareness. Anyone can develop epilepsy. Epilepsy affects both males and females of all races, ethnic backgrounds and ages.

He joined Jonathan to discuss.

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Joining Jonathan on Futureprooof this week was Kory Kiepert - Engineer & Partner at The Gravity Group. Kory is a rollercoaster engineer who designs rollercoasters. Kory in fact, got married on a rollercoaster. So what does Kory actually do as a rollercoaster engineer? He will do some of the structural engineering and the mechanical engineering for the ride. Usually an amusement park will come to him and show him the plot of land they have chosen for the ride, what the budget is, what kind of ride it will be? He incorporates some of the features of the land or to have the ride interact with other rides or buildings in the park. The process is driven by much the same codes that are in place for the design of any building. His job is to give you the illusion that it’s daring and adventurous but at the same time it’s very controlled. That’s at the heart of what he does.

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Evolution has a funny way of equipping creatures that are small in size with attributes that make them deadly to deal with - the poison frog, blue-ringed octopus, or some species of jellyfish for instance.

But is this also true of scorpions? Is it really a case of "the bigger the better"?

Well, that is exactly the question that Dr. Kevin Healy, Lecturer of Zoology at NUI Galway wanted to answer.

He joined Jonathan to discuss.

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Since the first draft of a human genome sequence was completed in 2000, genomics research has led to huge strides in the understanding of our biology, but it wasn't complete.

Well, in 2019, an international team of scientists set out to rectify that - earlier this month unveiling the first-ever gap-free sequence of a human genome.

So how did they do it and what does this mean for the likes of genetic diseases, human diversity, and evolution?

Karen Miga, Assistant Professor of Biomolecular Engineering at UC Santa Cruz and an Associate Director of the UCSC Genomics Institute joined Jonathan to discuss.

Dr. Shane Bergin & Dr. Lara Dungan also joined Jonathan to run through the week's science news in Newsround.

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We can learn a lot about the animals of the past by studying the fossils we find in the ground but there’s something else that pre-historic creatures leave behind too - their burrows.

To discuss what we can learn from these ‘paleoburrows’, Jonathan was joined by Renata Netto, professor at the Geology Graduate Program, Unisinos University in Brazil.

Listen and subscribe to Futureproof with Jonathan McCrea on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

  

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