Jim Al-Khalili talks to Ken Gabriel, the engineer responsible for popularising many of the micro devices found in smartphones and computers. Ken explains how he was inspired by what he could do with a stick and a piece of string. This led to an engineering adventure taking in spacecraft, military guidance systems and the micro-mechanical devices we use every day in our computers and smartphones. Ken Gabriel now heads up a large non-profit engineering company, Draper, which cut its teeth building the guidance systems for the Apollo space missions, and is now involved in developing both driverless cars and drug production systems for personalised medicine. Ken himself has a career in what he terms ‘disruptive engineering’. His research married digital electronics with acoustics - and produced the microphones in our phones and computers. He has also worked for Google, taking some of the military research methods into a civilian start up. This led to the development of a new type of modular mobile phone which has yet to go into production. Producer: Julian Siddle

Ken Gabriel on why your smartphone is smart

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The tiny sap-sucking aphid, at just a few millimetres long, is the scourge of many gardeners and crop-growers worldwide, spreading astonishingly rapidly and inflicting huge damage as it seeks to outwit many host plants’ natural defences. With insights and guidance from aphid expert George Seddon-Roberts at the John Innes Centre, Norwich, some delicate dissecting tools, and a state of the art microscope, Professor Ben Garrod and Dr Jess French delve inside this herbivorous insect to unravel the anatomy and physiology that’s secured its extraordinary reproductive success, whilst offering new clues as to how we could curtail its damaging impact in the future. Co-Presenters: Ben Garrod and Jess French
Executive Producer: Adrian Washbourne
Producer: Ella Hubber
Editor: Martin Smith
Production Co-ordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth

Wild Inside: The Aphid

Ominously called the lamb vulture, there are many myths and misconceptions surrounding the bearded vulture. Flying the mountainous ranges across central Asia and eastern Africa, with a wingspan of almost three meters, the bearded vulture is am impressive Old World vulture. Prof Ben Garrod and Dr Jess French are looking past the beautifully coloured plumage, and delving deep inside to learn what this bird of prey really eats and what keeps its great wings aloft.

Wild Inside: The Bearded Vulture

Wild Inside returns for a new series to take a look at some of our planet’s most exceptional and unusual creatures from an entirely new perspective: the inside. Whilst we can learn a lot from observing the outside, the secrets to the success of any animal – whether they swim, fly, or hop – lies in their complex internal anatomy. How do these wild animals survive and thrive in harsh and changing environments? To truly understand we need to delve inside. Professor Ben Garrod, evolutionary biologist from the University of East Anglia, and expert veterinary surgeon Dr Jess French, open up and investigate what makes each of these animals unique, in terms of their extraordinary anatomy, behaviour and their evolutionary history. Along the way, they reveal some unique adaptations which give each species a leg (or claw) up in surviving in the big, wild world. The series begins with an icon of the outback – known best for its hopping, boxing, and cosy pouch – the red kangaroo. Despite the immense heat and lack of water, these marsupials dominate Australia, with their evolutionary history driving them to success. From the powerful legs which allow them to hop up to 40km an hour, to an unexpected reproductive system that keeps their populations plentiful, Ben, Jess and marsupial expert Dr Jack Ashby reveal a mammalian anatomy which holds many surprises.

Wild Inside: The Red Kangaroo

Hannah Fry explores two tales of data and discovery. A young researcher gains access to a secretive data set and discovers a system causing harm to the very people it is supposed to help.  One day a student makes a discovery which, if true, could shake the intellectual foundations of a global movement, and undermine politicians around the world. Producer: Lauren Armstrong Carter

Uncharted: Access denied

Millions of women around the world experience the menopause each year; it’s an important milestone, which marks the end of their reproductive years. But every individual's experience of it is personal and unique. In some cultures, there's a stigma about this life stage – it's viewed with trepidation and as something to be dreaded. In other cultures, it's considered to be a fresh start - a time of greater freedom when women no longer have to worry about their menstrual cycles. In this edition, recorded at Northern Ireland Science Festival in Belfast, Claudia Hammond and her expert panel take a global look at the science of the menopause and debunk some myths along the way. As Claudia and her guests navigate their way through the menopause maze, they look at the most recent academic research in this area. They also discuss the physical and psychological symptoms, the lifestyle changes women can make and the different treatments available, including Hormone Replacement Therapy. Claudia also speaks to the American biological anthropologist who has dedicated an impressive 35 years of her life to studying the average age of the menopause in different countries - and finds out how hot flushes vary in different cultures. She also speaks to a doctor who is working hard to make women’s health less of a taboo subject in the community where she works. And she hears from a Professor of Reproductive Science who is setting up the UK's first menopause school. Producer: Sarah Parfitt
Co-ordinator: Siobhan Maguire
Editor: Holly Squire
Sound engineers: Andrew Saunderson and Bill Maul
Mix engineer: Bob Nettles Image used with permission of the Northern Ireland Science Festival

Ken Gabriel on why your smartphone is smart

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