From crops that grow faster to rice that could stop children going blind - the world is full of genetically modified products waiting to come onto the market.

Genetic modification techniques in plants have huge problem-solving potential, but are often clouded in controversy. Most scientists say GM food is safe, yet some consumers and environmental campaigners remain unconvinced.

This week we look at the potential, and the controversy, in this futuristic field.

Presenter: Myra Anubi

Email: [email protected]

Image: Illustration of a strand of DNA (Getty Images)

In Bangladesh, there’s an app helping female farmers to get a fairer price for their crop.

At the market, women farmers often face sexism, and struggle to sell their produce for what it’s worth. But by making the seller anonymous, they’re able to sell more and reap the profit they deserve.

We’ll also hear from other projects around the world trying to bridge the gender gap in agriculture- and investigate how supporting female farmers doesn’t just help with reducing inequality – it can also help fight poverty, hunger and climate change.

Also on the programme - a remote control for cows and goats which lets farmers control them with virtual fences on their phone.

Presenter: Myra Anubi

Email: [email protected]

Image: A female farmer in Bangladesh

The fast growth of solar power is a success story in the fight against climate change. However, in some countries progress is being stymied by opposition to large solar farms in the countryside.

But enterprising people are trying to keep the solar momentum going, by finding less obvious places where we can harness energy from the sun - like lakes, farms, car parks, office windows and even outer space.

Presenter: Myra Anubi

email: [email protected]

Image: Floating solar (Credit: Ocean Sun)

How can we stop plastic flowing into our oceans? Dutch inventors have one solution, pulling plastic from the water using a ‘net’ made from bubbles.

Also on the programme - how sound could be used to help restore coral reefs in Australia. Scientists found playing the sounds of a healthy reef under water, could attract fish back to the site. They hope to combine this with coral seeding to rebuild reefs teeming with life.

And our last solution keeps with the water theme - looking at a hand-cranked washing machine that makes laundry quicker and easier for some of the poorest women in society.

Presenter: Myra Anubi

email: [email protected]

Image: Philip Ehrhorn (BBC)

All across the world, invasive species are on the march. These are plants and animals that take over new areas, throwing nature out of balance. If left unchecked, they can destroy local ecosystems, drive native species to extinction - and put local livelihoods at risk.

But people have been finding innovative ways to combat these invaders… like eating them!

In Belize, we look at how encouraging local fisherman and restaurants to catch and serve up invasive lionfish has helped control their numbers and protect the local reefs.

Meanwhile in Nashville, Tennessee, we see how one urban shepherd is deploying his flock of sheep - dubbed the ‘Nashville Chew Crew’ - to eat invasive plants and weeds across the city.

Presenter: Myra Anubi

email: [email protected]

Image: A lionfish (Getty Images)

In cities across Japan and the Philippines, an app called Tekkon is making data collection cool.

It's a Pokemon GO-style game which pays people with cryptocurrency if they track down broken infrastructure – such as missing manhole covers and tangled electrical wires.

The same technology that makes the cryptocurrency possible - blockchain - is also being used in South Africa to improve the lives of rubbish collectors.

We investigate how this cutting-edge technology is attempting to solve some everyday problems.

Presenter: Myra Anubi

email: [email protected]

Image: Isaiah Demdam

How do you care for someone properly in a hospital or care home if you don’t know who they are?

With US hospitals and care homes seeing fast turnovers of staff, many clinicians don’t get the chance to learn their residents’ backstories. This can lead to patients feeling isolated and misunderstood. Meanwhile, staff miss out on valuable insights which could be incorporated into treatment plans or used to make someone’s hospital stay more comfortable.

But a start-up called MemoryWell is working to fix this by hiring professional writers to create short biographies of residents that get pinned up on their walls. It’s helping staff personalise care for patients and it’s led to valuable points of connection at what can be a difficult and lonely time.

Presenter: Myra Anubi

Email: [email protected]

Image: Dot being interviewed for her biography.

As climate change leads to global temperature rises, cities around the world are being faced with extreme levels of heat. This can bring whole cities to a halt, disrupt key infrastructure, and for the most vulnerable in society heat can be a killer.

But where there’s a problem, innovation is never far behind.

We meet the people who are trying to find solutions – from urban designers finding inspiration in ancient technologies to keep cities cool, to social projects offering simple solutions to vulnerable populations.

Presenter: Myra Anubi

Email: [email protected]

Image: A hot child.

A young scientist has developed a white powder which gives waste soil concrete-like properties.

Gnanli Landrou grew up in Togo, helping his neighbours dry out soil to make bricks, and his big dream is to help people like them build stronger, cheaper, houses.

But the European building industry is also excited about his new, low carbon building material.

We talk to Gnanli about his ambitions for this extraordinary powder, and meet the Swiss architect who is about to build a luxury apartment block with it.

This episode was first broadcast in May 2022.

Presenter: Myra Anubi

Email: [email protected]

Image: Gnanli Landrou

Is it possible for palm oil plantations, wildlife and the rainforest to happily coexist?

Products containing palm oil, including soaps and cosmetics, are used by billions of people worldwide. While the industry is credited with reducing poverty in countries like Indonesia and Malaysia, it has also contributed to mass deforestation.

In Malaysian Borneo, only small pockets of pristine rainforest remain, with much of the land taken over by mile after mile of palm oil plantation. But on one plantation, an NGO called Hutan has joined forces with the palm oil growers to try and make them better for nature.

We visit the plantation to see how they're using wildlife corridors to connect the remaining islands of forest.

Presenter: Myra Anubi

Email: [email protected]

Image: An orangutan (Credit: Getty Images)