scientists at work

What is about the study of the stars that captivates so many? Paul Fellows of the Cambridge Astronomical Association fills us in and updates us on news. Hear about dark matter, isotopes, space probes and his association’s weekly events in Cambridge. All ages are welcome to join a weekly astronomy star gazing event (when skies permit) at the Institute of Astronomy off Madingley Road. Every Wednesday at 7pm in University term time. Car park near the entrance on the right. Walk on to the Hoyle Building. See the Cambridge Institute of Astronomy and click on Public talks (www.ast.cam.ac.uk/public)

Follow-up link to Cambridge Astronomical Association

Join the mailing list www.caa-cya.org/newversion/reminders.php

Join the association at www.caa-cya.org/newversion/joinus.php

Mondays – Cambridge Young Astronomers age 11+ group; Thursdays – Cambridge Young Astronomers age 7-11 group

Tagged 105science, astronomy, environment, science, dark matter, isotopes, space probes, technology

Dr Karen Ersche tells about her research into cocaine addiction. The work investigates the finding that cocaine addiction affects some people and not others. Also, unlike other addictions, there are no substitute chemicals that can be used in cocaine addiction. However Karen Ersche’s research is looking at a possible candidate. The Science Show’s Roger Frost asks about the use of terms such as addiction; habit and compulsive behaviour.

Follow-up link

Karen works at the Department of Psychiatry in the School of Clinical Medicine, University of Cambridge: www.psychiatry.cam.ac.uk/

18/05/2013 Tagged 105science, biology, Chris Creese, health, Roger Frost, cocaine, addiction

Dr John Creese tells about the science of archaeology and the investigative techniques they use. Dr Creese is a researcher at the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research. Interviewer Roger Frost asks how is archaeology distinguished from history which is surely not a science?

Follow-up link

Website: www.mcdonald.cam.ac.uk

04/05/2013 Tagged 105science, archaeology, Chris Creese, Roger Frost, Science Festival

An electronic medical procedure offers an innovative way for doctors to find out what’s going on inside the intestine. The ‘SmartPill’ is a tablet-sized device with sensors to take measurements inside your gut and transmit them wirelessly outside the body. This procedure is available at the private Spire Cambridge Lea Hospital in Impington. We speak to consultant physician, Dr Stephen Middleton about the technology and its benefits.

27/07/2013 Tagged 105science, biology, breath, Cambridge, Chris Creese, health, IBS, life, SmartPill,technology,

The technology behind the world’s best selling electric vehicle. Called the Nissan LEAF, it’s a car to drive across town with the thought that you’re not polluting, or adding to the traffic noise. We speak with Nissan’s vehicle development manager Steve Groves to hear about the science of the battery and the innovative technology in this car. Thanks to the Cambridge Institution of Engineering and Technology for running the event at Cambridge University Engineering Department. Car info for the curious

The Nissan LEAF is a production car that has a top speed of ninety miles per hour. It won a World Car of the Year Award

LEAF stands for Leading, Environmentally friendly, Affordable, Family car. The models sold across Europe are made in the UK, in Sunderland.

Little or no road tax or London ‘congestion charge’. A regular petrol fuelled car costs 20p a mile in fuel, the Nissan LEAF can cost just 2p of electricity a mile.

The 24kWh battery charges from a regular 13a socket or at public places such as the Grafton Shopping Centre car park or the park and ride car parks.

22/02/2014 Tagged 105science, Cambridge Science Centre, Chris Creese, electric vehicle, engineering, Lithium battery, nissan, Nissan LEAF, physics, Roger Frost, technology

Every year 41,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer in the UK. Dr Hayley Whitaker is a Cancer Research UK scientist who specialises in prostate cancer. We hear about her quest for better screening for the disease. Dr Whitaker is lead author of a study about how a particular protein helps identify if a prostate cancer patient needs more intense treatment. The protein is called NAALADL2 and is linked to the spread of prostate cancer tumour cells to surrounding healthy tissues. Dr Whitaker hopes that a test for the protein may spare patients unnecessary treatment.

Learn more about research at the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute (CRUK)

Read Dr Whitaker’s research article in Oncogene

11/01/2014 Tagged 105science, biology, cancer, cancer research, Chris Creese, CRUK, Hayley Whitaker, health, prostate, Roger Frost, tumour

Have you ever had surgery in an operating theatre? If like us you wondered what the anaesthetist does while you're out, hear Dr Jessica Kentish tell what her work entails. We met Dr Kentish on her holiday to Cambridge, UK and she told us about the chemicals she uses in her work in Denver, Colorado. The Dr goes on to explain why nitrous oxide, normally used as an anaesthetic in dentistry, is less useful at high altitudes.

13/07/2013 Tagged anaesthesiology, anaesthetist, biology, Chris Creese, health, Roger Frost

We find out about aerodynamics and what it involves. We meet Professor Holger Babinsky at Cambridge University Engineering Department. He talks about wind tunnels and the need for bumps on aeroplane wings.

Follow-up link

See ‘how wings really work’ at http://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/how-wings-really-work

Related interview - see bioengineering where they study bone and ‘hydrogels’ as useful materials.

Related interview: the engineering effort that goes into making a battery-powered low-pollution car, the Nissan LEAF.

03/05/2014 Tagged aerodynamics, Chris Creese, engineering, physics, Roger Frost, technology

Asking someone to send you an “engineer” will conjure up all sorts of people who build and fix things. But today’s show is about civil engineers. Professor Robert Mair of the University of Cambridge Engineering Department will explain what do they do. What’s the difference between a civil engineer and a washing machine engineer? Is it that a civil engineer wears a suit? Maybe not, but you’ll hear about the civil engineering in “Crossrail”, a £15 billion project to a build train route from Reading, tunnel across London and then on to Essex and Kent. Work started five years ago and the first trains will run in 2019.

hear more about engineering in these podcasts nearby:

Learn about aerodynamics and the need for bumps on airplane wings from Prof Holger Babinsky at the University of Cambridge.

The technology behind the world’s best selling electric vehicle. Steve Groves of Nissan tells about the Nissan LEAF car that drives across town without adding pollution or traffic noise.

How materials science is put to use in medicine where there’s a need for replacement tissues. Dr Michelle Oyen from bioengineering at the University of Cambridge explains about measuring the properties of bone and hydrogels. We also discuss the uptake of engineering by girls.

The engineering initiative to build the world’s fastest car – called Bloodhound– aims to recruit students to engineering. We speak with the project’s education officer about this unusual car.

17/05/2014

Tagged 105science, Chris Creese, civil engineering, engineering, physics, Crossrail, Robert Mair, Roger Frost, science, technology, University of Cambridge

Can we believe that the climate will change in the long term, when we can’t even predict tomorrow’s weather? Our guest Tim Palmer is a Professor in Climate Physics at the University of Oxford, and President of the Royal Meteorological Society at the time. In this interview Professor Palmer tell us what the job entails and how maths and physics are at the core of making predictions. He’ll remind us that we are quite good at predicting the weather. Interviewed in 2015.