Science In Action

Swine fever in South East Asia


Listen Later

African swine fever has now reached Southeast Asia.This part of the world has high diversity in wild pigs, some of which are endemic to their native islands. In Borneo, pigs are a hugely important food source for indigenous populations, and are a vital prey species for many big cats. In some regions, the pig populations have now dropped by 90 to 100 per cent due to swine fever. Conservationist Dr Erik Meijaard explains what this could mean for Borneo.

Sticking with diseases, the World Mosquito Program breeds mosquitoes infected with Wolbachia. Why? Because mosquitoes infected with this bacteria are unable to become carriers of dengue, Zika and other mosquito-borne diseases. Dr Scott O'Neill of the World Mosquito Program talks about their latest research and the massive mosquito factory they're building in Brazil this year.

Finally this week, Dr Nitzan Gonen discusses her new study, where mouse testes organoids have been grown in the lab. She tells us about the potential applications for this research.

Presenter: Roland Pease

Producer: Alice Lipscombe-Southwell
Production co-ordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth

(Photo: Bornean bearded pig. Credit: Sylvain Cordier/Getty Images)

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Science In ActionBy BBC World Service

  • 4.5
  • 4.5
  • 4.5
  • 4.5
  • 4.5

4.5

315 ratings


More shows like Science In Action

View all
In Our Time by BBC Radio 4

In Our Time

5,412 Listeners

The Documentary Podcast by BBC World Service

The Documentary Podcast

1,808 Listeners

The Naked Scientists Podcast by The Naked Scientists

The Naked Scientists Podcast

604 Listeners

Nature Podcast by Springer Nature Limited

Nature Podcast

758 Listeners

Science Magazine Podcast by Science Magazine

Science Magazine Podcast

810 Listeners

Global News Podcast by BBC World Service

Global News Podcast

7,659 Listeners

Science Weekly by The Guardian

Science Weekly

411 Listeners

5 Live Science Podcast by BBC Radio 5 Live

5 Live Science Podcast

109 Listeners

Health Check by BBC World Service

Health Check

84 Listeners

6 Minute English by BBC Radio

6 Minute English

1,750 Listeners

Learning English Conversations by BBC Radio

Learning English Conversations

1,081 Listeners

More or Less: Behind the Stats by BBC Radio 4

More or Less: Behind the Stats

882 Listeners

Discovery by BBC World Service

Discovery

973 Listeners

Ask the Naked Scientists by Dr Chris Smith

Ask the Naked Scientists

77 Listeners

The Infinite Monkey Cage by BBC Radio 4

The Infinite Monkey Cage

2,081 Listeners

Newshour by BBC World Service

Newshour

1,037 Listeners

The Life Scientific by BBC Radio 4

The Life Scientific

239 Listeners

Unexpected Elements by BBC World Service

Unexpected Elements

353 Listeners

BBC Inside Science by BBC Radio 4

BBC Inside Science

397 Listeners

Curious Cases by BBC Radio 4

Curious Cases

779 Listeners

CrowdScience by BBC World Service

CrowdScience

477 Listeners

13 Minutes Presents: The Space Shuttle by BBC World Service

13 Minutes Presents: The Space Shuttle

4,176 Listeners

You're Dead to Me by BBC Radio 4

You're Dead to Me

2,953 Listeners

The world, the universe and us by New Scientist

The world, the universe and us

107 Listeners

The Great Post Office Trial by BBC Radio 4

The Great Post Office Trial

35 Listeners