Start the Week

The health of science


Listen Later

There is nothing new for chemistry to discover, says Bernie Bulkin. In Solving Chemistry: A Scientist's Journey, the former Head of Science at BP argues that an unprecedented event has happened: a branch of science has made all the major discoveries it is likely to make. He tells Tom Sutcliffe what this means for chemistry - and for science more broadly.

Medicine is in the midst of 'a biomedical revolution' says Professor Sir Robert Lechler. His own field of kidney transplants has been transformed by our new understanding of the immune system. He has helped to curate Spare Parts, an exhibition at the Science Gallery that poses the question: how many transplants could we have before we were no longer ourselves?

Elizabeth Pisani has watched interest in different diseases rise and fall. As an epidemiologist she charts the impact that press attention and public grants have on medical research, with some becoming fashionable while in others treatments lag behind. And she warns that scientists too often fail to take account of the human context when delivering medicines.

Astrophysicist Jo Dunkley assesses our understanding of the universe in a concise new guide. But the universe is 85% dark matter - and we still know very little about this. She draws attention to the brilliant female scientists who contributed to breakthroughs in physics, but whose contributions have been forgotten along the way.

Picture: Big Heart Data by Gareth McKee, part of Spare Parts at the Science Gallery

Producer: Hannah Sander

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

Start the WeekBy BBC Radio 4

  • 4.7
  • 4.7
  • 4.7
  • 4.7
  • 4.7

4.7

154 ratings


More shows like Start the Week

View all
Global News Podcast by BBC World Service

Global News Podcast

7,728 Listeners

The LRB Podcast by The London Review of Books

The LRB Podcast

309 Listeners

The Archers by BBC Radio 4

The Archers

1,088 Listeners

From Our Own Correspondent by BBC Radio 4

From Our Own Correspondent

370 Listeners

More or Less by BBC Radio 4

More or Less

872 Listeners

Newshour by BBC World Service

Newshour

1,058 Listeners

The Reith Lectures by BBC Radio 4

The Reith Lectures

166 Listeners

In Our Time by BBC Radio 4

In Our Time

5,531 Listeners

The Documentary Podcast by BBC World Service

The Documentary Podcast

1,796 Listeners

Arts & Ideas by BBC Radio 4

Arts & Ideas

299 Listeners

6 Minute English by BBC Radio

6 Minute English

1,809 Listeners

Learning English Conversations by BBC Radio

Learning English Conversations

1,084 Listeners

The Infinite Monkey Cage by BBC Radio 4

The Infinite Monkey Cage

1,954 Listeners

Great Lives by BBC Radio 4

Great Lives

504 Listeners

Profile by BBC Radio 4

Profile

109 Listeners

Moral Maze by BBC Radio 4

Moral Maze

55 Listeners

Front Row by BBC Radio 4

Front Row

133 Listeners

Daily Politics from the New Statesman by The New Statesman

Daily Politics from the New Statesman

157 Listeners

Private Passions by BBC Radio 3

Private Passions

55 Listeners

The Briefing Room by BBC Radio 4

The Briefing Room

69 Listeners

You're Dead to Me by BBC Radio 4

You're Dead to Me

3,218 Listeners

The Bomb by BBC World Service

The Bomb

1,035 Listeners

This Cultural Life by BBC Radio 4

This Cultural Life

124 Listeners

The Rest Is Politics by Goalhanger

The Rest Is Politics

3,565 Listeners