Leading Edge

Geoff Watts explores the world of science and the people, passions and policies behind it

Radio 4,82 episodes

Episodes

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Martian Rocks, Kidney Stones and Climate Change
Geoff Watts reports on a planned mission to collect the first rock samples from Mars.
17 Jul 2008,30 mins
Physics in Crisis?
Geoff Watts talks to particle physicist Professor Brian Cox.
24 Jul 2008,30 mins
Endurance-enhancing Drugs
Scientists have created what they believe is the world's first endurance-enhancing drug.
31 Jul 2008,30 mins
Brain Pathway and Obesity
Geoff Watts reports on new ideas on how to treat the global epidemic of obesity.
02 Oct 2008,30 mins
Nobel Prizes for Science 2008
A report on the winners of this years Nobel prizes for Medicine, Physics and Chemistry.
09 Oct 2008,30 mins
Alarming Decline in West African Chimpanzees
Geoff Watts discovers whether the chimps can be saved from extinction.
16 Oct 2008,30 mins
Lusi Eruption and Selective memory
What caused the devastating mud volcano in East Java, in October 2006?
23 Oct 2008,30 mins
US Elections
As America goes to the polls, what will a new administration mean for American science?
30 Oct 2008,30 mins
Recreating Woolly Mammoths
Geoff Watts investigates the creation of mammoth clones from the frozen bodies of mice.
06 Nov 2008,30 mins
Who Should We Trust?
As banks collapse and interest rates drop, how do we know who to trust?
13 Nov 2008,30 mins
European Space Research
Geoff Watts talks to UK Science minister Lord Drayson.
20 Nov 2008,30 mins
The Secret of Ageing
Scientists have unravelled the mechanism that drives ageing in mice.
27 Nov 2008,30 mins
Student Astronauts
Reporter Anna Lacey auditions for Leicester University's astronaut course.
04 Dec 2008,30 mins
Anamorphic Art and Genes That Make You Eat More
Geoff Watts discusses art and maths of anamorphosis.
11 Dec 2008,30 mins
Face Recognition in Chimps
Chimps share our ability to recognise faces. But what’s going on in their brains?
18 Dec 2008,30 mins
Darwin’s Sacred Cause
Geoff Watts talks to the authors of a new book marking the bicentenary of Charles Darwin.
22 Jan 2009,30 mins
Childhood Stress
Geoff Watts reports on the effects of childhood stress on the immune system.
29 Jan 2009,30 mins
Funding Science in the Recession
Can funding science help the recession?
05 Feb 2009,30 mins
Ecstasy: The A to B of drugs
The difficulties of assessing drug damage to the brain.
12 Feb 2009,30 mins
Science and the Recession
How has and will science be affected by the current global economic crisis?
19 Feb 2009,30 mins
Larynx Transplant and The First Fish Embryo
Geoff Watts discusses the future of the larynx transplant procedure.
26 Feb 2009,30 mins
Nuclear Power, Science and Politics and Near Death Experience
Is the nuclear power option sustainable?
05 Mar 2009,30 mins
Professor John Beddington
Geoff Watts is joined by the government's Chief Scientific Advisor, Prof John Beddington.
21 May 2009,30 mins
Spaceflight and Weightlessness
Geoff Watts finds out the use of experiments in weightlessness, similar to being in orbit.
28 May 2009,30 mins
Attitudes to Darwin
Geoff Watts investigates attitudes to evolution.
04 Jun 2009,30 mins
Can Science Be Creative?
Geoff Watts asks if science can be creative.
11 Jun 2009,30 mins
The Science of Seasonality
Geoff Watts looks into the science of seasonality in plants, animals and humans.
18 Jun 2009,30 mins
Lord Martin Rees
Geoff Watts meets Lord Martin Rees, Astronomer Royal and President of the Royal Society.
25 Jun 2009,30 mins
Public Engagement with Science
Geoff Watts examines progress towards greater public engagement with science.
02 Jul 2009,30 mins
The Future of Gene Sequencing
Geoff Watts and guests discuss genomic medicine and the future of gene sequencing.
09 Jul 2009,30 mins