audio icon
Science, Maths & Technology
The science of the mind: investigating mental health
How do biology, psychology and social science contribute to our understanding of mental health and mental illness? How do the biomedical and biopsychosocial models compare when it comes to diagnosis and treatment? This album reveals the importance of the perspective scientists and health professionals take, and the difference it can make to ...
audio icon
Science, Maths & Technology
Fire and Ice
How are volcanoes created? And how can scientists re-construct eruptions from many thousands of years ago? On a field trip to Iceland, Dr Dave McGarvie visits a range of volcanoes. These include Askja, a particularly spectacular and active volcano in Iceland’s remote interior, and the valley where astronauts once trained to land on the Moon. ...
audio icon
Science, Maths & Technology
Imagining Scientists
Why does the stereotype of a scientist with mad hair, big spex, white coat endure and how does this image relate to what 21st century scientists actually look like and do? For more than 60 years researchers have explored stereotypes of scientists. During this time they have attempted to isolate the small number of essential, simplified criteria ...
audio icon
Nature & Environment
Letter to a Climate Sceptic
Why is there so much scepticism around climate change? And why does it continue to cause controversy among scientists? In 2009 the ‘Climategate’ news story, regarding stolen emails from the University of East Anglia’s Climate Research Unit, became symbolic of public mistrust in climate science. In this audio, in the form of an open letter, The ...
audio icon
Science, Maths & Technology
Surviving the 21st Century
Leading cosmologist Professor Martin Rees once famously said that the human race has only a 50 per cent chance of surviving the 21st century. Current President of the Royal Society, Sir Rees cites natural disasters, nuclear war and global warming among the challenges facing future generations. The Open University's Dr Stephen Serjeant ...
audio icon
Science, Maths & Technology
Investigating bacterial communication
Can bacteria communicate with each other, and if they do communicate, how and why do they do so? And how might understanding the mechanisms of bacterial communication be used to inform development of anti-bacterial drugs? In this album scientists involved in pioneering work into bacterial 'quorum sensing'' at Nottingham University in the UK ...
audio icon
Science, Maths & Technology
Investigating ageing
We might think we know what ageing is, but it’s surprisingly difficult to pin down. In this album a 70-year-old fashion model and her 17-year-old grand-daughter take part in a series of scientific tests to see whether it is possible to distinguish between them. The results give an insight into what contemporary science can tell us about what ...
audio icon
Science, Maths & Technology
Science Communication and Public Engagement
The adaptation of H.G. Wells’ novel ‘The War of The Worlds’ in 1938 showed the power of radio to capture listeners’ imagination through science-fiction - and in doing so demonstrated how mass media could be used to communicate science to different audiences. For decades, print and broadcast media have used different genres to portray the ...
audio icon
Science, Maths & Technology
Integrated health, safety and environmental management
Just how dangerous is the everyday workplace? What can be done to mitigate risks and avoid hazards? And what trade-offs have to be made between the competing demands of safety, efficiency and wider social responsibility? This album looks at three very different case studies - farming, food manufacturing and urban redevelopment - and explores the...
audio icon
Science, Maths & Technology
Space, Time and Consciousness
Is space just another name for nothing? What is time and how does it relate to space? Will we ever understand the relationship between consciousness and the physical brain? Welcome to the world of The Open University’s Professor Russell Stannard where the big mysteries of the universe are made comprehensible and any possibility is considered in ...
audio icon
Science, Maths & Technology
Fossil Detectives
This event took place on 21st October 2008 and was hosted by Hermione Cockburn, presenter of the brand-new OU/BBC series Fossil Detectives. Hermione, who has also presented Coast and Rough Science, talks about the making of Fossil Detectives and other OU/BBC series, the extraordinary fossils found in Britain, and some of our most surprising ...
audio icon
Science, Maths & Technology
The Arch Never Sleeps
It has been said that arches never sleep, that they are almost living in the way they adapt to change. Using case studies of Ely Cathedral in England and Chartres in France, the tracks on this album examine the way in which the design of arches developed in the early middle ages, and use mathematical models to explore some of the problems ...