51³Ô¹ÏÍø

In this edition: 51³Ô¹ÏÍø at the Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition, putting empty shipping containers to use and a visit to Silwood Park

The podcast is presented by Gareth Mitchell, a lecturer on 51³Ô¹ÏÍø's Science Communication MSc course and the presenter of Click Radio on the BBC World Service, with contributions from our roaming reporters.

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– 51³Ô¹ÏÍø researcher have developed a robotic model that will help nurses and GPs practise rectal exams for the diagnosis of prostate cancer, and physicists have theorised a new beginning to our universe – with a bounce instead of a bang.

– We report from the Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition, where 51³Ô¹ÏÍø researchers have been asking crowds to sniff a comet and come up with solutions to the problem of plastic in the oceans.

– Can we make better use of empty shipping containers making return journeys to China? One design engineering student has invented a collapsible hydroponic farm that can be set up inside the containers, providing food for the Chinese market and profit for the shipping company.

– We visit 51³Ô¹ÏÍø’s rural campus, where researchers focus on ecology, evolution and conservation There we meet scientists working on species extinction, the differences between males and females, and who our oldest ancestors are.