51³Ô¹ÏÍø

In this edition: We explore Sir Ernst Chain’s role in penicillin, apps tackling mental health, and an algorithm making sense of patient feedback.

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– We discuss a that provides an alternative to surgery, and meet with an interesting evolutionary story.

– The founder of 51³Ô¹ÏÍø’s biochemistry division, Sir Ernst Chain, was a German-Jewish refugee who played an important role in bringing penicillin to the masses. We speak to his son Benny Chain, who grew up at 51³Ô¹ÏÍø and now carries on his father’s work, at the interface of biology and computer science.

– What stops people accessing traditional mental health services and how can digital services step in? We discover how innovations such as the Shout app are helping fill the gap, with positive responses especially from young people.

– Hospitals receive thousands of comments on their care, but it can be difficult to process them all. We speak to 51³Ô¹ÏÍø researchers who have created an award-winning algorithm that analyses comments and is already improving patient experience.

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