What’s on (21 – 27 July 2012)

Fancy watching (or listening to) something new? Here’s our pick of the week’s science on TV and radio…

Sun 22 July

Engineering Giants
BBC2, 8.00-9.00pm

In this episode, Tom Wrigglesworth and Rob Bell watch a North Sea gas rig being pulled out of the sea by floating cranes, taken to Newcastle and then dismantled for recycling. As they watch it being torn apart, the engineers reveal the secrets behind the rig’s workings and describe the lives of the men and women who worked there.

 

Mon 23 July

The Infinite Monkey Cage
BBC Radio 4, 4.30-5.00pm

This last episode in the series was recorded at the Latitude Festival’s Comedy Arena last week. Brian Cox and Robin Ince are joined by a panel of guests, including Al Murray, to talk about the ultimate showdown: science vs. art. Will the two cultures ever make a happy couple?

 

Nature's Microworlds
BBC4, 8.30-9.00pm

Steve Backshall takes a look the Serengeti ecosystem in East Africa, explaining how phosphates under the soil have encouraged grasses to grow. These grasses help wildebeest to prosper, which in turn act as a ‘living larder’ for the killer carnivores. It’s a fascinating glimpse of this diverse, densely populated habitat.

 

Horizon: the Truth about Looking Younger
BBC2, 9.00-10.00pm

Plastic surgeon Dr Rozina Ali asks whether it’s possible to stay looking youthful without surgery. Why do some people seem to age better than others? What foods should we eat to protect our skin? And how might a substance found in squid eyes lead to a new sun protection cream? All will be revealed…

 

Tues 24 July

Does Science Need the People?
BBC Radio 4, 11.00-11.30am

Geoff Watts wraps up his exploration of the value of public engagement in research. In this programme, he looks at some of the role models in the democratisation of science, such as the Alzheimer’s Society, where patients and carers have helped to direct research into new therapies.

 

Thurs 26 July

Natural World Special: Tiger Island
BBC2, 8.00-9.00pm

The tigers on the Indonesian island of Sumatra are turning into man-eaters as they become increasingly threatened by logging, agriculture, and settlement. One maverick businessman, however, thinks he has a solution: Tomy Winata captures the tigers and rehabilitates them on his private land. Could this really save them from extinction, or is it just an eccentric's pie-in-the-sky scheme?

 

How the Universe Works
Discovery Channel, 9.00-10.00pm

The weather might be pretty awful on Earth sometimes, but our storms have nothing on some of the tempests that rage elsewhere in the cosmos. This episode of How the Universe Works looks at galactic storms, in which winds can blow at several times the speed of sound and lightning can stretch for thousands of miles.