Including Yesterday in Parliament, Sports Desk and Thought for the Day. 
-
New body to regulate UK health research
Medical research in the UK is being hampered by bureaucracy and burdensome regulation according to a report published this week. It can take two years from the time a medical trial is approved before the first patient is even recruited. Quentin hears from Dr Kate Law, Director of Trials at the Cancer Research UK, how damaging the delay can be to UK science, and from report author Sir Michael Rawlins how things can be improved.
-
Corruption and Earthquakes
Corruption is the leading cause of death in earthquakes according to seismologist Roger Bilham in this week's edition of Nature. Corrupt governments fail to enforce simple building regulations which could save many lives when the ground starts shaking, he argues. While 500 died in Chile's earthquake last year, hundreds of thousands were killed, injured and displaced by the earlier event in Haiti earthquake; Chile ranks high on the global transparency index, whereas Haiti is amongst the most corrupt states.
-
Music Moods
Chills in music arise in the same way as cocaine-fuelled highs, according to neuroscientists. Tracking the mental, chemical and physiological changes of volunteers hearing their favourite music, the researchers found primitive 'reward' centres of the brain fire up at moments of peak emotion. Valorie Salimpoor, who led the research, reveals the ups and downs of the musical experience.
Broadcasts
-
BBC Radio 4Thu 13 Jan 2011 16:30 BBC Radio 4
-
BBC Radio 4Mon 17 Jan 2011 21:00 BBC Radio 4
Free download
-
Material World
Weekly science conversation, on everything from archaeology to zoology, from abacus to the...
