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PROGRAMME INFO |
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Quentin Cooper reports on developments across the sciences. Each week scientists describe their work, conveying the excitement they feel for their research projects.
material.world@bbc.co.uk
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LISTEN AGAIN 30 min |
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PRESENTER |
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"For me science isn't a subject, it's a perspective. There are fascinating scientific aspects to everything from ancient history to the latest gadgets, outer space to interior decorating; and each week on The Material World we try to reflect the excitement, ideas, uncertainties, collisions and collaborations as science continues its never-ending voyage into the unknown".
Quentin Cooper |
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BIOGRAPHY
INTERVIEW |
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PROGRAMME DETAILS |
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Mitochondria
Our cells all contain the remnants of organisms that inserted themselves into our distant ancestors, forming a union that may have kick started complex life. These mitochondria, as they're called, are now the powerhouses of our bodies. Without them we couldn't survive.
But how did the fusing of two life-forms happen?
Mitochondria and their plant equivalents - chloroplasts - are the energy converters of almost all evolved life from humans to horses and algae to ants. These ancient organisms that live inside us, all contain their own DNA which is similar to the DNA of some bacteria. The DNA in Mitochondria is similar to that seen in purple bacteria. When researchers realised that we all contain fragments of these early life-forms they suggested that our distant ancestor, who made the first leap from a singlecelled existence may have been a "super cell" created by the joining of several, lonely cells. But is the story this simple?
Maybe not. The mapping of the human genome suggests that although mitochondria have their own genes which are bacterial in origin many of their genes have now migrated into the nucleus of the cells in which they reside, including the cells in our bodies. This process of gene swapping also occurs between species and suggests that the adaptations that drive evolution occur through acquired genes as well as mutations. As a result we may not have just one common ancestor but multiple common ancestors and trying to construct the family tree back to a single origin may prove to be a futile exercise.
Women in Science
A recent European Commission report gives a definitive account of women in science across 30 European countries. Prepared by the 'Helsinki Group on Women and Science', the report is entitled 'National Policies on Women and Science in Europe' and has been compiled by Professor Teresa Rees, a social scientist at Cardiff University.
The report shows that although the majority of science undergraduates are female, there is considerable wastage of women's skills and knowledge and women drop out of scientific careers in disproportionate numbers at every level. It also makes reference to a number of 'positive action measures' to support women in science: these include establishing women's networks, encouraging the development of role model and mentoring schemes, and in some cases, establishing targets and quotas.
Paula Gould is a science writer with a particular interest in female role models in science.
She has concentrated on two 'icons of female scientific heroism', the astronomer Caroline Herschel and the mathematician Mary Somerville. Paula argues that both women continue to be presented as 'models of scientific purity' who conducted their scientific enquires 'without a whiff of controversy, wrongdoing, or impropriety'. Where were these 'seeds of martyrdom' sown? Paula Gould finds her answer in Victorian and Edwardian biographical sketches which encouraged readers to follow the example of these - and other - heroines who fitted their intellectual work around existing family commitments and social expectation.
Quentin Cooper asks whether we should be applauding these women's skill in presenting a vision of domestic and scientific harmony or scouring the shelves for other women scientists who embraced a more realistic, less sanitised view of science. |
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RELATED LINKS
Royal Society Discussion Meeting Programme
Helsinki Group Report
Paula Gould article
BBC Science
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