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| THE MATERIAL WORLD
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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 | | | | | 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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|  | | Ivan Mishukov (Found 1998) The moscow boy who chose to live with a pack of wild dogs. Reproduced with permission of Moscoop Picture Library, Moscow.
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Wild Children
This week’s Book of the week on Radio 4 is “Savage Girls and Wild Children” by Michael Newton – a fascinating history of feral and wild children. One of the first documented cases was Victor, the wild boy of Averyon. He was found in 1800 living in woods in France. He was one of the first to be “scientifically” studied to find out seen if he could be made “human” and develop language and communicate with others. What does the study of feral children tell science and how do they influence scientific thinking? The famous case of “Genie” found in a Los Angeles home abused and isolated by her father she became “the forbidden experiment” of the 20th century. Linguists and psychologists cared for her and worked with her to try and understand how her development and language had been affected. Did she confirm or deny - Chomsky’s idea that children are pre-programmed to acquire language? And modern day cases in Russia might be turning up some interesting evidence about the window of opportunity for acquiring language. Feral children are still being found – how have they been treated by science and in turn, how have they influenced science itself and what it means to be human?
Quentin speaks to Michael Newton, Part time lecturer at UCL and author of “Savage Girls and Wild Children” and to Dr James Law, Professor of Language and Communication studies at City University, London. | |  | | |
Animal Coat Pattern Formation
Animal coat pattern formation is one of those things that turns out to be a lot less random that you would imagine. In fact, mathematical models and equations are able to predict how they form. Alan Turing initially came up with the idea that mathematical equations related to chemicals in the bodies of animal that related to coat pattern. Although this turns out to be not quite true, it was certainly very close. In actual fact it seems that there is a genetic component to this pattern formation, which drives, as Turing puts it, Morphogenesis. The organism also involves the laws of physics and chemistry in its response as well.
Quentin speaks to the Professor Ian Stewart from the Institute of Mathematics at Warwick University and to Professor Philip Maini, head of the Centre for Mathematical Biology at Oxford University who is taking Turing’s work and adding to it to create complex mathematical models of how animals form their patterned coats. | | |
RELATED LINKS
BBC Radio 4 - Book of the Week
Guardian review of Savage Girls & Wild Boys, by Michael Newton
Prof. James Law
Feral Children
Animal Coat Pattern Formation
Prof. Ian Stewart
Prof. Philip Maini
Alan Turing - History
Turing & Morphogenesis
BBCi Science
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