Discovery

Discover the inspirational journey of Asima Chatterjee, an Indian chemist who paved the way for modern chemotherapy treatments by extracting chemicals from plants in 1950s Kolkata. Overcoming financial constraints and gender biases, she made groundbreaking contributions to drug development, particularly in synthesizing alkaloids for medicinal purposes. Asima's relentless pursuit of knowledge and passion for organic chemistry continues to inspire generations of scientists.

Discover the unsung hero, Florence Bell, in the DNA story - mastered X-ray crystallography at Cambridge, pivotal discovery of DNA structure, overlooked legacy as an industrial chemist, and contributions to the scientific world.

Engineer Nzambi Matee shares her inspiring journey of turning plastic waste into eco-friendly bricks in Nairobi. Starting from her mother's backyard, she created a company, Gjenge Makers, producing bricks stronger than concrete. Nzambi's innovative approach to sustainability and community empowerment is a testament to the impact of small actions in driving positive change.

Dr Julia Ravey and Dr Ella Hubber both have a love of science, but it turns out there’s a lot they don’t know about some of the leading women at the front of the inventing game. In Unstoppable, Dr Julia and Dr Ella tell each other the hidden, world-shaping stories of the engineers, innovators and inventors they wish they’d known about when they were starting out as scientists. This week, the story of the Hollywood starlet whose brilliant ideas would go on to revolutionise the way we live. Known as the ‘most beautiful woman in film’ during the 1940s, Hedy Lamarr was one of the most in demand Hollywood actresses of her time. But she wasn’t just a movie star. From a young age, she also had a knack for inventing – she liked to take her toys apart just to see how they worked. And she carried this passion into her adult life – creating an invention that laid the groundwork for technology many of us couldn’t live without: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GPS. But it didn’t come without struggle. Dr Julia and Dr Ella take us through Hedy’s remarkable journey, and we get a first-hand look into Hedy’s life from her daughter Denise Loder-DeLuca. Presenters: Dr Ella Hubber and Dr Julia Ravey Producers: Ella Hubber and Julia Ravey Assistant producer: Sophie Ormiston Production Coordinator: Elisabeth Tuohy Editor: Holly Squire(Photo: Hedy Lamarr, Austrian-born American actress and inventor. Credit: Eric Carpenter/John Kobal Foundation/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

In Malawi, experts discuss challenges and progress in maternal health, including reducing maternal mortality rates, improving healthcare access, and addressing issues like sepsis and hemorrhage. The podcast also explores patient referrals, resource constraints, adolescent pregnancies, and the role of traditional birth attendants in maternal health.

Underwater cameraman Roger Munns set himself and his team an incredible challenge. In 2008, they visited Tonga to film the biggest courtship ritual of the animal kingdom, the humpback heat run, for the very first time underwater and up close. In the first few days, Roger had intimate encounters with the whales but most of the time, he was sat on the back of the boat, waiting to find a heat run. After two unsuccessful weeks, he started to wonder whether they would ever see one. But a few days later somebody spotted a heat run, and everything sprang into action. Roger got in position and dove down ten meters underwater on a single breath. From then on, his job was just to wait and hold his camera ready. In a moment that seemed to stretch out time, he waited, nervously, for a group of 40-ton bus-sized whales to speed past him… And Victor Vescovo describes his adventures into the deep, diving to the deepest parts of all five oceans. Victor's longest dive was solo to the lowest point on Earth - the Challenger Deep at the bottom of the Marianas trench in the western Pacific. On reaching the bottom, some 35,853 feet below the ocean surface, should something have gone wrong, there was no hope of rescue. Victor describes his feelings before making this historic descent and on the way down. Touching down on the sea bed, he was astounded by the abundance of marine life. Victor describes how he hopes that the mapping, observations and sample collections he has made on his dives will advance scientific understanding of the deep oceans, and where his eternal quest to explore might take him next. Produced by Florian Bohr and Diane Hope Credits: Humpback whale mother and calf sounds - Acoustic Communications CNRS team & CETAMADA Humpback whale calf sounds - Lars Bejder (MMRP Hawaii), Peter T. Madsen (Aarhus University) & Simone Videsen (Aarhus University)

Primatologist Catherine Hobaiter shares her passion for observing chimpanzees in Uganda's rainforests, delving into the soap opera-like dynamics of chimp troupes. Sara Dykman's 10,201 mile bicycle journey tracking monarch butterfly migration highlights the challenges of conservation and inspiring encounters with nature and children along the way.

Zookeeper and sea lion trainer Mae Betts joins Ben Garrod and Jess French to discuss the intelligence and unique anatomical adaptations of California sea lions. They explore the sea lion's senses, dental structure, blubber layer, and internal physiology. The podcast delves into how pollutants affect sea lions, the insulating properties of blubber, and the fascinating kidney structure and adaptability of these marine mammals.

The tiny sap-sucking aphid, at just a few millimetres long, is the scourge of many gardeners and crop-growers worldwide, spreading astonishingly rapidly and inflicting huge damage as it seeks to outwit many host plants’ natural defences. With insights and guidance from aphid expert George Seddon-Roberts at the John Innes Centre, Norwich, some delicate dissecting tools, and a state of the art microscope, Prof Ben Garrod and Dr Jess French delve inside this herbivorous insect to unravel the anatomy and physiology that has secured its extraordinary reproductive success, whilst offering new clues as to how we could curtail its damaging impact in the future.Co-Presenters: Ben Garrod and Jess French Executive producer: Adrian Washbourne Producer: Ella Hubber Editor: Martin Smith Production co-ordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth

Prof Ben Garrod and Dr Jess French delve into the unique diet and physical characteristics of the bearded vulture, exploring how it consumes bones and the anatomy of its esophagus. They also discuss the specialized respiratory system of birds and the bearded vulture's digestive system, highlighting its stomach acid's ability to dissolve bones for nutrients.