Synopsis
Jonathan McCrea brings you the latest developments from the world of Science and Technology from robotics in warfare to artificial lifeforms and beyond
Episodes
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Futureproof Extra: Is Immortality by 2045 Possible?
16/05/2023 Duration: 13minIt is not a matter of how we become immortal, it's a matter of when- that’s according to this week’s guest, José Luis Cordeiro. He is the author of ‘The Death of Death’, and believes we are getting closer to discovering the secrets of nature by identifying cells that do not age.
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The Science of Measurement
14/05/2023 Duration: 33minHave you ever wondered how humans came about the concept of ‘measuring’ things? How did Ancient Egyptians use giant rulers to predict the harvest in coming months? James Vincent is the author of ‘Beyond Measure: The Hidden History of Measurement from Cubits to Quantum Constants’ and he joins me this week to talk about how this concept shapes the way we see the world. I'm also joined by Dr Lara Dungan and Dr Shane Bergin for this week's Newsround discussing intrauterine surgery, blood tests to check sleep, a new organelle and how body odour could be the antidote to social anxiety.
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Futureproof Extra: The Secrets Of Our Seas
08/05/2023 Duration: 16minHelen Czerski, bubble physicist and the author of 'Blue Machine: How the Ocean Shapes Our World', joins Jonathan McCrea to discuss the secrets of our seas.
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Lab-Grown Blood
07/05/2023 Duration: 33minIn this episode of Futureproof, Dr Susan Kelleher and Dr Lara Dungan join Jonathan McCrea for Newsround, and he explores the future of lab-grown blood with Dr Rebecca Cardigan, National Head of Component Development from NHS Blood & Transplant.
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Futureproof Extra: Curing Hearing Loss
02/05/2023 Duration: 19minDr. Zheng-Yi Chen, Associate Scientist in the Eaton-Peabody Laboratories at Mass Eye and Ear Hospital in Boston, speaks with Futureproof host Jonathan McCrea about his efforts to cure hearing loss.
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Vaccine Patches
30/04/2023 Duration: 34minOn this episode of Futureproof: Dr Ruth Freeman, Science Foundation Ireland & Eoin Murphy, biochemist and science communicator, join Jonathan McCrea for Newsround. And Dr. Anne Moore, Senior Lecturer and Principal Investigator in Vaccines at University College Cork, explains her work in developing vaccine patches.
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Futureproof Extra: The Future of Surrogacy & AI
25/04/2023 Duration: 17minSurrogacy can be a complicated enough process but if you bring in the potential of AI into it, how would it look? To discuss this and the future of surrogacy in general, Jonathan is joined by Dr. David Walsh, 'First IVF' chairman.
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Short Term Memory Illusions
23/04/2023 Duration: 38minOver time, our memory begins to fade but new research suggests human memory can go wrong just three seconds after an event takes place. The author of a new study on short-term memory illusion, Dr. Marte Otten, a Cognitive Psychologist from the University of Amsterdam joins Jonathan to discuss.
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Futureproof Extra: 'JUICE' Mission & Exploring Jupiter
18/04/2023 Duration: 16minProfessor Caitriona Jackman is an Irish space scientist and head of the planetary magnetospheres group at the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies and was among those at the European Space Operations Centre in Darmstadt, Germany, for the launch of ESA’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer mission, or “JUICE”. She joins Jonathan to discuss the mission and what she and her colleagues hope to learn.
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Injectable Brain Implants
16/04/2023 Duration: 38minImplanting an electrode into your fragile brain to control abnormal activity can cause extensive damage. But researchers in Sweden have developed a type of gel that they hope will ease the process of neural implantation for humans and perhaps ultimately help the treatment of diseases like Parkinson’s. Joining Jonathan to discuss is Hanne Biesmans, Ph.D. student at the Laboratory of Organic Electronics, at Linköping University in Sweden.
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Futureproof Extra: Interpreting Alien Signals
11/04/2023 Duration: 14minWhat would a message from ET sound like? Researchers at the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence Post-Detection Hub at the University of St Andrews in Scotland have their eyes and ears peeled to interpret alien language. Among them is Dr John Elliott, Honorary Research Fellow in the School of Computer Science and the Coordinator for the SETI Post Detection Hub at the University of St Andrews in Scotland and Chair of UK SETI Research Network.
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Have we smelled everything in the world?
09/04/2023 Duration: 37minJoining Jonathan on this episode of Futureproof is Dr Aashish Manglik, Associate Professor of Pharmaceutical Chemistry at the University of California who is examining how odour activates our human receptors. Also featuring Dr Lara Dungan and Dr Oran Kennedy in Newsround.
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Futureproof Extra: How are diamonds formed?
04/04/2023 Duration: 14minDiamond formation occurs when carbon deposits deep within the earth are subject to high temperatures and pressure. But what are the specific environmental conditions needed to make this actually happen? You’d think that by now we would have a pretty good grasp of how they form considering the value we place on them, but that’s not the case. Until now that is. Dr. Emma Tomlinson is an Associate Professor of Geology at Trinity College Dublin and part of a team from TCD and Queensland University of Technology who have been looking into this. She joins Jonathan to discuss.
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Thomas Hertog on space, time, and working with Stephen Hawking
02/04/2023 Duration: 38minTheoretical physicist and cosmologist Stephen Hawking is famous the world over, but one of his closest collaborators for twenty years was working alongside him developing a new theory of the cosmos. Thomas Hertog, a cosmologist from KU Leuven University in Belgium, explores this in his newly published book, ‘On The Origin of Time: Stephen Hawking’s Final Theory’. He joins Jonathan to discuss.
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Futureproof Extra: The Trust Race
28/03/2023 Duration: 34minIn this special episode of Futureproof Extra, we host 'The Trust Race', a six-part podcast series about scandals and controversies that have affected our trust in science. The show is hosted by regular contributor and friend of the show, Dr. Shane Bergin, and is available on all podcast platforms.
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Tickertape Synesthesia & The Future of Quantum Computing
26/03/2023 Duration: 51minAlthough on the outside we may all seem very similar, we experience the world in wildly different ways. A fascinating illustration of this is 'Tickertape Synesthesia' in which people experience live subtitles of every sound around them appearing in front of their very eyes. Joining Jonathan to discuss the condition is Professor Laurent Cohen, Professor of Neurology at the Salpêtrière Hospital in Paris. Also joining Jonathan is Professor Séamus Davis, Professor of Quantum Physics at University College Cork. Together they discuss quantum computing and its future. Dr. Susan Kelleher, Assistant Professor of Polymer Chemistry at DCU & Dr. Fergus McAuliffe, Communications and Public Engagement Manager at iCRAG, the Science Foundation Ireland Research Centre for Applied Geosciences also join us to go through the top science stories from throughout the week for Newsround.
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Futureproof Extra: Tenacious Beasts
21/03/2023 Duration: 15minDespite being in an environmental and biodiversity crisis, there are a number of animals that have come to the brink of extinction. So what can we learn from them, and are we being optimistic by thinking we can bring more species back? Joining Jonathan is Dr. Christopher Preston, Environmental Philosophy Professor at the University of Montana and author of 'Tenacious Beasts: Wildlife Recoveries That Change How We Think about Animals'.
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Space prisons & other realities of living beyond Earth
19/03/2023 Duration: 41minSettling in space might seem like a fun otherworldly concept, but it could also bring a number of practical realities to consider like what would space prisons be like? How would we monitor labour laws? And how could we control population growth? All of these are themes and considerations in astrophysicist Dr. Erika Nesvold’s book "Off-Earth: Ethical Questions and Quandaries for Living in Outer Space", and she joins Jonathan to discuss.
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Is ChatGPT the beginning of a general AI revolution?
12/03/2023 Duration: 52minWhen ChatGPT came on the scene late last year, it was seen by many as a novel and fun piece of new technology, to others like Nick Cave, "a grotesque mockery of what it is to be human". But as new generations of AI come online in the weeks and months ahead, what exactly does that mean for us? Will we look back to this year and say this is when it all changed? Joining Jonathan to discuss where we are with AI technologies and where we are headed is Dr. Benjamin Cowan, Associate Professor at UCD's School of Information and Communication Studies and Co-Principal Investigator at The ADAPT Centre & Naomi Harte, Professor in Speech Technology in the School of Engineering in Trinity College.
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Futureproof Extra: Ireland's first solar-powered racing car
09/03/2023 Duration: 14minJoining Jonathan to discuss the efforts going into creating Ireland's first solar-powered racing car is Philipp Eichhorn, Head of Business for the DCU Solar Racing campaign.