Futureproof With Jonathan Mccrea

Most of us could probably put together a list of things we find attractive in a potential partner and a lot of those things will likely come down to our personality or the cultural environment. But what about that initial, almost unconscious, spark of attraction? What causes that and does it have any real impact on whether a relationship with that person will stand the test of time? Paul Eastwick is a Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of California, Davis, and Head of the Attraction and Relationships Research Laboratory - he joins Jonathan to discuss.

There has been a lot said about the extinction of the dinosaurs. But aside from the actual extinction event itself, when it comes to the days, weeks, months, and years immediately following it well, not so much. So, how exactly did any species survive it, and why those specific species? Riley Black is a freelance science writer specializing in evolution, paleontology, and natural history, and the author of ‘The Last Days of the Dinosaurs: An Asteroid, Extinction and the Beginning of Our World’ - She joins Jonathan to discuss.

In years gone by, if a bee was annoying you, it was usually "bye-bye Mr. Bee" but nowadays, we’re more likely to put out plates of sugary water to help them on their way as in recent years our appreciation for these incredible insects has grown, our understanding of their importance more rounded. But just how intelligent are they? Lars Chittka, Professor in Sensory and Behavioural Ecology at Queen Mary University of London and author of 'The Mind of a Bee' joins Jonathan to discuss.

Jurassic Park came out in 1993, then "Dolly" the sheep was cloned in 1996, and yet here we are more than two decades later and we still haven’t got a dinosaur theme park. So, what’s the hold-up? Well aside from the many significant ethical issues, the scientific challenges are huge and one in particular that adversely affects much more reasonable de-extinction projects is the simple fact that right now we can’t clone birds or dinosaurs for that matter. Why? Ben Novak is Lead Scientist with Revive & Restore, he joins Jonathan to discuss.

While you may be King or Queen of your local park run, no matter how much training you do, even if you were to use performance-enhancing drugs, you'll still never outrun the likes of the common house cat. So, what are the determining factors when it comes to the top speed that can be achieved by animals? Michael Gunther is a Researcher in Biomechanics at the University of Stuttgart, he joins Jonathan to discuss. Dr. Shane Bergin & Dr. Lara Dungan also join Jonathan for this week's installment of Newsround.

Have you ever seen a ghost, or a UFO, or had some seemingly supernatural experience that you can’t explain? If you haven’t, we'd be willing to bet you probably know someone who has. These experiences are fairly common across cultures and they can’t all be the work of hoaxers and charlatans. So what’s going on? Chris French is Emeritus Professor of Psychology in the Anomalistic Psychology Research Unit at the Goldsmiths University of London. He joins Jonathan to discuss.

If you are a pet owner you probably have plenty of experience trying to get a basic message across to your dog or perhaps if you own a cat you gave up on that hope years ago. Yet many of us have had that momentary glimpse of understanding; that sense that we could communicate if we just worked at it. But is animal translation actually possible? Diana Reiss is a Co-Founder of the Interspecies Internet and Professor in the Department of Psychology at Hunter College. She joins Jonathan to discuss. Dr. Lara Dungan & Dr. Shane Bergin also join Jonathan for Newsround.

Dr. Julia Shaw, a psychological scientist at University College London and the author of ‘Bi: The Hidden Culture, History, and Science of Bisexuality’ joins Jonathan to discuss her work in uncovering the many surprising truths behind sexual orientation and bisexuality as a whole.

For us humans, our overall sensory capabilities - the scope of our sense of smell, our sight, our hearing, and touch - feels all-encompassing, like there’s nothing more that we could possibly conceive of that would change how we experience the world around us. But that’s dead wrong. And this is an illusion that we share with every animal and insect in the world. But what we might humans lack in one area of perception, another animal or insect might excel. So, what are we missing? Ed Yond, science journalist and author of ‘An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us’ joins Jonathan to discuss. Dr. Ruth Freeman, Director of Strategy and Communications at Science Foundation Ireland & Dr. Shane Bergin, Physicist and Assistant Professor in Science Education at UCD also joined Jonathan for this week's episode of Newsround.

We have a complex relationship with psychedelics. To some, they can be gateways to a higher level of consciousness, to others, a poison that should be stamped out. Regardless of where you stand though, the fact that our brains are capable of creating these fluid, dynamic, altered states of perception seemingly on their own is pretty cool. But can these experiences be created with light flashes instead of chemicals? And if so, what might we learn from them? Fiona Macpherson, Professor of Philosophy, and Director of the Centre for the Study of Perceptual Experience at the University of Glasgow and a part of the creative team behind The Dream Machine joins Jonathan to discuss.

The biggest story this week was the release of some absolutely spectacular views of the cosmos from the James Webb Space Telescope, which include the deepest infrared view of our universe that has ever been taken. Joining Jonathan to discuss this incredible achievement is one Irish person who has been involved in the project for two decades, Professor Tom Ray, Director of the School of Cosmic Physics at the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies.

There's much to admire about birds. They can soar through the skies, build durable nests, sing the most beautiful songs, and possess a visual acuity that is truly something to behold. But when it comes to their other senses how do they fare? For a long time, it was widely believed that birds had none, but that didn't sit right with Danielle J. Whittaker, Evolutionary Biologist, Managing Director of the COLDAX Center for Oldest Ice Exploration, and author of ‘The Secret Perfume of Birds: Uncovering the Science of Avian Scent’. She joins Jonathan to discuss.

How do we get someone to change their mind? Is it by arguing them into submission or is it by letting them explain the story about how they arrived at that point of view? What is the underlying brain chemistry of how opinions change? A new book titled ‘How Minds Change’ delves into these questions. The author, David McRaney, joins Jonathan to discuss.

Annie Jacobsen, author of 'The Pentagon's Brain: An Uncensored History of DARPA, America's Top-Secret Military Research Agency' joins Jonathan to discuss the history of the US Defense Department's most secret, most powerful, and most controversial military science R&D agency. First broadcast July 9th 2016

For most of us, our image of what goes on in an operating theatre comes from television and movies; we think scalpels, scrubs, facemasks, and beeping heart monitors, etc. What we don’t envisage, is robots and augmented reality glasses but increasingly modern surgery is incorporating these and other cutting-edge technologies into their systems and procedures. So just what does the operating theatre of 2022 look like? Connor Green is Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon at the National Orthopaedic Hospital Cappagh. He joins Jonathan to discuss.

If you’ve seen classic B Movies like 1954’s 'Them' or the criminally underappreciated classic, 'Starship Troopers', the words “Insect Warfare” probably conjure up some specific, likely silly imagery. But insects have featured in human conflicts in very real and often terrifying ways since the beginning of the historical record and likely, long before it. Jeffrey Lockwood is Professor of Natural Sciences and Humanities at the University of Wyoming and the author of 'Six-Legged Soldiers: Using Insects as Weapons of War'. He joins Jonathan to discuss, Catherine McGuinness, Zoologist and Educational Assistant at the National Museum of Ireland & Dr. Lara Dungan also joined Jonathan for Newsround.

We conventionally think of time as something simple and fundamental that flows uniformly, independently from everything else, from the past to the future, measured by clocks and watches. In the course of time, the events of the universe succeed each other in an orderly way: pasts, presents, futures. The past is fixed, the future open. . . . And yet all of this has turned out to be false. Carlo Rovelli is Director of the Quantum Gravity Group of the Centre de Physique Théorique (CPT) of the Aix-Marseille University and author of 'The Order of Time', he joined Jonathan to discuss. First aired 21/7/2018

We here at Futureproof don't need to tell you that biodiversity is in crisis. This is true in our seas as much as in our oceans, and despite that, only 2% of our waters are designated "Marine Protected" areas but a national campaign called 'Fair Seas' is trying to change that. Joining Jonathan to discuss is Regina Classen, Marine Policy and Research Officer with the Irish Wildlife Trust and co-author of the 'Fair Seas' report, 'Revitalising Our Seas'.

When it comes to maintaining that youthful luster, we have, over the years, concocted all manner of things - from cosmetics, dietary plans, and exercise regimes - to get the job done. But unless you’ve got the actual fountain of youth in your back garden or the holy grail sitting on your mantle you’re probably plum out of luck when it comes to reversing the aging process completely. That being said, researchers at the University of Rochester have uncovered more evidence that the key to longevity resides instead with a simple enzyme. Vera Gorbunova, Professor of Biology and Medicine & co-director of the Rochester Aging Research Center at the University of Rochester joins Jonathan to discuss. Dr.Ruth Freeman from the SFI & Shane Bergin, Physicist & Assistant Prof in Science Education at UCD also joined Jonathan for Newsround.

Whether AI is capable of reaching the point of sentience has long been debated; and with the news this week around Blake Lemoine - an engineer at Google who has claimed that the firm's LaMDA AI system has achieved just that - the conversation has been given a new lease of life. It begs the question - at what point do we call something sentient? And does it even matter, if a computer programme is actually sentient if it appears to be thoughtful, self-aware and reflective? To tease out these threads and discuss the story of LaMDA in general, Jonathan is joined by Dr. Anya Belz, Professor of Computer Science at DCU & The ADAPT Centre as well as Dr. Benjamin Cowan, Assistant Professor at UCD's School of Information & Communication Studies and Investigator at The ADAPT Centre.