Futureproof With Jonathan Mccrea

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.

Jonathan is joined by Jules Howard - Zoological Consultant & Correspondent and Author of Wonderdog: How the Science of Dogs Changed the Science of Life Shane Bergin and Catherine Mc Guinness join us for newsround

An injury to the spinal cord can be hugely traumatic and life-changing in nature. And while inroads have been made in terms of the development of treatments, there’s still a way to go. But what are the treatments currently in development and are outcomes getting any better than they were 20 years ago? Dr. Rory Murphy is a neurosurgeon in the Department of Neurosurgery at Barrow Neurological Institute, in Phoenix, Arizona - he joined Jonathan to discuss.

From thermostats, to step counters, pressure gauges, and chips that guide the Roomba around your living room, there are now more electronic sensors in the world than there are people. So what do all of these sensors mean for us and our relationship with the world and where exactly will it take us? Chris Salter, artist & Professor of Immersive Arts at Zurich University of the Arts (ZHDK) and the author of ‘Sensing Machines: How Sensors Shape Our Everyday Life’ joins Jonathan to discuss.

For centuries, stories about the origin of life have gripped us, while attempts to understand and define it have confounded us as for every metric we use to measure and qualify life, inevitably there’s some microbe or animal that doesn’t quite fit the bill. So, how do we answer this question and what does it mean to be a living thing anyway? Carl Zimmer, an award-winning New York Times columnist sought to discuss just that in his latest book - ‘Life’s Edge: The Search For What It Means To Be Alive’ - he joins Jonathan to discuss.

Of the five (traditionally accepted) senses, smell is definitely the one that gets overlooked. But it can also be one of the most evocative. If you’ve ever had a smell bring you back to a specific time or feeling you’ll know exactly what we mean by that. But how does smell work exactly? Luca Turin is a Biophysicist, Group Leader in Quantum Neurobiology at the Fleming Institute in Athens, and author of 'The Secret of Scent: Adventures in Perfume and The Science of Smell' - He joined Jonathan to discuss.

Knowing where we come from can be one of the most important pillars by which we establish and develop our sense of who we are. Not only that, understanding our genealogy can help answer questions around personality traits, physical characteristics, and our genetic history - but what percentage of those traits get passed down through generations, and how much of ourselves is borne of our upbringing? In this special episode of Futureproof, we hear the heartwarming story of one woman and her journey to find her father - in the process, answering questions once thought to be out of reach - and the advancements in science that helped her do it.

Whether you’re aware of it or not, right now, you are vibrating. In fact, the natural frequency of a human body while standing is roughly between 5Hz-10Hz. And the same goes for all things in the universe - the earth for instance resonates at 7.83Hz. But, if all things resonate then sure they must have a sound…and if so, then what do they sound like? Richard Mainwaring is a composer, broadcaster, and author of ‘Everybody Hertz: The Amazing World of Frequency, from Bad Vibes to Good Vibrations’ - he joined jonathan to discuss.

The incredible science behind organ transplant surgery is perhaps something that has become a bit normalised as for the majority of us, these life-saving and life-extending procedures have always been around. But is there a limit to what we can transplant and what might we expect in the years to come in this area? Reza Motallebzadeh, Head of the Centre for Transplantation at University College London joined Jonathan to discuss.