Futureproof With Jonathan Mccrea

Professor 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.

Implanting 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.

What 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.

Joining 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.

Diamond 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.

Theoretical 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.

In 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.

Although 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.

Despite 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'.

Settling 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.

When 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.

Joining 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.

This is a special episode on 'Face Blindness' & 'Super Recognition' featuring Fiona Newell, Professor of Experimental Psychology at the Trinity Institute of Neurosciences, and Meike Ramon, Cognitive Neuroscientist and Assistant Professor at the University of Fribourg. Together they explore 'Prosopagnosia' aka "Face Blindness", a neurological disorder characterised by the inability to recognize faces. First aired on May 25th, 2021

When we’re happy, our bodies become flooded with dopamine and serotonin, two types of neurotransmitters in the brain; our hearts might even beat faster and maybe, we even muster a smile. But does it work the other way? Can contorting our faces into a smile give us that chemical hit that actually makes us feel good? Nicholas A. Coles from the Center for the Study of Language and Information at Stanford University joins Jonathan to discuss.

Roughly 10% of murders in New York are motivated by revenge. But what exactly is revenge and why are some people consumed by it? Jonathan McCrea speaks with psychology PhD student Katie McGaughey from Queen's University Belfast, who is conducting research on revenge and its impact on crime victims. Joining Jonathan for Newsround is physicist Dr Shane Bergin and science communicator Catherine McGuinness.

How far away are we from actually inhabiting the Moon? Professor Mahesh Anand, Open University Professor in Planetary Science and Exploration, has been among those testing lunar rocks to see if we can both extract and produce water up there. He joins Jonathan to discuss this as well as the primary challenges currently preventing us from making the lunar surface our home.

It’s estimated that 1 in 8 to 1 in 5 people have depression, but it’s mostly those at the moderate to the severe end who turn to antidepressants. This week, we wanted to delve into how exactly antidepressants work and the scientific impact they have on the alchemy of the brain. Joining Jonathan to discuss this is Dr. Christelle Langley, Cognitive Neuroscientist at the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Cambridge. Dr. Oran Kennedy from the Dept of Anatomy & Regenerative Medicine and the Tissue Engineering Research Group at RCSI & Dr. Susan Kelleher from DCU also joins Jonathan for Newsround.

When it comes to contraception it seems women have the lion's share of options. This is perhaps down to the fact that society has decided that they, not men, must bear most of the burden of preventing pregnancy. But men’s birth control options — and, therefore, responsibilities — could soon be expanding. So how far away are we from seeing the likes of a non-hormonal male contraceptive pill in our pharmacies and why is it taking so long to develop? Dr. Gunda Georg, is Regents Professor & Director of the Institute for Therapeutics Discovery and Development at the College of Pharmacy at the University of Minnesota - she joins Jonathan to discuss.

It takes a special kind of person to be keen to conduct an autopsy and this week's guest is taking that interest to a whole new level this month as she performs a live demonstration for an audience at the Northern Ireland Science Festival - albeit on an actor playing a dead body. Joining Jonathan to discuss the scientific process of what exactly is involved in a postmortem is Dr. Louisa Miller, specialist registrar in histopathology. Note: Louisa’s event at the Crescent Arts Centre in Belfast on 16th February is sold out but some tickets remain for the event at The Playhouse, Derry / Londonderry on Friday 17th February.

At this stage, we are all pretty familiar with the circular way in which nature works. If we think of the hydrologic cycle for instance we know there are four main parts Evaporation, Convection, Precipitation and Collection, etc. But there are still, even to this day, aspects of the earth's cycles that we are only beginning to understand and, in some cases, finding out they exist at all. My next guest is one researcher who is looking at the phenomena known as Turbidity currents and the complex relationship they have with our deep oceans. Peter Talling is a Professor in Submarine Geohazards in the Department of Earth Sciences and Department of Geography at the University of Durham - he joins to discuss.