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22/05/2009

Behind the hype, what’s the truth about Ida – the 47 million year old primate fossil from Germany. Nasa’s mission to fix the Hubble Telescope. The perfect pitch for football and the ultrasonic frog.

Behind the hype, what’s the truth about Ida – the 47 million year old primate fossil from Germany. A team of palaeontologists have named the spectacularly preserved lemur-like creature ‘Darwinus masillae’. Team leader Jorn Hurum says it’s the closest known ancestor of all monkeys and apes, including ourselves. Palaeontologist Chris Beard questions that claim and evolutionary biologist Steve Jones explains why you should never use the phrase ‘missing link’.

Success for the Nasa shuttle mission to mend and upgrade the Hubble Space Telescope. We review some of the high and stickier points of the astronauts and talk to Nasa astronomer Jennifer Wiseman about Hubble’s new exo-planet capabilities.

As the teams in next week’s European Championship football final know, the result of a match can be decided by the quality of the pitch as well as their play. Scientists and football follower Christopher Cooper investigates the secret of a good surface for both football and cricket.

Plus the highs of another kind of pitch. By the rushing tropical streams of Borneo, zoologists have discovered the first species of frog which croaks ultrasonically – so high pitched humans cannot hear it.

26 minutes

Last on

Sun 24 May 2009 03:32GMT

Broadcasts

  • Fri 22 May 2009 09:32GMT
  • Fri 22 May 2009 15:32GMT
  • Fri 22 May 2009 19:32GMT
  • Sat 23 May 2009 00:32GMT
  • Sun 24 May 2009 03:32GMT

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