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India Mars, Exoplanets, Ebola Update

India has successfully put a satellite into orbit around Mars, becoming the fourth nation or geo-bloc to do so.

India Mars
India has successfully put a satellite into orbit around Mars, becoming the fourth nation or geo-bloc to do so. It is the first time a maiden voyage to Mars has entered orbit successfully and it is the cheapest. Nasa's latest Maven mission cost almost 10 times as much.

Exoplanets
HAT-P-11b, as it is engagingly called, was for a short while the smallest exoplanet known, about a quarter of the size of Neptune, or five times the radius of the Earth. It has lost that record, but now it is the smallest exoplanet known to have water.

Ebola update
According to the latest figures, Ebola has killed more than 3,000 people, and cases are predicted to soar in the coming months. Helen Briggs has been speaking to scientists at a meeting of UK experts in London.

Israel ventilator
In Israel it is illegal to stop or ‘withdraw’ a ventilator from a patient whose life depends on it - even if that patient is clearly dying. But what if a patient is suffering and doesn’t want their life prolonged? A compromise could be on the horizon.

Facial Epressions
She is a 43-year-old female and she looks angry. That is what a new facial expression recognition system can tell you about a person. It has been trained up using a repertoire of known facial expressions:

Hadal Zone
The deepest regions of the ocean lie between 6,000 and 11,000 metres. Oceanographers term this the Hadal Zone. It exists where the floor of abyss plunges into long trough-like features, known as ocean trenches. The Hadal zone is the final frontier of exploration and ecological science on the planet.

TV Obesity
Adults and children should consider having TV-free days or limiting viewing to no more than two hours a day under new proposals to tackle obesity from the UK body the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.

Science of language
Professor Steven Pinker talks to Adam Rutherford about the language of scientists and the science of language. He has a new book out, "The Sense of Style: The Thinking Person's Guide to Writing in the 21st Century", discussing how the latest research on linguistics and cognitive science can improve writing.

50 minutes

Last on

Sun 28 Sep 2014 13:05GMT

Chapters

  • India Mars

    Update on the Mangalyaan probe, the star of India's space programme.

    Duration: 06:28

  • Finding Exoplanet Water

    For the first time scientists detect water vapour on a Neptune-sized exoplanet

    Duration: 04:49

  • Ebola update

    ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ's Helen Briggs has been speaking to scientists at a meeting of UK experts in London.

    Duration: 04:33

  • Ventilator

    In Israel it is illegal to withdraw a ventilator but what if the patient wants to?

    Duration: 07:06

  • Facial expressions

    New facial recognition system recognises expressions of people it’s never seen before

    Duration: 08:08

  • Hadal zone

    The Hadal zone is the final frontier of exploration and ecological science on the planet.

    Duration: 09:08

  • TV Obesity

    TV-free days or limiting viewing to tackle obesity?

    Duration: 02:42

  • Language of science

    Professor Steven Pinker talks about the language of science and the science of language.

    Duration: 06:30

Broadcast

  • Sun 28 Sep 2014 13:05GMT

Podcast