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Researchers have found a way to produce a naturally occurring mineral - magnesite, in a lab, that can absorb CO2 from the atmosphere, offering a potential strategy for tackling climate change. They have accelerated a process that normally takes thousands of years to a matter of days, using panels made from tiny balls of polystyrene. Gareth Mitchell speaks to Ian Power of Trent University in Ontario who led the research about whether this could be a viable technology for tackling global warming.

Glyphosate
A jury in San Francisco has ruled that, agricultural chemical giant, Monsanto, should pay a groundskeeper over $280 million in compensation after the individual developed a form of cancer after using the weed-killer, Roundup. It is a complex case that involves allegations of undermining efforts to evaluate a potential link between the active ingredient glyphosate. Roland Pease speaks to Professor Richard ‘Bugs’ Stevens on how science goes about proving cause and effect in cases like this.

Why Elephants Do Not Get Cancer
Cells in our bodies can go wrong and end up proliferating into cancers. Intuition might say the bigger something is the more cells it has and thus, the greater risk it has of developing cancer. But elephants have somehow re-awakened a gene that kills cells that could be cancerous before they have time to cause any damage. Vincent Lynch of the University of Chicago has been looking at the genetics that keeps these giants virtually, immune which could hold clues for tackling cancers in humans. He speaks to Gareth Mitchell.

Beating Heart Failure with Beetroot
What if something as natural as beetroot – or specifically defined doses of beetroot juice could help alleviate cardiovascular disease and improve the pumping function of failing hearts? That is the idea behind a major trial underway at the Barts Heart Hospital and Queen Mary University in London. Gareth Mitchell talks to Amrita Ahluwalia, co-Director of the William Harvey Research Institute, and Christopher Primus a specialist in heart failure, who are interrogating how natural nitrates in foods like beetroot could be beneficial to our cardiovascular system.

Severely Deficient Autobiographical Memory Syndrome
A curious memory problem has emerged – where people do not have amnesia, but cannot remember their own past. Claudia Hammond talks to Susie who has Severely Deficient Autobiographical Memory syndrome and memory scientist Brian Levine from the Rotman Research Institute at Baycrest, Toronto, who thinks this syndrome is more common than we realise.

AI Eye Tests
Are you at risk of going blind? Ask Google? That is what Moorfields Eye Hospital in London did. It went to Google’s artificial intelligence research centre called DeepMind. In their joint conclusion, AI can diagnose eye disease as accurately as some of the world’s leading experts. Chris Mason spoke to Pearse Keane from Moorfields Eye Hospital.

(Image caption: Natural magnesite crystal (4 microns wide) - credit: Ian Power)

The Science Hour was presented by Gareth Mitchell with comments from Victoria Gill, ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Science Correspondent

Producer: Katy Takatsuki

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