The world’s oldest fossilised forest was uncovered in Somerset last week. We head to palaeobotanist, Dr Christopher Berry’s, lab at Cardiff University to learn about these cladoxylopsids. They lived 390 million years ago and although they are not the ancestors of today’s trees, they reveal some extraordinary evolutionary secrets.
Also, Marnie speaks to Dr Chris Thorogood of the University of Oxford Botanic Gardens about his new book Pathless Forest: The Quest to Save the World’s Largest Flowers. Called “Rafflesia” plants and found in the remotest parts of South East Asia, their flowers burst from the rain forest floor the size of pumpkins and are critically endangered. Chris talks of his world of extreme fieldwork and hair-raising expeditions, braving leeches, lizards and lethal forest swamps, to discover the rarest of rare blooms.
Plus, the Wildlife Trust’s Making Friends with Molluscs campaign starts today, and I’m sure many gardeners will declare this an impossible task! We visit some allotments in Bristol to find out how people are managing slug and snail populations. And chat to Brian Eversham from the Trust of Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire, who explains why these garden creatures should be considered our friends, not foes.
And finally, Dr Stewart Husband from last week’s programme returns to answer more of your burning questions about your tap water.
Mammoth Journey
IPCC report - extreme weather events
Bees and multiple pesticide exposure
Covid 19 – reaching the unvaccinated
A life-changing database
Covid19 - should we test everybody ?
Covid and our ancient ancestors
Gene editing gets real
UK science policy shake-up; Ivermectin & Covid; black fungus in Indian Covid patients; many hominins in Siberian cave
Cov-Boost trial; SARS-Cov 2 infection in action; sapling guards; why tadpoles are dying
Covid vaccines in children; preventing dengue; algal blooms; supersonic flight
Lab origin theory of SARS-Cov2; gene for obesity; dark matter map; rock art in Scotland
Human use of plants beyond the limits of history.
Blood Clot Cure, Synthetic Fuels and Coal Mine Heat Pumps
Microplastics in UK river beds
Early burials, diversity in Tudor England, a malaria vaccine, and rogue brain waves
Dragonfly on Titan, Retreating Glaciers, Surge Testing, Acoustic lighthouses
Coronavirus variants and vaccines, climate change resistant coffee, dare to repair and how to get rid of moths
Blood clots, grieving and the emotion of screams
Disobedient particles, noisy gorillas, sharks and fictional languages
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