Toilet flushing, cats, cheese, belly buttons, the number 13, our fears and phobias can be as bizarre as they are diverse. But how are our fears created in the first place? And what happens inside our brain when we feel the fear?! Aoibhinn tackles her fear of spiders with a hands on experience with one of the furriest critters and we hear from NUI Maynooth’s Dr Brian Roche on how our fears develop and why, if we don’t face them, we can become crippled by them. Jonathan undergoes a form of the highly controversial “water boarding” in an experiment at Trinity College Dublin to determine if stress affects our ability to recall information and we hear from Professor Shane O’Meara about the brain’s reaction to torture and the psychology of fear.
From people who are involved in terrible accidents, to the general wear and tear of our bodies as we age, episode two of 10 Things to Know About... looks at how advances in robotics and biomaterials are transforming lives worldwide. We look at: The latest technology in bionic prosthesis in Ireland including meeting with Stephen Lowry from Newry who lost his hand in a bomb attack and was the first man in Northern Ireland to receive an electric hand. Not only can he now manage day to day tasks, such as cutting up food and driving, but he’s also currently taking flying lessons! The potential positive effect of deep brain stimulation on diseases such as Parkinson’s. Whether stem cells can mend a broken heart, looking at new materials and surgical devices being developed to help keep the heart pumping. and In “Weird Science” investigate the development of the bionic eye.
This week Aoibhinn Ní Shúilleabháin, Kathriona Devereux and Jonathan McCrea look at all things gut including: The beneficial qualities of probiotics and the challenge of getting them into our gut given the hostile environment created by the stomach’s acidic juices. Can our guts actually affect our brains? The link between food and mood is a proven fact but scientists are now investigating which bacteria are key to this and developing potential medications out of it. Is breast best? Ireland is one of the world leaders in the technology behind improving infant formula and we look how it is being developed to further mimic mother’s milk. In Weird Science we look at the sea cucumber’s unusual method of defence – literally spilling its guts!
As technology develops, we are learning more and more about how our brain works. 10 Things… presenter Jonathan McCrea undergoes an MRI scan to reveal the structures and activity going on in his brain and 2FM DJ Rick O’Shea discusses what it’s like to live with epilepsy and his efforts to raise awareness of the condition. We meet with consultant neuropathologist Professor Michael Farrell at Ireland’s “brain bank” and learn how the country’s researchers are working to tackle neurological conditions. And in Weird Science, Fergus McAuliffe tells us what scientists have learned from studying a remote tribe in Papua New Guinea who eat human brains. There are some dangers but also bizarre benefits.
Water is something we often take for granted but without it, we wouldn't exist. A hugely valuable resource that plays a vital part in every aspect of our lives, this week we look at the impact of pollution on water systems and how technology is being applied to make water safer for both us and our fishy friends.
An alarming number of people are knowingly, or otherwise, abusing over the counter pain medications. The 10 Things to Know About... crew ask: 'could there be another way?
A look at how Irish science is helping us stay healthy for longer. Prof Fergal O'Brien studies children's bones for a cure to osteoporosis.
A look at how renewable energies and smart technologies are impacting our lives, from smart homes with smarter gadgets, to electric vehicles and smart cities with smart grids.
Aliens: A look at what is being done to stop the rise of invasive alien species. Including Prof Jamie Dicks' work to control Muntjac deer, those little Bambis with an ASBO.
Experts investigate the science behind craft beer and the perfect steak, and Michelin starred chef Alain Alders explains why Irish beef is so highly valued abroad.
Experts explore how scientific developments help improve performance, prevent injury and aid recovery from our most popular sports.
VR: The team take a ride on Alton Tower's world's first virtual reality rollercoaster and look at some of the many uses of VR in education, tourism and commerce.
10 Things to Know About… Earth’s Crust Investigating the secrets under the earth’s surface that threaten but also sustain modern living.
When it comes to trees, Ireland has deep roots. Forests once covered a massive 80% of Ireland’s land surface and there were laws protecting certain trees. Characters in early Medieval Irish alphabets were named after native trees and who would want to cut down a Hawthorn tree for fear of angering the faeries? But today, forests only cover 11% of the country. With a drive to increase that figure to 18% by 2050, the government view forests as an essential element to achieving net zero emissions by 2050… but is 18% of Irish land enough? And as we still need timber for construction and furniture making, how do we balance our forestry needs?
We often associate old age with wrinkles, increased frailty and a giant pill box. But we need to challenge that! Growing old is a fact of life; unhealthy ageing isn’t. In this episode, we examine how nutrition can help reduce age-related loss of muscle mass and strength, thereby reducing frailty. We’ll hear about the causes of delirium and meet the researchers who want to raise awareness of the condition within healthcare to help reduce misdiagnoses with dementia. Finally, we investigate a disease that is so prevalent you could fill Croke Park with the people in Ireland who suffer from it. Age-related Macular Degeneration, or AMD, is the leading cause of blindness in Ireland. We catch up with the researchers who are working to find the causes of this disease and hope to develop cures for it.
When choosing where we want to live, we usually ask questions such as, how far you are to the local shops, whether there are any good schools nearby or if it’s a long and arduous commute to the workplace. We rarely consider how the environment around where we live could affect our health. In this episode, it’s all about Location, Location, Location.
Fungi are an ancient form of life, existing long before the first amphibians, reptiles or mammals roamed the planet. There are estimated to be well over 1 million species of fungi worldwide – some can be poisonous and destroy trees, others can be very healthy to eat or can help crops absorb nutrients. Despite several mass extinction events, fungi are the one form of life that always survive, and in this episode, Jonathan investigates what ancient fungi can tell us about historical climate events and how studying them might help us predict what will happen in our planet’s future due to climate change.
The ocean is our planet’s biggest and most important ally against climate change, playing a key role in regulating and redistributing heat, as well as storing large amounts of heat and carbon. In this episode, we investigate the Atlantic Ocean conveyor belt that moves warm water north and maintains Ireland’s mild climate, check out the latest Irish research monitoring changes in the Gulfstream and Jonathan meet the scientists at Met Éireann who are using supercomputers to produce climate models that are essential to understanding the ongoing impacts of the climate emergency.
