How do you turn facial expressions into music?

BBC Inside Science

BBC

Technology, Science

4.5 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 31 July 2025

⏱️ 28 minutes

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Summary

A microscopic water flea that could help monitor our waterways for pollution, turning both quantum circuits and facial expressions into music, and how animals use vibrations to sense the world around them.

These are some of the cutting edge research projects being presented at the Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition in London.

Victoria Gill is joined by Caroline Steel for a special episode from the exhibition, meeting the researchers showcasing their work and getting hands on with the science on display.

We speak to Daisy Shearer from the National Quantum Computing Centre, PhD student Clelia Altomonte from King's College London, Dr Beth Mortimer from the University of Oxford who leads its Animal Vibration Lab (the multisensory experience was developed and narrated by Dr Alice Morrell), Dr Katie Reilly from the University of Birmingham, the CEO of the charity Drake Music, Sally Currie, and the designer of the PhotoSYNTH accessible musical instrument, Zenon Olenski.

Transcript

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0:00.0	BBC Sounds, Music, radio, podcasts.
0:05.1	Hello and welcome to BBC Inside Science, a programme first broadcast on Thursday the 3rd of July 2025.
0:11.4	I'm Victoria Gill and you join me on a very hot street in central London because I am looking at the gleaming white columns of the Royal Society on Carlton House Terrace.
0:20.8	This week, the UK's
0:21.7	world-famous scientific academy opens its doors for its annual summer science exhibition, an event
0:27.1	that showcases the latest research from across the UK and invites the public in. And with
0:32.2	me to explore it is science journalist, broadcaster and fellow seeker of free exhibitions that provide
0:36.6	an escape from this terrifying weather, Caroline Steele.
0:39.3	Hello, Caroline.
0:40.3	How are you?
0:41.3	Good. Thank you. Thanks for having me on.
0:42.3	It's an absolute pleasure. There's a lot to explore, so I'm glad to have a partner in crime.
0:47.3	This exhibition has a very long history, doesn't it? But the public weren't always invited in?
0:52.3	Yeah. So the very first Royal Society summer science exhibition was back in 1778.
0:57.9	Apparently in 1896, visitors got to x-ray their hands, so my hopes are high.
1:03.4	But in all seriousness, it'll be interesting to see what's on display this year,
1:06.8	because it's been a difficult year for science, which is something the Royal Society has acknowledged.
1:14.5	Earlier this year, they released a statement saying that science is under threat because of huge cuts and a rise of misinformation. So it'll be interesting to see what they've chosen to
1:19.9	sort of showcase today. Yeah. And why do you think amid all of those risks and the Royal Society
1:26.8	coming out and saying that science is under threat from, you know, all of those risks and the Royal Society coming out and saying that science is under
1:29.1	threat from all of the challenges that you cited there, why is it important to open the doors
1:35.3	and invite people in, do you think? Why is this something that the Royal Society showcases?
	...

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