Macromolecules

In Our Time: Science

BBC

History

4.5 • 1.4K Ratings

🗓️ 29 December 2011

⏱️ 42 minutes

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Summary

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the giant molecules that form the basis of all life. Macromolecules, also known as polymers, are long chains of atoms. They form the proteins that make up our bodies, as well as many of the materials of modern life. Man's ability to mimic the structure of macromolecules has led to the invention of plastics such as nylon, paints and adhesives. Most of our clothes are made of macromolecules, and our food is macromolecular. The medical sciences are making increasingly sophisticated use of macromolecules, from growing replacement skin and bone to their increasing use in drug delivery. One of the most famous macromolecules is DNA, an infinitely more complex polymer than man has ever managed to produce. We've only known about macromolecules for just over a century, so what is the story behind them and how might they change our lives in the future?With:Tony RyanPro-Vice Chancellor for the Faculty of Science at the University of SheffieldAthene DonaldProfessor of Experimental Physics at the University of Cambridge and a Fellow of Robinson CollegeCharlotte WilliamsReader in Polymer Chemistry and Catalysis at Imperial College, London Producer: Natalia Fernandez.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Thanks for downloading the In Our Time podcast. For more details about In Our Time and for our terms of use, please go to BBC.co.uk.
0:09.0	I hope you enjoy the program.
0:12.0	Hello, there in our houses, in our clothes, on our desks at work, in the car, in our food, and in the
0:17.7	fabric of our bodies. We couldn't live without them, and yet we didn't know they existed
0:22.0	until less than a century ago.
0:24.0	The indispensable life-giving entities I'm talking about are macro molecules, otherwise known as giant molecules or polymers.
0:31.0	We've learned to copy the structures of these naturally occurring phenomena
0:35.3	to make all kinds of plastics, fabrics and materials. From washing powder to aeroplane
0:39.9	construction, they are an increasingly vital part of the modern world.
0:44.0	And today, scientists are finding revolutionary new uses for them, from drug delivery inside the
0:49.0	body to ultra-thin computer screens.
0:52.1	With me to discuss macro molecules are Tony Ryan,
0:55.6	Pro Vice Chancellor for the Faculty of Science
0:57.7	at the University of Sheffield.
0:59.5	Athene Donald, Professor of Experimental Physics
1:02.2	at the University of Cambridge and a fellow of Robinson College,
1:05.0	and Charlotte Williams, Reader in Polymer Chemistry and Cadallices at Imperial College London.
1:10.0	Tony Ryan, can you just tell us what macro molecules are?
1:13.2	So, macro molecules are giant molecules.
1:16.9	So often they're made from joining lots of little molecules together.
1:20.8	So polythene of the polythene bag is a polymer. The word comes from the Greek, Poly,
1:26.7	many, Myros little things. And the little things are ethylene molecules, two carbons and
	...

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