More gravitational waves; Ocean floor mapping; Selfish Gene 40th; Spoonies

BBC Inside Science

BBC

Science

4.6 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 16 June 2016

⏱️ 31 minutes

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Summary

Gravitational waves have been detected for a second time. These waves are ripples in the curvature of space time, predicted by Einstein in his General Theory of Relativity in 1916. Back in February, the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (better known as LIGO) announced that they had detected the signal of gravitational waves from the collisions of two big black holes. The detection in February was the first observation of these waves, and confirmed General Relativity. This week, LIGO confirm a second detection. BBC Science Correspondent Jonathan Amos explains what is new about these new gravitational waves.

We know more about the surface of the moon than we know about the ocean floor. Admittedly, the sea is much more dynamic, the scene of many chemical and biological processes, about which scientists would like to learn more. This week, cartographers meet in Monte Carlo, to discuss their plan to map the ocean floor by 2030. Roland Pease reports on the ocean-mapping options. 40 years ago, The Selfish Gene, by Richard Dawkins was published. Since then, it has been a perpetual bestseller. In it, Dawkins explains that the gene is the unit of natural selection, an idea that has become central to all biology. Adam Rutherford speaks to Richard Dawkins, and his co-author on ‘The Ancestor’s Tale’ Yan Wong, at the Cheltenham Science Festival, to discuss the impact of The Selfish Gene.

The spoonbilled sandpiper is standing on the edge of extinction, but in good news, Adam hears about of a clutch of eggs laid not in their native Russia but in Slimbridge in Gloucestershire. BBC producer Andrew Luck-Baker visited the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust’s population back in April, and describes these birds to Adam.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello you this is the podcast of Insight Science from BBC Radio 4 first broadcast on the
0:04.8	16th of June 2016 I'm Adam Rutherford and just for you listening unshackled from the
0:10.5	tyranny of the broadcast schedules we have an extra long interview with
0:13.9	Richard Dawkins and Jan Wong. More information at BBC.co. UK slash Radio 4.
0:19.2	The spoon-billed sandpiper is standing on the very edge of extinction so we're extremely
0:24.2	excited to hear of a clutch of eggs laid not in its native Russia but in Slimbridge
0:29.3	in Gloucestershire. We're down on the ocean floor with a new project to map it with more resolution than ever before
0:36.0	and it's 40 years since the publication of one of the most important science books in fact one of the most important books of the 20th century we talk to Richard Dawkins
0:45.2	about the selfish gene. But first, gravitational waves, the biggest discovery of the year,
0:50.7	one of the great discoveries of all time, well they're back.
0:54.8	In February, the Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory, better known as LIGO,
1:00.0	announced that they had detected the signal of gravitational waves from the collision of two bigish black holes.
1:06.0	Gravitational waves are ripples in the curvature of space time and had been predicted by Einstein in his general theory of relativity in 1916.
1:14.4	The detection announced in February was the first observation of these waves
1:19.2	and confirmed general relativity.
1:21.5	Now I was super grumpy about that discovery because I was
1:25.2	on holiday that week and didn't get to cover it here on BBC Inside Science but
1:29.4	fortunately for me just like buses you wait for a hundred years and then two come along at once.
1:36.1	Yesterday the LIGO teams announced that they had done it again.
1:39.9	Now, the universe never sleeps and LIGO is an observatory too in fact perfectly synced to make sure any signal they receive is real.
1:48.0	So a bunch of scientists drew straws for who would be watching the dials whilst everyone else was celebrating the winter holidays.
1:54.5	You might remember that at the end of last year we asked Fred Rabe, the head of the Hanford
	...

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