meta_pixel
Tapesearch Logo
Log in
BBC Inside Science

TB in the New World; Trusting Wikipedia; Shipwreck of the London; @LegoAcademics

BBC Inside Science

BBC

Technology, Science

4.51.3K Ratings

🗓️ 21 August 2014

⏱️ 29 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

TB in the New World Brand new work in comparative genetics is shedding light on the spread of TB. Scientists have shown that the initial spread of the deadly bacterial disease tuberculosis to the Americas didn't come with the European explorers and invaders. Skeletons of pre-Columbian Peruvians have shown signs of TB. So where did it come from? DNA samples collected from the ancient bacteria show they're closely related to the TB strain that infects seals and sea lions. So did the disease pass from humans in Africa to seals on the coast which then crossed the ocean and infected the Peruvians, 1000 years ago?

Truth, Trust and the internet A recent YouGov poll revealed that the British public trusts the online encyclopaedia Wikipedia more than it trusts the BBC. The internet has revolutionised how we receive information and check references. But how much should we trust online facts? Adam talks to Carl Miller, from the Centre for Analysis of Social Media at think-tank Demos, about how Wikipedia entries are created and regulated. And he asks him whether the democratisation of facts - created by crowd-sourced opinion rather than individual experts - is something we should welcome?

Shipwreck of the London The London was a 64-gun second-rate ship of the line of the English Royal Navy, launched in June 1656 and commanded by Captain John Lawson. The ship was accidentally blown up in 1665 and sank in the Thames Estuary. The wreck was rediscovered in 2008, and is considered important partly for its historical references and partly for its insight into an important period in British naval history. English Heritage and Cotswold Archaeology are examining the remains in the murky Thames estuary before they decide what to do next. Although the wreck could be at risk from increasingly acidified water and invasive shipworm, it's thought unlikely that they will raise the ship, due to a lack of museum space.

Lego Academics Campaigns for better female scientist role-models are not new. But what is new and welcome is when industry and society listens. Plastic toy brick manufacturer, Lego, has recently come up with a new set called the 'Research Institute' and it consists of lab kit and three female scientists - a palaeontologist, an astronomer and a chemist. Real life scientist and archaeologist Donna Yates, from the University of Glasgow, has gained thousands of Twitter followers after posting photographs reflecting the daily frustrations of academic life using the Lego figures. She arranges them in academic scenarios and posts her pics to the @LegoAcademics account. It's fun and full of in-jokes, but it gives great insight into some of the real issues scientists, and in particular, female scientists face. A Lego version of Adam Rutherford conducts the interview.

Producer: Fiona Roberts.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Just before this BBC podcast gets underway, here's something you may not know.

0:04.7

My name's Linda Davies and I Commission Podcasts for BBC Sounds.

0:08.5

As you'd expect, at the BBC we make podcasts of the very highest quality featuring the most knowledgeable experts and genuinely engaging voices.

0:18.0

What you may not know is that the BBC makes podcasts about all kinds of things like pop stars,

0:24.6

poltergeist, cricket, and conspiracy theories and that's just a few examples.

0:29.7

If you'd like to discover something a little bit unexpected, find your next podcast over at BBC Sounds.

0:36.0

Hello You, this is the podcast of BBC Inside Science, first broadcast on the 21st of August 1665.

0:42.2

I'm Adam Rutherford.

0:43.2

BBC.co.uk.uk.

0:44.4

slash radio for is where you can find things about things.

0:47.6

Warning. In the following program I use the word decimate to mean wipe out.

0:51.8

Before you'll write in to complain, it has meant both to wipe out and to reduce

0:56.6

by 10% since the early 17th century and both have been in continuous usage since.

1:02.1

So there you go.

1:04.0

Hello, history, epistemology, feminism and culture.

1:08.0

It's almost like a humanities degree on the program today, but that's science for you.

1:12.0

It's the language that underwrites everything else.

1:15.0

We'll be diving down to the murky bottom of the Thames estuary to recover the London, a warship that

1:20.0

mysteriously exploded in 1665.

1:23.7

We take a lesson in critical thinking,

1:25.6

what is truth and who do we trust

1:27.3

when it comes to facts in the information age.

...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from BBC, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of BBC and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.

Copyright © Tapesearch 2025.