The Cities of Tomorrow

The Naked Scientists Podcast

Dr Chris Smith

Science Radio, Engineering, Naked Scientists, Natural Sciences, Technology, Life Sciences, Health & Fitness, Medicine, Science

4.6 • 957 Ratings

🗓️ 20 October 2014

⏱️ 58 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Continuing the theme of the future of humanity, this week we take a look at what we can expect from our towns and cities in the years to come. Will we be living in wooden skyscrapers, amongst crime fighting lampposts or have our own personalised pollution sensors? Plus, in the news, invasive shellfish, the amphibian version of Ebola, making the mind young again, why new brain cells are essential for learning, and advice to brush your teeth to boost your physical fitness... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Transcript

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0:00.0	The Hello, welcome to the naked scientists with me Chris Smith and also with
0:19.5	Ginny Smith. This week the Cities of the future. We unveil the lamp posts that can fight crime, air
0:26.8	monitoring systems to keep your asthma and allergies at bay, and we meet the
0:31.5	people who are turning the fat floating down city sewers into fuel.
0:36.0	Plus in the news how having bad teeth can affect your sporting prowess and a way to make an old brain learn like it's 18 again.
0:45.0	The Naked Scientists Podcast is powered by UKfast.
0:50.0	UK. Now as international trade increases, particularly by sea, we're seeing more stowaways, but not of the human variety.
1:02.0	Scientists are reporting that animals and plants but not of the human variety.
1:08.2	Scientists are reporting that animals and plants are hitching rides around the world on boats and even on fishing tackle, and then setting up home in other countries where, with nothing to eat them, they can become
1:15.8	dangerously invasive.
1:18.2	We're joined by invasive species specialist David Aldridge to meet a recent UK arrival. So David you've brought
1:24.8	along one of these creatures that's causing chaos in English seas. What have you got?
1:28.9	It's just starting to create chaos. This is something called the quagga muscle and it's the species
1:35.2	we least wanted to arrive in the UK out of anything.
1:38.7	So you've got a little tube full of them here and they're tiny. They look a bit like the muscles you might expect with your chips, but they're
1:45.6	tinier. Did they stay that small? Yeah, don't be fooled by their small size. They pack quite a punch these guys guys they are small at the moment because they've just
1:55.0	arrived they're about a centimeter at the moment here but they grow to maybe two or three
1:59.6	centimeters and the problem really comes from the huge abundance that they can occur at.
2:05.0	And they're a real problem because as you say they're like the marine mussels that we eat.
2:09.0	These are freshwater species, but they have a beard abyss abyssus thread, and they can attach one on
2:13.8	top of the other and form very thick crusts about 15 centimeters.
2:18.0	And that causes a huge environmental problem and also a huge economic problem.
	...

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