Chippenham & Beyond original

Mangroves protect villages from extreme weather, the duck-billed platypus genome is sequenced, metals made in space, new predictions for the history of the Sahara desert, and the technological frustrations of climate prediction. All on Science in Action with Jon Stewart.

Scientists are turning to chemistry and engineering to develop a range of artificial skin and bone which can be used to improve the treatment of burns and bone diseases. Tissues are being grown by using complex man made 'scaffolds' to support them – not unlike scaffolding on a house - these scaffolds are not made from steel but of bio-ceramics and plastic polymers. Also on the programme scientists are still trying to find out how such highly complex insect societies like termite mounds and bee hives are organised. This is the emerging science or Swarm Intelligence. Insect cities are coordinated when there is no ’insect mayor’, no ‘brain insect’, controlling behaviour. How does this happen? Quentin Cooper find out.

Dr Karl and Dr Rhod tackeles black holes, light sources and much more

Whether you’re a fun-runner or more serious about your sports – your knees are under considerable stress. The complex design of a knee means it’s potentially unstable and vulnerable to injury. Dr Graham Easton finds out which problems can be helped by a physio – and which might need surgery.

Welcome to our Dawn Chorus special - Philippa and Brett talk to Graham Madge of the RSPB to rate this year's dawn chorus. Elsewhere, Mac is still on the move and we speak to Iain Douglas Hamilton, founder of Save The Elephants.

In the past few decades thousands of Iraqis have experienced trauma - could this store up problems for the future? We hear from the author who had sex with her husband in a body scanner, all in the name of research of course. Life with acute myeloid leukaemia. The taboo surrounding safe sex education in Russia. And from Indonesia - a rehearsal for a bird flu pandemic