This Way Up for Saturday 11 August 2012
Talking plants
Plants respond to light and chemicals, and can even make sounds. But are they able to communicate? Dr Monica Gagliano of the University of Western Australia is investigating bioacoustics in plants.
Future protein needs
With global populations rising, and with more cash to spend on food, the world's protein demands are set to increase. Dr Mike Boland of The Riddet Institute is working on the Proteos Project; its focus is on protein and on finding ways to produce more of it.
Bedbug DNA
Bedbug numbers are on the the rise worldwide and infestations can costs businesses millions of dollars, with hotels and pest controllers fighting costly legal cases. Toby Fountain is using genetic fingerprinting techniques to track down the source of bedbug breakouts.
Behind the scenes at the internet
It's hard to imagine the internet as a physical place...it exists as a sort of abstract notion, at least until your internet connection stops working! That's what happened to Andrew Blum who had to confront the fact that the internet is made up of tubes, lots of tubes. We speak to Andrew about his book 'Tubes: Behind the Scenes at the Internet'.
Team Greeni
Alexander Grainger is on a team of young Canadian inventors using off the shelf gaming technology to make buildings more energy efficient.
