Futureproof with Jonathan McCrea
Episodes
Futureproof Extra: The Cutting-Edge Tech of Modern Operating Theatres
05 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
For most of us, our image of what goes on in an operating theatre comes from television and movies; we think scalpels, scrubs, facemasks, and beeping ...
A Brief History of Weaponised Insects
03 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
If you’ve seen classic B Movies like 1954’s 'Them' or the criminally underappreciated classic, 'Starship Troopers', the words “Insect Warfare”...
Futureproof Gold: What is Time?
30 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We conventionally think of time as something simple and fundamental that flows uniformly, independently from everything else, from the past to the fut...
Futureproof Extra: Fair Seas & Potecting Our Marine Habitats
28 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We here at Futureproof don't need to tell you that biodiversity is in crisis. This is true in our seas as much as in our oceans, and despite that, o...
SIRT 6: The Longevity Gene
26 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
When it comes to maintaining that youthful luster, we have, over the years, concocted all manner of things - from cosmetics, dietary plans, and exerci...
Could Google's LaMDA Really Be Sentient?
19 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Whether AI is capable of reaching the point of sentience has long been debated; and with the news this week around Blake Lemoine - an engineer at Goog...
How The Science of Dogs Changed The Science of Life
15 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Jonathan is joined by Jules Howard - Zoological Consultant & Correspondent and Author of Wonderdog: How the Science of Dogs Changed the Science of Lif...
Futureproof Extra: Treating Spinal Cord Injuries
15 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
An injury to the spinal cord can be hugely traumatic and life-changing in nature. And while inroads have been made in terms of the development of tre...
Futureproof Extra: How Sensors Shape Our Everyday Life
07 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
From thermostats, to step counters, pressure gauges, and chips that guide the Roomba around your living room, there are now more electronic sensors in...
What Does It Mean To Be Alive?
05 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
For centuries, stories about the origin of life have gripped us, while attempts to understand and define it have confounded us as for every metric we ...
Futureproof Gold: The Science of Smell
31 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Of the five (traditionally accepted) senses, smell is definitely the one that gets overlooked. But it can also be one of the most evocative. If you’...
Futureproof Special: United By DNA
29 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Knowing where we come from can be one of the most important pillars by which we establish and develop our sense of who we are. Not only that, unders...
Futureproof Extra: The Sound of The Universe & Everything In It
24 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Whether you’re aware of it or not, right now, you are vibrating. In fact, the natural frequency of a human body while standing is roughly between 5...
The Cutting-Edge Science of Transplants
22 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The incredible science behind organ transplant surgery is perhaps something that has become a bit normalised as for the majority of us, these life-sav...
Futureproof Extra: A Genetic History of the Americas
17 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The peopling of the Americas has long been a hot topic. After all, there are no written records and scant archaeological evidence to tell us what happ...
What Happened Before The Big Bang?
15 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
If you ask most people how the universe began, they might say “the Big Bang” - but it’s hard to be satisfied with that answer and to resist the...
The Stawell Underground Physics Laboratory
10 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In our efforts to better understand the very fabric of the universe we sometimes have to think outside the box. So it might seem strange then to think...
Futureproof Extra: Upcycling CO2
10 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The climate change problem can often seem intractable and in a political sense, painfully slow. But it's important to remember that some progress is b...
A New Understanding Of Epilepsy
03 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Joining Jonathan on Futureproof this week was Dr Matthew Campbell - Associate Professor in Trinity’s School of Genetics and Microbiology . Dr Campbe...
What Goes In To Designing A Rollercoaster?
01 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Joining Jonathan on Futureprooof this week was Kory Kiepert - Engineer & Partner at The Gravity Group. Kory is a rollercoaster engineer who design...
Futureproof Extra: Are Smaller Scorpions More Deadly
25 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Evolution has a funny way of equipping creatures that are small in size with attributes that make them deadly to deal with - the poison frog, blue-rin...
Sequencing the Complete Human Genome
24 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Since the first draft of a human genome sequence was completed in 2000, genomics research has led to huge strides in the understanding of our biology,...
Futureproof Extra: Paleoburrows
19 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We can learn a lot about the animals of the past by studying the fossils we find in the ground but there’s something else that pre-historic creature...
50 Years of the The Dunedin Study
17 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Earlier this month the Dunedin Study into health and behaviour marked its 50th birthday. In 1972, a researcher in the city set out to track the develo...
Futureproof Extra: What We Don't Know About Gravity
12 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Gravity is everywhere. We and every other thing in the cosmos experience its force at all times no matter how small, no matter how oblivious you might...
Creating Synthetic Alcohol
10 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We have a funny relationship with alcohol. Many of us enjoy how it can make us more outgoing or ready to laugh but for others, it can be a source of s...
Futureproof Extra: The Joy of Science with Jim Al-Khalili
05 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Futureproof Extra: The Joy of Science with Jim Al-Khalili
Designing a Vaccine for Covid-19
03 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Designing a Vaccine for Covid-19
Futureproof Extra: Why Do We Hate?
29 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
For millenia the people’s and states of western Europe were at war with each other. They fought the 9 years war, the 100 years war, the Napoleonic w...
The End of the Age of Astronauts
27 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
For many people, the single greatest human achievement of the 20th century happened on July 20th, 1969 when Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked on t...
Futureproof Extra: Genomics
22 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
One of the things we here at Futureproof talk a lot about is the genome, the complete IKEA instructions to building you that exists in nearly every on...
How Motorsport Science Can Save The World
20 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
When you think of motorsport, your mind might think of the speed, the danger, or the excitement. But it might surprise you to find that it is the moto...
Futureproof Extra: The Expectation Effect
15 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Futureproof Extra: The Expectation Effect
Can Animals Detect Natural Disasters?
13 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Can Animals Detect Natural Disasters?
Futureproof Extra: Measuring Intelligence
08 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Futureproof Extra: Measuring Intelligence
NeoMimix: The New Sperm Selection Technology
06 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
NeoMimix: The New Sperm Selection Technology
Futureproof Extra: The Winchcombe Lockdown Meteorite
01 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The Winchcombe Lockdown Meteorite
A Forensic Look at Solving Crimes
27 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
How to Solve a Crime with Science with Dr. Angela Gallop
Futureproof Extra: Hybrid Humans
22 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Futureproof Extra: Hybrid Humans
Unraveling the Mysteries of our Ancient Dead
20 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Unraveling the Mysteries of our Ancient Dead
What Sleep Can Teach Us About Epilepsy
16 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
What Sleep Can Teach Us About Epilepsy?
Can Geoengineering Help in the Fight Against Climate Change?
13 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Can Geoengineering Help in the Fight Against Climate Change?
Why Are We So Obsessed With Measuring Time?
08 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Now, while we may not be aware of it, each and every one of us is a slave to an unseen and unknowable master. It rules the sun and the earth, roving t...
Why Is Chewing So Important?
06 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
When we eat it may not occur to us how important chewing is. Food impaction is when a morsel of food is blocking the oesophagus or needs to be taken o...
Could We Be On The Verge Of A Vaccine For MS?
30 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Multiple sclerosis is a chronic disease affecting the central nervous system (the brain and spinal cord). MS occurs when the immune system attacks ne...
Futureproof Extra: How Do We Navigate?
25 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Futureproof Extra: How Do We Navigate?
Where Are All The Irish Dinosaurs?
23 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Where Are All The Irish Dinosaurs?
Futureproof Extra: A Natural History of the Future
18 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Futureproof Extra: A Natural History of the Future
What Life In Space Teaches Us About Life On Earth
16 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
What Life In Space Teaches Us About Life On Earth
Futureproof Gold: The Milgram Experiments
13 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Now, science is many things but at its core, it is fundamentally human - to strive to understand, to seek out; and to know. And while we strive to do ...
Futureproof Extra: The Robbers Cave Experiment
11 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Futureproof Extra: The Robbers Cave Experiment
What Is Testosterone?
09 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
he Story of Testosterone, the Hormone that Dominates and Divides Us
Futureproof Extra: Reading Monkey Brains with AI
21 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Futureproof Extra: Reading Monkey Brains with AI
Why Do We Kiss?
19 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Why Do We Kiss?
Futureproof Extra: Resignation Syndrome & Other Mysterious Illnesses
16 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Futureproof Extra: Resignation Syndrome & Other Mysterious Illnesses
FutureProof Gold: The Pentagon's Brain
14 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
FutureProof Gold: The Pentagon's Brain
How Military Funding Shapes What We Know About The Oceans
12 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
How Military Funding Shapes What We Know About The Oceans
Deepfakes: Have We Crossed The Uncanny Valley?
05 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Michael Grothaus Novelist, Journalist and Author of ‘Trust No One: Inside the World of Deepfakes’ joined Jonathan McCrea to discuss his book and t...
Futureproof Extra: Of Sound Mind
30 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The Science of Sound with Dr. Nina Kraus
Can We Make Synthetic Blood?
28 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Can We Make Synthetic Blood?
The Cosmos, Blackholes & Time Loops With Neil deGrasse Tyson
21 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
On the program this week Jonathan chats to world-renowned Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson about his new book as well as all things cosmos related. ...
Futureproof Extra: The Invisible Universe
16 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Futureproof Extra: The Invisible Universe
Can Self-Driving Cars Be Moral?
14 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Every time you get behind the wheel of the car you will have to deal with countless driving decisions that get you safely from A to B, and it could be...
The Intricate Skills Required For Bomb Disposal
07 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In your news feed or the newspapers or on television, there is probably a recent story on the explosion of some kind of improvised explosive device (I...
Futureproof Extra: Fighting Infectious Diseases
02 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Futureproof Extra: Fighting Infectious Diseases
Life As We Made It
31 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Life As We Made It with Beth Shapiro