Material: Women, Meteorites, Squirrels 03 03 11

The UNESCO 2011 Women in Science Awards recognises five outstanding women scientists. Quentin talks to Clare Lloyd, Professor of Respiratory Immunology at Imperial College, about the importance of these awards in encouraging female scientists. Researchers in America have discovered a meteorite which is rich in the gas ammonia. It could lend weight to the argument that life on earth may have been seeded from space. Quentin talks to Professor Sandra Pizzarello, who led the research and Dr Caroline Smith, Curator of Meteorites at the Natural History Museum in London. Following last week’s piece on grey squirrels, Quentin responds to a listener’s email asking about black squirrels. Helen McRobie from the Anglia Ruskin University joins Quentin to explain more about these creatures.