Warming world

What this episode covers

Unseasonably high temperatures have been recorded in both polar regions. Glaciologist Ruth Mottram discusses why they might be occurring now and the potential impact on her own work measuring climate change in Greenland.Erica Ollmann Saphire from the La Jolla Institute for Immunology tells us about her work developing new treatments for Ebola, she is looking to develop drugs which work not just on Ebola but also a range of related Viruses. And Eugene Koonin from the United States National Institutes of Health shows us how his computer modelling of the mutations of Sars Cov -2 suggest some good news - that the virus might not be able to mutate into further dangerous forms – at least not with its current set of genetic tools. Eugene is originally from Russia and both he and President Obama’s science advisor John Holdren are keen to keep up ties with scientists in Russia despite the international sanctions now being applied over the war in Ukraine. Both point out that many Russian scientists have opposed the war, and that curtailing scientific collaboration could have a detrimental effect not just on science in Russia but elsewhere as well. Image: Penguins on an ice float, Paradise Harbor, also known as Paradise Bay, behind Lemaire and Bryde Islands in Antarctica. Credit: Leamus via Getty Images)Presenter: Roland Pease Producer: Alex Mansfield

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