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Dr Jennifer Cleary's guide to what's happening for Science Week around the country and on your screens. Plus a one-minute science demo and a daily life hack! This episode is all about Day 2, Monday 14th November.
Highs, Lows and the Jet Stream
What is the Jet Stream and how does it influence our weather? How do high and low pressure systems form? And what can our summer holidays teach us about the physics of the atmosphere? Met Éireann's Joanna Donnelly has the answers.
RTÉ Television
10 Things to Know About returns on Mondays at 8.30pm from 14th November, showcasing the weird and wonderful science behind aspects of modern life in Ireland.
Each week Aoibhinn Ní Shúilleabháin, Jonathan McCrea and Kathriona Devereux tackle different subjects
- In ‘Staying Young’ we see how Irish science is trying to help us stay healthy for longer by researching children’s bones for a cure to osteoporosis, Botox to treat chronic pain and bat DNA for the secret to eternal youth.
- In ‘Virtual Reality’, we take a ride on Alton Tower’s world’s first VR rollercoaster and look at some of the many uses of VR in education, tourism and commerce as we experience virtual surgery and use VR to question the veracity of 1916’s famous Battle of Mount Street, with a separate web-exclusive, shot in 360 video.
- In ‘Aliens’ we find out what’s being done to stop the rise of alien invasive species, from Muntjac Deer, those little Bambi’s with an ASBO, to pesky Japanese Knotweed and the notorious Asian Clam.
- In ‘Beef and Beer’ we investigate the science behind craft beer and the perfect steak, learning how a new genetic test could predict the tenderness of the meat on your plate.
- In ‘Smarter Living’ we see how renewable energies and smart technologies are impacting our lives, from smart homes with smarter gadgets, to electric vehicles and smart cities with smart grids and we find out how Irish engineers have developed the world’s first solution to fixing the subsea cables - which keep us all connected - under the sea.
- In ‘Sports Performance’ we learn about scientific developments to help improve performance, prevent injury and aid recovery from our most popular sports.
Making Ireland Click - Ludgate is the third-part in the current series, authored by David Puttnam, and in this episode which airs on Monday November 14th on RTÉ One at 7:30pm, he looks at how the town of Skibbereen in West Cork is using science and technology to give itself a fighting chance of survival in an increasingly digital age.
Produced by Wildfire Films, this David Puttnam documentary looks at his remote home town of Skibbereen - a beautiful, easy-going place that tourists visit to recharge and slow down, a place that the locals love, but are also born and raised to leave, in order to find sustainable careers, in the business hubs and cities far away.
But big change is happening for Skibbereen, and many other rural towns. As part of the National Broadband Plan, they are being connected with high speed broadband, and now must shake things up, to make their town an attraction to companies to locate and create jobs.
David truly believes that the introduction of this high speed broadband can have a similar impact on rural Ireland as rural electrification did in the 1950s. Which is why he was so proud to be part of the team that brought about the Ludgate Hub, Ireland first rural digital hub created to take advantage of these new possibilities and to offer further chances to business and new ideas in the town.
He meets John Field, a successful local business who donated the premises for Ludgate, in the hope that it can both help keep young people stay in Skibbereen, and attract new people to the town.
David takes a trip around the town, to the local Farmers Market, where he meets customers and business owners who are aware of the benefits that an online presence can be for everyone. He meets Eileen O’Sullivan, owner of a toy store on the Main Street which has not yet taken a step into the online world, a fact that Eileen admits is tied to a fear of the unknown.
On RTÉ One at 9.35pm on Monday 14th November is Hacked. Read all about the Keelin Shanley's documentary here.
Ladies of Science is a drama documentary, set in Ireland, which tells the true story of two remarkable women, Lady Mary Rosse and Mary Ward, who had a passion for science and technology, including photography, astronomy, microscopy, illustrations, architecture, all during a time (1850′s) when women were not admitted to universities. Ladies of Science airs on Monday at 11:35pm on RTÉ One.
