Monday

Darwin: My Ancestor (Radio 4, 15.45-16.00) The last dregs of Darwin year are squeezed out of Radio 4 with a short about the scientist’s sense of wonder and curiosity. The programme continues at the same day throughout the week, examining different facets of Darwin’s character.

The Infinite Monkey Cage (Radio 4, 16.30-17.00) A wry look at the world through the eyes of scientists, with Brian Cox, Robin Ince and Jon Ronson.

The Sky At Night (BBC4, 19.30-20.00) Sir Patrick reveals his top tips for winter star gazing.

Life (BBC1, 21.00-22.00) This week, the survival strategies and remarkable adaptations of plants.

Man on Earth (C4, 21.00-22.00) To tie in with the Copenhagen summit, Tony Robinson begins a series looking at the relationship between our species and the climate.

Frontiers (Radio 4, 21.00-21.30) ‘Is now the time for Europe to start using genetically modified crops?’, asks Radio 4. Again.

Tuesday

Home Planet (Radio 4, 15.00-15.30) Questions about the the natural world and environmental sciences.

All in the Mind (Radio 4, 21.00-21.30) Would testing ‘working memory’ rather than IQ be a better measure of intelligence?

Thursday

In Our Time (Radio 4, 09.00-09.45) Melvyn Bragg and an assembled panel of experts talk Pythagoras.

Material World (Radio 4, 16.30-17.00) Quentin Cooper looks at plans to monitor the deep sea.

Horizon (BBC2, 21.00-22.00) Just how many humans can planet Earth support? David Attenborough investigates.

HIGHLIGHT What Scientists Believe (Radio 4, 21.00-21.30) How much of a scientist’s personality is reflected in their work? Should subjective private beliefs be a part of objective scientific outcomes?

Monday

The Infinite Monkey Cage (Radio 4, 16.30-17.00) This promises to be good. A wry look at the world through the eyes of scientists, with Brian Cox and Robin Ince.

Life (BBC1, 21.00-22.00) This week, the beautiful and bizarre world of marine invertebrates – including the starfish that eat seals.

Frontiers (Radio 4, 21.00-21.30) Geoff Watts on the relationship between global warming and a changing population.

Book of the Week: The Hair of the Dog and Other Scientific Surprises (Radio 4, 00.30-00.50) Surprising tales from the world of science. Continues each morning hereafter at 09.45.

Tuesday

Tempus Fugit (Radio 4, 11.00-11.30) Looking at time perception.

Home Planet (Radio 4, 15.00-15.30) Questions about the the natural world and environmental sciences.

All in the Mind (Radio 4, 21.00-21.30) The latest neurobiological research.

Thursday

Material World (Radio 4, 16.30-17.00) Quentin Cooper learns about the ultimate superbug, Deinococcus radiodurans, a bacterium so tough, it can withstand extreme temperatures, severe dehydration and large doses of radiation.

River Monsters (ITV1, 19.30-20.00) A ‘science experiment gone wrong’ has apparently created a catfish in Spain capable of eating humans. Hmm, I’ll take a pinch of salt with my fish.

Bang Goes The Theory: The Human Power Station (BBC1, 20.00-21.00) One-off special where the team monitor a normal family attempting to power their home through pedal power alone.

Friday

Waking the Baby Mammoth (C4, 21.00-22.35) Mammoth timeslot for a documentary about the recent finding of an immaculately preserved 40,000 year old woolley mammoth.

Monday

Life (BBC1, 21.00-22.00) This week, the novel techniques animals use to hunt, and to escape from predators.

Frontiers (Radio 4, 21.00-21.30) Sue Nelson heads down into a mine to meet astrophysicists in search of dark matter.

Tuesday

Horizon (BBC2, 21.00-22.00) This week’s show follows the tried-and-trusted ‘nonplussed everyman pratfalls his way through difficult science’ format, as Alan Davies gets mathematicians and scientists to define the length of a piece of string.

It’s Only A Theory (BBC4, 22.00-22.30) New Scientist’s Marcus Chown tries to educate Messrs Hamilton and Hunter about the more mysterious aspects of gravity.

Wednesday

The Herschel Space Telescope (Radio 4, 11.00-11.30) Second installment about the recently launched European space telescope.

A Very Scottish Homecoming (Radio 4, 15.45-16.00) A very ‘Radio 4’ title for this short documentary looking at Scottish inventors.

The Eureka Years (Radio 4, 21.00-21.30) It’s 1893 and the new-fangled internal combustion engine looks set to free London’s streets from pollution.

Thursday

Material World (Radio 4, 16.30-17.00) No details available.

Leading Edge (Radio 4, 21.00-21.30) Hardly the leading edge, as the show once again examines the impact of Darwin’s theories on society.

Sunday

Sunshine (C4, 22.00-00.05) Decent and recent sci-fi flick, pitting a crew of astronauts against a dying sun.

Monday

Life (BBC1, 21.00-22.00) Sir David of Attenborough gets us itching, squirming and hunting for the fly swatter with a look at the insectosphere.

Tuesday

Horizon (BBC2, 21.00-22.00) This week’s show follows the tried-and-trusted ‘nonplussed everyman pratfalls his way through difficult science’ format, as Alan Davies gets mathematicians and scientists to define the length of a piece of string.

All in the Mind (Radio 4, 21.00-21.30) Can we teach happiness?

Wednesday

The Herschel Space Telescope (Radio 4, 11.00-11.30) More on the recently launched European space telescope.

The Eureka Years (Radio 4, 21.00-21.30) How the first coffee houses opened up the Age of Reason.

Thursday

Material World (Radio 4, 16.30-17.00) Using algae to produce energy around the home.

Building the Ultimate Spacecraft (FIVE, 19.30-20.00) Title says it all, really.

The Report (Radio 4, 20.00-20.30) In-depth look at the recent sacking of the government’s chief drugs advisor.

Leading Edge (Radio 4, 21.00-21.30) As the International Year of Astronomy comes to an end, Geoff Watts reflects on great astronomical discoveries of the past, and what might be to come.

Space fans: check out Sunday’s line-up. A whole evening of Mars-related shows following on from the Dr Who special.

Monday

Life (BBC1, 21.00-22.00) Attenborough’s attention turns to birds, including the volcano climbing penguins of Antarctica.

The Time Machine (ITV1, 22.35-00.20) So-so film adaptation of the HG Wells classic, starring Guy Pearce.

Aping Evolution (Radio 4, 21.00-21.30) Steve Jones asks how much faith we can put in evolutionary psychology.

Tuesday

Albert’s Boy (Radio 4, 14.15-15.00) Play centered around the final years of Albert Einstein’s life.

Horizon (BBC2, 21.00-22.00) The Beeb’s flagship science show examines why humans alone seem to use language.

It’s Only A Theory (BBC4, 22.00-22.30) Marcus Chown talks parallel universes, attempting to win over Andy Hamilton, Reg Hunter and Vince Cable.

Wednesday

All In The Mind (Radio 4, 16.30-17.00) Weekly show about brain research.

Nick Mohammed: Apollo 21 (Radio 4, 18.30-19.00) Interviewing the surviving Apollo astronauts for, maybe, the 8 millionth time.

Natural World (BBC2, 20.00-21.00) A marine biologist’s look at manta rays.

Thursday

Material World (Radio 4, 16.30-17.00) Quentin Cooper updates us on science in Wales.

Leading Edge (Radio 4, 21.00-21.30) How the invention of cooking may have influenced human evolution.

In Our Time (Radio 4, 21.30-22.00) Lord Melvyn of Bragg shines a light on the discovery of radiation.

Saturday

Contact (Five, 17.00-19.40) One of the more thoughtful sci-fi films of the 90’s sees Jodie Foster dealing with an alien communication.

Sunday

Dr Who (BBC1, 19.00-20.00) David Tennant approaches the end of his tenure as the good doctor in this yarn set on Mars (at Bowie Station, no less), 50 years hence. In tribute, BBC4 follows up with a whole night of Mars-based programming.

Mars: A Horizon Guide (BBC4, 21.00-22.00) Another documentary about the red planet, drawing on 45 years’ worth of footage from the Horizon store cupboard.

To Mars By A-Bomb (BBC4, 22.00-23.00) Discussing almost-forgotten plans to tour the solar system using a craft powered by nuclear bombs.

The Sky At Night Special: Exploring Mars (BBC4, 23.00-23.30) Patrick Moore’s turn to plant the scheduling flag on Mars.

Monday

How Do They Do It? (FIVE, 19.30-20.00) Ever wondered how pencils are made? How Do They Do It tells you how they do it.

Life (BBC1, 21.00-22.00) Attenborough’s sinks his teeth into the mammals. Should be plenty of cutes.

Race and Intelligence: Science’s Last Taboo (C4, 21.00-22.20) Bold programming by channel 4, giving such a delicate, controversial topic such a long time slot.Expect to see a tweet or two on Twitter.

Costing the Earth (Radio 4, 21.00-21.30) Countdown to the Copenhagen climate change conference.

Tuesday

Science Versus The Stradivarius (Radio 4, 11.00-11.30) Can scientific analysis explain the unique sound of the famous violin, or is it all a myth?

A History Of Private Life: Science And Nature In The Home (Radio 4, 15.45-16.00) How 18th Century ideas about science were reflected in the home.

Nature Shock (FIVE, 20.00-21.00) The series can append a ‘literally’ suffix to its title tonight, as it investigates the deaths of five elephants said to have been killed by a lightening strike.

Horizon (BBC2, 21.00-22.00) An update on stem cell therapies for various ailments.

It’s Only A Theory (BBC4, 22.00-22.30) Popular science writer Marcus Chown tries to persuade the comedian hosts on his ideas of time travel. It’s a promising format for a show, but somehow it just doesn’t seem to work.

Thursday

Material World (Radio 4, 16.30-17.00) Quentin Cooper looks at sience fiction.

Big, Bigger, Biggest (FIVE, 20.00-21.00) The Large Binocular Telescope in Arizona.

Leading Edge (Radio 4, 21.00-21.30) Geoff Watts looks at the nuclear test ban treaty and how the international community deal with transgressions.

Defying Gravity (BBC2, 21.00-21.45) Part three of the new sci-fi drama. Anyone seen it? Any good?

Sunday

The Human Zoo: Science’s Dirty Secret (C4, 19.00-20.00) The ‘human zoos’, which displayed Africans as ‘missing links’ until as late as 1904.

Monday

How Do They Do It? (19.30-20.00) This week, it’s all about fireworks and explosives.

Clever V Stupid (BBC3, 20.30-21.00) This week, a mascara of cabin crew take on the brainboxes – who include a doctor of pharmacology – to see which group has most prowess in a range of activities.

Tuesday

Nature Shock (FIVE, 20.00-21.00) Remember the game ‘Hungry Hippos’? Turns out the bulksome beasts are hungry for the taste of hippo flesh, as naturalists document cannibalism among the species.

Life (BBC4, 20.00-21.00) Alternatively, get your nature fix courtesy of David Attenborough’s new series, today featuring reptiles and amphibians.

Horizon (BBC2, 21.00-22.00) Marcus de Sautoy examines self-awareness, and whether humans are the only species to experience this tricky-to-pin-down phenomenon.

Wednesday

Defying Gravity (BBC2, 21.00-22.30) New sci-fi drama set on a tour of the solar system in 2052 – two episodes will be screened together.

Plight of the Bumblebee (BBC4, 21.00-21.30) Yet another show about the decline of our buzzy friends.

Thursday

In Our Time (Radio 4, 09.00-09.45) Melvyn Bragg (with a little help from some friends) explores the geological formation of Britain.

Material World (Radio 4, 16.30-17.00) Quentin Cooper looks forward to the first launch of NASA’s Ares rocket this week.

Leading Edge (Radio 4, 21.00-21.30) Geoff Watts on the relationship between humans and robots.

Sunday

Desert Island Discs (Radio 4, 11.15-12.00) Prof Colin Pillenger, who knows more than most about ship wrecks thanks to the failed Beagle 2 mission, reveals his must-have cultural icons.

Monday

How Do They Do It? (19.30-20.00) ‘It’, in this case, is the ability of fibre optic cables to convey data around the world at the speed of light.

Clever V Stupid (BBC3, 20.30-21.00) This week, an irk of call centre operatives take on the brainboxes – who include a space engineer – to see which group has most prowess in a range of activities.

Podfather (BBC4, 21.00-22.00) Profile of Robert Noyce, one of the key figures in the invention of the silicon chip.

Costing the Earth (Radio 4, 21.00-21.30) Eco-activists.

Tuesday

Nature Shock (FIVE, 20.00-21.00) Marine biologists are surprised at reports of an orca whale killing and eating a great white shark.

Horizon (BBC2, 21.00-22.00) The flagship science show returns with a look at the dangers of excessive drinking, and the promise of a designer drug that might mimic the effects of alcohol without the health risks.

Wednesday

Trials For Life (Radio 4, 16.30-17.00) Vivienne Parry looks at efforts to sort out cystic fibrosis through gene therapy.

Timeshift (BBC4, 20.00-21.00) Daisy Donovan (oh wow, remember her?) narrates a history of robots in film, and looks at scientists’ efforts to create artificial intelligence.

Visions of the Future (BBC4, 21.00-22.00) Michio Kaku looks at the promise of AI. As always when watching the good professor, be sure to count the number of times he says ‘in the future’.

Thursday

Material World (Radio 4, 16.30-17.00) Quentin Cooper talks to Alan Guth, one of the leading physicists looking at the conditions of the early universe.

Leading Edge (Radio 4, 21.00-21.30) Geoff Watts talks to Richard Holmes, winner of the 2009 Science Book Prize.

Saturday

Life (BBC2, 19.30-20.30) David ‘no I haven’t retired’ Attenborough launches a new nature series looking at the challenges creatures overcome to survive in harsh environments.

Monday

Bang Goes The Theory (BBC1, 19.30-20.00) The series you thought was never going to an end comes to an end with another unusual rocket experiment (it involves toffee) and explanations of nuclear fusion and electromagnetism.

Clever V Stupid (BBC3, 20.30-21.00) This week, a spin of DJs take on a headscratch of scholars – including a quantum physicist – to see which group has most prowess in a range of activities.

Costing the Earth (Radio 4, 21.00-21.30) Are mountain climbers damaging the very peaks they seek to conquer?

Tuesday

It’s Only A Theory (BBC4, 20.00-20.30) This one’s taking a bit of a critical panning in the press, but may be of interest to scientists and critical thinkers. Someone proposes an unusual idea or theory, which panellists have to try and shoot down (while cracking jokes). This first episode features the unforgettable Aubrey de Grey.

Thursday

Material World (Radio 4, 16.30-17.00). It’s Nobel Prize time again. Quentin Cooper has the goss.

Leading Edge (Radio 4, 21.00-21.30) Scientists who work in chilly parts of the world. Newcastle?

Sunday

The Genius of Charles Darwin (C4, 19.00-20.00) Repeat of the Dawkins doc from earlier this year.

Hubble Telescope (BBC4, 19.00-20.00) Guess what this one’s about.

Monday

Bang Goes The Theory (BBC1, 19.30-20.00) The strength of spider silk and the science of magic.

The Gadget Show (FIVE, 20.00-21.00) In an episode that sounds more compelling than usual, the team explore potential technologies of the near future, travelling to a Max PlanckInstitute to learn about virtual reality.

Clever V Stupid (BBC3, 20.30-21.00) A heave of bodybuilders takes on a headscratch of scholars – including an Oxford biologist and a quantum physicist – to see which group has most prowess in a range of activities.

Costing the Earth (Radio 4, 21.00-21.30) The diminution in vitamins and minerals in staple foods.

Tuesday

Home Planet (Radio 4, 15.00-15.30) Questions about rising sea levels.

Thursday

Material World (Radio 4, 16.30-17.00).

Leading Edge (Radio 4, 21.00-21.30) The methods and motives behind basic medical research.

Charles Darwin and the Tree of Life (BBC4, 21.00-22.00) Another chance to see Dickie Attenborough’s take on the Darwin200 anniversary.

Friday

David Attenborough’s Life Stories (Radio 4, 20.50-21.00) David asks whether it’s possible to extract ancient DNA from an amber-trapped mosquito and recreate dinosaurs?Now I wonder where he got that idea.

Sunday

The Genius of Charles Darwin (C4, 19.00-20.00) Repeat of the Dawkins doc from earlier this year.

Last Chance to See (BBC2, 20.00-21.00) Stephen Fry and Mark Carwardine move on to that most goofy of parrots, the kakapo.

Monday

Bang Goes The Theory (BBC1, 19.30-20.00) A microwave death ray and a missing part of the universe.

Clever V Stupid (BBC3, 20.30-21.00) A bunch of hairdressers takes on a team of scholars – including a biologist and pharmacist – to see which group has most prowess in a range of activities.

Costing the Earth (Radio 4, 21.00-21.30) The idea of a ‘supergrid’ of renewable resources across Europe.

What Darwin Didn’t Know (BBC4, 22.00-23.30) Another chance to catch Armand…pause, look moodily at camera…Leroi examine progress in our knowledge of natural selection since…longer pause, look into middle distance…Darwin’s time.

Tuesday

Home Planet (Radio 4, 15.00-15.30) Questions about the natural world.

Lost Land of the Volcano (BBC1, 21.00-22.00) In the final part of this excellent wildlife show, the team penetrate deeper into the volcanic crater and discover two new mammals. As you do.

Thursday

Material World (Radio 4, 16.30-17.00).

Leading Edge (Radio 4, 21.00-21.30) The ‘musical map of the mind’. Probably involves Oliver Sacks somewhere.

In Our Time (Radio 4, 21.30-22.00) Welcome return of Melvyn, examining Newton and Leibniz’s dispute over the calculus. Of course, Leibniz eventually won, by inventingthe lightweight chocolate biscuit.

Sunday

The Genius of Charles Darwin (C4, 19.00-20.00) Repeat of the Dawkins doc from earlier this year.

Last Chance to See (BBC2, 20.00-21.00) Stephen Fry and Mark Carwardine move on to the komodo dragon.

Darwin’s Struggle: The Evolution of the Origin of Species (BBC4, 21.00-22.00) Another drink from the well of Darwin repeats.

Monday

Bang Goes The Theory (BBC1, 19.30-20.00) The origins of speech and why British summers are disappointing.

Clever V Stupid (BBC3, 20.30-21.00) A bunch of supermarket stackers takes on a team of scholars – including a biologist and pharmacist – to see which group has most prowess in a range of activities. No brainer?

Tuesday

Home Planet (Radio 4, 15.00-15.30) Questions about the natural world.

Lost Land of the Volcano (BBC1, 21.00-22.00) Really enjoyable romp through the New Guinean rainforest revealing creatures previously unknown to science. Heartily recommended.

Wednesday

Swine Flu: Everything You Need To Know (BBC1, 21.00-22.00) Just when you thought it was safe to sneeze in public.

Thursday

Material World (Radio 4, 16.30-17.00) The Montreal Climate Protocol of 1987.

Leading Edge (Radio 4, 21.00-21.30) Anthropology and the environment.

Monday

Bang Goes The Theory (BBC1, 19.30-20.00) Californian space entrepreneurs, brain-training devices and using microwaves to melt glass.

The Sky At Night (BBC4, 19.30-20.00) The impact scar recently spotted on Jupiter is probed from afar by Moore and co.

Panorama (BBC1, 20.30-21.00) A look at the state of Britain’s beaches. They’re an investigative bunch on panorama and commission their own scientific studies of the country’s littoral cleanliness, with ‘disturbing results’.

Clever V Stupid (BBC3, 20.30-21.00) A bunch of glamour models take on a team of scholars – including a biologist and pharmacist – to see which group has most prowess in a range of activities. No brainer?

Tuesday

Home Planet (Radio 4, 15.00-15.30) Questions about the natural world.

The Test of Time (Radio 4, 15.45-16.00) A scientist from the National Physical Laboratory explains why we keep time in base 60.

Lost Land of the Volcano (BBC1, 21.00-22.00) Wasn’t that an old board game, with dinosaurs and explorers? In this case, it’s a new series in which scientists poke around in an extinct volcano.

The House I Grew Up In (Radio 4, 21.30-22.00) Geneticist and media permafixture Steve Jones revisits his childhood home in Wales.

Thursday

The Test of Time (Radio 4, 15.45-16.00) Does Aristotle’s treatise on meteorology stand up to modern scrutiny?

Material World (Radio 4, 16.30-17.00) So whatever happened to the Large Hadron Collider?

Leading Edge (Radio 4, 21.00-21.30) Geoff Watts goes to the BSA’s festival in Guildford.

Friday

The Test of Time (Radio 4, 15.45-16.00) The final installment looks at ancient and modern methods of wound healing.

A day early this week. You lucky, lucky things.

Monday

Book of the Week: Newton and the Counterfeiter (Radio 4, 09.45-10.00) Grantham’s most famous son is made Master of the Royal Mint.

Future of Food (BBC2, 21.00-22.00) What part will genetic modification and other scientific interventions play in the future of our grub?

Costing the Earth: Turbines or Tearooms (Radio 4, 21.00-21.30) Ways to kickstart renewable energy initiatives.

Tuesday

Book of the Week: Newton and the Counterfeiter (Radio 4, 09.45-10.00) Continuation of Thomas Levenson’s biography.

Home Planet (Radio 4, 15.00-15.30) Questions about the natural world.

Big, Bigger, Biggest (FIVE, 20.00-21.00) This week, the International Space Station, easily the biggest man made object ever built off-world.

Wednesday

Book of the Week: Newton and the Counterfeiter (Radio 4, 09.45-10.00) Continuation of Thomas Levenson’s biography.

Thursday

Book of the Week: Newton and the Counterfeiter (Radio 4, 09.45-10.00) Newton sets out to crush his nefarious opponent, William Chaloner.

Material World (Radio 4, 16.30-17.00)

Leading Edge (Radio 4, 21.00-21.30) Geoff Watts meets Lord May, head of the British Science Association.

Friday

Book of the Week: Newton and the Counterfeiter (Radio 4, 09.45-10.00) Conclusion.

Sunday

The Tribes of Science (Radio 4, 14.45-15.00) This week, mathematicians.

Last Chance To See (BBC2, 20.00-21.00) I don’t normally list wildlife stuff, but this is (a) presented by Stephen Fry and (b) based on a book by Douglas Adams. Nuff said.

Monday

Bang Goes The Theory (BBC1, 19.30-20.00) How to think like a frog and inhale sulfur hexafluoride, possibly at the same time.

Tuesday

Home Planet (Radio 4, 15.00-15.30) Questions about the natural world.

Thursday

Material World (Radio 4, 16.30-17.00) The great solar storm of 1859.

The Cell (BBC4, 21.00-22.00) Nature’s Adam Rutherford concludes his series by exploring recent developments to artificially create cells.

Visions of the Future (BBC4, 22.00-23.00) Michio Kaku speculates about the possibilities of biotechnology. Anyone want to join in my science-based drinking game? Simply pour yourself a triple scotch and take a sip every time Kaku says “in the future”.

Friday

David Attenborough’s Life Stories (Radio 4, 20.50-21.00) Everyone’s favourite naturalist describes the Lazarus-like fish, the coelacanth.

Sunday

The Tribes of Science (Radio 4, 14.45-15.00) This week, astronomers from Jodrell Bank.

Starting to thin out again, as summer sets in. The neuro programme this afternoon sounds good, though.

Monday

God and Neuroscience (Radio 4, 16.30-17.00) What cognitive neuroscience is revealing about faith.

Bang Goes The Theory (BBC1, 19.30-20.00) Magnetic cows and underwater fireworks. Mes-moo-rising, or a damp squib?

Tuesday

Home Planet (Radio 4, 15.00-15.30) Questions about the natural world.

Wednesday

The Cell (BBC4, 21.00-22.00) Adam Rutherford continues his tour of the cell.

Thursday

Material World (Radio 4, 16.30-17.00)

Sunday

The Tribes of Science (Radio 4, 14.45-15.00) This week, botanists, with a visit to the Millennium Seed Bank.

Monday

Bang Goes The Theory (BBC1, 19.30-20.00) The migration patterns of rubber ducks and climbing a building using vacuum cleaner suction. Oh dear.

Tuesday

Home Planet (Radio 4, 15.00-15.30) Questions about the natural world.

Wednesday

The Naming of Genes (Radio 4, 11.00-11.30) Sonic Hedgehog, Son-of-Sevenless…how do genes get such bizarre names?

The Cell (BBC4, 21.00-22.00) Nature’s very own Adam Rutherford relates the little-told tale (on TV, at least) of the cell.

Secrets of the Superold (Radio 4, 21.00-21.30) How the lifestyles of the very old are helping scientists working on ageing.

Robert Hooke: Victim of Genius (BBC4, 22.00-23.00) Documentary about how Robert Hooke was ‘erased from history’ by his opponents and remains obscure to this day. A curious assertion given that the scientist received at least four biographies in the past decade alone.

Thursday

Material World (Radio 4, 16.30-17.00)

Saturday

The Story of Maths (BBC4, 19.30-20.30) Final part of Marcus du Sautoy’s series examines infinity.

Sunday

The Tribes of Science (Radio 4, 14.45-15.00) Short documentary about the zoologists at ZSL London Zoo.

Monday

Bang Goes The Theory (BBC1, 19.30-20.00) Heavily advertised new show that appears to come from the science-is-fun…honestly stable. In the first of ten programmes, the team look at ‘gait recognition, vortex rings, genetic engineering and a novel way to cook an egg’.

Biomimicry: Inspired By Nature (Radio 4, 21.00-21.30) Using the best innovations from the natural world to improve our own technology. With Prof Trevor Cox, whose definition of biomimicry extends to the whopee cushion.

Tuesday

Home Planet (Radio 4, 15.00-15.30) Questions about the natural world.

Wednesday

Breaking the Mould: The Story of Penicillin (BBC4, 21.00-22.20) Dramatization of Florey and Chain’s efforts to industrialise penicillin. Surely the science highlight of the week.

Thursday

Material World (Radio 4, 16.30-17.00) The genetics of cystic fibrosis.

Saturday

The Story of Maths (BBC4, 19.30-20.30) Another chance to catch the Marcus du Sautoy series.

Blood and Guts: A History of Surgery (BBC2, 22.10-23.10) The series concludes with a deeper look at human anatomy.

Monday

Give Me The MoonLITE (Radio 4, 21.00-21.30) Plans for a British network of probes on the moon.

Inside Nature’s Giants (C4, 21.00-22.00) Richard Dawkins uses the dissection of a giraffe to explain natural selection.

Being Neil Armstrong (BBC4, 22.30-23.30) Another chance to see this profile of that most bashful of moonwalkers.

Mission to the Moon – News From 1969 (ITV1, 22.35-22.50) The moon landing from a newsy angle.

Moonshot: The Flight of Apollo 11 (ITV1, 22.50-00.20) Fact-based drama recreating Man’s greatest adventure.

Tuesday

Home Planet (Radio 4, 15.00-15.30) Questions about the natural world.

Thursday

Material World (Radio 4, 16.30-17.00) How mirrors left on the moon by the Apollo missions are still being used by scientists.

Saturday

The Story of Maths (BBC4, 19.30-20.30) Another chance to catch the Marcus du Sautoy series.

Walking On The Moon (Radio 4, 20.00-21.00) Buzz Aldrin adds his two cents about the moon landings.

Blood and Guts: A History of Surgery (BBC2, 22.30-23.30) The history of cosmetic surgery.

Monday

Walking on the Moon (Radio 4, 15.00-15.45) More comments on that desolate place by Buzz Aldrin.

Inside Nature’s Giants (C4, 21.00-22.00) Ever wanted to see the inside of a crocodile? Without being swallowed?

Frontiers (Radio 4, 21.00-21.30) Synthetic biology.

Tuesday

Home Planet (Radio 4, 15.00-15.30) Questions about the natural world.

Wednesday

The Trials of Oppenheimer (BBC4, 21.00-22.30) Lengthy documentary about the main man behind the atomic bomb.

A Life With… (Radio 4, 21.00-21.30) Microbes, with Prof Lynn Margulis.

Thursday

Material World (Radio 4, 16.30-17.00) The scientists chasing the 2009 Pacific solar eclipse.

Saturday

Walking On The Moon (Radio 4, 20.00-21.00) Buzz Aldrin adds his two cents about the moon landings.

Blood and Guts: A History of Surgery (BBC2, 21.30-22.30) The history of transplants.

Monday

The Sky At Night (BBC4, 19.30-20.00) Still a couple of weeks till the precise anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission, but already the schedules are going lunar crazy. Moore and Co. kick of an evening of moon-based programming on BBC4.

Space Dogs (BBC4, 20.00-20.45) Andrew Sachs narrates a documentary about the ultimate in animal experimentation – blasting dogs into space.

For All Mankind (BBC4, 20.45-22.00) Superior documentary about the assault on the moon.

Inside Nature’s Giants (C4, 21.00-22.00) Richard Dawkins describes the evolution of the whale, while anatomists dissect a 60 ton specimen before your astounded eyes.

Apollo Wives (BBC4, 22.00-23.00) The story of the less-orbity halves of the Apollo astronauts.

The Moon (BBC4, 23.00-00.00) In case you haven’t had enough yet.

Frontiers (Radio 4, 21.00-21.30) Yet another documentary about progress in harnassing nuclear fusion.

Tuesday

Home Planet (Radio 4, 15.00-15.30) Questions about the natural world.

The Sky At Night (BBC4, 19.30-20.00) Profile of Eugene Cernan, the last man on the moon.

Thursday

Horizon: 40 Years on the Moon (BBC4, 20.00-21.00) Brian Cox, who else?, explores the BBC archives relating to lunar exploration.

Material World (Radio 4, 16.30-17.00)

Leading Edge (Radio 4, 21.00-21.30)

In Our Time (Radio 4, 21.30-22.00) Melvn Bragg assembles a panel of experts to discuss the Ediacara Biota – remnants of half-billion-year-old life forms.

Saturday

Walking On The Moon (Radio 4, 20.00-21.00) Buzz Aldrin adds his two cents about the moon landings.

Blood and Guts: A History of Surgery (BBC2, 21.30-22.30) The history of transplants.

Armageddon (BBC1, 22.45-01.05) Gung-ho astronauts must deflect an asteroid from a collision course with Earth. Utterly accurate and plausible in every way. Perhaps.

Sunday

Desert Island Discs (Radio 4, 11.15-12.00) Bacteriologist Prof Hugh Pennington discusses his favourite things.

Monday

Inside Nature’s Giants (C4, 21.00-22.00) The anatomy of an elephant is revealed while Richard Dawkins looks on.

Frontiers (Radio 4, 21.00-21.30) An update on stem-cell technology.

Wednesday

NASA – Triumph and Tragedy (BBC2, 21.00-22.00) The ‘tragedy’ part of this astronautical moiety looks at the three disasters and one near-disaster the space agency has overcome.

Thursday

Material World (Radio 4, 16.30-17.00)

The Sky at Night (BBC4, 20.30-21.00) A guide to studying the surface of the moon.

Leading Edge (Radio 4, 21.00-21.30) Efforts to improve the ‘public understanding of science’.

Saturday

Blood and Guts: A History of Surgery (BBC2, 21.30-22.30) The history of heart surgery.

Sunday

Being Neil Armstrong (BBC4, 21.00-22.00) Andrew Smith, author of the beautiful book Moondust, goes in search of that most reclusive of moonwalkers.

Man on the Moon (BBC4, 22.00-23.45) Perhaps Smith (see above) should have waited an hour, as Neil Armstrong introduces this movie-length documentary about man’s greatest adventure.

A bumper week of science on the tellybox, and a star turn from Jenny Rohn on Wednesday.

Monday

Frontiers (Radio 4, 21.00-21.30) Why do humans, unlike other primates, have such a long childhood?

Strange Encounters (Radio 3, 23.00-23.30) Week-long series considering ground-breaking experiments as related through works of literature. Tonight, biologist Matthew Cobb on the quest for spontaneously-generated life. Check out who’s on on Wednesday.

Tuesday

The Reith Lectures: Genetics and Morality (Radio 4, 09:00-09.45) Professor Michael Sandel discusses his views on how we should use new genetic technology for the benefits of society.

A Good Read (Radio 4, 16.30-17.00) Kate Mosse talks to scientists Professor Jocelyn Bell Burnell and Vivienne Parry.

Strange Encounters (Radio 3, 23.00-23.30) Astronomer Stuart Clark on the Great Solar Storm of 1859.

The Big Bang Theory (C4, 23.15-23.40) The science-based sitcom’s second series concludes as the gang prepare to visit the North Pole.

Wednesday

I Was Douglas Adams’ Flatmate (Radio 4, 18.30-19.00) Of course I wasn’t, but here’s a man who was.

The Greening of the Deserts (Radio 4, 21.00-21.30) A look at how global warming will make the world’s barren places more verdant.

NASA – Triumph and Tragedy (BBC2, 21.00-22.00) Four decades next month since that one small step. This documentary sounds like a run-of-the mill journey through the NASA archives, but when does footage of rockets and space ships ever get dull?

James May’s 20th Century (BBC2, 22.00-22.30) More space-based hi-jinx from May, including a road trip in a lunar rover and the revelation that the race to the moon began with a rocket attack on Chiswick. Who knew? Me, actually.

Strange Encounters (Radio 3, 23.00-23.30) Our very own Jenny Rohn discusses Peyton Rous, who discovered that viruses can cause tumours.

Thursday

Material World (Radio 4, 16.30-17.00)

Leading Edge (Radio 4, 21.00-21.30) Astronomer Royal Lord Rees gets interviewed about moon landings and other space things.

Strange Encounters (Radio 3, 23.00-23.30) Engineer Basil Mahon describes Hertz.

Friday

Strange Encounters (Radio 3, 23.00-23.30) Virologist John Oxford on Spanish Flu.

Saturday

Saturday Play: Journey Into Space (Radio 4, 14.30-15.30) Classic 50’s sci-fi gets a topical re-airing.

Blood and Guts: A History of Surgery (BBC2, 21.40-22.40) The second part, looking at the history of hear surgery.

Sunday

File on Four (Radio 4, 17.40-17.54) The causes of swine flu.

James May on the Moon (BBC2, 21.00-22.00) Not literally, of course. This is the first in an anticipated meteor storm of shows about space, with the upcoming 40th anniversary of the first moon landing.

James May at the Edge of Space (BBC4, 22.00-22.30) And, straight away, here’s the second in that predicted meteor storm.

The Moon (BBC4, 22.30-23.00) And the third.

The Sky at Night (BBC4, 23.00-01.00) BBC4, you are really spoiling us with all this moon coverage.

Monday

Frontiers (Radio 4, 21.00-21.30) Can airborne bacteria influence the weather? Watch out for a prokaryotic front moving in from the West.

Tuesday

The Big Bang Theory (C4, 23.10-23.40) Penultimate episode of the science-based sit-com.

Thursday

Material World (Radio 4, 16.30-17.00)

Leading Edge (Radio 4, 21.00-21.30) Seasonality in plants and animals.

Saturday

Blood and Guts: A History of Surgery (BBC2, 21.40-22.40) Fairly self-explanatory. The first episode looks at brain surgery.

Sunday

James May on the Moon (BBC2, 21.00-22.00) Not literally, of course. This is the first in an anticipated meteor storm of shows about space, with the upcoming 40th anniversary of the first moon landing.

James May at the Edge of Space (BBC4, 22.00-22.30) And, straight away, here’s the second in that predicted meteor storm.

The Moon (BBC4, 22.30-23.00) And the third.

The Sky at Night (BBC4, 23.00-01.00) BBC4, you are really spoiling us with all this moon coverage.

Check out Leading Edge on Thursday. Sounds provoking.

Monday

The Sky at Night (BBC4, 21.30-22.00) This show moves about in the listings like an itchy stoat. Tonight’s installment focuses on the Andromeda Galaxy.

Tuesday

Living With Monkeys: Tales From The Treetops (BBC1, 21.00-22.00) Naturalists spend five weeks in a treehouse to learn more about a rare Gabon monkey. Continues tomorrow at the same time.

The Big Bang Theory (C4, 23.05-23.35) Science-based sit-com, now in its second series.

The Eureka Years (Radio 4, 16.00-16.30) History of traffic lights. Riveting.

Wednesday

Mean Machines (FIVE, 19.30-20.00) Documentary about transporters, including the giant crawler that carries the space shuttle to its pad, and tiny RC robots used to fix leaks in pipes.

Thursday

Material World (Radio 4, 16.30-17.00) The challenges of low-carbon housing.

Leading Edge (Radio 4, 21.00-21.30) Can science be creative? Should we fund more ‘blue skies’ research? And does the peer-review system support the status quo while marginalising potential breakthroughs?

Sunday

File on Four (Radio 4, 17.40-17.54) The causes of swine flu.

The Incredible Human Journey (BBC2, 21.00-22.00) Alice Roberts concludes an excellent series about anthropology with a trip to the Americas.

Monday

Hidden Henry: Henry, Medicine and Health (Radio 4, 15.45-16.00) Short piece about Henry VIII’s fascination with medical developments. Who knew?

Costing the Earth (Radio 4, 21.00-21.30) Looking at the Carteret Islands – one of the first territories facing inundation through rising sea levels.

The Operation: Surgery Live (C4, 22.25-23.30) Throughout the week, four operations will be broadcast live from Southampton. Tonight, open heart surgery. Apparently, viewers can ‘interact with the theatre via Twitter’. Each installment will also be screened at the Wellcome Collection. Oh brave new world.

Tuesday

Uncovering Our Earliest Ancestor: The Link (BBC1, 21.00-22.00) Ida the fossil gets its first TV show. Hollywood awaits.

The Operation: Surgery Live (C4, 22.35-23.40) Brain surgery, as it happens.

The Eureka Years (Radio 4, 16.00-16.30) Technological milestones including the light bulb and moving images.

All In The Mind (Radio 4, 21.00-21.30) Scientists attempt to induce a haunting by manipulating magnetic fields.

Wednesday

Unreliable Evidence: The Law And Climate Change (Radio 4, 20.00-20.45) Do environmental laws need toughening up?

Film: Enigma (BBC3, 21.00-22.55) Plodding movie about the code-breakers at Bletchley Park.

The Operation: Surgery Live (C4, 23.05-00.05) Keyhole stomach surgery. Tonight’s episode is the latest and longest yet. More gruesome?

Thursday

Material World (Radio 4, 16.30-17.00) The causes of the ‘dust bowl’ in the 1930’s midwest.

Cutting Edge (Radio 4, 21.00-21.30) Experiments to simulate weightlessness.

The Operation: Surgery Live (C4, 23.05-00.10) The concluding part sees a pituitary tumor removal, live from King’s College Hospital.

Sunday

The Incredible Human Journey (BBC2, 21.30-22.30) Alice Roberts’ fascinating series on the spread of the human species across the globe continues, with a look at the migration of our ancestors into Australia.

Monday

Panorama (BBC1, 20.30-21.00) Jeremy Vine travels to China to discover if stem cell therapies, banned in the UK, really can restore sight.

Costing the Earth (Radio 4, 21.00-21.30) Update on the state of the Amazonian rainforest.

Tuesda

The Eureka Years (Radio 4, 16.00-16.30) It’s 1866, and Darwin is a celebrity. But what has the world heard of genetic pioneer Gregor Mendel.

Case Notes (Radio 4, 21.00-21.30) Mark Porter looks at the future of surgery.

Wednesday

Extraordinary People: Electric Human (FIVE, 21.00-22.00) A Puerto Rican tries to convince scientists and doctors that he’s able to transmit powerful electrical currents throughout his body. Shocking.

Thursday

Emergency in the Womb (C4, 21.00-22.00) Doctors at King’s College Hospital, London, use techniques at the edge of medical science to save two critically ill unborn twins.

Material World (Radio 4, 16.30-17.00) The nanolab.

Cutting Edge (Radio 4, 21.00-21.30) Interview with Chief Scientific Advisor John Beddington.

In Our Time (Radio 4, 21.30-22.00) The evolutionary history of the whale.

Sunday

The Incredible Human Journey (BBC2, 21.30-22.30) Alice Roberts’ fascinating series on the spread of the human species across the globe continues, with a look at the migration of our ancestors into Europe.

Monday

Costing the Earth (Radio 4, 21.00-21.30) The carbon footprint of older people. Is it bigger or smaller than that of younger people?

Tuesday

10 Things You Didn’t Know About Sleep (BBC1, 21.00-22.00) Includes laboratory tests on how coffee and alcohol affect sleep.

Horizon (BBC2, 21.00-22.00) The BBC’s former flagship science programme tonight sees Michael Portillo investigating violent behaviour.

Wednesday

Winds (BBC2, 21.00-22.00) The weather series concludes with a look at why the wind blows.

Thursday

Material World (Radio 4, 16.30-17.00) The Hubble Space Telescope repair mission

In Business: Location, Location (Radio 4, 20.30-21.00) The rise of devices that know where they are.

Sunday

The Incredible Human Journey (BBC2, 21.30-22.30) How our species populated the globe.

Monday

Snow (BBC4, 21.00-22.00) Documentary about the white stuff. Includes the story of a scientific discovery ‘that led to a British company becoming the largest producer of ice crystals’.

Costing the Earth (Radio 4, 21.00-21.30) How ICT data processing centres contribute to global warming.

Wednesday

Extraordinary People: The Man With Someone Else’s Face (C4, 21.00-22.00) How medical science has made possible the donation of whole faces, and what it’s like to walk around with a corpse’s countenance.

Professor Regan’s Medicine Cabinet (BBC2, 21.00-22.00) Lesley Regan asks whether over the counter medicines are effective, and whether there is any evidence that homeopathy is efficacious.

Thursday

Who Killed the Honey Bee? (BBC4, 21.00-22.00) A look at the decline in bee populations, and its ecological implications.

Material World (Radio 4, 16.30-17.00) Building machines that can express emotions.

Monday

The Sky at Night (BBC2, 19.00-20.00) Looking at Herschel, the soon-to-launch infrared telescope, and one of Europe’s most ambitious missions.

Costing the Earth (Radio 4, 21.00-21.30) The Antarctic Treaty.

Grow Your Own Drugs (BBC2, 20.30-21.00) Natural remedies from vegetables. Turns out garlic is good for athlete’s foot as well as vampire repelling.

Thursday

Material World (Radio 4, 16.30-17.00) The history and future of supersonic passenger flight.

Power Failure? The Story of the Battery (Radio 4, 21.00-21.30) Is a new generation of super-efficient batteries imminent?

Friday

Darwin songs (Radio 4, 11.00-11.30) Eight singer-songwriters spend a week in a farm house devising songs about the famous naturalist. Surely the Darwin200 barrel has scraped been scraped to destruction by now?

Saturday

Carl Sagan – A Personal Voyage (Radio 4, 20.00-21.00) Brian Cox pays tribute to the much missed science communicator.

Monday

Yellowstone (BBC2, 19.00-20.00) Autumn moves into winter in the famous national park.

The Medicalisation of Normality (Radio 4, 21.00-21.30) Is normal human behaviour being catagorised as disease?

Grow Your Own Drugs (BBC2, 20.30-21.00) Ethnobotanists explain the natural medicines derived from roots.

Tuesday

Home Planet (Radio 4, 15.00-15.30) Listeners’ questions about the natural world.

Did Darwin Kill God? (BBC2, 19.00-20.00) Is it possible to have too much Darwin on TV? This latest one-off examines misconceptions of evolutionary theory on both sides of the creationist-scientist debate.

Horizon (BBC2, 21.00-21.50) Clown Prince Alan Davies gets a lesson in numbers from mathematician and Dawkins’ successor Marcus de Sautoy. Davies claims to be a mathematical ignoramus, but viewers of QI know that he has more than a passing familiarity with negative numbers.

Thursday

Material World (Radio 4, 16.30-17.00) Ice cap melting.

Oceans: What Lies Beneath (Radio 4, 21.00-21.30). Oceanography show.

In Our Time (Radio 4, 21.30-22.00) After weeks and weeks of narrow focus arts chat, Bragg gets round to a subject with some scientific interest: Elizabethan lawyer and proto-scientist Francis Bacon. Did you know that Bacon died on Highgate Hill after trying to stuff a chicken with snow? Fact.

Saturday

An Inconvenient Truth (BBC2, 21.20-23.10) Al Gore saves the world, one Powerpoint slide at a time.

Monday

Yellowstone (BBC2, 19.00-20.00) The ecology and geology of the national park.

How Do They Do It? (FIVE, 19.30-20.00) Ever wondered how aluminium cans are made?

Kevin Whatley on Dementia (ITV1, 20.00-20.30) The Lewis actor gives his personal experience of Alzheimer’s disease, from which his mother suffers.

Grow Your Own Drugs (BBC2, 20.30-21.00) Ethnobotanists explain the natural medicines derived from herbs. Tonight, a breath-freshener from thyme.

The Great Sperm Race (C4, 21.00-22.10) People dress up as sperm and attempt to negotiate the Canadian Rockies in a bid to show how reproduction works. Is Charlie Brooker the new controller of Channel 4?

Tuesday

Home Planet (Radio 4, 15.00-15.30) Listeners’ questions about the natural world.

Horizon (BBC2, 21.00-21.50) Why can’t we predict earthquakes.

Thursday

Material World (Radio 4, 16.30-17.00) Listeners’ questions about science are answer.

Born in Bradford (Radio 4, 20.00-20.30) Why are certain genetic disorders above normal levels in Bradford?

Oceans: What Lies Beneath (Radio 4, 21-21.30). Oceanography show.

Friday

Darwin songs (Radio 4, 11.00-11.30) Eight singer-songwriters spend a week in a farm house devising songs about the famous naturalist. Surely the Darwin200 barrel has scraped been scraped to destruction by now?

Saturday

A Beautiful Mind (BBC2, 23.14-01.25) Russell Crowe plays troubled mathematician John Nash.

Some interesting shows this week. Look out for the daily shorts about the Diamond Light Source on Radio 4, and a cavalcade of Darwin shows on Thursday.

Monday

The Synchroton View (Radio 4, 15.45-16.00) A daily dose of programming from the Diamond Light Source syncrotron facility.

Yellowstone (BBC2, 19.00-20.00) The ecology and geology of the national park.

Grow Your Own Drugs (BBC2, 20.30-21.00) Ethnobotanists explain the natural medicines derived from trees.

Sound Architecture: The Spaces… (Radio 4, 21.00-21.30) A scientific exploration of the relationship between sound and architecture.

Tuesday

Home Planet (Radio 4, 15.00-15.30) Listeners’ questions about the natural world.

The Synchroton View (Radio 4, 15.45-16.00)

Horizon (BBC2, 21.00-21.50) Sliding ever further from the world of science, Horizon this week sees David Baddiel investigating new ideas about education.

Wednesday

The Synchroton View (Radio 4, 15.45-16.00)

Nature’s Great Events (BBC1, 21.00-22.00) How an annual growth of phytoplankton leads to a surge in herring, in turn attracting thousands of cetaceans.

Thursday

The Synchroton View (Radio 4, 15.45-16.00)

_Lonesome George and the Battle for Galapagos (BBC2, 19.00-20.00) Profile of the famous tortoise and his threatened islands.

Jimmy Doherty in Darwin’s Garden (BBC2, 20.00-21.00) Last in the series recreating some of the experiments that helped Darwin firm up his theories.

Darwin’s Dangerous Idea (BBC2, 21.00-21.00-22.00) BBC2 are really spoiling us, with three programmes in a row about Darwin. Andrew Marr concludes his investigation of the bearded one’s legacy.

Material World (Radio 4, 16.30-17.00) Problems with the supply of medical isotopes.

Oceans: What Lies Beneath (Radio 4, 21-21.30). Oceanography show.

Friday

The Synchroton View (Radio 4, 15.45-16.00)

Rocket Science (BBC2, 21.00-22.00) In a quest to make science more sexy for 13-year-olds, teacher Andy Smith falls back on that old workhorse of chemistry-is-fun: the firework.

Not the most exciting of weeks. Roll on the new season.

Monday

How Do They Do It (Five, 19.30-20.00) Inside the world’s largest passenger aircraft, the Airbus A380.

Grow Your Own Drugs (BBC2, 20.30-21.00) How to extract natural remedies from familiar plants. Today, flowers.

Tuesday

Home Planet (Radio 4, 15.00-15.30) Listeners’ questions about the natural world.

Horizon (BBC2, 21.00-21.50) The tangential science show looks at how to survive a disaster.

Wednesday

Nature’s Great Events (BBC1, 21.00-22.00) When elephants migrate.

Chi-Chi: Panda Ambassador (Radio 4, 21.00-21.30) The biographer of Lonesome George turns his attention to a stuffed panda in the Natural History Museum, whoonce courted world fame.

Thursday

Jimmy Doherty in Darwin’s Garden (BBC2 20.00-21.00) Darwin season continues with a look at Darwin’s domestic botany at Down House.

Darwin’s Dangerous Idea (BBC2, 21.00-21.00-22.00) Andrew Marr continues his investigation of Darwin’s legacy. This week, how evolutionary theory has been hijacked for political ends.

Material World (Radio 4, 16.30-17.00) There can’t be many radio shows about the ribosome. Here’s one.

Oceans: What Lies Beneath (Radio 4, 21-21.30).

Friday

Rocket Science (BBC2, 21.00-22.00) In a quest to make science more sexy for 13-year-olds, teacher Andy Smith falls back on that old workhorse of chemistry-is-fun: the firework.

Monday

How Do They Do It (Five, 19.30-20.00) I’m never sure whether to list this show here – what do you reckon? Tonight’s episode features a look inside EADS Astrium in Portsmouth, the cleanest place in the UK (they obviously haven’t visited my mother-in-law’s).

Islam and Science (Radio 4, 21.00-21.30) Nature’s very own Ehsan Masood continues his investigation of science in modern Islamic society.

Tuesday

Robert Winston’s Musical Analysis (Radio 4, 13.30-14.00) Lord Winston concludes his series on the effect of diseases on musicians with a look at composer and poet Ivor Gurney who died of TB.

Home Planet (Radio 4, 15.00-15.30) Listeners’ questions about the natural world.

Horizon (BBC2, 21.00-21.50) How the biological clock works.

Make Me Stay Awake (BBC1, 22.35-23.15) Do humans really only need a few hours sleep a night?

Wednesday

Nature’s Great Events (BBC1, 21.00-22.00) When wildebeest migrate.

Thursday

Material World (Radio 4, 16.30-17.00) The story of Emil Abderhalden, a Swiss biochemist whose theories of ‘protective enzymes’ were influential but completely wrong.

Leading Edge (Radio 4, 21-21.30) The latest scientific stories.

Sunday

Richard Hammond’s Engineering Connections (BBC2, 20.10-21.00) This week the Hamster’s in Hawaii, checking out the Keck Observatory.

Monday

Islam and Science (Radio 4, 21.00-21.30) Nature’s very own Ehsan Masood explores the role of science in modern Islamic society.

Tuesday

Make Me Live Forever (BBC1, 22.35-23.15) Medical efforts to turn back the clock.

Robert Winston’s Musical Analysis (Radio 4, 13.30-14.00) In part 3, Lord Winston examines Ravel’s dementia and how it affected his music.

Home Planet (Radio 4, 15.00-15.30) Listeners’ questions about the natural world.

Horizon (BBC2, 21.00-22.00) An update on the latest efforts to harness nuclear fusion as an energy source. Brian Cox presents.

Wednesday

Nature’s Great Events (BBC1, 21.00-22.00) David Attenborough versus half a billion Canadian salmon.

Thursday

Material World (Radio 4, 16.30-17.00) The cultural and genetic evolution of language.

Leading Edge (Radio 4, 21-21.30) The latest scientific stories.

Sunday

Richard Hammond’s Engineering Connections (BBC2, 20.10-21.00) The building of Tapei 101, still officially the world’s tallest building, even though it’s significantly shorter than the under-construction Burj Dubai.

As the Darwin documentaries thin out, Radio 4 resumes its mantle as the main broadcaster of scientific programming.

Tuesday

Robert Winston’s Musical Analysis (Radio 4, 13.30-14.00) In part 2, the hairy-lipped Lord looks at how Mahler’s psychological problems may have affected his music.

Home Planet (Radio 4, 15.00-15.30) Listeners’ questions about the natural world.

Horizon (BBC2, 21.00-22.00) Horizon seems to have shrugged off its weekly variations on ‘why we’re all doomed’ to focus on more down-to-Earth matters. Tonight, why do we dream and have nightmares?

Wednesday

Nature’s Great Events (BBC1, 21.00-22.00) Sadly, not a no-punches-pulled documentary about NPG’s Christmas parties, but a look at great seasonal changes that affect the natural world. Tonight David Attenborough examines the annual melting of Arctic sea ice.

Terry Pratchett: Living With Alzheimer’s (BBC2, 21.00-22.00) The recently knighted Discworld author discusses cutting-edge treatments for the neurodegenerative disease.

Thursday

Material World (Radio 4, 16.30-17.00) Can humans sense pheremones, or Radio 4’s attempt to programme something scientific for Valentine’s day.

Leading Edge (Radio 4, 21-21.30) The latest scientific stories.

Sunday

Desert Island Discs (Radio 4, 11.15-12.00) Professor Dame Kay Davies, Director of Genetics at Oxford University, picks her must-have tunes and accoutrements for her imagined exile.

Richard Hammond’s Engineering Connections (BBC2, 20.30-21.20) Replaces James May’s Big Ideas. It’s only a matter of time before we get Jeremy Clarkson’s Throbbing Engine.

A better selection this week, as Horizon returns and the BBC’s Darwin season kicks off with documentaries from Armand Leroi and David Attenborough.

Monday

How Do They Do It? (FIVE, 19.30-20.00) Robert Llewellyn visits Drax Power Station in Yorkshire.

Horizon (BBC2, 21.00-22.00) Welcome return for the Beeb’s flagship science show. The first in the series examines why some people can eat whatever they like without gaining weight.

What Darwin Didn’t Know (BBC4, 21.00-22.30) Imperial’s Armand Leroi looks at developments in evolutionary theory since Darwin’s time. Repeated tomorrow at 19.30.

Tuesday

Home Planet (Radio 4, 15.00-15.30) Listeners’ questions about the natural world.

Wednesday

The secret life of elephants (BBC1, 21.00-22.00)

Thursday

Material World (Radio 4, 16.30-17.00) evolutionary psychology and social Darwinism.

Leading Edge (Radio 4, 21-21.30) The latest scientific stories.

Sunday

James May’s Big Ideas (BBC2, 18.00-19.00) May investigates some really alternative energy sources.

Charles Darwin and the Tree of Life (BBC1, 21.00-22.00) David Attenborough presents his personal views on Darwin’s ideas and their relevance today.

More slim pickings this week, I’m afraid.

Monday

How do they do it? (FIVE, 19.30-20.00) How rubber bands are made, bells forged and ice channels kept clear for shipping. Three skills we could all benefit from mastering.

Science and Islam (BBC4, 21.00-22.00) In the concluding part, Jim Al-Khalili explores how Islamic ideas permeated into the West, and modern views of science in Islamic countries.

Tuesday

Home Planet (Radio 4, 15.00-15.30) Listeners’ questions about the natural world.

Case Notes (Radio 4, 21.00-21.30) Diseases spread by insects.

Wednesday

The secret life of elephants (BBC1, 21.00-22.00)

Thursday

Material World (Radio 4, 16.30-17.00) A look at particle accelerators

Leading Edge (Radio 4, 21-21.30) The latest scientific stories.

Sunday

Something Understood (Radio 4, 23.30-00.00) What are the questions that science can and cannot answer?

Some decent documentaries lined up in the first half of the week – check out the highlights.

As always, wildlife/nature programmes are highlighted in green, whereas science shows are in black.

Monday

7.30 How Do They Do It?, FIVE. The technology behind the Thames Barrier (other documentaries tonight cover the Thames police [10.35, BBC1] and the Tube [10.20, BBC4]).

HIGHLIGHT 8.00 The Genius of Charles Darwin, C4. It’s that Dawkins fellow again, with the first in a three-part series on everyone’s favourite blogger naturalist.

8.00 The Gadget Show, FIVE.

HIGHLIGHT 9.00 Peer Review in the Dock, Radio 4. A discussion of peer review on a mainstream radio station? Hooray for the BBC!

Tuesday

3.00 Home Planet, Radio 4.

8.00 Don’t Die Young, BBC2. An anatomist presents a guide to the liver and intestines.

8.00 The Sky at Night, BBC4. An Arizona telescope.

HIGHLIGHT 9.00 Voyages of discovery, BBC4. An 18th Century mission to discover the shape of the Earth.

9.00 Case Notes, Radio 4.

Wednesday

8.00 Lost Land of the Jaguar, BBC1. Fauna of the Guyanan jungle.

8.00 Inside the Ethics Committee, Radio 4. Vivienne Parry chairs a discussion about medical ethics.

Thursday

4.30 Material World, Radio 4. A UK project to drill beneath Antarctica.

%{color:green}8.00 A Turtle’s Guide to the Pacific, BBC2. %

9.30 Lab Rats, BBC2. Penultimate episode of the lab-based comedy.

Friday

Nothing to see here.

Saturday

Nor here.

Sunday

6.00 Earth: The Power of the Planet, BBC2. Another rerun of the geog series.

News The BBC have announced a major ‘season’ to coincide with next year’s Darwin200 celebrations. David Attenborough, Andrew Marr, Jimmy Doherty and others will celebrate the great naturalist (and Nature Network blogger) throughout winter 08/09.

On with the listings. As usual, wildlife/nature programmes are highlighted in green.

Monday

7.30 How Do They Do It?, FIVE. Making fireworks and extracting limestone (not at the same time).

7.30 The Sky At Night, BBC4. The Phoenix Mars lander.

8.00 The Gadget Show, FIVE.

8.00 The Life of Mammals, BBC4. Monkeys.

8.30 Panorama, BBC1. Increasing privatisation on the NHS.

9.00 HIGHLIGHT Science in the Making, Radio 4. Why should we believe scientists? Or, rephrasing for the audience, why should people believe us?

Tuesday

11.00 World on the Move, Radio 4. Animal migrations.

3.00 Home Planet, Radio 4. Environmental chat.

7.30 Extraordinary Animals, FIVE. Rats that can smell TB, and other oddness.

8.00 Tiger: Spy in the Jungle, BBC4. Attenborough and big cats.

9.00 All in the Mind, Radio 4. Psychology show.

9.30 NHS at 60: The Cost of Health, Radio 4. Similar to yesterday’s Panorama.

Wednesday

11.00 In Living Memory, Radio 4. The scientists who tracked down the cause of Legionnaire’s Disease, first identified in 1976.

4.30 All in the Mind, Radio 4.

8.00 Tiger: Spy in the Jungle, BBC4.

9.00 World on the Move, Radio 4.

Thursday

4.30 Material World, Radio 4. Metabolomics.

8.00 Tiger: Spy in the Jungle, BBC4.

8.00 NHS at 60: National Doctors, Radio 4. The changing role of doctors during the NHS’s 60 years.

9.00 Leading Edge, Radio 4.

9.00 Life and Death on the NHS, ITV1. Yet another programme to mark 60 years of free health care.

Friday

11.00 The Eureka Years, Radio 4. Adam Hart-Davis starts a new history-of-science slot with a look at the role of the coffee house on English Enlightenment science.

3.00 Shared Earth, Radio 4.

Football, Wimbledon, Glastonbury, Big Brother. It’s slim pickings for science broadcasts this week—but watch out for an unusual guest appearance on Saturday. As always, wildlife/nature programmes are highlighted in green, whereas science shows are in black.

Monday

3.45 Cosmic Quest, Radio 4. Radio astronomy.

7.30 How Do They Do It?, FIVE. Turning Cold War technology into household appliances.

8.00 The Gadget Show, FIVE.

9.00 The Life of Mammals, BBC4. Aquatic mammals.

9.00 Hitting the Buffers, Radio 4. How does the human body cope with excess speed?

Tuesday

3.45 Cosmic Quest, Radio 4. Black holes.

9.00 All in the Mind, Radio 4. Brain research.

Wednesday

3.45 Cosmic Quest, Radio 4. Quasars.

9.00 World on the Move, Radio 4.

Thursday

3.45 Cosmic Quest, Radio 4. Dark matter.

4.30 Material World, Radio 4. Malaria research.

9.00 Leading Edge, Radio 4.

9.00 Britain’s Lost world, BBC1. Kate Humble, relieved of Springwatch duty, heads off to St Kilda, one of Britain’s most isolated places.

Friday

3.00 Shared Earth, Radio 4.

3.45 Cosmic Quest, Radio 4. Anthropic principles.

7.30 Britain’s Lost world, BBC1.

9.00 Cosmic Quest, Radio 4. Omnibus edition.

Saturday

7.10 Dr Who, BBC1. Special guest star Richard Dawkins opines his way through time and space.

News: This Autumn, BBC2 will screen a major new series about the world’s watery bits. Called, simply, ‘Oceans’ the eight-part series sends divers, naturalists and scientists to some of the most inaccessible parts of the planet. Why am I telling you now? Well, the show’s website launches today, with daily snippets from the team’s Arctic expedition, all ‘unpolished, raw and as it happens’. Because polishing a polar bear is never a good idea. Nature reporter Quirin Schiermeier is also in the high Arctic, sailing with a team of climate researchers. His diary can be found on the In the Field blog.

Now, on with the listings. As always, wildlife/nature programmes are highlighted in green, whereas science shows are in black.

Monday

3.45 HIGHLIGHT Cosmic Quest, Radio 4. Heather cooper moves the series onto Galileo.

8.00 Springwatch, BBC2. %

8.00 The Gadget Show, FIVE. %{color:green}8.00 The Life of Mammals, BBC4. Carnivores.

9.00 Frontiers, Radio 4. The worldwide decline in amphibians.

Tuesday

3.45 Cosmic Quest, Radio 4. Newton’s turn under the microscope.

7.30 Extraordinary Animals, FIVE. A cat that plays the piano. Yes, I know, it’s not science. But a cat! That plays the piano! Come on.

%{color:green}8.00 Springwatch, BBC2. %

Wednesday

3.45 Cosmic Quest, Radio 4. Edmund Halley’s star rises.

6.30 Springwatch, BBC2. %

6.30 Double Science, Radio 4. Comedy about two science teaches trapped in a college that specialises in drama.

7.30 Massive Speed, FIVE. Chris Barrie reveals his favourite trains. Gets a listing here as today marks the 200th anniversary of Richard Trevithick’s ‘Catch Me Who Can’ passenger steam train, which ran in a loop where UCL now stands. More on that on Wednesday.

8.00 The Moral Maze, Radio 4. A special edition from the Cheltenham Science Festival.

%{color:green}9.00 World on the Move, Radio 4.

Thursday

3.45 Cosmic Quest, Radio 4. William Herschel uncovers Uranus.

4.30 Material World, Radio 4. Iodine in seaweed.

%{color:green}8.00 Springwatch, BBC2. %

9.00 Leading Edge, Radio 4.

Friday

3.00 Shared Earth, Radio 4.

3.45 Cosmic Quest, Radio 4. The discovery of the asteroid belt.

9.00 Cosmic Quest, Radio 4. Omnibus edition.

Saturday

5.30 Wild China, BBC2. Chinese wildlife.

Sunday

9.00 Wild China, BBC2.

Wildlife/nature programmes are highlighted in green, whereas science shows are in black.

Monday

8.00 The Gadget Show, FIVE.

8.00 The Life of Mammals, BBC4.

9.00 100 Years of Wildlife Films, BBC4.

9.00 Frontiers, Radio 4. The British Antarctic Survey.

Tuesday

7.30 Extraordinary Animals, FIVE. Can dogs count?

9.00 Case Notes, Radio 4. Robot surgery.

Wednesday

4.00 Thinking Allowed, Radio 4.

4.30 Case Notes, Radio 4. Repeat.

6.30 Double Science, Radio 4. Comedy about two science teaches trapped in a college that specialises in drama.

9.00 World on the Move, Radio 4. Satellite-linked geese migrate across the Arctic.

Thursday

4.30 Material World, Radio 4.

9.00 Costing the Earth, Radio 4. All those gadgets we love are killing the planet.

10.30 The Big Bang Theory, C4. Neverending comedy series about physics nerds.

Friday

3.00 Costing the Earth, Radio 4. Repeat.

Saturday and Sunday

Wildlife/nature programmes are highlighted in green, whereas science shows are in black.

Monday

7.30 How Do They Do It?, FIVE. Fireproofing sofas and other goods.

8.00 The Gadget Show, FIVE.

8.00 Dispatches, C4. Analysing the dubious claims of beauty creams.

8.00 The Life of Mammals, BBC4.

9.00 The Dinosaur Mummy, C4. An exceptionally well preserved fossil is found in North Dakota.

9.00 Frontiers, Radio 4. The potential of microgeneration of energy from unlikely power sources.

Tuesday

7.30 Jaguar Adventure With Nigel Marven, FIVE. The cat, not the car.

9.00 Case Notes, Radio 4.

Wednesday

4.00 Thinking Allowed, Radio 4.

4.30 Case Notes, Radio 4. The benefits versus the risks of sunshine.

6.30 Double Science, Radio 4. Comedy about two science teaches trapped in a college that specialises in drama.

8.00 Natural World, BBC2. Superfish, whatever they are.

9.00 World on the Move, Radio 4. Satellite-linked geese migrate across the Arctic.

Thursday

4.30 Material World, Radio 4. The evolution of TB.

9.00 Costing the Earth, Radio 4. Why ‘ecotourism’ is bad, bad, bad.

10.30 The Big Bang Theory, C4. Neverending comedy series about physics nerds.

Friday

7.00 Wildlife On Two, BBC2. Giant otters.

Saturday

7.00 Wild China, BBC2. Chinese wildlife.

10.15 HIGHLIGHT Embryology: The Science and Ethics, Radio 4. Colin Blakemore and Archbishop Peter Smith, in a timely debate.

Sunday

7.00 Wild China, BBC2.

Wildlife/nature programmes are highlighted in green, whereas science shows are in black.

Monday

7.30 How Do They Do It?, FIVE. Keeping the Thames free of rubbish.

8.00 The Gadget Show, FIVE. Robotic mops? The mind boggles.

9.00 Am I Normal?, BBC2. A scientific look at religious experiences.

Tuesday

7.30 Jaguar Adventure With Nigel Marven, FIVE. The cat, not the car.

8.00 Life in Cold Blood, BBC4. Yet another repeat.

9.00 Case Notes, Radio 4.

Wednesday

4.00 Thinking Allowed, Radio 4.

4.30 Case Notes, Radio 4.

8.00 Life in Cold Blood, BBC4. Yet another repeat.

9.00 World on the Move, Radio 4. Animal migrations.

Thursday

4.30 Material World, Radio 4. The post-war boom in UK science and technology – ties in with the Science Museum’s new Dan Dare exhibition.

9.00 Should I Smoke Dope?, BBC3. Medical investigation into the maligned weed.

9.00 Costing the Earth, Radio 4. Will we meet targets for energy-efficient homes?

Friday

3.00 Costing the Earth, Radio 4. Repeat.

8.00 The Sharkman, FIVE. A man who pets great white sharks.

Saturday

Sunday

8.05 Flood, ITV1. Drama about a breach in the Thames Barrier.

Wildlife/nature programmes are highlighted in green, whereas science shows are in black.

Monday

3.45 HIGHLIGHT Hunting the Beagle, Radio 4. Documentary about the search for Darwin’s ship. Continues throughout the week.

7.30 How Do They Do It?, FIVE. Making banknotes and the re-emergence of falconry.

8.00 The Gadget Show, FIVE.

8.30 Panorama, BBC1. Is our health at risk from low-quality air on aeroplanes?

9.00 Am I Normal?, BBC2. Self-harming, and why people do it.

9.00 How to Build a Cathedral, BBC4. Medieval engineering.

9.00 The Chemistry of Addiction, Radio 4.

10.00 The Doctor Who Hears Voices, C4. A doctor…who hears voices.

Tuesday

3.45 Hunting the Beagle, Radio 4.

7.30 Jaguar Adventure With Nigel Marven, FIVE. The cat, not the car.

9.00 Case Notes, Radio 4.

Wednesday

3.45 Hunting the Beagle, Radio 4.

4.00 Thinking Allowed, Radio 4.

8.00 Natural World, BBC2. Tanzanian hyenas

8.00 Megastructures, FIVE. Engineering behind the Millau Bridge in France.

9.00 World on the Move, Radio 4. Animal migrations.

Thursday

3.45 Hunting the Beagle, Radio 4.

4.30 Material World, Radio 4. Invisibility research, once in the realms of sci-fi, is now a serious military endeavour.

9.00 Catching Up With Cancer, Radio 4.

Friday

3.45 Hunting the Beagle, Radio 4.

8.00 The Man Who Lives With Bears, FIVE. Nutter.

9.00 Stephen Fry and the Guttenberg Press, BBC2.

Saturday

Sunday

5.00 Lemurs of Madagascar, BBC2.

6.00 Natural World, BBC2. Repeat.

Wildlife/nature programmes are highlighted in green, whereas science shows are in black.

Monday

7.30 How Do They Do It?, FIVE. This week, how ‘do they do’ trees, cars and sweets?

8.00 The Gadget Show, FIVE.

9.00 Am I Normal?, BBC2. Addiction, and treatments for it.

9.00 Stephen Fry and the Gutenberg Press, BBC4. Remember when people used to read things on paper? Stephen Fry examines the invention that took print to the masses.

9.00 The Chemistry of Addiction, Radio 4.

Tuesday

7.30 Jaguar Adventure With Nigel Marven, FIVE. The cat, not the car.

8.00 Life in Cold Blood, BBC4. Repeat.

8.00 Big, Bigger, Biggest, FIVE. The engineering behind the aircraft carrier.

9.00 Case Notes, Radio 4.

Wednesday

4.00 Thinking Allowed, Radio 4.

8.00 Natural World, BBC2. Moose(s).

9.00 World on the Move, Radio 4. Animal migrations.

Thursday

4.30 Material World, Radio 4.

9.00 Catching Up With Cancer, Radio 4.

9.00 Inside the Medieval Mind, BBC4. Access to knowledge, Aquinas-style.

10.30 The Big Bang Theory, C4. Comedy.

Friday

7.00 Wildlife on 2, BBC2. Crocodiles.

Saturday

11.00 am HIGHLIGHT The Embryo Wars, Radio 4. The battle between religious and scientific lobbies over this touchy issue.

Sunday

4.05 Tiger – Spy in the Jungle, BBC1.

Wildlife/nature programmes are highlighted in green, whereas science shows are in black.

Monday

7.30 How Do They Do It?, FIVE. Inside the Drax power station.

8.00 The Gadget Show, FIVE.

8.00 The Sky At Night, BBC4. Focus on the Ulysses and Soho sun probes.

9.00 HIGHLIGHT Africalab, Radio 4. Can science help kickstart African development?

Tuesday

8.00 Life in Cold Blood, BBC4. Repeat.

8.00 Big, Bigger, Biggest, FIVE. The engineering behind the world’s longest suspension bridge.

9.00 Case Notes, Radio 4.

Wednesday

4.00 Thinking Allowed, Radio 4.

8.00 Natural World, BBC2. Reindeer.

9.00 World on the Move, Radio 4. Animal migrations.

Thursday

4.30 Material World, Radio 4. Crop genetics.

8.00 The Investigation, Radio 4. Are statins being over-prescribed?

8.30 Analysis, Radio 4. Chinese environmentalism.

9.00 Leading Edge, Radio 4.

10.30 The Big Bang Theory, C4. Comedy.

Friday

8.00 How Do You Sleep Tonight, ITV1. The causes and cures of insomnia.

Saturday

8.10 Earth: The Power Of The Planet, BBC4. Repeat.

Sunday

8.00 Tiger – Spy in the Jungle, BBC1.

Wildlife/nature programmes are highlighted in green, whereas science shows are in black.

Monday

7.30 How Do They Do It?, FIVE. Includes a trip to the Whitechapel bell foundry to see ‘how they do it’.

8.00 The Gadget Show, FIVE. Drool over the MacBook Air. Not literally.

8.00 HIGHLIGHT Rise of Lifestyle Nutritionists, Radio 4. Ben Goldacre exposes the uses and abuses of fad diets and supplements.

9.00 Alternative Therapies, BBC2. Kathy Sykes checks out meditation.

9.00 HIGHLIGHT Africalab, Radio 4. Can science help kickstart African development?

Tuesday

8.00 HIGHLIGHT Big, Bigger, Biggest, FIVE. The technology behind big engineering – tonight, the Burj Dubai, soon to be the world’s tallest manmade structure.

8.00 Inside the British Council, Radio 4. Celebrating 75 years of the institution.

9.00 Case Notes, Radio 4. The thyroid gland.

Wednesday

4.00 Thinking Allowed, Radio 4.

8.00 Natural World, BBC2. Our perception of wolves.

9.00 World on the Move, Radio 4. Animal migrations.

Thursday

4.30 Material World, Radio 4. What do we mean by a kilogram?

8.00 10 Things You Didn’t Know About Volcanoes, BBC2. (Unless you saw it last time.)

8.00 The Investigation, Radio 4. Are statins being over-prescribed?

8.30 Analysis, Radio 4. Suggests we should accept climate change and work out ways to live with it.

9.00 Leading Edge, Radio 4.

9.30 In Our Time, Radio 4. It’s four in a row for Radio 4 tonight, with a look at Newton’s laws of motion.

10.30 The Big Bang Theory, C4. Comedy.

Friday

Saturday

6.20 HIGHLIGHT Dr Who, BBC1. OK, it’s not really science. But, hey.

Sunday

1.30 HIGHLIGHT A Nasty Case of the Vapours, Radio 4. Why did so many Victorian fictional characters die after being caught in the rain?

2.45 Tony Hawks Gets Lost In The…, Radio 4. Neuroscientists speculate about why we lose things so often.

7.00 Steven Hawking: Master of the Universe, C4.

Wildlife/nature programmes are highlighted in green, whereas science shows are in black.

Tuesday

3.00 Home Planet, Radio 4.

8.00 HIGHLIGHT Big, Bigger, Biggest, FIVE. New series looking at the technology behind big engineering – beginning with Heathrow Terminal 5.

8.00 File on 4, Radio 4. The platinum market.

9.00 Horizon, BBC2. Uncharacteristically doom-devoid instalment looking at memory.

Wednesday

4.00 Thinking Allowed, Radio 4.

8.00 Natural World, BBC2. Namib elephants.

8.00 Storm Chasers, FIVE. Extreme meteorology.

9.00 World on the Move, Radio 4. Animal migrations.

Thursday

4.30 Material World, Radio 4. Britain’s new supercomputer, at the Edinburgh International Science Festival.

8.00 10 Things You Didn’t Know About Avalanches, BBC2.

9.00 Leading Edge, Radio 4.

10.30 The Big Bang Theory, C4. Comedy.

Friday and Saturday

Sunday

8.00 Steven Hawking: Master of the Universe, C4. Gags about He-Man not welcome.

Wildlife/nature programmes are highlighted in green, whereas science shows are in black.

Monday

8.00 Unknown Africa, BBC2. Voyage through the Central African Republic.

9.00 Alternative Therapies, BBC2. Kathy Sykes takes a scientific look at hypnosis in the first part of this new series.

Tuesday

3.00 Home Planet, Radio 4.

9.00 Horizon, BBC2. The modern grave robbers, who trade in illegal body parts.

Wednesday

4.00 Thinking Allowed, Radio 4.

8.00 Bill Oddie’s Wild Side, BBC2. Puffins and dragonflies.

9.00 World on the Move, Radio 4. Animal migrations.

9.00 The Girls With Too Much Skin, FIVE. Latest in Five’s too many/too few series of medical curiosities.

Thursday

4.30 Material World, Radio 4. Neuroscientists who study the perception of sound.

8.00 10 Things You Didn’t Know About Earthquakes, BBC2. Number 11, that they do happen in the UK.

9.00 Leading Edge, Radio 4.

10.30 The Big Bang Theory, C4. Comedy.

Friday and Saturday

No science, go eat chocolate.

Sunday

6.10 My Life With Animals, With Simon King, BBC2.

Wildlife/nature programmes are highlighted in green, whereas science shows are in black.

Monday

7.30 How Do They Do It?, FIVE. A flatpack supertanker and the secrets of recycling.

8.00 Unknown Africa, BBC2. Flying foxes of the Comoros.

9.00 HIGHLIGHT Stephen Hawking: Master of the Universe, C4.

Tuesday

11.00am World on the Move, Radio 4. Animal migrations.

3.00 Home Planet, Radio 4.

9.00 Am I Normal?, Radio 4. Geneticist Robert Plomin discusses dyslexia.

Wednesday

4.00 Thinking Allowed, Radio 4.

4.30 Am I Normal?, Radio 4. Repeat.

8.00 Bill Oddie’s Wild Side, BBC2. Bill gets wild with a beaver.

9.00 World on the Move, Radio 4. Repeat.

Thursday

4.30 Material World, Radio 4. The next generation of batteries.

8.00 10 Things You Didn’t Know About Tsunamis, BBC2. Presumptuous geology documentary with Iain Stewart.

9.00 Leading Edge, Radio 4.

10.00 The Big Bang Theory, C4. Comedy about a couple of physics nerds attempting to engage with the real world.

Friday

3.00 Shared Earth, Radio 4.

7.00 The Great Green Fuel Gamble?, BBC1.

7.30 Massive Speed, FIVE. The oxymoronically titled show looks at the technology behind the attack helicopter.

Saturday

5.10 Unknown Africa, BBC2. Repeat.

5.40 Wildlife on Two, BBC2. Cephalopods.

Wildlife/nature programmes are highlighted in green, whereas science shows are in black.

Monday

7.30 How Do They Do It?, FIVE. The technology behind the Thames Barrier (as featured in the Nature Network London banner).

9.00 HIGHLIGHT Life in Cold Blood, BBC1. Snakes and Atters.

9.00 Secret Science, Radio 4. The Health Protection Agency at Porton Down.

11.20 The Satellite Story, BBC2.

Tuesday

11.00am World on the Move, Radio 4. Animal migrations.

3.00 Home Planet, Radio 4.

9.00 Horizon, BBC2. How healthy are health foods?

9.00 Case Notes, Radio 4. Fainting.

Wednesday

4.00 Thinking Allowed, Radio 4.

4.30 Case Notes, Radio 4. Repeat.

9.00 World on the Move, Radio 4. Repeat.

Thursday

4.30 HIGHLIGHT Material World, Radio 4. Andrew Bushby, director of the Nano Vision centre at London’s Queen Mary University, and Lucy Collinson, head of electron microscopy at Cancer Research.

9.00 Leading Edge, Radio 4.

9.00 The Sharkman, FIVE.

10.00 The Big Bang Theory, C4. Comedy about a couple of physics nerds attempting to engage with the real world.

10.300 Bizarre ER, BBC3. Keeping alive a transplanted tongue…using leeches.

Friday

3.00 Shared Earth, Radio 4.

Saturday

Sunday

4.15 Secret Wilderness Japan, BBC2.

4.10 Monkey Life, FIVE.

6.00 Life in Cold Blood, BBC1. Repeat.

7.00 The Sharkman, FIVE. Repeat.

Wildlife/nature programmes are highlighted in green, whereas science shows are in black.

Monday

7.30 How Do They Do It?, FIVE. Ever wondered how a pencil is made? Me neither.

9.00 HIGHLIGHT Life in Cold Blood, BBC1. Lizards in the limelight.

9.00 {color:red} HIGHLIGHT Secret Science, Radio 4. The National Institute of Biological Standards and Control, and what they do.

11.20 The Dodo’s Guide to Surviving Extinction, BBC2.

Tuesday

11.00am World on the Move, Radio 4. Animal migrations.

3.00 Home Planet, Radio 4.

7.30 Extraordinary Animals, FIVE. The logical sealion.

8.00 The Bearman, FIVE. A New Hampshire ursinophile.

9.00 Horizon, BBC2. Brian Wilcox investigates longevity.

9.00 The Girl With Eight Limbs, C4.

9.00 Case Notes, Radio 4. Liver disease.

9.30 Bizarre ER, BBC3. OK, this one is only on the fringes of scientific interest, but I couldn’t resist inclusion for this reason: “…including a student who has trapped his testicles under a 60kg gearbox”.

Wednesday

4.00 Thinking Allowed, Radio 4.

4.30 Case Notes, Radio 4. Repeat.

8.00 Bill Oddie’s Wild Side, BBC2. Bill has corncrakes.

9.00 The Boys Joined At The Head, FIVE. Anything C4 can do (see Wednesday)…

9.00 World on the Move, Radio 4. Repeat.

9.30 The Jet Stream And Us, BBC4.

Thursday

4.30 Material World, Radio 4. The promise of solar power.

9.00 Leading Edge, Radio 4. Geoff Watts at the AAAS.

9.30 HIGHLIGHT In Our Time, Radio 4. Melvyn Bragg vacates his comfort zone to tackle the multiverse. Guests include Sir Martin Rees.

10.00 The Big Bang Theory, C4. New comedy about a couple of physics nerds attempting to engage with the real world.

Friday

3.00 Shared Earth, Radio 4.

8.00 Natural World, BBC2. Not so natural this week, as the programme looks at Ham, the space chimp.

Saturday

5.40 Natural World, BBC2. Repeat.

6.30 The Great British Parakeet Invasion, BBC2. How the exotic bird has colonised southern England, particularly in the London suburbs.

6.40 Wild Scilly, BBC2. Natural history of the islands.

8.00 {color:red} HIGHLIGHT Archive Hour, Radio 4. How science broadcasting has evolved.

Sunday

4.10 Polar Bear Adventures, FIVE.

5.35 Life in Cold Blood, BBC1. Repeat.

Wildlife/nature programmes are highlighted in green, whereas science shows are in black.

Monday

7.00 The Twenties in Colour, BBC2. Documentary about Albert Kahn’s colour photography system.

7.30 How Do They Do It?, FIVE. Fibre optics.

9.00 HIGHLIGHT Life in Cold Blood, BBC1. Attenborough ponders how amphibians first took to dry land.

9.00 Saving the Manx Shearwater, Radio 4. Bird conservation.

Tuesday

3.00 Home Planet, Radio 4.

7.30 Extraordinary Animals, FIVE. A dog who predicts death.

8.00 Nature Shock, FIVE. When Jellyfish attack.

9.00 Horizon, BBC2. The surprising factors affecting decision making.

9.00 Medicine Men Go Wild, C4. Hallucinogenic plants of Peru.

9.00 Case Notes, Radio 4. Gene therapy for cystic fibrosis.

Wednesday

4.00 Thinking Allowed, Radio 4.

4.30 Case Notes, Radio 4. Repeat.

8.00 Bill Oddie’s Wild Side, BBC2.

9.00 The Great Game in a Cold Climate, Radio 4. The effects of global warming on a small Hudson Bay community.

Thursday

4.30 Material World, Radio 4. An Antarctic volcano.

9.00 Leading Edge, Radio 4.

10.00 HIGHLIGHT The Big Bang Theory, C4. New comedy about a couple of physics nerds attempting to engage with the real world.

Friday

3.00 Shared Earth, Radio 4.

8.00 Natural World, BBC2. The secrets of badgers.

Saturday

5.40 Natural World, BBC2. Repeat.

Sunday

11.15am Desert Island Discs, Radio 4. Prof Martin Evans, winner of the 2007 Nobel Prize for Medicine, reveals his favourite music.

6.00 Life in Cold Blood, BBC1. Repeat.

9.00 The Jet Stream And Us, BBC4.

10.00 Earth: The Power of the Planet, BBC4.

Wildlife/nature programmes are highlighted in green, whereas science shows are in black.

Tuesday

3.00 Home Planet, Radio 4.

7.30 Extraordinary Animals, FIVE. The chimp with a memory for numbers.

8.00 Nature Shock, FIVE. Who, or what, would murder a dolphin?

9.00 HIGHLIGHT Horizon, BBC2. The ubiquitous Brian Cox weighs in on gravity…by firing a laser at the moon.

9.00 Medicine Men Go Wild, C4. Traditional medicines from Asia.

9.00 Case Notes, Radio 4. The side effects of medication.

Wednesday

4.00 Thinking Allowed, Radio 4.

4.30 Case Notes, Radio 4. Repeat.

8.00 Bill Oddie’s Wild Side, BBC2.

9.00 HIGHLIGHT Tulips On The Moon, Radio 4. Horticulture in space.

Thursday

4.30 HIGHLIGHT Material World, Radio 4. Quentin Cooper on systems biology.

7.30 How Do They Do It?, FIVE. Recycling Cold War military stuff into mod cons.

9.00 Costing the Earth, Radio 4.

Friday

3.00 Costing the Earth, Radio 4. Repeat.

8.00 Natural World, BBC2. The wildlife of Ellesmere Island in Canada.

Saturday

Sunday

4.55 An Otter In The Family, BBC2.

5.25 Search For Mountain Lions, BBC2.

5.55 Natural World, BBC2. Repeat.

Wildlife/nature programmes are highlighted in green, whereas science shows are in black.

Monday

7.30 The Sky at Night, BBC4. A (cautious) look at the sun.

9.00 Fascinating Deaths, Radio 4. Piecing together the final moments of a mammoth, who died on the Norfolk coast 700 millennia ago.

11.20 Atom, BBC2. Rerun of the BBC4 show with Jim Al-Khalili

Tuesday

11.00am A Life With…, Radio 4. Fly expert Max Levitan of Mount Sinai Medical Center on how species adapt to climate change.

3.00 Home Planet, Radio 4.

7.30 Extraordinary animals, FIVE. Can we communicate with dolphins? %

%{color:green}8.00 Nature Shock, FIVE. When bears kill other bears.

8.00 MUST SEE Parallel Worlds, Parallel Lives, BBC4. Outstanding documentary following Mark Everett, front man of the band Eels, as he learns about the work of his father Hugh – proponent of parallel universes.

9.00 Horizon, BBC2. The effects of sensory depravation.

9.00 Medicine Men Go Wild, C4. The use of medicine in tribal cultures.

9.00 Case Notes, Radio 4. Dr Mark Porter talks to Tom Sanders, a nutrition expert from Kings College, London.

Wednesday

4.00 Thinking Allowed, Radio 4.

4.30 Case Notes, Radio 4. Repeat.

8.00 Bill Oddie’s Wild Side, BBC2.

9.00 Inside Intuition, Radio 4. Mark Lythgoe from UCL Institute of Child Health on the merits of intuition.

Thursday

4.30 Material World, Radio 4. How bacteria communicate (being too small to use Nature Network).

9.00 Costing the Earth, Radio 4. The responsibilities of consumer and retailer in combating climate change.

9.30 In Our Time, Radio 4. Melvyn Bragg talks plate tectonics.

Friday

3.00 Costing the Earth, Radio 4. Repeat.

7.30 Massive Speed, FIVE. The oxymoronic series looks at the evolution of the train.

8.00 Megastructures, FIVE. The engineering challenges behind Dubai’s artificial islands, shaped like a map of the world.

8.00 Natural World, BBC2. Simon King goes looking for Indian tigers.

Saturday

Sunday

5.00 An Otter in the Family, BBC2. Rerun of Philippa Forrester’s close encounters with the aquatic mammal.

5.30 Killer Whales in the UK?, BBC2.

6.10 Natural World, BBC2. Repeat.

From this week, wildlife/nature programmes are shown in green, whereas science shows are in black.

Monday

3.45 Fungi: The Fifth Kingdom, Radio 4. Includes interviews with mycologists from Kew.

7.30 Elephant diaries, BBC1.

7.30 The Sky at Night, BBC4. The Perseid meteor shower.

9.00 The Advance of the Giant Crabs, Radio 4.

Tuesday

3.00 Home Planet, Radio 4.

3.45 Fungi: The Fifth Kingdom, Radio 4.

4.00 Elementary Dear Listener, Radio 4. Scientific breakthroughs that have influenced police work.

7.30 Extraordinary Animals, FIVE. Superbrainy primates.

7.30 The Sky at Night, BBC4. Artificial satellites.

8.00 Nature Shock, FIVE. When elephants go bad.

9.00 Case Notes, Radio 4.

9.00 Horizon, BBC2. Michael Portillo tries out various forms of capital punishment. You read that correctly. Watch a clip here.

Wednesday

3.45 Fungi: The Fifth Kingdom, Radio 4.

4.00 Thinking Allowed, Radio 4.

8.00 Bill Oddie’s Wild Side, BBC2.

9.00 Britain’s Sputnik, Radio 4. Half a century ago, British scientists announced they could extract unlimited energy from the sea. What happened?

Thursday

3.45 Fungi: The Fifth Kingdom, Radio 4.

4.30 Material World, Radio 4. When fungi attack.

7.30 How Do They Do It?, FIVE. Includes a look at hovercraft and the science of trainers.

9.00 Costing the Earth, Radio 4. The GM debate is back with a vengeance.

Friday

3.00 Costing the Earth, Radio 4. Repeat.

3.45 Fungi: The Fifth Kingdom, Radio 4.

7.30 Elephant diaries, BBC1.

8.00 Natural World, BBC2. Dartmoor’s woods and wildlife.

Saturday

Sunday

6.10 Natural World, BBC2. Repeat.

9.00 Ten Things You Didn’t Know About Earthquakes, BBC4.

10.00 Earth, the Power of the Planet, BBC4. Ice.

Monday

7.00 Wildlife on Two, BBC2. Black bears in Canada.

7.15 Polar Bear Adventures With Nigel Marven, FIVE. More bears in Canada. Some kind of ursine ratings war?

8.00 The Gadget Show, FIVE. Just in time for Christmas shopping.

Tuesday

7.15 Polar Bear Adventures With Nigel Marven, FIVE.

8.00 Columbia’s Final Flight: The True Story, FIVE. Documentary about the 2003 shuttle disaster.

9.00 All In The Mind, Radio 4. Psychology show.

11.20 The Martians and Us, BBC2. The origins of British sci-fi.

Wednesday

7.15 Polar Bear Adventures With Nigel Marven, FIVE.

9.00 Frontiers, Radio 4. The reliability of forensics.

11.20 The Martians and Us, BBC2. More British sci-fi.

Thursday

11.20 The Martians and Us, BBC2.

3.15 Check-up, Radio 4. Health phone-in.

4.30 Material World, Radio 4. Voice recognition.

8.30 In Business, Radio 4. Inside the Palo Alto labs of Xerox.

9.00 The Switching Point, Radio 4. Epigenetics.

9.30 In Our Time, Radio 4. Melvyn Bragg looks at early medicine, and the four humours theory.

Friday

7.15 Polar Bear Adventures With Nigel Marven, FIVE.

8.00 Penguin Adventures With Nigel Marven, FIVE. This guy gets around.

Saturday

7.35 Polar Bear Adventures With Nigel Marven, FIVE.

Sunday

3.45 An Otter In The Family, BBC2. Cutesy nature programme.

4.20 Killer Whale Attack, FIVE. Not so cutesy nature programme.

Monday

7.00 Wildlife on Two, BBC2. Cane toads.

7.30 The Sky at Night, BBC4. Moore talks to Eugene Cernan, the last man on the moon.

7.30 Human Guinea Pigs, FIVE. More madcap experimentation.

8.00 The Gadget Show, FIVE.

8.30 Panorama, BBC1. The hard-hitting documentary programme turns its sights on anti-psychotic drugs.

9.00 Dispatches: Britain Under Water, C4. How strong are our flood defences?

Tuesday

7.30 Chris Barrie’s Massive Engines, FIVE. Tanks.

9.00 All in the Mind, Radio 4. Psychology show.

9.00 Earth: The Power of the Planet, BBC2. The past, present and future of ice on Earth.

10.35 Don’t Miss The Richard Dimbleby Lecture 2007, BBC1. J Craig Venter talks about his work and its applications.

Wednesday

4.00 Thinking Allowed, Radio 4.

4.30 All in the Mind, Radio 4.

9.00 The Nature of Britain, BBC1. Last in series.

9.00 Frontiers, Radio 4. The Hubble Space Telescope, and the astronauts preparing for its final servicing mission.

10.00 The Nature of Britain, A User’s Guide, BBC4.

Thursday

3.00 Check Up, Radio 4. Health phone-in.

4.30 Material World, Radio 4. Quentin Cooper reveals the bright future for the LED.

9.00 Leading Edge, Radio 4.

Friday

7.30 Will Work For Nuts, FIVE. Last in series for the nutty nature show.

10.00 Doctors to Be, 20 Years On, BBC4. The anaesthetist’s tale.

Saturday

Sunday

2.45 Einstein’s Fiddle, Radio 4. The musical side of the great physicist.

6.00 Earth: The Power of the Planet, BBC2. Repeat.

7.00 The Nature of Britain, BBC2. Repeat.

7.10 Space Odyssey, the Robot Pioneers, BBC4. Our electronic emissaries to the final frontier.

8.00 The Satellite Story, BBC4.

9.00 The Sky at Night, BBC4.

Monday

7.00 Wildlife on Two, BBC2. Dolphins.

7.30 Helicopter Heroes, BBC1. The Yorkshire air ambulance.

7.30 Human Guinea Pigs, FIVE. Using leeches for medical use. I prefer lychees.

8.00 Megatumour, C4. How to remove an 11 stone tumour. Not to time your TV dinner for.

8.00 The Gadget Show, FIVE.

8.00 A Comet’s Tale, BBC4. The story of the celestial iceballs.

9.00 Parallel Worlds, Parallel lives, BBC4. Don’t miss The troubled singer and songwriter Mark Everett from Eels talk about his father Hugh Everett, who formulated the ‘many worlds hypothesis’ of parallel dimensions. Repeated at 11.40 (times may vary in alternative realities).

9.00 War of the Whales, Radio 4. Examining the resumption in Japanese whaling, supposedly in the name of science.

Tuesday

7.30 Chris Barrie’s Massive Engines, FIVE. Trains.

9.00 The Power of the Planet, BBC2. A look at the Earth’s atmosphere.

9.00 All in the Mind, Radio 4. Psychology programme.

Wednesday

4.00 Thinking Allowed, Radio 4.

4.30 All in the Mind, Radio 4. Repeat.

8.00 Parallel Worlds, a User’s Guide, BBC4. No, not literally.

9.00 Frontiers, Radio 4. Philip Ball looks at medical inventions.

9.00 The Nature of Britain, BBC1. The UK’s last remaining wildernesses are explored.

10.00 The Nature of Britain, a User’s Guide, BBC4.

11.05 Superhuman- Giants, ITV1.

Thursday

3.00 Check-up, Radio 4. Medical phone in.

4.30 Material World, Radio 4. When computers make the decisions.

9.00 Leading Edge, Radio 4.

Friday

7.30 Will Work For Nuts, FIVE. More offbeat wildlife insights. Where else can you watch a kestrel race a remote controlled car?

7.30 The Sky At Night, BBC4. Patrick Moore invites a few friends round to look at the Perseid meteor shower.

10.00 Doctors to be 20 Years On, BBC4.

Saturday

5.45 Impact Earth, FIVE. Saturday afternoon doom served up via a docudrama about a meteor impact.

Sunday

5.15 Shark Therapy, BBC2. To paraphrase one reader last week, the mind still boggles.

6.10 The Nature of Britain, BBC2. Repeat.

7.00 Earth: The Power of the Planet, BBC2. Repeat.

7.30 Hubble Telescope, BBC4. The celebrity telescope, in focus.

8.30 The Sky at Night, BBC4. Continuing the theme, Moore looks at the hundreds of manmade objects circling the earth.

9.00 A satellite’s tale, BBC4. The evening continues with another doc about the chunks of metal whizzing round above our heads.

Monday

7.30 Human Guinea Pigs, C5. Experiments in peripheral vision involving fish-slapping, and other bonkers science.

8.00 The Gadget Show, C5. A show…about gadgets.

8.00 The Genius of Photography, BBC4. The early years of the technology (repeat).

9.00 Nature, Radio 4. Exploring the trenches at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean.

Tuesday

7.30 Chris Barrie’s Massive Engines, C5. Motorbike engines.

9.00 Case notes, Radio 4. Medical commentary with Dr Mark Porter.

Wednesday

4.00 Thinking Allowed, Radio 4.

4.30 Case Notes, Radio 4.

9.00 The Sounds of Science, Radio 4.

9.00 The Nature of Britain, BBC1. Alan Titchmarsh teaches us about freshwater wildlife.

10.00 The Nature of Britain: A User’s Guide, BBC4. Chris Packham takes over where Titchmarsh left off.

Thursday

4.30 Material World, Radio 4. A look at pollination.

7.30 Chris Barrie’s Massive Engines, C5. Cranes.

7.30 Doctors To Be: Twenty Years On, BBC4. The life of an A&E consultant.

9.00 The Genius of Photography, BBC4. From 1918–1945.

9.00 Leading Edge, Radio 4. Geoff Watts talks science.

Friday

3.00 Shared Earth, Radio 4. The natural world…on your radio.

7.00 Britain’s Brilliant Ideas Boom, BBC2. How to make a mint from your ideas.

8.00 Diet Pill Danger, ITV1. Investigation into the health effects of slimming products.

8.00 Nick Baker’s Weird Creatures, C5. Chameleons.

10.00 7.30 Doctors To Be: Twenty Years On, BBC4. Repeat.

Saturday

There’s never anything sciencey on a Saturday.

Sunday

5.30 My Life with animals, BBC1. Retrospective with Steve Leonard.

6.10 The Nature of Britain, BBC1. Repeat.

7.30 The Sky At Night, BBC4. The Milky Way’s impending collision with the Andromeda Galaxy. Relax, it’s 2 billion years away.

8.00 Horizon, BBC4. The mass extinction 250 million years ago.

8.50 Horizon revisited, BBC4. The rise of the dinosaurs may have been caused by another impact event.

9.50 The Dodo’s Guide To Surviving Extinction, BBC4. More doom, but this time with helpful hints on how to avoid wipeout.

Monday

7.30 Street Doctors, BBC1.

7.30 Human Guinea Pigs, FIVE. New series in which people do silly things to their bodies in the name of science. Cool website.

9.00 Nature, Radio 4. Nope, it’s nothing to do with us. Instead, a film crew track a bunch of orang-utans.

Tuesday

7.30 Chris Barrie’s Massive Engines, FIVE.

9.00 Case Notes, Radio 4.

Wednesday

4.00 Thinking Aloud, Radio 4. Human behaviour with Laurie Taylor.

4.30 Case Notes, Radio 4. Repeat.

9.00 The Sounds of Science, Radio 4. Why are some sounds pleasing and others grating?

9.00 The Nature of Britain, BBC1. Titchmarsh observes otters and parakeets.

10.00 The Nature of Britain: A User’s Guide, BBC4. Companion show to the above.

Thursday

4.00 Material World, Radio 4.

7.30 Thames Wildlife Super Highway, ITV1.

7.30 Doctors To Be Twenty Years On, BBC4. A look at the career of a consultant surgeon.

8.00 Wiring the NHS, Radio 4.

9.00 The Genius of Photography, BBC4. The first episode of this new series looks at the period 1800–1914.

Friday

8.00 A Passion For Plants, BBC2. Nothing better for a Friday night than a touch of horticulture.

8.00 Nick Baker’s Weird Creatures, FIVE. Nick plays with a giant salamander known as the Hellbinder. Forget horticulture.

Saturday

Nothing. Go out and play.

Sunday

4.25 Arctic Giants, FIVE. When walruses attack.

5.00 My Life With Animals, BBC2.

6.10 The Nature of Britain, BBC2. Repeat.

Monday

7.00 James May’s 20th Century, BBC2. Last in series.

7.30 Street Doctor, BBC1. The GP’s travel to Bristol.

9.00 Windscale: Britain’s Biggest Nuclear Disaster, BBC2.

9.00 Nature, Radio 4. Are we becoming less concerned about wildlife?

Tuesday

7.30 Chris Barrie’s Massive Engines, FIVE. Passenger airlines.

9.00 HIV and Me, BBC2. Stephen Fry interviews those affected by the disease.

9.00 Case Notes, Radio 4. Alzheimer’s disease.

Wednesday

4.30 Case Notes, Radio 4. Repeat.

9.00 Ethnic Drugs: The Magic Bullet?, Radio 4. How pharma companies are making drugs specific to particular ethnic backgrounds.

9.00 The Nature of Britain, BBC1. New Alan Titchmarsh show.

10.00 The Nature of Britain: A User’s Guide, BBC4. Companion programme to the above.

Thursday

4.30 Material World, Radio 4. The peppered moth.

7.30 Thames Wildlife Superhighway, ITV1. The surprising diversity of life found in London’s river.

7.30 Chris Barrie’s Massive Engines, FIVE. Boat engines.

9.00 The Science Behind the Throne, Radio 4. Documentary examining the role of scientific advisors to the government.

Friday

3.00 Shared Earth, Radio 4. The natural world and how to preserve it.

8.00 Nick Baker’s Weird Creatures, FIVE. The tarsier, which looks a bit like gizmo from Gremlins.

Saturday

8.30 FILM: A Beautiful Mind, BBC2. Biopic of mathematician John Nash.

Sunday

6.00 The Nature of Britain, BBC1. Repeat.

8.00 The Nature of Britain: A User’s Guide, BBC4. Repeat.

Monday

7.00 James May’s 20th Century, BBC2. Technology of warfare.

7.30 Street Doctor, BBC1. GPs in London.

8.00 Poison on Your Plate, ITV1. Investigation into superbugs.

8.30 Panorama, BBC1. Give us your DNA – arguments about a national DNA database.

Tuesday

3.00 Home Planet, Radio 4.

7.00 Galapagos, BBC2. Including the geology of the islands.

7.30 Chris Barrie’s Massive Engines, FIVE.

9.00 Case Notes, Radio 4.

Wednesday

4.00 Thinking Aloud, Radio 4. Human behaviour.

4.30 Case Notes, Radio 4.

7.00 The Truth About Food, BBC2. Effects of food on the body.

Thursday

4.30 Material World, Radio 4. Zoology of the Amazon.

7.30 Chris Barrie’s Massive Engines, FIVE.

Friday

3.00 Costing the Earth, Radio 4. The pressure of population growth on the environment.

Saturday

6.00 The Blue Planet, BBC2.

Sunday

2.45 The preposterous Files, Radio 4. At the turn of the 20th century, a chemist battles the medical profession.

8.00 Everest: Doctors in the Death Zone, BBC2. The scientists currently scaling Everest.

11.30 Something Understood, Radio 4. Are we on the brink of a sixth mass extinction?

Monday

4.30 Click On, Radio 4. How satellite tracking helps natural history research.

7.00 James May’s 20th Century, BBC2.

7.30 Street Doctor, BBC1.

8.00 Heath Robinson: Suburban Subversive, BBC4.

9.00 Nature, the Sounds of Britain, Radio 4.

Tuesday

3.00 Home Planet, Radio 4.

7.30 Chris Barrie’s Massive Engines, FIVE.

Wednesday

11.00 The Eureka Years, Radio 4. Adam Hart-Davis on Einstein.

4.00 Thinking Aloud, Radio 4. A look at human behaviour.

9.00 Connect, Radio 4.

Thursday

4.30 Material World, Radio 4.

Saturday

6.30 Wildlife on Two, BBC2. The live of capuchins.

7.00 The Blue Planet, BBC2.

Sunday

6.00 The Blue Planet, BBC2.

Bit of a quiet week ahead, as broadcasters prepare for the change of season.

Monday

7.00 James May’s 20th Century, BBC2. A look at space technology.

7.30 Street Doctor, BBC1. GPs go to the Isle of Man.

9.00 Nature, Radio 4. The sounds of Britain’s oldest Nature reserve.

Tuesday

3.00 Home Planet, Radio 4.

7.30 The Cosmos: A Beginner’s Guide, BBC2. Last in series looks at exoplanets and the Cassini mission to Saturn.

7.30 Chris Barrie’s Massive Engines, C5. Airships.

Thursday

4.30 Material World, Radio 4.

7.30 Chris Barrie’s Massive Engines, C5. Submarines.

Tuesday

7.30 The Cosmos: A Beginner’s Guide, BBC2. A manned mission to Mars.

9.00 Case Notes, Radio 4.

11.00 Primate primers: Bonobo, BBC4.

11.10 Galapagos: Born of Fire. Wildlife in the archipelago.

12.00 Lonesome George, Battle for Galapagos, BBC4.

Wednesday

4.30 Case Notes, Radio 4.

7.30 Super Vets, BBC1.

9.00 Connect, Radio 4. A look at batteries.

Thursday

3.00 Check-up, Radio 4. Medical phone-in.

4.30 Material World, Radio 4.

7.30 The Natural World: Echo of the Elephants, BBC4.

8.30 One Hundred Years of Wildlife Films, BBC4.

9.00 Costing the Earth, Radio 4. Wind farms.

10.30 The Natural World: Meerkats, BBC4.

11.20 Wildlife Special: Leopard, BBC4.

12.20am Darwin’s Nightmare: Storyville, BBC4.

1.50am The Wild Life of Gerald Durrell, BBC4.

2.55am The Natural World: Symphony, BBC4.

Friday

3.00 Costing the Earth, Radio 4. Repeat.

7.30 Big Cat Diary, BBC2.

7.30 Winged Migration: Storyville, BBC4.

10.55 One Hundred Years of Wildlife Films, BBC4.

12.55am Natural World: Shark Coast, BBC4.

1.45am Whale Hunters, BBC4.

Sunday

10.30 Breaking the code, BBC4. Derek Jacobi as Alan Turing.

Monday

7.30 Super Vets, BBC1. More tales from the Royal Veterinary College and London Zoo.

8.00 The Enemies of Reason, C4. Richard Dawkins versus alternative medicine

9.00 The Oldest People in the World, C4. A look at longevity.

9.00 Wild Arabia, Radio 4. Plant and animal adaptations to cope with extreme conditions.

Tuesday

3.00 Home Planet, Radio 4. The natural world.

7.00 Elephants of the Samburu, BBC2. Conservation of Africa’s elephants.

7.30 The Cosmos: a Beginner’s Guide, BBC2. Telescopes and photography.

9.00 Am I normal?, Radio 4. Obsessive compulsive disorder.

Wednesday

7.00 Elephants of the Samburu, BBC2.

9.00 Connect, Radio 4. Technology to solve problems on the human scale.

Thursday

3.00 Check up, Radio 4. Health phone-in. Today, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

4.30 Material World, Radio 4.

9.00 Science Fiction, Radio 4. Biodiversity.

Friday

8.00 Komodo Dragons, C5. Austin Stevens goes to Indonesia.

Saturday

7.10 100 Years of Wildlife, BBC4. Cavalcade of historic wildlife footage.

9.10 Wildlife Special: Bears – Spy in the Woods, BBC4. A recent Attenborough triumph.

More at the Royal Society.

Monday

6.00 Animal Park: Wild on the West Coast, BBC2. Last in series.

7.30 Super Vets, BBC1. A London Zoo tiger visits the dentist.

8.30 Panorama, BBC1. Looking at the recent UK floods.

9.00 Fight for life, BBC1. How the human body deals with middle age.

9.00 Peas in a pod, Radio 4. Advances in cloning technology.

Tuesday

3.00 Home Planet, Radio 4. The natural world.

6.00 Animal Park, BBC2. The team are back at Longleat after their African adventures.

7.30 The Cosmos, A Beginner’s Guide, BBC2. Adam Hart-Davis explores the solar system.

9.00 Am I normal?, Radio 4. Vivienne Parry examines ADHD.

Wednesday

4.00 Thinking Allowed, Radio 4. Human behaviour.

4.30 Am I normal? Radio 4. Repeat of yesterday’s show.

6.00 Animal Park, BBC2.

8.30 Vet Safari, BBC1.

9.00 Warding off the Germs, Radio 4. The spread of infectious diseases in hospitals.

Thursday

4.30 Material World, Radio 4.

6.00 Animal Park, BBC2.

7.00 Top Wild Dives, BBC2. Tanya Streeter describes her favourite wildlife dives.

9.00 Science Friction, Radio 4. A look at women in science.

Friday

6.00 Animal Park, BBC2.

For a more detailed guide to this week’s science highlights, visit the Royal Society’s TV and radio page.

Monday

6.00 Animal Park: Wild on the West Coast, BBC2. Sharks, sea otters, seals and Ben Fogle.

7.30 Super Vets, BBC1. Tales from the Royal Veterinary College.

9.00 Fight for Life, BBC1. How fit bodies deal with trauma.

11.00 Time, BBC4. Michio Kaku looks at our sense of time.

Tuesday

3.00 Home Planet, Radio 4. Phone-in about the natural world.

3.45 A Further Five Numbers, Radio 4. Simon Singh looks at the number 2. (Sesame Street for grown-ups?)

6.00 Animal Park: Wild on the West Coast, BBC2. More sharks, and cougars.

9.00 Am I normal?, Radio 4. Is Vivienne Parry abnormal? The ubiquitous host examines fitness regimes.

Wednesday

3.45 A Further Five Numbers, Radio 4. Singh moves on to the number 6.

4.00 Thinking allowed, Radio 4. Human behaviour.

4.30 Am I normal?, Radio 4. A repeat of last night’s show.

6.00 Animal Park: Wild on the West Coast, BBC2. More aquatic adventures with Humble and Fogle.

8.00 Diet Doctors, C5. Nutritional experts wag their fingers.

8.00 Hecklers, Radio 4. Debate from the Royal Society of Medicine about the ethics of sex change operations.

9.00 Xtreme Everest, Radio 4. An update from the team of scientists currently scaling the mountain.

Thursday

3.45 A Further Five Numbers, Radio 4. Singh looks at Newton’s gravitational constant G.

4.30 Material World, Radio 4. Bridge builder Thomas Telford is remembered 250 years after his birth.

6.00 Animal Park: Wild on the West Coast, BBC2. When whales attack!

9.00 Polio: Rumour That Became a Crisis, Radio 4. The boycott against polio vaccine in Nigeria, and its grim consequences.

12.00 Atom, BBC4. Jim Al-Khalili on the very, very small.

Friday

3.45 A Further Five Numbers, Radio 4. Learn why Simon Singh has chosen 1,729 as the final number in his brief series.

7.30 Built for the Kill, C5. Desert-bound predators.

8.00 Desert giants, C5. Elephants in the desert.

_For a more detailed guide to this week’s science highlights, visit the Royal Society’s TV and radio page. _

Monday

20.00 Megastructures, C5. A look at the engineering challenge of building a series of islands in Dubai that resemble the world.

21.00 My Brilliant Brain, C5. Inner workings of the human brain. Tonight, savants.

21.00 The Secret Life of Reservoirs, Radio 4

Tuesday

15.00 Home Planet, Radio 4. A look at the natural world.

18.00 Animal Park: Wild on the West Coast, BBC2.

19.00 The Truth About Food, BBC2. Nutritional tips.

20.00 James May’s 20th Century, BBC2. Technology and culture from the last century.

20.00 Life in the freezer, BBC4. Attenborough in Antarctica.

21.00 Absolute Zero, BBC4. Early attempts at refrigeration.

21.00 All in the mind, Radio 4. Psychology programme.

21.30 Between Ourselves, Radio 4. Two eminent facial surgeons discuss their work.

Wednesday

16.30 All in the mind, Radio 4.

18.00 Animal Park: Wild on the West Coast, BBC2.

20.00 Diet Doctors, C5

20.00 Life in the freezer, BBC4.

20.30 Vet Safari, BBC1

21.00 Absolute Zero, BBC4. The quest for absolute zero.

21.00 Xtreme Everest, Radio 4. The scientists currently concurring Everest.

Thursday

16.30 Material World, Radio 4. How a bicycle maintains stability.

18.00 Animal Park: Wild on the West Coast, BBC2.

21.00 Atom, BBC4. New series looking at the discovery of the very small.

Friday

18.00 Animal Park: Wild on the West Coast, BBC2.

19.30 Diving with Whales, BBC2.

20.00 Surgical Discrimination, ITV1. When the obese and smokers are denied treatment because of their lifestyles.

20.00 The Black Mamba, C5. In search of Africa’s biggest venomous snake.

_For a more detailed guide to this week’s science highlights, visit the Royal Society’s TV and radio page. _

Monday

6.30pm Nature’s Calendar, BBC2. Where to find dolphins and seals around the UK.

7.30pm Saving Planet Earth, BBC1. Celebrities run the Safaricom Marathon to raise money for wildlife.

8.00pm Megastructures, FIVE. A look at the engineering behind the Burj Al-Arab hotel in Dubai.

9.00pm Fight for Life, BBC1. A CGI look at how the body copes with crisis.

9.00pm Jatropha: The Wonder Plant, Radio 4. A tropical remedy for constipation, malaria and high fever.

Tuesday

3.00pm Home Planet, Radio 4. Listeners’ questions about the natural world.

6.30pm Nature’s Calendar, BBC2. Hunting Purple Emperor butterflies.

7.00pm Saving Planet Earth UK, BBC2. Includes London otters.

8.00pm James May’s 20th Century, BBC2. Innovations from last century.

9.00pm All in the Mind, Radio 4. Asylum seekers and mental illness.

Wednesday

4.00pm Thinking Allowed, Radio 4. Human behaviour.

4.30pm All in the Mind, Radio 4. Computer games as therapeutic tools.

6.30pm Nature’s Calendar, BBC2. Pond-dipping at the London Wetland Centre.

7.00pm Saving Planet Earth UK, BBC2

7.30pm Johnny Kingdom: A Year on Exmoor, BBC2. More wildlife.

8.30pm Vet Safari, BBC1

9.00pm Rise of Resistance, Radio 4. Mark Porter looks at antimicrobial resistance.

Thursday

4.30pm The Material World, Radio 4.

6.30pm Nature’s Calendar, BBC2. Puffins and gannets.

7.00pm Saving Planet Earth UK, BBC2. Sean Hughes climbs atop Battersea Power Station to spot peregrine falcons.

8.30pm It’s me or the dog, Channel 4. Animal behaviour.

8.30pm Analysis, Radio 4. The ethics of trading kidneys.

9.00pm Leading Edge, Radio 4. Recent science with Geoff Watts.

Friday

3.00pm Shared Earth, Radio 4. When marine life meets Antony Gormley statues.

6.30pm Nature’s Calendar, BBC2. Deer in Bushy Park.

7.30pm Built for the Kill, FIVE. Killer insects and spiders.

8.00pm Nigel Marven’s Piranha Adventure, FIVE.