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Digital Planet: 27/09/2011

Factual: Science & Nature

27/09/2011

BBC World Service - Digital Planet, 27/09/2011

Gamers solve a conundrum that has previously baffled scientists

A report on the uproar over Facebook's redesign; Computer gamers solve a riddle that has baffled scientists; The robot in charge of your car; The rise of German startups

Last week, the social network, Facebook, launched some of the most significant updates in recent times, including changing the newsfeed listing items according to 'relevance' rather than chronologically. Jamillah Knowles reports on the reaction from users.


Gamers have helped scientists gain crucial new insights into how viruses like HIV work.  It is the outcome from the online game Foldit.  Gamers have used Foldit to flex and form the proteins into novel shapes.  Click is joined by one of the scientists involved, David Baker, professor of biochemistry at the University of Washington to explain this eureka moment.


Researchers at MIT in Boston are developing an in-car robot aimed at changing the way we engage with the vehicle. Their developmental dashboard companion is called AIDA which stands for Affective Intelligent Driving Agent.  Jon Stewart went along and sat behind the wheel with Siggi Örn of the Personal Robotics Group at MIT's Media Lab to find out how it works.


Germany has some big names in IT such as Siemens but when it comes to startups, the country has become known in certain quarters as the innovation copycat – developing websites, services and products that are copies of existing ones from Silicon Valley.  But a band of startups in Berlin is trying to change that image.  Click's Abby D'Arcy reports.

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