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Material World

Factual: Science & Nature

Science programme reporting on developments across the disciplines

Science programme reporting on developments across the disciplines. Each week, scientists describe their work, conveying the excitement they feel for their research projects

Material World: 23/02/2012

23/02/2012

BBC Radio 4 - Material World, 23/02/2012

Do men have a genetic future? Defining the kilogram and how to turn sunshine into fuel.

Quentin Cooper asks if Y-chromosome degeneration will make men extinct, how to redefine the kilogram and how to turn sunshine into fuel.

Quentin Cooper hears that men may not be heading for extinction after all! The male Y-chromosome is degenerate but, according to a new study, has been stable since we diverged from monkeys 25 million years ago. But the fundamental unit of mass, the kilogram, may not be stable. Attempts to redefine it in terms of fundamental constants are fraught with difficulty. But there is hope on the horizon for mimicking one of nature's greatest secrets, photosynthesis, the ability to turn sunshine into fuel.

Producer: Martin Redfern.

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23/02/2012

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