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Open Sesame: Science in the Desert

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26/11/2012

BBC Radio 4 - Open Sesame: Science in the Desert

David Shukman travels to Jordan to find out if science can bring peace in the Middle East.

David Shukman reports from Jordan on a project called SESAME, which aims to foster scientific and technological co-operation in the Middle East and stop the brain drain.

SESAME will be the first big scientific laboratory in the Middle East. It's a synchrotron radiation source, which produces light at different wavelengths that is used by all kinds of scientists to understand the structure of everything from materials to viruses. 

It is being built in Jordan and will bring together scientists from an extraordinary range of countries in the region, including Turkey, Iran, several Arab countries, and Israel. Apart from encouraging co-operation between hostile neighbours it also aims to stop the brain drain to Europe and the US. 

BBC Science Editor David Shukman travels to the desert kingdom of Jordan to look at the construction of this multi-million pound instrument and asks whether this will help rekindle the region's Golden Age of science. And he asks if it will achieve its grand aim - to encourage cooperation between hostile neighbours and open a new path to peace.

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