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Science In Action: Trawling Depth Restrictions in EU Waters

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Fishermen aboard a trawler

27/08/2015 GMT

Trawling Depth Restrictions in EU Waters

BBC World Service - Science In Action, Trawling Depth Restrictions in EU Waters

Study finds evidence that supports creating restrictions on trawling depths in EU waters.

Trawling depth restrictions; Genetic obesity switch; Editing DNA with CRISPR; Whistling language and the brain; 3D printed beaks; Citizen science on safari.

Modern trawlers are like vacuum cleaners – they scoop up everything underneath them – so their impact goes far beyond the species of fish that they are trying to catch. Dr David Bailey of the University of Glasgow, in Scotland, and colleagues, concerned about the devastation to marine life this causes, have looked at when things get really bad for the ecosystem in the North Atlantic. Their latest work shows that a depth limit could have real benefits, both to the fisherman, but crucially to the extremely bio-diverse, deep-water marine life. 

Genetic Mechanism Underlying Obesity 
Scientists at MIT and Harvard Medical School have found that there is a genetic switch that either causes fat to be stored or to be used. People with a gene called FTO are likely to store fat. Dr Manolis Kellis explains how the team used genetic techniques to turn cells from mice and from humans in the test tube from fat storers to fat burners. What does this mean in the fight against one of the biggest public health challenges of the 21st century? 

CRISPR – Precise Editing of DNA 
James Gallagher joins us in the studio to talk about CRISPR, one of the most important biological breakthroughs of recent years. This technique for editing DNA sequences has taken the genetic engineering world by storm.

Turkish Whistling Language
How does the brain process non-verbal languages? Jonjo Harrington explains a form of long distance communication used by people in mountainous regions of Turkey. Looking at non-verbal languages may help us better understand how the brain works. 

3D Printed Beak
The Toucan who got a new prosthetic beak.

Citizen Science on Safari
Fiona Roberts talks to Professor Craig Packer about the success of his citizen-science project Snapshot Serengeti and what future projects might be on the horizon.


(Photo: Fishermen aboard a trawler. Credit: Marcel Mochet/AFP/Getty Images)


Presenter: Jack Stewart
Producer:  Deborah Cohen

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