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BBC Inside Science: Italy's quakes, Ebola virus, Accidental rocket fuel, China in space

03/11/2016

Italy's quakes, Ebola virus, Accidental rocket fuel, China in space

BBC Radio 4 - BBC Inside Science, Italy's quakes, Ebola virus, Accidental rocket fuel, China in space

Adam Rutherford explores the background to the recent earthquakes in Italy and a genetic discovery which may explain the scale of the recent Ebola epidemic in West Africa.

In the past three months, central Italy has been shaken by several large earthquakes. The quake near Norcia on 30th October was the most powerful for decades. In late August, another struck near Amatrice, causing 300 lost lives. Adam Rutherford talks to seismologist Ross Stein about why this part of the Italian peninsula is so prone to shaking, whether there is a pattern in the recent activity and whether the scientists are getting any better at earthquake forecasting.

The recent Ebola epidemic in West Africa was the largest and most deadly of its kind so far. More than 11,000 people were killed by the virus. Now two groups of virologists have discovered that early in the epidemic's course, the Ebola virus underwent a genetic change which allowed it to infect human cells more easily. Could this mutation explain the terrible scale of the outbreak of 2013 to 2016?

Also in the show, the chemists who are aiming to make ammonia fertiliser production more environmentally friendly but made rocket fuel instead; and the past and future of the Chinese space programme.

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Italy's quakes, Ebola virus, Accidental rocket fuel, China in space

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