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Science In Action: New Pill To Monitor Your Gut

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New Pill To Monitor Your Gut

24/05/2018 GMT

BBC World Service - Science In Action, New Pill To Monitor Your Gut

A new device has been developed to detect processes inside your gut in real-time

A new device has been developed to detect processes inside your gut in real-time. Also the impact of CO2 on rice, parasitic African bees and a Royal Society Foreign Member.

Gut Pill
A gut pill has been developed that could one day detect diseases in our gut in real-time. Now at a prototype stage, the device worked in animal trials and it is aimed to be made sufficiently small for human use at some point in the future. Professor Timothy Lu discusses the processes of this detector and what it could mean for the improvement of future healthcare. 

Increased CO2 Causes Reduction in Rice Nutrition
A new study has shown that increased levels of atmospheric CO2 affect the nutrition value of rice, reducing the levels of zinc, iron, protein and four key B vitamins. Science in Action reporter Hannah Fisher has the details.

African Bee Parasites 
The presence of queen bees in a hive prevents them from being taking over by ‘parasite’ bees, a new study has found. Fiona Mumoki of the University of Pretoria explains how the parasitic bees take over queenless hives, eventually causing hive collapse, and how the presence of a queen can enable hive fightback against the parasites. 

Sebsebse Demissew – an African at the Royal Society
After his recent election as a Foreign Member of the Royal Society, and the first who was born in sub-Saharan Africa, Sebsebe Demissew talks about his life’s work on Ethiopian and East African biodiversity and conservation, as well as the importance of understanding the environment around us.

Picture: MIT engineers have designed an ingestible sensor with bacteria programmed to sense environmental conditions and relay the information to an electronic circuit. Credit: Lillie Paquette, MIT

Presenter: Roland Pease
Producer: Ania Lichtarowicz

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