Dr Adam Rutherford on bodies, blue-sky projects and blue-blooded crabs

Things You Can't Live Without · 2025-03-26

24:48

Geneticist Dr Adam Rutherford relies on refrigeration to preserve the unique DNA samples that underpin his lab work. Furthermore, as he explains to Dr Anna, fridges are good for keeping his beer cold! In an episode all about research and development, Adam and Anna are joined by Marie-Pierre Paquin, Head of Science and Partnerships at Rio Tinto, to explore how a mix of curiosity, diligence and data leads to scientific breakthroughs. Listen to find out how many periodic table elements are in the human body, why some parts of the world are richer in DNA samples than others, and why certain crustaceans have blue blood.

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Things You Can't Live Without

How do the objects we rely on come to be made? What goes into creating them? How did they become so vital to us? And what is the environmental impact of living with them, now and into the future?

Join material scientist Dr Anna Ploszajski as she welcomes different guests including scientists to discuss the truths about our reliance on the earth’s resources – and to look at what needs to happen to create a sustainable future for the everyday items we have come to rely on.

Things You Can’t Live Without is brought to you by Rio Tinto. Available wherever you get your podcasts.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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