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Size Matters

Dara and the team reveal why size matters in science and how discoveries large and small are changing the way we view the universe, the economy and even our bodies.

Dara and the team probe the miniscule and the enormous to reveal why size matters and how discoveries at either end of the scale are changing the way we view the universe.

Professor Mark Miodownik discovers an astonishingly effective lo-tech weapon in the battle against nefarious hospital superbugs. Science journalist Alok Jha visits a premature baby unit in Canada to see how Big Data can save tiny lives. Dr Helen Czerski goes a mile underground in South Dakota to join the hunt for our missing universe and the team visits the New York Stock Exchange to find out how much a millisecond is worth in hard cash. In the studio, Dara investigates the explosive effects of size and Mark swallows a miniature camera to reveal his internal organs.

1 hour

Big Data, bigger Universe

Big Data, bigger Universe

Zoom to where you sit in the scale of all things, plus global snapshots of the Big Data revolution.

Size matters: Galileo and jelly

Size matters: Galileo and jelly
Mark Miodownik shows you in his step-by-step guide how to make ballistic jelly and test the laws of scale.

Helen's science news

Helen's science news

Find out more about the stories featured in Dr Helen Czerski's latest science round-up.

Guest experts

Guest experts

Joining the team聽in the studio for Episode聽5聽are Professor Dame Sally Davies, Chief Medical Officer, and Dr Jo Dunkley, an astrophysicist.

Follow us on Twitter

Follow us on Twitter

Get an extra helping of surprising facts and links and join the conversation for some really social science.

Credits

Role Contributor
Presenter Dara O Briain
Expert Mark Miodownik
Reporter Helen Czerski
Reporter Alok Jha
Executive Producer Helen Thomas
Series Producer Kaye Godleman
Series Editor Nigel Paterson

Broadcasts

Why does a magnetised needle face north?

Mark demonstrates how to magnetise a needle in order to create your own working compass.