thank. you. welcome to tomorrow today coming up on the program. nature's finest artificial spider silk has researchers spinning. the life of being what goes on inside their hives. and inventory a laser that creates

a digital scan of. the art of modern architecture delicate structures made from reinforced concrete and fiberglass that are incredibly stable with a little help from nature researchers are now developing a range of high tech materials with some amazing characteristics. this is the inspiration for what could be the super material of the future. spider so this researchers all wrapped up it's stronger than steel yet more flexible than rubber nature's high performance raw material but obtaining the soap directly from spiders is difficult even in tiny amounts it could never be profitable. at the university of by right in southern germany thoma scheibel has been

researching potential industrial applications for a super silk. we've made some decisive breakthroughs first we managed to recreate the raw material both in terms of mechanical properties and scalability that means it could be made on an industrial scale and second we made the thread and not just any threat we made thread the way spiders make it with all the properties it has in nature or maybe even slightly better ones. scheibel develop the process using gut bacteria that have been genetically modified to produce silk proteins the silk is spun out of this group. that happens when a phosphate compound is added it causes the thread in the protein secreted by the bacteria to solidify the end product is artificially generated spiders.

but a spider doesn't just produce one type of silk there are many all with different special properties. the silk they use to wrap their prey for example has a very smooth surface that makes it hard for germs and fun guy to gain a foothold it's like a natural plastic wrap that could have medical applications which turns out is sean's i just love the ancient greeks knew that spider silk helped wounds heal that it didn't trigger an immune response. christie even described it in her miss marple books how spider webs can be used to cover a wound so they heal faster. as part of this issue of the science is now helping us to understand what's behind the phenomenon. that involves the surface structure of the spider silk that's how an idea was born to apply it to existing implants and equip them with a protective shield. and then they wouldn't be recognized by the body's

defense system the immune system. with the help of modern three d. printers the spider silk proteins can be applied to surfaces. in the future scientists want to print parts of organs it could for example help replace damage skin. into. your own well not isn't is to take things a step further we want to use spider soca scaffolding for instance to replace diseased or damaged skin tissue. to do that we take spider silk and mix it with the patient's own cells creating what we call organic ink. comment and just like ink it can be printed by a printer so the silk in the cells are printed simultaneously. by the silk protects the cells during the printing process and afterwords it provides a framework for them to incorporate into the new environment allowing them to grow

into new skin tissue. the tensile strength of the strands that spiders hang from called drag lines are of great interest to developers trying to design high performance textiles but how much force can drag lines withstand we put it to the test the basket hanging from this toy crane is suspended from a thread made up of forty individual strands of spider so. a hundred grams is no challenge. even double that weight poses no problem. at three hundred grams the test ends abruptly show. that was just too much for the motor on it. but even after the toys motor gives out

the spider still keeps on going up to four hundred grams. and another characteristic makes spider so resource of interest even though it's weather resistant it decomposes quickly and the presence of certain enzymes. comes in chiding is that it's important to remember that we're working with a technology we developed just ten years ago spiders about millions of years to do it and i believe that we're going to solve many more mysteries when it comes to spiders which will in turn lead to many new applications on all things it's a good. when it comes to the amazing abilities of spiders there are so mike just be a beginning. speaking

of amazing abilities these social insects also have plenty of. the humans have been harvesting honey for thousands of years so it's somewhat surprising that we know so little about the secret life of bees now a researcher in the german city of boats book wants to change that. this robot is a state of the art research tool fitted with six cameras and a range of sensors it's able to record the activity of these bees inside their natural habitat. b. colonies are actually complex social units biologists call super organisms. the robot documents how the bees construct their hive which weather conditions they prefer to fly in and whether they sleep at night the researcher hartmut feel a from the university of what's bergen germany has spent months building this high

tech beehive he wants to create a live stream so people can watch the honeybee superorganism in action. it's what we hope it will give us deeper insights into bee colonies than ever before classic research has generally focused on the frame system used by amateur beekeepers at home but we're taking a new approach using a larger structure that provides space for the robot to observe the honeycombs inside the hive it's the first of its kind it's completely innovative and we're constantly receiving new data that's never been available before this for us on his cave. the technology is called smart hoboes which stands for honeybee online studies the system is connected to the internet and can even record the swarm at night using thermal and in peru red imaging cameras. the robot also detects light

humidity and temperature since the wooden enclosure protects the hype from wind and weather researchers can study the bees without disrupting their natural behavior. because smart host provides a continuous feed you're not limited by what time of day it is you can log onto our video archive at all hours i do it all the time when i have a spare minute i go to the website on my smartphone and watch the videos. so often on the. phone. to the scientists surprise the bees set up their hive much faster than expected. and now everyone can watch how they do it. even here in a cafe in bavaria caught must feel it's creating a buzz with the locals. he logged on to the hobos website and shows

them the fascinating life of bees. him on commitment anyone can fight to save a man and women young and old and young children students beekeepers retirees everyone can join now using any device people can access the site with all the videos and data. anyone can become the researcher so far for that. of course there are also bona fide scientists involved. the bees settled in last july kicking off the research project the first results are to be published later this year but until then robot researchers will keep busy measuring weighing counting and most importantly recording the inner workings of the bee world. lots of helping hands or

making the whole project a success seems like a pretty effective way to conduct research what do you think about citizen science we ask you to tell us on facebook. benedict thinks citizen science is a brilliant way to participate in research projects and expand your horizons. evans kumi wrote that citizen science breaks down preconceptions that science is hard. and that should encourage more women to be active in the field. according to some under your no we first need science communicators to explain science in simple terms that anyone can understand. thanks for your comments. over millions of years of evolution human beings have perfected the art of walking

upright but what about other typical physical postures of you are from the philippines wanted to know more. crazy got from says he wants to know. why do people cross their legs while sitting down. well there is no known scientific reason for it's the effects of this habit up on people it's pretty clear. it's a form of body language when it says this is comfortable although my legs are crossed i'm feeling relaxed. general men tend to stay in their legs when seated women less so. some doctors say it's a matter of biology generally have now where hip socket on their hip joints are shaped differently therefore so the theory it's harder for them to cross their legs

. that explains why males like to spread race perhaps in the hope of demonstration virility on the truck to today however displays like these are left acceptable in cities like new york and madrid there's been calls for a bomb on mom spreading. many people say mons breading is nothing more than macho posturing and kind of body language used to reinforce gender stereotypes of male dominance on female submissiveness. crossing your legs sends a much more discreet message on his old phone labeled a typically feminine pose a good extension waits the shape of the body while also preventing untoward glances . by the way the belief that crossing your legs is bad for your health is on arbonne myth researchers say doing it doesn't encourage barack owes feigns any more

than other positions so feel free to just relax into it. if you have a science question go to our website and see if we answer it on the show you'll get our d.v.d. featuring a lighthearted look at some of. the famous ideas. the most simple single. to never stop asking questions. when it comes to psychological disorders sufferers are often susceptible to depression. and while many mental illnesses can be traced back to factors like unresolved traumatic experiences a genetic predisposition or brain tumors some researchers now think that at least with certain disorders and unexpected trigger could be at the heart of the problem . you can't see them but they are

everywhere. they're human body so with microbes. there are ten times the number of pathogens in on and around us as well as there are cells in our bodies you know you go. around half of us carry the pathogen that causes talk so plants mosis. herpesviruses tapeworms and many other parasites can also be found in humans to survive and reproduce they need a host or series of hosts to complete their life cycle the disorders parasites cause aren't easy to identify they also cause conditions that aren't instantly attributable to parasitic infection like auto immune responses that affect the firewood plant or bowel parasites can even cause mental health problems with.

serious mental illnesses like clinical depression can't just be put down to problems in life. they're biological diseases. and the same goes for psychosis like schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. neurologist has spent his career exploring of things he suspects at least thirteen pathogens of playing a role in mental health disorders and diseases involving the immune system. bashed as hypothesis has been lent weight by a large scale study from scandinavia involving more than three and a half million subjects. over time the severe infections and auto immune diseases that bring people to the clinic also increase their likelihood of contracting all kinds of serious mental disorders took on. a radical thought but many doctors and psychiatrists don't agree they don't believe

microorganisms are responsible for psychiatric disorders instead putting them down to factors like stress patients are often told their disease has an unknown origin which isn't much help. you can help the patient much more if you identify the cause which we've done in certain individual cases say struck the caucus bacteria are causing a chronic autoimmune reaction over years something like that can lead to clinical depression. it can be a big help ventre lemonade the pathogen. if. many pathogens can remain in the body for years if the immune system is weakened that can lead to micro inflammations in the body that can eventually cause full blown auto immune diseases. such inflammations can also develop in the brain and says that can trigger psychiatric symptoms like depression or schizophrenia. psychiatry

. initially rejected his theory as well. but he had many patients that didn't respond to conventional treatments so phoniness took a chance and tried dosing some of them with cortisone to reduce possible inflammation. and. we've now published several cases of patients that don't only have schizophrenia as it was defined twenty years ago but also have depression. after cortisone treatment putting it in simple terms they were healed. when doesn't add those experiences were very exciting for us in the clinic. of all things and with cortisone the psychiatrist managed to help one patient within the space of a week who'd been suffering from delirium and hallucinations for seven years. it's not really this is a tremendously exciting area of psychiatry right now because this insight opens up

completely new horizons in terms of treatment. patients are often relieved to be given a clinical cause for their condition society is more accepting of disease caused by micro-organisms than illness provoked by psychological factors. do you have any conflicts or not addressing did something bad happen during childhood these are the typical questions that always come up. why don't we ask is it like flu or an immune response for the patient's idea of self that plays an important role categorizing where the symptoms came from. the extent to which pathogens actually are responsible for mental disorders isn't yet clarified that will take more research but one thing is clear. for a certain group of patients how big we can't say exactly we at least have new potential treatments. we still don't know what causes a wide range of diseases from schizophrenia and depression to rheumatism and

inflammatory bowel disease but at least in some cases it looks like paths. sins and parasites could ultimately be responsible. it's. a. bio diversity comes into its own in the world's remaining primeval forest its. research in woodlands like these has long been difficult pioneering work. but now there's a more elegant less intrusive method in an initial testing it's proven effective in an ancient rain forest in southeast asia on one of the world's largest diamonds. a nature reserve in the northern part of the island of borneo. scientists are using this device to measure and map the primeval forest here it's

a laser scanner that emits light and pulses and records the echoes that bounce back they can be used to produce a spatial image of the area geoscientist. has set up the device. later back at his office in zurich he analyzes the recordings. this is an example of a scan we took in the forest you can see the scanners extremely high resolution you really see every individual leaf and that's necessary if you really want to call it information on everything that exists here this is one of the first times we've been able to measure the forest in this way. the real issue is how is it even possible for so many different species of trees to coexist at so many levels and areas in the forest. before

deploying the laser scanner in the jungle of borneo schneider tested it for years back home in a wooded mountain range sneers eric. the scientists combine the readings from the laser on the ground with a laser reading from a plane flying over the same stretch of woodland. the vegetation reflects the light towards its source that echo is used to construct a three dimensional model of the forest that has information about the height of trees and amount of wood in the measured area were schneider and his colleague felix moore's dog say the system is more effective than conventional forest inventory methods. with a laser we can cover large regions in a comprehensive way we can't do that with inventories they're only made up of samples from spot check locations in some cases that causes errors because we have to extrapolate the data. is

a forest engineer he's collected data before with the help of large scale laser scans. this fall there clearly a quantum leap forward in the field laser data provides a real treasure trove for producing maps that help forest rangers with their daily tasks extensive high quality data is available now for the first time that it makes recognizing particular structures in the forest possible such as rejuvenation under large trees layers of moss and dead wood wood the shape of terrain wish of course data like that is also useful for conservation. the laser data shows the structure of the forest. but there's even more behind the technology. to help measure biodiversity in

a particular area the scientists combine the laser data with another reading taken from the air with what's called a spectrometer. since the plane isn't pressurized the scientists have to wear oxygen masks while taking the scan. the device measures light reflected back from the forest at different wavelengths that creates a spectral fingerprint of the vegetation. when the data is then projected onto a plaster model of the mountain range it opens whole new perspectives for research . i thought you can see this ranges very characteristic it's completely covered with forest the blue areas stand out those are coniferous trees the green areas are deciduous trees. schneider's approach and methods were recently published in the renowned scientific journal nature. as fish if it's acts and it's really the first

time that a method like this is been used to measure extensively the same goes for accuracy with it you can see single trees and determine differences in the biochemistry of leaves the steam went with until now that wasn't possible for such a large area when you're out in the field you used to have to go to a single tree and take the leaves and measure them but of course you can't examine an entire forest that way for the first time this new method really allows entire ecosystems to be examined it lets us look at biodiversity over a large area goals. if the laser method in borneo stands the test it will soon be deployed to the international space station where it will be used to measure the biomass of the entire planet. for more from the world of science and technology go to our website and write to us

on twitter and facebook we love hearing from you. on our next show we'll head to greenland where climate change is melting glaciers as the ice disappears it leaves behind huge amounts of fertile sludge a research project is looking for ways to profit from it that and other stories from the world of science next week on tomorrow today see you then fall. far.

cut. cut cut cut. cut. cut cut cut the odds. in the flick of things but way up chicken presenter nicole really should visit lynn's legendary customers life today because the muslims once again one of her alleged liveliest instruction attract visitors from all over the world but what exactly did they come to see today we're going to find out and she has insider tips for places even many locals don't know discovering some appliance. in

thirty minutes on. meet the german spy movie and surprising aspects of muslim culture in germany above us american kid takes a look at germany at the simplicity of their traditions everyday lives and language those are some of the highlights the most are the boss yamaguchi the biggest retirement d.w. dot com the german. oh a truck bombs on civilians. the truth of the situation escalates maslow in a moscow smooth ruthless calculation of military leaders were kofi extent of the mask on. technological progress is good conflagrations massacre's cut

her coming from good to her starting february third d. w. . are you up to speed on the latest technology. no. maybe time for an upgrade this becoming part of the future. become a cyborg. cyborg so i've created a new sense on the new organ and design my perception of reality implants that make every day life easier. i use my you can't see it on a daily basis that optimize the shoeman body and connects people more effectively. i hope that this will make us more ethical persons what would life be like as a cyborg it was most folks who at the end of the day these technologies can be used against us twenty think will happen society does this human race movement need to

upgrade i think it's only the beginning of this cyborgs human machines starting february first on t w. the room to. move. move move. this instead of the news lawyer from greenland that leading members of germany's social democrats are calling for in furtherance to a coalition please prince with the merkel's conservatives they need to weigh in over a skeptical party members who could vote against a deal to start formal coalition talks that conservatives oppose any changes to the agreements made on friday after marathon talks also calling off. the fresh protests

erupt into in india as the country marks the seventh anniversary of the arabs.