Alok Jha is joined by Ian Henderson, professor of microbial biology at the University of Birmingham, and the Guardian's Ian Sample, in a programme devoted to germs.
It's one of the major killers in the developing world, but could a vaccine for diarrhoea be around the corner? Professor Henderson is giving a talk on "Genome sequencing: The genetics of diarrhoea" in Birmingham tomorrow evening. He gave us a rundown of the underlying causes of diarrhoea and the prospects for prevention, which has the potential to save millions of lives.
In the second strand of our microbiology special, Nell Boase speaks to Anthony Hilton, a reader in microbiology at Aston University, about his mission to educate the public about germs. How are food poisoning bugs spread around the home? How many household germs are truly dangerous? Can we really build up our immunity by NOT being hygienic?
Plus, we look at the Ig Nobel awards, featuring those lusty fruit bats, using mini-helicopters to take samples from the blow holes of whales, and slime mould transport modelling ...
On a much more serious note, the team discusses the swingeing cuts in research funding faced by UK scientists.
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