This week Alok Jha talks to the celebrated American science writer Carl Zimmer about his latest book A Planet of Viruses. Carl takes us on a tour of the world of viruses and expounds their importance not only as bringers of disease but also their ancient role in evolution.
Nell Boase meets Martin Nowak to discuss his book Supercooperators: The Mathematics of Evolution, Altruism and Human Behaviour . . . Or Why We Need Each Other to Succeed. Martin explains why he and New Scientist editor Roger Highfield wrote the book and why they believe evolutionary theory should encompass the importance of cooperation.
Guardian science correspondent Ian Sample joins Alok to pick over some of this week's science news, including the danger of drinking coffee, excercising and blowing your nose for people who have brain aneurysms, and the discovery of what is - perhaps misguidedly - being called the "happiness gene".
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