The £10 Million Challenge Horizon


The £10 Million Challenge

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For 50 years, Horizon has provided us with an insight

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into the very best of scientific discovery

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and technological innovation from around the world.

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Our films have featured some of the biggest names in science

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and brought you the latest advances in everything from medicine

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to computer technology - space science to biology.

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As the 21st century marches on, the world faces a whole new set

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of scientific challenges.

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To celebrate Horizon's 50th anniversary,

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we're inviting YOU to get involved.

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The question is, if you had £10 million

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to make one change to the world, what would that be?

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This week, a Prize Fund is launched to help solve one key problem

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facing our society today.

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And we want you to decide what that is.

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We've put together a team to help you choose.

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From antibiotic resistance, to carbon emissions from planes...

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I wasn't expecting that!

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..from our thirst for fresh water,

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to our hunger for food to feed the world.

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They do provide a satisfying crunch.

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And from the burden posed by dementia care,

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to the difficulty of life in a wheelchair.

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Everything I use is in the lower cupboards.

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Don't like wasabi! All the stuff I don't like's at the top!

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Which of these is most in need of ten million pounds?

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It's your choice.

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And that's not all, because if you or your team

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are sitting on an idea which could solve the problem,

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that £10 million could be yours.

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This is the Royal Observatory, Greenwich -

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a place of huge importance in the history of science.

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And it's where the story of today's Prize Challenge started

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300 years ago.

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1714 saw the launch of perhaps the most famous

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science prize in history - one that put Greenwich,

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and British science, on the map for ever.

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Just like the new prize,

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it was prompted by the need for science to solve a grave problem -

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one that faced every sea-faring nation on earth.

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300 years ago, naval navigation was perilous,

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because when they were out at sea, far from any landmarks,

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it was extremely difficult for sailors to know precisely where they were.

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That problem caused one of the most tragic accidents

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in British naval history.

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On one terrible night in 1707, four ships sank

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near the Isles of Scilly, with the loss of over 1,400 lives.

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The sailors died because they couldn't work out

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exactly where they were.

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The hardest task of all for any navigator was to work out their longitude.

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To calculate their position around the globe, in theory

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all they needed to know was the time difference

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between where they were and London -

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every four minutes would translate into one degree of longitude.

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But in practice,

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it was virtually impossible to keep track of the time back in London.

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The clocks of the period were pendulum clocks,

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and as soon the ship started to pitch and roll in the waves,

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you can see it would've been very difficult to keep good time.

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But ocean travel was booming in the 18th century -

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something had to be done to make it safe.

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Parliament appointed a committee of scientists -

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the Board of Longitude - to solve the problem.

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And in desperation they appealed to the nation,

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offering a reward of £20,000 for the best solution.

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That cash prize, worth several million today,

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became the catalyst for one of the most world-changing innovations

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in the history of technology.

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Now, a new Longitude Committee has been formed,

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to oversee a prize offered by Nesta, the UK's innovation foundation.

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But the prize can only be offered for one of the six problems

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on tonight's short list. And that's where you come in.

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In this programme, we'll be revealing

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the details of those six nominated challenges for the first time

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and then asking you to vote

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to decide which of the challenges is worth the £10 million.

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You'll be able to vote right after this programme,

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either by text, or by visiting bbc.co.uk/horizon.

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There you'll find links to in-depth guides to the six choices.

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Your decision will launch a five-year search

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for prize-winning solutions that could change the world.

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Let's look at the first problem on our list.

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Bacterial resistance to antibiotics has been a growing problem

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for decades, and now poses a very real threat to our health.

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It presents a nightmare vision of the future,

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in which the health of practically everybody alive on the planet

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is at risk in a way that it hasn't been for almost a century.

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Since Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin over 80 years ago,

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it's been estimated that antibiotics have saved

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more than 80 million lives.

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But now, there are some bacteria that we're defenceless against.

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Every year in the UK, 5,000 people die

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because antibiotics can't kill the bacteria they're infected with.

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Looking at the problem of antibiotic-resistant super-bugs,

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here's Liz Bonnin.

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Antibiotics have only been widely available for 70 years or so

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but the effect they've had on our lives is nothing short of extraordinary.

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In that time, life expectancy has increased by 20 years,

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thanks in large part to the dramatic reduction in deaths

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from all sorts of infections and infectious diseases.

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Without antibiotics, modern medicine as we know it wouldn't exist.

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Routine operations would be life-threatening

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and everything from hip replacements to chemotherapy and organ transplants

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would simply be impossible.

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But it seems the heyday is over.

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Infectious bacteria are becoming increasingly resistant

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to the antibiotics we rely on for protection.

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We urgently need to preserve this cornerstone of modern medicine

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and to do that we need to understand why resistance is on the increase.

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I've come to Birmingham to meet Professor Laura Piddock -

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a specialist in antibiotic resistance.

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So, Laura, how can bacteria become resistant to the antibiotics

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that have been so effective against them for so long?

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OK, so it's best demonstrated if we look at this plate here.

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So you can see the bacteria growing on the top of the agar,

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and there's a disc in the middle that's got antibiotic in it,

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and the antibiotic is coming out into the agar

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and there's this clear zone that's killing all those bacteria.

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-OK, so that's how antibiotics work?

-Yeah.

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But if you look very closely, you can see there's little dots,

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little colonies, that have grown up overnight

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so they are antibiotic resistant.

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And the way that's happened is they have a mutation in one gene

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that now allows them to resist that antibiotic.

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And if we take one of those resistant colonies,

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and then do them on this plate here...

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One dot of that, grown out on this agar?

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Yeah. And you can see that it's grown right up to the disc

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with the antibiotic, there's no zone of inhibition.

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And that's it, a completely resistant strain of bacteria to that drug.

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And that drug becomes obsolete, that's the end of its working life.

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-Yes.

-So what have we done to contribute to this resistance?

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Well, we're awash with antibiotics.

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We need to stop using them as much as we do,

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not just in human medicine, we need to stop using them in animals,

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as much as they are, we need to stop using them in the home.

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We want to make sure patients get the drugs when they need them,

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but what we don't want to do is have people using them

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when they're just absolutely unnecessary.

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It's clear we need to halt our excessive use of antibiotics.

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50 million courses of antibiotics are prescribed in UK hospitals

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and GP surgeries every year.

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And the trouble is, up to half of those prescribed

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are probably unnecessary.

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If we could develop a quick and easy way to tell

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the difference between viral and bacterial infections

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then the use of antibiotics could be dramatically reduced.

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You can see we're on a busy ward here.

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We have sick patients coming in all the time.

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And it's often quite difficult to work out clinically

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whether they have a serious infection or not.

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That's the real challenge.

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We often give antibiotics just in case there's serious infection.

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What we really need is good strategies to be able

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to deliver antibiotics to the patients who really need them

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with confidence they have a bacterial infection

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and not some other condition or a viral infection.

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So how do you go about discerning between a viral infection

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and a bacterial one?

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It can be very difficult

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but we are helped with various blood tests

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and there's a relatively new blood test, a biomarker

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called procalcitonin, and we can use that in conjunction with

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our clinical assessment of the patient

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to try and help us establish if the patient has a bacterial infection.

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Doctor Dryden is trialling a new technique to measure procalcitonin -

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a molecule found in the blood which rises in concentration

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when you have a bacterial infection but not if you have a viral one.

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I'm not on the ward for long before a test is necessary.

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We've just seen a very sick lady.

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It's difficult to make a clear diagnosis in this patient.

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She could well have pneumonia and septicaemia

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but equally it may not be due to a bacterial infection.

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By using a biomarker like procalcitonin that can help us

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make a decision whether this patient needs antibiotics or not.

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After just 90 minutes, Doctor Dryden gets the results.

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We have just done the test on the patient we saw

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and the procalcitonin level is below the cut-off.

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So I presume you are not going to administer antibiotics.

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We held off the antibiotics on the ward round this morning

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and we'll continue to hold off.

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We will continue to monitor her and keep a close eye on her

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and if her condition changes, we may change that decision.

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But at the moment, she doesn't need antibiotics.

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Because of this test, the hospital has been able to have

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the antibiotics it prescribes when diagnoses are unclear.

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But the equipment remains bulky and expensive.

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And as most antibiotics are prescribed by GPs,

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the test is nowhere near fast enough.

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Speed is absolutely of the essence in the community.

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If you think about how short a consultation is with the GP,

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a GP sees a patient for 10 minutes, that has to be done within that 10 minutes.

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So, it's an exciting time for the research

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for the technology of these types of tests, but how urgent is this?

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I think it's really important to develop this as soon as possible.

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We know antibiotics in the past have saved more lives

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than any other drugs.

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If we don't preserve our antibiotics, or find new ones,

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the future of medicine is really in doubt.

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Our massive overuse of antibiotics across the globe is crippling

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one of the most effective weapons we have against infection.

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We urgently need a solution

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because this will affect all our lives in the future.

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If this subject is picked for the Longitude Prize,

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potential winners will need to develop

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a cheap, rapid test for bacterial infections

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that can be used easily by doctors and nurses all over the world.

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Getting a rapid diagnostic so that we know we are treating bacteria

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and ideally the right bacteria, will save lives every day of the week.

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We believe the technology is out there

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if only the little different bits of technology

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were put together in a black box to make it work.

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Our next nominated challenge will demand revolutionary advances

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in medical engineering but has the potential

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to transform the lives of those affected in many ways.

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Over the last few decades, our ability to help people with

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all sorts of physical disabilities has moved on in leaps and bounds.

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But our ability to help people who are paralysed doesn't go much beyond

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offering a wheelchair - just as we would have done decades ago.

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And there are 50,000 people in the UK who are paralysed.

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The loss of mobility and independence that results

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can be an enormous challenge both physically and emotionally.

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But for many people, technology can play a crucial role.

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Investigating paralysis,

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here's Dr Saleyha Ahsan.

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I'm a doctor and I used to be an army officer.

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In 1997, serving in Bosnia, I saw someone

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who had just lost their leg after stepping on a land mine.

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Watching him come to terms with the reality of his future

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as an amputee was something that I've never forgotten.

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He had this haunted, lost look on his face.

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And he knew at that moment that his life was going to be

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changed for ever.

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Of course, injuries like that are not confined to the battlefield.

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Every eight hours, someone in the UK becomes paralysed.

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I'm meeting someone who knows only too well

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how easily our lives can be changed in an instant.

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Everything that I use is in the lower cupboards.

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I can just reach some of these

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but not that easily.

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You won't reach that wasabi.

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No, don't like wasabi. The stuff I don't like is at the top!

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'Sophie has been in a wheelchair since a road accident in 2003.'

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I fractured my skull, my cheekbone,

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apparently my eye fell out of its socket.

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My jaw was broken.

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My collarbone was snapped and my spine was damaged.

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Basically, on impact I was paralysed.

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At the moment, the possibility of repairing spinal injuries,

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whether through surgery or stem cell therapy, is a long way off.

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Could engineering and robotics help instead?

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Sophie is helping to trial a remarkable new device

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designed by Richard Little.

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It offers her the chance to stand and walk independently.

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This was extremely surreal for me when I first got it.

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To be able to select the option of stand.

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LOW MECHANICAL WHIRRING

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-Gosh.

-Do you feel quite steady?

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Yeah, I do, which is amazing.

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Just seeing your face now, you've really lit up.

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Can I see you walk?

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Of course you can see me walk!

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It may be slow and bulky

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but the exoskeleton can transform perspectives.

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Oh, my God. The view.

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-Had you not seen the view?

-No, not seen the view. Seriously.

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-Oh, wow!

-There's my car!

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I can open the window! I've not been able to do that.

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For Sophie, a practical,

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simple exoskeleton would also help her physically.

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You can live a healthy life in a wheelchair. I mean...

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But the time... The toll it takes on your body is bad.

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Small things. I've noticed a slight scoliosis in my spine

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and just from sitting because I am sitting every day all the time.

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-That'll be straightening out your core and everything.

-Exactly.

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Richard, tell me about the amazing technology that's gone into this.

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It looks a simple device on the outside

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but it has 29 microcomputers on-board all talking to each other,

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managing the different systems so there's a lot goes on behind it.

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Sophie's increased mobility, the physical changes she's experienced -

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not to mention her joy - is humbling to see.

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But if paralysis is chosen to be the Longitude Prize,

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technologists will need to develop exoskeletons

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that are smaller, lighter and faster.

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The hope is also that people who can't use a joystick

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to control one could just use their thoughts.

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Doctor Tom Carlson is honing mind-control technology by trying

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to move a robot using his brainwaves.

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So, Tom, you're going to be controlling that little robot

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-with your mind.

-That's right, yes.

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We've chosen 16 key electrode positions over the motor cortex.

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This is the part of the brain that deals with me

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trying to move my limbs.

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To mimic the scenario of someone who is completely paralysed,

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Tom will control the robot, not by moving his arms

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but by thinking about moving them.

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So, let's start this.

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Oh, my God. He's walking.

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As I keep this bar in the middle, the robot goes forwards,

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if I imagine moving my left hand, the bar goes to the left

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-and the robot turns left.

-And that is all coming from your brain.

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-You're thinking about it.

-Yes.

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That's amazing.

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Whilst you're talking to me,

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-are you still thinking about moving left and right?

-Of course.

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-If I don't, the robot will be running away.

-I thought men couldn't multitask!

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'It takes a lot of concentration to control the robot.'

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And you have cleverly stopped him from walking into the cupboard.

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No, he's going to go into the cupboard!

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Another problem lies in isolating Tom's directional intentions

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from the surrounding interference.

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So, these signals are very, very small.

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The scale we're looking at here is just an order of a few microvolts.

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If I clench my teeth...

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-Oh, my word.

-Yes.

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They completely saturate, so when we are processing the signals

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we have to filter out all of this noise

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so we can understand what's really going on and ignore the rest.

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There's no harm in a robot bumping into a cupboard,

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but developing this technology to the point that paralysed people

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can safely control exoskeletons using their minds is a long way off.

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To get this out into the real world, onto the streets,

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I think you're looking at decades.

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As a doctor, I'm fully aware that when I have a patient

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who's paralysed, there's really little I can do for them

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apart from offer support.

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But imagine if ultimately, through robotics,

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and better understanding of the brain, we could find a way to bypass

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a broken spinal cord, and help a person to walk again.

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If paralysis is chosen as the Longitude Prize,

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the challenge will be to invent a system that gets closest to giving

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paralysed people the same freedom of movement that most of us enjoy.

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We're asking the world

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to solve the problem of paralysis.

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And the great thing is we don't tell you how to do it.

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It could be engineering. It could be neuroscience.

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It could be biology.

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You might find a new way to grow new nerves.

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We don't know.

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The next problem on our list of nominations is malnutrition,

0:21:200:21:25

a subject that regularly hits the headlines.

0:21:250:21:28

But the tragic events that prompt such media attention

0:21:280:21:31

are just the tip of the iceberg.

0:21:310:21:33

Beyond disaster-related famine,

0:21:350:21:37

climate and soil type can leave people

0:21:370:21:39

with permanently restricted diets.

0:21:390:21:41

And of course social issues like poverty,

0:21:410:21:44

education and illness play a part.

0:21:440:21:46

As a result, over 800 million people around the world are undernourished,

0:21:460:21:51

with children the worst affected.

0:21:510:21:53

The vast majority are in developing countries,

0:21:530:21:56

where one in seven of the population suffers.

0:21:560:21:59

But it can affect us all.

0:21:590:22:01

In fact, just here in the UK,

0:22:010:22:03

over three million people are either malnourished

0:22:030:22:07

or at risk of malnourishment,

0:22:070:22:09

with the cost of ensuing health problems

0:22:090:22:12

running into billions of pounds every year.

0:22:120:22:15

Malnutrition is a problem that affects the whole planet.

0:22:150:22:18

Dr Michael Mosley asks how close science is to finding a solution.

0:22:180:22:23

When you hear the word malnourishment,

0:22:290:22:32

you probably think of natural disasters, droughts, emergency aid.

0:22:320:22:38

But, in fact, malnourishment is much wider than that.

0:22:380:22:42

They may not be starving to death, but worldwide there are millions

0:22:420:22:45

of people who lack vital nutrients in their diet.

0:22:450:22:49

120 million don't have enough vitamin A

0:22:490:22:53

and many of those will go blind.

0:22:530:22:55

An astonishing billion,

0:22:550:22:57

maybe two billion people around the globe are iron deficient,

0:22:570:23:02

which means they feel tired and listless a lot of the time.

0:23:020:23:06

If you don't get enough vitamin C in your diet, you get scurvy.

0:23:060:23:10

If you don't have enough calcium or vitamin D, then you develop rickets.

0:23:100:23:15

One of the biggest problems is a lack of protein

0:23:160:23:19

which can cause a condition called kwashiorkor.

0:23:190:23:22

Now, much of our protein comes from meat,

0:23:240:23:26

but livestock farming can't feed everyone.

0:23:260:23:29

One option for a more sustainable solution

0:23:350:23:37

is being explored here in the Netherlands.

0:23:370:23:40

Scientists have teamed up with the chef to cook me the sort of meal

0:23:420:23:46

a celebrity stuck in the jungle might eat.

0:23:460:23:49

-Good morning.

-Good Morning.

0:23:490:23:51

I like quiche, but I've never had a mealworm quiche.

0:23:510:23:53

I keep on thinking they're about to wriggle, come to life.

0:23:530:23:56

There's something of a novelty value to my meal.

0:23:580:24:01

Thank you. Great.

0:24:010:24:03

I'm going to, sort of, tuck in. Bon appetit.

0:24:030:24:07

Just when I cut into it, suddenly you see them, falling out.

0:24:080:24:12

Ah!

0:24:120:24:13

It's delicious.

0:24:190:24:20

Entomologist Marcel Dicke is serious about eating insects.

0:24:200:24:24

What, sort of, is the nutritional balance?

0:24:240:24:26

What have you got here in the way of fat and protein, things like that?

0:24:260:24:29

50% protein, but, especially important,

0:24:290:24:33

the minerals are very high - zinc, iron, magnesium.

0:24:330:24:37

In terms of composition, it's similar or even better than beef.

0:24:370:24:41

So I could get more iron from eating insects

0:24:410:24:43

-than I could from eating beef?

-Yes, definitely.

0:24:430:24:46

'Insects aren't just nutritious.'

0:24:460:24:49

They do provide a satisfying crunch.

0:24:490:24:52

'They're more efficient to farm than livestock,

0:24:520:24:54

'which makes them more sustainable.'

0:24:540:24:56

For producing 1kg of beef, we need 25kg of feed.

0:24:560:25:02

For producing 1kg of similar quality insect meat,

0:25:020:25:07

you need only 2.2kg of feed.

0:25:070:25:10

-Right, so that's 10%.

-Only 10%.

0:25:100:25:12

'Marcel's team helped compile a UN report showing that farmed insects

0:25:120:25:17

'produced fewer greenhouse gases and less ammonia than cattle.'

0:25:170:25:21

'They need less water and land, too.

0:25:210:25:23

'And 20,000 insect farms in Thailand show it can be done cheaply.

0:25:230:25:28

'The numbers all add up,

0:25:290:25:31

'but there is still one thing getting in the way.'

0:25:310:25:34

Well, the major barrier in the Western world is here,

0:25:340:25:38

psychological, people need to get used to it and I understand that.

0:25:380:25:43

If food technologists could find a way round our squeamishness,

0:25:430:25:47

insects might become more than a curiosity in the West.

0:25:470:25:50

But they aren't our only hope.

0:25:520:25:55

When it comes to easing global malnutrition,

0:25:550:25:57

there is one area of research where the potential is almost limitless,

0:25:570:26:00

and where they have recently also made huge advances.

0:26:000:26:04

Unfortunately, it is also incredibly contentious.

0:26:040:26:08

It is the genetic modification of crops.

0:26:080:26:10

In the US, more than 80% of corn, soya bean and cotton

0:26:120:26:16

produced in 2013 was genetically modified.

0:26:160:26:19

Here in the UK, you'd be pushed to find any GM food in the shops.

0:26:210:26:25

But there's lots of research going on,

0:26:250:26:27

because, as well as increasing yield,

0:26:270:26:30

GM can make food more nutritious.

0:26:300:26:33

This is Rothamsted Research.

0:26:330:26:35

Now, it is the longest running agricultural research station

0:26:350:26:39

in the world,

0:26:390:26:40

and the aim of this place is to get the most out of the crops we grow.

0:26:400:26:44

This remarkable Camelina plant contains omega-3 fish oil,

0:26:460:26:50

a vital nutrient thought to protect against heart disease and cancer

0:26:500:26:54

and to assist brain function.

0:26:540:26:57

Now, it isn't found naturally in plants.

0:26:570:26:59

But it is found in oily fish like salmon.

0:26:590:27:02

That's the root of a major problem,

0:27:020:27:04

which Johnathan Napier is trying to solve.

0:27:040:27:07

The global fish stocks that we have at the moment

0:27:070:27:09

are sufficient to provide our population,

0:27:090:27:12

our seven billion mouths, with about a teaspoon full of fish oil a week,

0:27:120:27:17

whereas we probably need at least double that, maybe more.

0:27:170:27:21

The situation's so bad that a recent US survey attributed

0:27:210:27:24

over 80,000 deaths a year to fish oil deficiencies.

0:27:240:27:28

So we're interested in trying to develop

0:27:300:27:32

an alternative, sustainable source of fish oils.

0:27:320:27:35

And these are our GM Camelina plants that we've engineered

0:27:350:27:38

to accumulate omega-3 fish oils.

0:27:380:27:41

Now that is pretty weird.

0:27:410:27:42

So this, presumably, this is the oil you produce, is it?

0:27:420:27:45

-Yeah, so...

-How much is this?

0:27:450:27:46

I think in terms of the amount of time and effort to produce it,

0:27:460:27:49

-it's tens if not hundreds of thousands of pounds.

-Per litre?

0:27:490:27:52

-Oh, yeah.

-You'll have to get the price down before you sell it.

0:27:520:27:55

Can I have a sniff? I promise not to swallow.

0:27:550:27:57

-You can have a sniff of it, as long as you don't...

-Not to taste, yeah.

0:27:570:28:00

Hold it to your lips and drain it. I would...

0:28:000:28:03

It's not at all fishy.

0:28:030:28:05

I mean, it's, sort of, if anything, slightly cabbagy.

0:28:050:28:07

Camelina is a brassica species

0:28:070:28:09

and so it would have a slightly cabbagy smell.

0:28:090:28:11

It is very strange, realising that I hold in my hands there

0:28:110:28:15

something that could have quite a significant impact on the future.

0:28:150:28:19

There are years of field trials and legal debate ahead

0:28:190:28:22

for crops like this.

0:28:220:28:24

But it does show what could be achieved.

0:28:240:28:27

I have seen two very different approaches

0:28:290:28:32

to the problem of malnutrition -

0:28:320:28:34

genetically-modified crops and insects.

0:28:340:28:37

Now, both could contribute significantly in the future

0:28:370:28:40

or perhaps solutions will come from

0:28:400:28:42

some completely unrelated area of research.

0:28:420:28:46

By 2050, there'll be nine billion people on the planet.

0:28:470:28:51

To feed them, we need to double food production.

0:28:510:28:54

Vote for food to be the subject of the Longitude Prize

0:28:560:28:59

and the challenge will be to create a historic innovation.

0:28:590:29:02

Something that offers everyone enough to eat that's nutritious,

0:29:020:29:06

sustainable and delicious.

0:29:060:29:08

It could be immensely exciting.

0:29:100:29:11

You know, we're talking about innovations that could

0:29:110:29:13

change the world, and if you look at the history of innovations in food,

0:29:130:29:16

you think about things like irrigation,

0:29:160:29:18

things like refrigeration,

0:29:180:29:20

things like fertilisers, industrial fertilisers.

0:29:200:29:22

These have quite literally changed the world

0:29:220:29:24

and changed the way the human race has developed.

0:29:240:29:26

One thing that links each of the nominated problems

0:29:300:29:33

is that a world-changing solution

0:29:330:29:36

needn't come from renowned scientists.

0:29:360:29:38

Back in the 18th century,

0:29:380:29:40

as astronomers struggled to solve the Longitude problem,

0:29:400:29:43

the Board appealed to the British public for help.

0:29:430:29:47

And that was where a man named John Harrison came in.

0:29:470:29:50

He wasn't from a university, or a big engineering company -

0:29:500:29:53

he was a lone carpenter and clock-maker from Yorkshire.

0:29:530:29:58

Harrison was convinced the solution to the problem lay

0:29:580:30:02

not in astronomy, but in inventing a clock

0:30:020:30:06

that would keep perfect time at sea.

0:30:060:30:09

I've come to the Horology Workshop at Greenwich,

0:30:130:30:16

to find out how he solved the problem -

0:30:160:30:19

with his revolutionary Marine Chronometer, H4.

0:30:190:30:23

-This is H4.

-This is H4.

0:30:230:30:25

Wonderful, it does look like an oversized pocket watch.

0:30:270:30:32

Absolutely.

0:30:320:30:34

People are often confused,

0:30:340:30:36

thinking it would've been worn in an enormous waistcoat pocket.

0:30:360:30:39

This wasn't Harrison's first attempt to solve the problem.

0:30:390:30:45

For over 25 years,

0:30:450:30:46

he'd set his sights on designing a clock that could handle

0:30:460:30:50

life at sea. After all, watches at the time were hopelessly inaccurate.

0:30:500:30:55

It was to Harrison's great credit that he was the one who

0:30:560:31:00

realised that was the wrong course and that he needed to rethink

0:31:000:31:05

the technology completely, that's when he started looking at watches.

0:31:050:31:09

He asked himself - why don't watches keep time well? And he realised

0:31:090:31:13

there was a very specific reason and that he could get round that reason.

0:31:130:31:17

-Would you like me to open it up and show you?

-Yes, please.

0:31:170:31:20

It's very exciting to see this.

0:31:270:31:29

It's beautiful.

0:31:290:31:31

If you think that's beautiful, prepare to be astonished.

0:31:330:31:36

It's a wonderful thing.

0:31:360:31:38

Oh! Wow! Look at that.

0:31:380:31:39

-Isn't that something?

-Incredible! That's really beautiful.

0:31:410:31:45

It's OK to start it if you'd like to hear it?

0:31:480:31:51

Yes, please.

0:31:510:31:52

I won't wind it very much.

0:31:570:31:58

That should do it...

0:32:000:32:01

To start it, you have to give it a swift swing...

0:32:010:32:05

There it goes. Yeah.

0:32:070:32:10

Wow!

0:32:100:32:11

So what was so special about the timekeeper,

0:32:150:32:19

-what was Harrison's breakthrough?

-His improvement was

0:32:190:32:22

the specification of the large oscillating wheel, the balance.

0:32:220:32:27

In a clock, the oscillator is the pendulum,

0:32:270:32:29

but in a watch, the oscillator is a little wheel that swings to and fro.

0:32:290:32:34

-You can see it flashing away through the holes in the engraving.

-Yeah.

0:32:340:32:38

Harrison was the first to recognise that with this balance

0:32:380:32:41

you needed to have large swings,

0:32:410:32:43

that is, not just swinging through a few degrees,

0:32:430:32:47

but big circles of swings, if you get me,

0:32:470:32:50

and also fast, it has to swing very fast.

0:32:500:32:54

In H4 the balance swings five times a second,

0:32:540:32:58

so that's really thrashing away in there.

0:32:580:33:00

So moving it around on a ship

0:33:000:33:02

you're not going to disturb that movement in the clock?

0:33:020:33:06

Yes, but received wisdom was you must not do this.

0:33:060:33:10

Every trained professional watchmaker had been told as an apprentice

0:33:100:33:15

never design a watch like this.

0:33:150:33:17

So Harrison was knowingly going against perceived wisdom,

0:33:170:33:23

so it required someone prepared to think completely outside the box

0:33:230:33:28

to enable him to succeed.

0:33:280:33:29

On its maiden voyage to the West Indies, after nine weeks at sea,

0:33:330:33:37

Harrison's clock was accurate to within just five seconds,

0:33:370:33:41

well inside the target of almost two minutes for such a journey.

0:33:410:33:45

And though it was several more years before he convinced the Board

0:33:450:33:50

that H4 wasn't a fluke, he finally received

0:33:500:33:53

over £23,000 in prize money, rewarding 43 years of work.

0:33:530:33:57

Thanks to John Harrison's clocks,

0:33:590:34:02

countless lives have been saved at sea ever since.

0:34:020:34:05

It really was a world-changing innovation.

0:34:050:34:08

It cemented Britain's position as a global power, allowing sea trade

0:34:080:34:12

to flourish, and played a part

0:34:120:34:14

in fixing Greenwich at the centre of world time once and for all.

0:34:140:34:19

This is the international meridian or zero longitude line.

0:34:190:34:24

Now I'm in the Western hemisphere,

0:34:240:34:27

over here I'm in the Eastern hemisphere.

0:34:270:34:29

300 years ago, a clockmaker from Yorkshire changed the world.

0:34:320:34:36

Can the new Longitude Prize inspire someone else to do the same?

0:34:360:34:41

In its report published in April this year,

0:34:460:34:49

the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change made it clear

0:34:490:34:52

that the world faces an enormous challenge.

0:34:520:34:55

If we're to avoid dangerous climate change in the 21st century,

0:34:550:34:58

we need to cut global greenhouse gas emissions by 70%.

0:34:580:35:03

The effects of climate change are already being felt.

0:35:050:35:08

And by raising sea levels, changing our weather patterns,

0:35:080:35:11

and affecting our ability to grow food,

0:35:110:35:14

climate change will leave its mark on all of us.

0:35:140:35:18

And there'll be no single solution to this problem -

0:35:180:35:20

it will demand multiple technological innovations.

0:35:200:35:24

Most urgently we need to tackle the world's top three

0:35:240:35:27

sources of emissions - energy, industry and transport,

0:35:270:35:31

which alone accounts for 13% of emissions.

0:35:310:35:35

Dr Helen Czerski is investigating flight.

0:35:350:35:38

Ten years ago this would've been a revolutionary vehicle.

0:35:430:35:47

Because this is an electric car.

0:35:470:35:51

Today, electric cars are entering the mainstream.

0:35:540:35:58

Offering the potential for road travel to be carbon-free.

0:35:590:36:04

But one form of transport is miles behind

0:36:140:36:16

when it comes to low carbon innovation.

0:36:160:36:20

And that is air travel.

0:36:240:36:26

If you're in one of those, you know you're burning jet fuel.

0:36:260:36:29

And there are tonnes of carbons belching from those engines.

0:36:290:36:33

If we're going to hit current emissions targets,

0:36:330:36:36

just one return flight across the Atlantic would use up

0:36:370:36:41

a passenger's entire annual carbon budget.

0:36:410:36:44

To keep up with our appetite for flight,

0:36:440:36:46

we need a low carbon alternative.

0:36:460:36:49

There aren't many yet.

0:36:580:37:00

But in Slovenia,

0:37:010:37:03

one family-owned company has been

0:37:030:37:05

experimenting with carbon-free flight, on a small scale.

0:37:050:37:09

Launched in 2012,

0:37:090:37:10

The Taurus Electro won't be replacing Jumbo jets any time soon,

0:37:100:37:15

but it's one of the most eco-friendly planes in the world.

0:37:150:37:19

What is it that's so special about this plane?

0:37:190:37:22

Well, there's no fuel involved with this aeroplane at all.

0:37:220:37:27

it's an electric-powered aeroplane that takes energy

0:37:270:37:30

from the battery and moves about by using this little electric motor.

0:37:300:37:34

-This is the battery.

-It's really small!

0:37:340:37:37

It's really small!

0:37:370:37:38

It may seem small, but it carries

0:37:380:37:40

about tenfold of what a car battery would -

0:37:400:37:42

and it's only three times the size.

0:37:420:37:44

In fact we're using the highest energy density batteries

0:37:440:37:48

that are available on the market.

0:37:480:37:50

We're starting to see lots of electric cars on the road,

0:37:500:37:52

why aren't there more electric aircraft?

0:37:520:37:54

Because it's much more difficult - the aeroplane has to lift the weight

0:37:540:37:59

of the battery pack, plus the aeroplane and the people up aloft.

0:37:590:38:02

Well, let's see what it can do.

0:38:050:38:08

OK, electric aircraft, here we go.

0:38:110:38:14

It's so smooth.

0:38:320:38:33

The batteries contain enough power to get the aircraft up to

0:38:380:38:41

an altitude of 2,500 metres.

0:38:410:38:43

At which point we go into economy mode.

0:38:430:38:47

ENGINE DROPS OFF

0:38:470:38:50

-Oh, God.

-Stop the engine.

0:38:500:38:52

SHE LAUGHS NERVOUSLY

0:38:530:38:54

I wasn't expecting that!

0:38:540:38:57

-Actually, now we are a glider.

-Right!

0:38:570:39:00

At the push of a button, the engine shuts down, the propeller tucks away,

0:39:000:39:04

and the plane becomes a glider.

0:39:040:39:07

It really is carbon-free flight.

0:39:080:39:11

But with only an hour or so's battery life in total,

0:39:140:39:17

you can't get very far without thermals providing extra lift.

0:39:170:39:21

That's no use for a passenger plane which needs to fly

0:39:210:39:25

anywhere in the world.

0:39:250:39:27

And bigger batteries would just add weight and demand even more power.

0:39:270:39:31

The flight today was just two people on a fun trip,

0:39:350:39:38

but what we want

0:39:380:39:39

is to transport hundreds of people for hundreds of miles.

0:39:390:39:43

And the problem with scaling up this technology is that

0:39:430:39:46

the best batteries we can foresee just can't do that job.

0:39:460:39:50

Another approach to the problem might be to abandon batteries

0:39:520:39:55

and explore completely new power systems.

0:39:550:39:58

Like those being developed to drive the next generation of spacecraft.

0:40:000:40:04

ENGINE ROARS

0:40:070:40:10

Here in Oxfordshire,

0:40:100:40:11

a team of engineers are developing a revolutionary engine.

0:40:110:40:15

Its fuel has greater energy density than batteries or fossil fuels.

0:40:150:40:20

It runs on liquid hydrogen.

0:40:200:40:22

How much better is hydrogen than other available fuels?

0:40:230:40:26

It's about two-and-a-half times the calorific value

0:40:260:40:29

per kilogram of a hydrocarbon.

0:40:290:40:31

Which means that gives you the best fuel consumption

0:40:310:40:34

possible for the engine.

0:40:340:40:36

This isn't just about getting into space,

0:40:360:40:38

you can use these ideas for commercial flight as well.

0:40:380:40:41

Yes, and such a vehicle could fly halfway round the world at Mach 5,

0:40:410:40:45

which would reduce the journey time

0:40:450:40:48

to Australia from something like 24 hours down to about four-and-a-half.

0:40:480:40:52

You'll just have time to drink a few gin and tonics

0:40:520:40:54

and watch the movie, then you'll land.

0:40:540:40:56

So it's got the power for a passenger plane, but the real bonus is

0:40:560:41:01

that burning hydrogen leaves an exhaust of almost pure water vapour.

0:41:010:41:06

So why isn't hydrogen used to power our planes normally?

0:41:060:41:10

Because it's incredibly expensive is the simple answer.

0:41:100:41:13

You've got to make the hydrogen somehow,

0:41:130:41:15

and then you have to liquefy it.

0:41:150:41:16

And the liquefaction absorbs a lot of energy,

0:41:160:41:19

and that makes it very expensive.

0:41:190:41:22

Sadly, it's not just the cost.

0:41:230:41:26

To make hydrogen fuel in the first place relies mostly on fossil fuels.

0:41:260:41:31

And that means carbon emissions.

0:41:310:41:33

We need a cheap, clean hydrogen source before this technology

0:41:330:41:37

can truly offer carbon-free passenger flight.

0:41:370:41:40

It's just over 100 years since humans first achieved powered flight,

0:41:430:41:47

and for all of that time it's been powered by fossil fuels.

0:41:470:41:52

But now, there are hints that it could be different.

0:41:520:41:55

There are new ideas - battery technologies, hydrogen, biofuels -

0:41:550:41:59

and all we need is a spark that will take us on

0:41:590:42:03

to a revolution in air travel and give us carbon-free flight.

0:42:030:42:08

If you choose this problem as the subject of the Longitude Prize,

0:42:100:42:14

the winner would need to build a plane that can fly from London

0:42:140:42:17

to Edinburgh at a comparable speed to today's planes -

0:42:170:42:21

with no carbon emissions.

0:42:210:42:23

The selection of flight was partly

0:42:240:42:26

motivated by the fact that it is a challenge that can be

0:42:260:42:29

addressed by small groups of creative individuals.

0:42:290:42:33

It doesn't require vast resources

0:42:330:42:35

to try and make a different sort of aircraft.

0:42:350:42:38

The world's population is still growing at an alarming rate.

0:42:420:42:45

In fact, there are nearly twice as many people

0:42:450:42:48

alive on the planet today as there were when I was born,

0:42:480:42:51

placing the planet's precious natural resources

0:42:510:42:55

under ever-increasing pressure.

0:42:550:42:57

In its 2014 report, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

0:42:570:43:01

identified the supply of fresh water

0:43:010:43:04

to the global population as an area of major concern,

0:43:040:43:08

and the World Health Organisation has predicted that by 2025

0:43:080:43:12

half of the world's population will be living in water-stressed areas.

0:43:120:43:17

Professor Iain Stewart is looking at the immense challenge

0:43:180:43:21

of supplying the world with fresh water.

0:43:210:43:24

There's a reason we call Earth the Blue Planet.

0:43:310:43:34

There's a lot of water on it.

0:43:340:43:36

Something like a billion trillion litres in fact.

0:43:360:43:39

Of course, only a tiny proportion of that is water clean enough

0:43:390:43:42

that you can drink or put on your crops.

0:43:420:43:45

97% of it is sea water, full of salt.

0:43:450:43:50

And if you try and drink that, the consequences can be fatal.

0:43:500:43:53

The obvious solution is to convert this vast water resource

0:43:570:44:00

into something you can drink, by separating the water from the salt.

0:44:000:44:04

But that isn't quite as easy as it sounds.

0:44:040:44:07

So this is a solar still, which is designed to take the heat

0:44:100:44:15

of the sun and convert dirty, salty water into lovely drinking water.

0:44:150:44:19

It's basically an inflatable bag, and I'm going to fill it with

0:44:220:44:26

a blend of water, salt and coffee for an authentic muddy look.

0:44:260:44:31

I know it doesn't look nice.

0:44:320:44:34

But now we just let the sun do its work.

0:44:340:44:36

Under the sun's heat, pure water evaporates inside.

0:44:390:44:43

It condenses on the lid, and eventually collects in the bag.

0:44:430:44:47

Of course, there's only one real test of all of this.

0:44:490:44:52

Well, that's all right really. But actually, there's not a lot of it.

0:44:580:45:01

We've had about five hours of pretty constant sunshine.

0:45:010:45:04

And that's the problem really.

0:45:040:45:05

Generating fresh water from saltwater using just

0:45:050:45:08

the energy of the sun is a slow business.

0:45:080:45:12

It might be OK for occasional use, but for a permanent supply,

0:45:120:45:16

we need a lot more energy.

0:45:160:45:17

Even here in London engineers are turning to sea water

0:45:200:45:24

to boost dwindling water supplies.

0:45:240:45:26

This is one of the most advanced desalination plants in the world.

0:45:270:45:31

This is where it all starts. This is the Thames.

0:45:330:45:35

London is up there, and the sea's down here,

0:45:350:45:38

so this water is really pretty salty.

0:45:380:45:41

The water itself gets sucked up by these huge pipes here,

0:45:410:45:45

up to 220 million litres every day.

0:45:450:45:48

Once all the muck has been filtered out, the real job begins.

0:45:510:45:56

But instead of evaporation, this place relies on pure brute force.

0:45:560:46:00

So, Simon, how do you get the salt out of the water?

0:46:000:46:03

We've got to force the water from the salty solution,

0:46:030:46:06

and we use these membranes to do that.

0:46:060:46:09

So these rolls here...is kind of what's in these tubes, is it?

0:46:090:46:13

Absolutely, we've got about 10,000 of these on site.

0:46:130:46:16

And that's exactly what's in each one of these tubes.

0:46:160:46:19

So how does this work then?

0:46:190:46:21

So you've got the salty solution,

0:46:210:46:22

and it works its way through the membrane,

0:46:220:46:25

and really, you get the clean water coming out through the centre.

0:46:250:46:28

So this is where it ends up then, is it?

0:46:280:46:29

-Down that kind of tube there?

-Absolutely.

0:46:290:46:31

The system is fighting against a natural process called osmosis,

0:46:330:46:37

which normally drives water INTO salty solutions, not out of them.

0:46:370:46:42

It's fighting that process that takes all the effort.

0:46:420:46:45

So, if you think, the normal pressure

0:46:450:46:48

-in a car tyre is about, what, two bar?

-Yeah.

0:46:480:46:50

This is about 84 bar - 40 times higher, the pressure,

0:46:500:46:54

to force the salty solution against this.

0:46:540:46:56

It's the cost of actually providing the pressure behind that,

0:46:560:46:59

that's the challenge.

0:46:590:47:00

At these pressures, the valuable membranes quickly clog up with dirt,

0:47:020:47:06

making drinking water from here around about 15 times

0:47:060:47:09

more expensive than regular water.

0:47:090:47:11

We desperately need a cheaper, more efficient way

0:47:130:47:16

to convert large volumes.

0:47:160:47:17

No-one's found the answer yet.

0:47:190:47:21

But here in Gibraltar, engineers are trying something new.

0:47:230:47:27

-Peter?

-Yes?

-Hi.

-You must be Iain.

0:47:300:47:34

'This new system separates salt from water by

0:47:340:47:37

'taking advantage of osmosis, rather than fighting it.

0:47:370:47:40

'And it can handle 18,000 litres a day.'

0:47:400:47:42

So what's actually going on inside?

0:47:440:47:46

If we could cut one of them open, what would we see?

0:47:460:47:48

What you'd see inside of these is some hollow fibres.

0:47:480:47:52

-So this is a hollow fibre membrane.

-These are tubes?

0:47:520:47:55

-These are tubes. Very, very fine.

-Oh, like hair.

0:47:550:47:59

Sea water flows on the outside of these fibres,

0:47:590:48:03

and through the fibres we pump what we call draw solution.

0:48:030:48:07

'That draw solution's the key,

0:48:080:48:10

'because it's more concentrated than sea water.'

0:48:100:48:13

So, by the natural process of osmosis,

0:48:130:48:15

we draw across, effectively, almost pure water.

0:48:150:48:18

I guess the point is that there's really no energy involved.

0:48:180:48:21

In this step there's very little, it just happens naturally.

0:48:210:48:24

'It's a step forwards, although for now, they still need to use

0:48:250:48:29

'pressure to separate the water from the draw solution.

0:48:290:48:33

'Overall, it's more efficient, but only just.'

0:48:330:48:36

OK, so let's have a...

0:48:390:48:40

-Slightly nervous!

-Shouldn't be.

0:48:420:48:45

No, that's really nice.

0:48:470:48:49

'New systems like this are setting the scene for a revolution

0:48:500:48:54

'in water treatment, but the real goal is still a long way off.'

0:48:540:48:57

So the big question is, is there an even better way

0:48:590:49:02

to take the almost limitless supplies of that stuff

0:49:020:49:06

and turn it into water we can use?

0:49:060:49:08

'Fresh water is increasingly precious yet essential.

0:49:110:49:15

'If this is the problem you choose as the most important to tackle,

0:49:150:49:18

'then the prize will be awarded to whoever can create a cheap

0:49:180:49:22

'and environmentally sustainable technology

0:49:220:49:25

'to produce fresh water anywhere in the world.'

0:49:250:49:28

You just have to read headlines,

0:49:290:49:31

whether it's in Beijing or California and so on,

0:49:310:49:34

to know that the existing fresh water infrastructure is

0:49:340:49:38

really under colossal strain and we need some radical

0:49:380:49:42

new approaches to plumb the planet in a fundamentally different way.

0:49:420:49:47

An undeniable benefit of modern medicine is that all of us

0:49:490:49:53

can expect to live longer.

0:49:530:49:55

But an ageing population brings challenges of its own,

0:49:550:49:59

in particular the task of caring for those living with dementia,

0:49:590:50:03

including its most common form, Alzheimer's disease.

0:50:030:50:07

According to the Alzheimer's Society the number of people living with

0:50:070:50:10

the disease is set to double in the next 25 years,

0:50:100:50:13

placing an immense burden not just on the healthcare system

0:50:130:50:17

but on individuals, on their families and care networks.

0:50:170:50:21

'As many as 50,000 people are expected to leave work this year

0:50:230:50:27

'to cope with the demands of caring for sufferers.

0:50:270:50:30

'Finally, Dr Kevin Fong investigates how technology

0:50:320:50:35

'might also help with this imminent crisis.'

0:50:350:50:38

-Hello!

-Hello!

-Hello, how are you?

-Fine, good, come in. Do come in.

0:50:410:50:45

'I've come to see Anne Delve.'

0:50:470:50:49

-Anne.

-Hello, nice to see you.

0:50:490:50:51

'Five years ago, she was diagnosed with dementia.'

0:50:510:50:54

Things aren't quite right sometimes

0:50:540:50:57

but you have to get that in the right place in the head.

0:50:570:51:02

'Her sister Joy has moved in to give her constant care,

0:51:030:51:07

'and their mother Joan also helps.'

0:51:070:51:09

For Anne, I think knowing that she was ill was hard initially,

0:51:100:51:14

but also, when you've got to accept that you've got to have help,

0:51:140:51:17

as with anyone with any kind of illness, it's really hard.

0:51:170:51:21

Yeah, because, I used to...

0:51:210:51:24

-used to go anywhere.

-Mm.

0:51:240:51:27

Erm, but, you know, that's how things are.

0:51:270:51:31

It's the loss of independence, isn't it?

0:51:310:51:33

'For people with dementia, even simple chores can become difficult,

0:51:350:51:40

'as memory fades and decision-making gets harder.

0:51:400:51:43

'But encouraging the keep-up of everyday tasks

0:51:440:51:47

'can help slow the decline.

0:51:470:51:50

-You've got the tap here for the sink.

-Yeah.

0:51:500:51:52

-D'you remember how to turn it on?

-No.

0:51:520:51:54

If you want to turn the tap on,

0:51:540:51:56

you'd use the little switch here, d'you remember? Just over there?

0:51:560:52:00

You can do that, and pull it towards you. Just pull it.

0:52:000:52:03

-I suppose I could.

-Give it a go.

-I'm not going to burn myself.

0:52:030:52:06

No, that's cold water.

0:52:060:52:08

-And then you can wash the cups up for me, is that all right?

-Yes, yes.

0:52:080:52:12

-You don't mind, do you?

-No.

0:52:120:52:13

-Shall I wash this off now, then?

-Yes, Anne.

-Leave this on here?

0:52:150:52:19

Do you want to put it on the drainer? That's it, Anne, brilliant.

0:52:190:52:23

'While many people with dementia have to move into care homes,

0:52:230:52:27

'sufferers are normally much better off in a familiar environment.'

0:52:270:52:32

It seems important for you that you're at home and not

0:52:320:52:34

-somewhere else...

-I think so, definitely.

0:52:340:52:37

-..being looked after by strangers.

-Yes, definitely.

0:52:370:52:39

That is great for Anne's health and her wellbeing

0:52:390:52:42

because we're carrying on doing what is normal in the home.

0:52:420:52:46

'But this sort of care can be a huge burden on the family,

0:52:460:52:50

'so the hope is that technology might offer help.

0:52:500:52:53

'At Birmingham University,

0:52:550:52:57

'researchers are one step closer to the ultimate answer.

0:52:570:53:00

'A robot carer. He's called Bob.'

0:53:020:53:04

Bob can learn, in somebody's home,

0:53:040:53:06

where they typically leave their newspaper or their slippers or

0:53:060:53:10

their keys, and use the information so he can quickly find things.

0:53:100:53:14

Object located.

0:53:140:53:15

And you can see that what he's done is

0:53:150:53:17

he's found the keyboard and a bottle.

0:53:170:53:19

Bob can monitor the positions of people,

0:53:190:53:22

so we're looking to detect, has someone fallen over?

0:53:220:53:25

And also remind people or notify carers that someone's

0:53:250:53:27

forgotten to take their medicine or they haven't got up at the time they should,

0:53:270:53:31

or they're getting up at the time they shouldn't,

0:53:310:53:33

so they've gone out and walked around in the middle of the night.

0:53:330:53:36

'With today's technology, Bob's abilities are restricted.

0:53:360:53:40

'Stairs are a problem, it doesn't have useful arms yet,

0:53:400:53:43

'and its decision-making is limited.

0:53:430:53:46

'For now, domestic robots are still the stuff of science fiction.'

0:53:460:53:50

Of course, these things are a very long way away.

0:53:500:53:53

Things are maturing at different rates in robotics,

0:53:530:53:55

but one day we'll be able to put these things together.

0:53:550:53:59

'Another approach scientists are exploring

0:53:590:54:02

'is to make the home itself part of the caring system.'

0:54:020:54:05

Pretty ordinary looking kitchen. Tell me what's special about it.

0:54:050:54:08

OK, so, physically it's meant to be unremarkable in that it's

0:54:080:54:11

meant to be like the sort of kitchen you might have in an everyday home.

0:54:110:54:15

We've got sensors in the utensils, sensors in the appliances

0:54:150:54:19

and sensors in the worktops themselves to give you

0:54:190:54:21

a little bit of a nudge at an appropriate time.

0:54:210:54:24

Well, let's have a look at making a cup of tea in this automated kitchen.

0:54:240:54:28

So, kettle on.

0:54:280:54:29

The kettle itself has a sensor in that measures how much water

0:54:290:54:32

is in there, so it knows that you've got enough for a cup of tea.

0:54:320:54:35

The cups have a sensor in.

0:54:350:54:37

Open the tea caddy to get a teabag.

0:54:370:54:39

And as you've just seen there, our environment's reasoned

0:54:390:54:42

that our kettle's boiled, our cup's out, we're making a cup of tea.

0:54:420:54:45

And it knows that we want to go for a teabag,

0:54:450:54:47

and I'm assuming you can't instrument that as well.

0:54:470:54:50

Well, actually, we do in this case.

0:54:500:54:52

So we use sensors in the teabag's tag here.

0:54:520:54:55

Pour hot water into the cup.

0:54:550:54:57

'With sensors attached to everything I need to make a cuppa,

0:54:570:55:01

'the computer guides me through every step...'

0:55:010:55:04

Pour some milk into the cup.

0:55:040:55:06

-OK.

-There you go.

-It wants me to get on with making your tea, yeah.

0:55:060:55:09

'..and monitors what I'm doing all the way.'

0:55:090:55:13

And so it knows that that's a stirring action,

0:55:130:55:15

it's seeing that through the motion of the accelerometer.

0:55:150:55:18

Whereas if you put the sensor down...

0:55:180:55:20

-I'll just leave it there.

-..it'll know that you're not stirring.

0:55:200:55:23

That's pretty impressive.

0:55:230:55:25

'This system gives us a glimpse of what technology could make possible.

0:55:250:55:30

'But the reality is it doesn't yet have

0:55:300:55:32

'the artificial intelligence needed to replace a human carer.'

0:55:320:55:36

Dementia is one of the most difficult

0:55:380:55:40

and devastating problems that we face in science and society today.

0:55:400:55:44

We're a long way from any meaningful treatment, much less a cure.

0:55:440:55:49

But in the meantime there's the hope that technology might allow us

0:55:490:55:52

to live our lives as fully as possible for as long as possible.

0:55:520:55:57

-Come on.

-All right.

0:55:570:55:58

'Most of us will know someone with some form of dementia

0:55:580:56:02

'during our lives, and it's a growing problem.

0:56:020:56:06

'If this gets your vote,

0:56:060:56:07

'then the challenge to potential winners will be to develop

0:56:070:56:10

'an affordable technology that's truly capable of giving independence

0:56:100:56:15

'to people living with the condition.'

0:56:150:56:17

It's a cruel disease, as you watch the person you love change,

0:56:170:56:22

and you lose them, but you still want to support them.

0:56:220:56:26

We can't throw the money at a human caring system, so we need to think

0:56:260:56:30

about how we can use technology and smart devices to enable them

0:56:300:56:36

to live on their own with dignity for longer.

0:56:360:56:39

Carbon free flight, paralysis or food?

0:56:420:56:46

Dementia care, fresh water or antibiotics?

0:56:460:56:50

'Six vital problems facing us today,

0:56:520:56:55

'but only one can benefit from the £10 million Longitude Prize Fund.'

0:56:550:57:00

We want to get the whole country involved in deciding

0:57:020:57:06

which of these challenges the £10 million prize fund should be

0:57:060:57:11

offered for, and in just a few moments,

0:57:110:57:14

when this programme finishes,

0:57:140:57:16

you can cast your vote by text or online.

0:57:160:57:19

'Texts will be charged at your standard rate.

0:57:550:57:58

'Or you can vote for free online at bbc.co.uk/horizon.

0:57:580:58:04

'There you'll find Terms and Conditions

0:58:040:58:06

'and lots more information on the challenges too.

0:58:060:58:09

'Voting will close at 7.10pm on the 25th of June with the result

0:58:120:58:17

'announced live on The One Show that night.'

0:58:170:58:19

It may take several years

0:58:220:58:24

but eventually someone somewhere will come up with

0:58:240:58:27

an effective solution to the challenge you choose,

0:58:270:58:31

and a genuine claim to the new Longitude Prize.

0:58:310:58:35

300 years ago, that someone was a clockmaker from Yorkshire.

0:58:350:58:40

This time, could it be you?

0:58:400:58:42

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