This Way Up for Saturday 15 December 2012
The perfect Christmas tree
The quest to breed the perfect Christmas tree. Professor Gary Chastagner of Washington State University is trying to find the genes associated with needle shedding.
Tech news: Pandora and mobile roaming
Peter Griffin beams in with the latest from the world of technology. This week, Telecom slashes mobile roaming charges, and the internet radio service Pandora re-launches in New Zealand.
Birds: Welcome Swallow
The arrival of the welcome swallow shows that summer is well and truly here. With Hugh Robertson.
Algorithms
In 'Automate This' author Christopher Steiner looks at how the algorithm is revolutionising everything from the music business to healthcare, share trading, and the good old 0800 number.
Naked Science: Cheese, jellyfish and the great outdoors
Dr Chris Smith beams in with the latest science news from around the globe. This week, 7000-year-old cheese, a potential cure for lethal box jellyfish stings, and scientific proof that getting out into the great outdoors really does make you smarter!
Big old trees
A new global study shows that the number of big old trees, some more than one thousand years old, is rapidly reducing. Professor David Lindenmayer of the Australian National University is lead author of the study.