Our Changing World for Thursday 1 March 2007

Science

Veronika Meduna meets Sir Harry Kroto, who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1996 for the discovery of a new form of carbon - a spherical molecule made up of 60 carbon atoms that looks like a miniature soccer ball. He talks about his early inspiration in science and how he juggles his many other talents.

Veronika also talks to John Townend, the Earthquake Commission Fellow in Seismic Studies at Victoria University, who's studying silent earthquakes - slow-moving land deformations that can only be detected with the help of extremely sensitive seismic instruments.

Environment

The office of the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment is celebrating its first 20 years this week and Dean Williams discusses the definition of sustainability with Professor Tim O'Riordan, at the University of East Anglia and the Sustainable Development Commission UK, and Professor Peter Guthrie, at Cambridge University.

Health

Dance is growing in popularity and it's also proving to be good for physical and mental well-being. Louise Wallace discusses dance as an aid to help mobility in the elderly with Auckland University of Technology dance lecturer Linda Ashley.