This Way Up for Saturday 7 November 2009
Bee populations
Another perspective on Colony Collapse Disorder, the label used to describe the massive falls in bee numbers in the US and Europe. Professor Lawrence Harder says that bee populations are actually increasing globally.
iPlot 8: Salad Seedlings
Head gardener Colin Walker plans our planting cycle. We're sowing our salad greens using a bio-intensive method. The idea is to plant continually so we get crops throughout the summer and not one massive harvest in three months time. Colin explains how to manage this process and get healthy nutritious food all the time.
Match-making councils
David McNeill beams in from Japan where a falling population is turning local councils into matchmakers, organising gardening and cycling events for singles.
Airline seating
Airlines are looking for ways to change traditional seating patterns, experimenting with things like getting rid of overhead storage lockers and using mezzanine floors in the cabin. Jason Paur reports.
Slippery creatures
Jan-Henning Dirks is working on a new insect repellent: a slippery coating you can apply to surfaces to stop insects' feet gripping.
Beer history
Mark Denny's a physicist and keen home-brewer who's looking at the way beer developed from leftover soggy bread mix to today's micro-brewed craft ales.