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The Building Blocks of Life and Intelligence

The Building Blocks of Life and Intelligence

Anne McElvoy talks to Alison Woollard, Kathryn Asbury, Roger Kneebone and Sir Mark Elder.

Start the Week · BBC Radio 4

December 9, 201341m 59s

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Show Notes

On Start the Week Anne McElvoy talks to the geneticist Alison Woollard about the extraordinary developments in biological science in the last decade, and how switching on and off certain genes could improve and extend life. The psychologist Kathryn Asbury studies the vexed question of nature and nurture, and whether a better understanding of genetic influence can improve children's education. Professor Roger Kneebone explains the role of jazz improvisation in the operating theatre, and what recreating surgery from the 1980s can teach modern clinicians. Raiding the past for hidden gems fascinates the conductor Sir Mark Elder as he prepares to bring operatic rarities to a new audience.

Producer: Katy Hickman.