Superquark - Season 25

First aired: 7/4/2018 9 episodes

Episodes

1. Bilingualism, robots in the operating room, and nuclear fusion

Aired: 7/4/2018

With Alberto Angela, we'll explore Bologna, a city on water. A journey through the Emilian capital, which, thanks to the clever exploitation of this precious resource, rarely found in the region, has managed to be one of Europe's most important cities for three centuries and home to the first university. Bilingualism leads to changes in the brain that have surprising consequences. In fact, learning a second language has proven beneficial not only for its obvious advantages in work and life, but also for improving memory and significantly delaying neurological degeneration, and thus problems like dementia and Alzheimer's. Can robots in the operating room be considered the new frontier of surgery? But how does one become a surgeon with a robot assistant? Superquark went to Forlì Hospital, one of Italy's centers of excellence, to see how robots are entering the healthcare world, from operating rooms to wards.

2. Prosthetics, speed on skis, and Italian "top guns"

Aired: 7/11/2018

This episode features an interesting investigation into prosthetics and implants. Every year, two million pacemakers are implanted, as well as two million silicone breast implants, heart valves, and femoral heads. Of the 10 million artificial prosthesis implants performed, approximately one-third are performed to address rejection or infection. The University of Zurich has developed a material that appears to solve this problem. It's cellulose-based, and its ability to bind human cells together would make the prostheses... invisible. Superquark reporters then visited Italian Air Force test pilots and documented their daily work at the Pratica di Mare base, to discover how this profession is changing, now called upon to flight test not only new aircraft but also new avionics software for fighter jets like the Eurofighter.

3. Xylella, the brain-gut link, and private astronauts

Aired: 7/18/2018

With Alberto Angela, you'll delve into the storerooms and attics of the National Archaeological Museum of Naples, discovering countless masterpieces—a true hidden treasure. Thousands of artifacts, everyday objects, as well as statues, bronzes, and frescoes, come from Pompeii and the entire area affected by the devastating eruption of 79 AD. Marco Visalberghi and Barbara Bernardini will explore the strange connection between the brain and the gut: do our moods—like happiness and sadness—also depend on what we eat? This new research from the University of Oxford demonstrates the connection between gut and mood. An incredible chain of errors has transformed Xylella fastidiosa into a threat to olive trees across the Mediterranean: Giovanni Carrada and Rossella Li Vigni will explore this issue, visiting the olive groves and speaking with researchers. Private astronauts, the dawn of a new space age?

4. A world without vaccines, underwater volcanoes, and cryptocurrency on the internet

Aired: 7/25/2018

The world without vaccines: a journey through past and present to discover the fate we have escaped. Barbara Gallavotti and Rossella Li Vigni interviewed one of Europe's 30 most influential scientists under 30 at the University of Zurich, and with him, they calculated the number of people who have lost their lives to vaccine-preventable diseases. It's impressive, as is the number of people vaccines have saved: approximately 20 million lives and a saving of €350 billion in healthcare costs in the last 20 years alone. "Superquark" also ran a report on the Southern Tyrrhenian Sea off the Aeolian Islands. What lies beneath its surface? Today, special sonar can virtually remove water, and the hidden face of the Tyrrhenian Sea has held many surprises, such as the discovery of seven new underwater volcanoes. Piero Angela and Paco Lanciano will follow in the studio to delve deeper with an experiment. Finally, technology will be on the agenda.

5. Osteoporosis, stress, CO2 pollution

Aired: 8/1/2018

In Europe, tens of millions of people are at risk of osteoporosis. A study addresses the problem in an innovative way, thanks to funding from the European Research Council. This time, Alberto Angela will lead viewers into the world of divers, to see firsthand how new technologies have transformed an almost mythical profession over the years. We will descend to the bottom of the Ligurian Sea off Cape Noli, where in March 1795 a naval battle was fought that was Admiral Nelson's baptism of fire. Every time we use our cars, we suffocate the planet with carbon dioxide. Now, a new technology has arrived to the planet's rescue, promising to absorb excess CO2 by acting like a sponge. Marco Visalberghi and Barbara Bernardini traveled to the United States to see how it works.

6. Gene technology against tumors, artificial steak, valve transplantation

Aired: 8/8/2018

In this episode: How does the new gene therapy work, used to defeat tumors by genetically modifying immune system cells? And then: during construction work for a gas pipeline near Gambolò, in the province of Pavia, the first of a series of ancient Lombard burials was uncovered. Subsequently, 27 more were discovered and excavated. And again: a few years ago, news caused a sensation: a Dutch company had developed an artificial steak in a laboratory without the need to slaughter animals. Today, startups in the US and Europe are working on the artificial steak. Our correspondents went to take stock of the situation. Valve transplants: when a heart valve fails, it often needs to be replaced. But is it possible to have valves that last forever? We'll be following the initial results of a European project. Is there life in space?

7. Alzheimer's, fighting fires, energy from organic waste

Aired: 8/13/2018

Alzheimer's can't be cured, but it can be prevented by training all the "muscles," so to speak, of our brain. With the Superquark reporters, we travel to the CNR Neuroscience Institute in Pisa, where the "train your brain" experiment was born, in collaboration with the Institute of Clinical Physiology, the University of Pisa, and the Stella Maris Foundation, with the support of the Pisa Foundation. Fighting fires by intervening well before the flames erupt: how? By using fire itself. The La Pineta di Tocchi Regional Center in the municipality of Monticiano, in the province of Siena, is a center of excellence for teaching fire prevention techniques, including prescribed burning. There's a lot of energy waiting to be recovered in the organic waste bag. We'll discover how to recover it without throwing anything away. We see not only with our eyes, but also with our brains.

8. Piuro's little "Pompeii", the most spoken language in the world

Aired: 8/22/2018

Piuro, a small town that was buried by a massive landslide exactly four centuries ago and disappeared completely. It is located in Valchiavenna, in the province of Sondrio. Excavations have only begun in recent decades, and like a miniature Pompeii, a vanished world has resurfaced. Archaeologists have found the remains of a community frozen in place at the moment of the disaster. Work continues, and Paolo Magliocco and Giulia De Francovich went to see what they're uncovering. The world's first factory for handcrafted furniture, each unique and custom-made, but automatically Italian. Giovanni Carrada and Daniela Franco went to see how it works. What happened to the Station Master, that official in the red-hatted uniform who started the trains with a green paddle? He's still there, but he starts them with electronic commands. The Superquark reporters explore the safety systems of the Italian railway network, particularly the high-speed trains.

9. Pompeii, bacteria in the human body and fake news

Aired: 8/29/2018

Alberto Angela will be in Pompeii, searching for new fragments of our past, among numerous artifacts preserving data and information recovered thanks to the work of specialists and increasingly sophisticated technologies. Our bodies contain nine bacteria for every human cell. And we don't have a good relationship with all of them. With Barbara Gallavotti and Daniela Franco, we'll travel to Belgium to understand how to treat the bacteria responsible for a truly unbearable odor and how they can be transplanted. Between physics and technology: Paolo Magliocco and Andrea Pasquini will demonstrate how systems work that can make mountain climbing safe, even for the less experienced. What kind of job will a child who goes to school today have tomorrow? Paolo Magliocco and Federica Calvia traveled to the University of Oxford, where a study is trying to identify the most sought-after professions of the future.