Episode 1: Snakebites, Eco-Marathon and Carbon Storage

On today’s episode of the RAZOR podcast Emma and Shini discuss the development of a new snakebite anti-venom being made in Liverpool. The World Health Organization calls snakebites one of the world&aposs priority neglected tropical diseases. Up to one hundred thirty eight thousand people die every year from snake bites due to a drastic global shortage of anti-venoms. Our reporter Jo Colan goes out to the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine to talk to a group of scientists taking steps to address the situation [01.40] .

 According to NASA, the levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere are higher than they’ve  been at any time in the past four hundred thousand years. Scientists think one way of reducing levels is right under our noses. Emma went out to a power plant in Iceland where they&aposre taking carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and turning it into stone [08.06].

Cars are essential to the hustle and bustle of modern city life, but as the globe gets warmer and their emissions more toxic, it&aposs important to find alternatives.  Shini goes to the Shell Eco-Marathon, where innovators and engineers are competing against each other to design, build and race energy efficient cars of the future.  The stakes are high as engineers compete to see who can design the most efficient car that can last the longest around the track [11.06].