Futureproof Extra: Pigments in the fossil record & the medical applications of Biophotonics

Why is your cat ginger or black? Often it comes down to a very small type of pigment that scientists in Cork have been examining to learn more about the colourisation of ancient animals. Joining Jonathan to discuss is Dr Tiffany Slater, Palaeobiologist at UCC who is interested in the preservation of ancient biomolecules.

Also on the programme, did you know you can use light to detect specific cells in the body? Professor Stefan Andersson-Engles is the Head of Biophotonics and Deputy Director of IPIC based at the Tyndall National Institute and is also a Professor of Physics at University College Cork who has just been awarded a €5.3 million grant by Science Foundation Ireland to further investigate the application of light-based technologies. He joins Jonathan to discuss.