BBC Series on Cities as Science Hot Spots

Cities like Cambridge, MA, Madison, WI and Berkeley, CA aren’t the only places in the world vying to brand themselves as 21st century centers of innovation. This week, the BBC series The Changing World features a two part episode on cities as science hot spots. Listen here.

What all of these cities have in common is a political culture that accepts and celebrates biomedical research. As a result, in coming decades, many states and cities in the US are likely to be left behind in the global competition for biotechnology investment.

PART 1
The BBC’s Richard Hollingham begins in Japan. Tsukuba Science City is home to some fifty institutes, which employ 19,000 researchers. Hollingham explores the cultural clashes between native and foreign-born scientists there, and looks at the unique opportunities the region offers.

PART 2
The University of Cambridge, England, is 800 years old. The BBC’s Richard Hollingham investigates why Cambridge is now a global leader in biotechnology, and probes the link between science and industry there.