Podcast: summer science, farming shipping containers and a biological field trip

In this edition: Imperial at the Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition, putting empty shipping containers to use and a visit to Silwood Park

The podcast is presented by Gareth Mitchell, a lecturer on Imperial's Science Communication MSc course and the presenter of Click Radio on the BBC World Service, with contributions from our roaming reporters.

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News: a robotic rectum and the Big Bounce – Imperial researcher have developed a robotic model that will help nurses and GPs practise rectal exams for the diagnosis of prostate cancer, and physicists have theorised a new beginning to our universe – with a bounce instead of a bang.

Summer science – We report from the Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition, where Imperial researchers have been asking crowds to sniff a comet and come up with solutions to the problem of plastic in the oceans.

Farming shipping containers – Can we make better use of empty shipping containers making return journeys to China? One design engineering student has invented a collapsible hydroponic farm that can be set up inside the containers, providing food for the Chinese market and profit for the shipping company.

Silwood Park field trip – We visit Imperial’s rural campus, where researchers focus on ecology, evolution and conservation There we meet scientists working on species extinction, the differences between males and females, and who our oldest ancestors are.