Podcast: Why students cheat, 3D printing and rainforest radio

In this edition: We find out why students cheat, how 3D printing has evolved and tune into the sounds of the rainforest.

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News: Festival preview – The Imperial Festival has joined up with 19 of its neighbours this year to bring you the largest selection of science, art, technology and entertainment South Kensington has to offer. Join us for the Great Exhibition Road Festival on 28-30 June.

Why do some students cheat? – There’s a lot of pressure to succeed in university, and students worldwide are turning to services they can pay to do their assignment for them. Researcher Dr Thomas Lancaster has been investigating why – and uncovering some aggressive tactics from essay mill services.

The evolution of 3D printing – From rapid prototyping tool to manufacturing resource, 3D printing has evolved to the stage where we can now create aircraft parts, satellite components, medical implants and even copies of people’s faces. There is a lot of promise, but also potentially trouble, as the case of people printing their own guns shows. (Catch this interview and more in the latest episode of Never Lick the Spook - the official Imperial podcast that brings to life the teeny tiny world of molecules.)

Tune into the rainforest – A new website created by our researchers streams sounds live from the Bornean rainforest. As well as being therapeutic, the project has some serious science behind it, as it tracks soundscapes across different landscapes from old-growth forest to totally cleared areas.

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