Swine Flu - Teaching the Science

A focus on what students and science teachers can learn from the pandemic threat of Swine flu, with insights from four top UK scientists who are joining in the international fight to combat the virus.

The contributors, who answer a series of questions posed by science teachers, include Dr. Othmar Engelhardt, a scientist at the National Institute for Biological Standards and Control, who has helped crack the genetic code of the current virus and develop a Swine flu vaccine.

We also hear from Dr. Tarit Mukhopadhyay, a Bio-chemical engineer at UCL, who advises the government on the most efficient methods for producing vast amounts of vaccine as quickly as possible.

Also answering questions are Professor Wendy Barclay of Imperial College, London, an influenza specialist who is on constant lookout for swine flu virus mutations, and Professor Neil Ferguson from the Medical Research Council, who predicts the potential impact of the pandemic.