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What in the World
Can a crystal bring humans back to life in case of extinction?
What in the World
Sep 23, 2024

Time capsules preserve artefacts and memories so that people in the future can learn about a particular time in the past. Now scientists at the University of Southampton in the U.K. have come up with an innovative memento: a “memory crystal” that fits in your hand and contains the entire human genome. It’s essentially a manual that defines what makes us human. How could future generations use the genetic information in the crystal? Nimesh Pinnamaneni, the CEO of Helixworks, the company behind this technology, explains. We also hear from the founder of Memory of Mankind, an archive of human memories that’s located in a salt mine in Austria. It aims to preserve a back-up of human civilisation, including the crystal, in case we disappear. Instagram: @bbcwhatintheworld Email: [email protected] WhatsApp: +44 0330 12 33 22 6 Presenter: Hannah Gelbart Producers: William Lee Adams and Maria Clara Montoya Editor: Verity Wilde

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Feb 5, 2025
USAID: Can the world live without it?

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is under fire. It is the world’s biggest donor and spends billions of dollars a year, funding programmes around the world, like fighting malaria in Bangladesh, clearing unexploded landmines in Cambodia and Laos and providing medical supplies in Sudan.

But President Trump says it is run by “radical lunatics” and he and billionaire Elon Musk, who’s got the job of trying to slash American government spending, want to shut it down. They have paused almost all international spending for 90 days and issued “stop work” orders to their staff. BBC journalist Nathalia Jimenez tells us what USAID does - and why the Trump administration wants to close it.

A large proportion of USAID funding goes towards healthcare and HIV medication in sub-Saharan Africa. Makuochi Okafor, the BBC’s Africa Health correspondent tells us what impact closing USAID could have in this region.

Anselm Gibbs, a BBC reporter based in Trinidad and Tobago, tells us about programmes USAID funds in the Caribbean. And Hilde Deman from Search for Common Ground, an international NGO that uses USAID funding in countries affected by violent conflict, talks about the impact to their work in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Instagram: @bbcwhatintheworld Email: [email protected] WhatsApp: +44 0330 12 33 22 6 Presenter: William Lee Adams Producers: Benita Barden and Julia Ross-Roy Editor: Rosanna La Falce


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Can a crystal bring humans back to life in case of extinction?

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