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Java’s Bird Trade
The dense rain forests of Java – Indonesia’s most crowded island – are rapidly falling silent. Tuneful songbirds that used to give the mountains a unique melody are being caught and sold. Bird-singing competitions are national events in the country, but this is threatening to drive the songbirds to extinction. ´óÏó´«Ã½ science reporter Victoria Gill has travelled to the country to investigate.

Monkeys
Many of us are spending more and more time engaging with online social networks. But while we might be the only primate to have Facebook, we are certainly not the only primates to have social networks. Geoff Marsh has been exploring one particular primate network and its possible value in predicting the spread of disease. He was at Kyoto University's Primate Research Institute in Japan, speaking to ecologist Dr Andrew McIntosh.

Dolphin Brains
A large brain, relative to our size, underpins sophisticated social structure in humans. Whales and dolphins also have exceptionally large and anatomically sophisticated brains. But until recently it has been unclear whether large brain size is linked to social structure in these marine mammals. Author of a new study Michael Muthukrishna tells Roland Pease more about tackling the question of brain size and intelligence in human evolution.

Whooping Bees
Honey bees have long been known to make a noise that scientists call the whoop whooping signal - quite simply because that is what it sounds like. ´óÏó´«Ã½ Science Correspondent Victoria Gill explains.
Wildlife at the border wall
President Trump still wants a wall on the border between Mexico and the USA. This year, Victoria Gill visited scientists from the University of Arizona who explained why they’re worried about a particular endangered antelope-like animal called the Sonoran pronghorn.

Sheep 'Can Recognise Human Faces'
Sheep have demonstrated the ability to recognise familiar human faces, according to a study. Cambridge University researchers were able to train sheep to identify the faces of actors Jake Gyllenhaal and Emma Watson, former US President Barack Obama and ´óÏó´«Ã½ newsreader Fiona Bruce. Victoria Gill explains why they may have developed this skill.

Dog Faces
When dogs know you are looking at them, they ramp up the expressiveness of their faces. Marnie Chesterton visits the Dog Cognition Centre at the University of Portsmouth to talk to the researchers who made this discovery.

NZ Sheep Dog Fitbit
New Zealand is reputed to have more working dogs per capita than anywhere else in the world – an estimated 200,000. Simon Morton visits a high country sheep station and reports on a ground-breaking study using canine fitbits to monitor the dogs’ lives.

Goldfish Turn To Alcohol to Survive Icy Winters
Scientists have decoded the secrets behind a goldfish's ability to survive in ice-covered lakes. They have worked out how and why the fish turn lactic acid in their bodies into alcohol, as a means of staying alive. Some goldfish were found to have levels well above legal drink-driving limits in many countries. Victoria Gill explains how researchers say the work may help with the study of some alcohol impacts in humans.

(Image caption: African safari animals meeting together around tree – credit: Getty Images)

The Science Hour was presented by Claudia Hammond with comments from Victoria Gill, ´óÏó´«Ã½ Science Correspondent

Producer: Katy Takatsuki

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