On this week's Science in Action, saving one of the world rarest animals - the Ethiopian Wolf- from rabies; a revolutionary new view -minerals 'evolved' with life on Earth; New planets pictured orbiting a star - could there be life? Could 2000 year old Indian farming traditions be a way to protect biodiversity?The oldest lava flow in the solar system - you could be standing on it; and how to give a Blue Whale's a health check - with a toy remote control helicopter.

We look at the future of science research in America after the election of President Elect Barack Obama; African science policy makers meet in London; New cell division mechanism discovered and finally, why do we remember angry faces more than happy ones?

In the week before the US presidential elections we examine the positions of both candidates on science policy. The Indian Ocean Tsunami was unprecedented – or was it? We look at new evidence for earlier similar catastrophes and ask what we can learn from these. And a hand whisk and a piece of paper - could such a cheap device really be a substitute for a medical centrifuge?

India’s first mission to the moon; will termites help produce efficient biofuel?; California’s race to find new fuel efficient vehicles; why a cup of coffee may help you to see others in a new warmer light. All on Science in Action with Sue Broom.

Western chimps on the brink of extinction; Out of Africa, did ancient humans cross the Sahara; Quantum, the ultimate in secrecy; Iconic experiments spark new debate on origin of life. Science in Action with Sue Broom.

The 2008 Nobel Prizes – some very old work being rewarded. Can a strong religious belief help you cope with pain? Two new genomes for malaria parasites – are we closer to finding a cure? The oldest fossil footprints ever found. Science in Action with Sue Broom.

Pathway in the brain linked to obesity in mice; snow on Mars; how human pollution of African Great Lakes could be causing new species of fish to evolve; fusion steel and how it could mean safer buildings; spin off technology from the Large Hadron Collider experiment at CERN; on Science in Action with Sue Broom.

How conservationists accidentally spread a fungus that’s wiping out amphibians; a new, safe way to make stem cells; the oldest rocks on the planet; and the sensitive hearing of polar bears. Science in Action with Sue Broom.

Prions crossing the species barrier in the test tube; A dark matter disk in our galaxy; sound masking – how the brain picks out particular sounds in a noisy atmosphere; upside down rainbows; how bacteria can cross the placental barrier between a mother and her unborn baby; Science in Action with Sue Broom

Special Edition from CERN where this week scientists have turned on the biggest physics experiment ever - the Large Hadron Collider - hoping to recreate conditions when the universe was just a billionth of a second old.

The realities of climate change - the Arctic ice is melting and cyclones are getting stronger and more frequent; bumblebees and how they avoid predatory crab spiders; why flies are so hard to swat; the Large Hadron Collider at CERN is about to be switched on; in Science in Action with Sue Broom.

Scientists could be closer to a cure for deafness; the science of ageing - we’re still a long way off understanding how and why we age; a first for science found in amber bought off eBay; a new way of growing crops with reduced fertilizers; female lemurs in Madagascar are getting more aggressive because of climate change. All on Science in Action with Jon Stewart.

A new study of 53 cities in the developing world reveals that farmers in and around the vast majority of these urban areas use polluted wastewater to irrigate their crops. One of the researchers Liqa Raschid-Sally of the International Water Management Institute discusses the issues with Jon Stewart. Also in the programme, space scientists contemplate the biosafety risks of bringing a sample from Mars to Earth… new research suggesting that birds who sing the fanciest songs are also the most smartest, which is why females want to mate with them… and how images of Olympic champions connect to our deep primate past.

During the Olympic games, the Chinese authorities are drastically cutting the air pollution from Beijing’s factories and vehicles. It is a unique chance to study the global warming impact of brown cloud pollution, says Professor V Ramanathan. He tells Science in Action about his experiment which is flying autonomous mini-aircraft to make measurements of the reduced Olympic brown cloud. Jon Stewart also hears about the latest development towards invisibility cloaks and microscopes with perfect lenses, thanks to nanotechnology. Plus why chilli peppers are hot, the medical uses of snake venom and the seals helping oceanographers with the mysteries of Antarctic waters.

About half of the world’s primate species face extinction within a few decades – a gloomy headline coming this week from the congress of the International Primatological Society. Zoologist Adrian Barnett tells us some of the details but also raises the spirits with new insights into what features make for a sexy gorilla. Also the latest forecasts for the weather as the world warms this coming century – more extreme rainstorms and floods. Plus a potential breakthrough in criminal forensics – fingerprint detection which reveals not only identity but also whether the suspect had traces of drugs or explosives on their fingers.

On the eve of the Beijing Olympics, scientists in California have published research into what they believe is the creation of the world’s first endurance-enhancing drug – but for what purpose? We explore how the very first stars might have come into being a billion years after the Big Bang; What can a beer-drinking nocturnal mammal found in the jungles of Malaysia tell us about human evolution? And we listen in on the amazing sound of humpback whales in Alaska as they go hunting for fish using a unique system called bubble-netting.

How the Eocene epoch may be able to help us understand our own current greenhouse effect. This week’s Fact File is about the real science behind the fictional warp drive. How much sleep is enough? An innovation that assists in quickly and easily discovering tiny particles of common explosives on hands and clothes that could be used in airports. Plus the sounds that have been picked up from our atmosphere by Earth orbiting satellites.