It is under polarized light ice shimmers in a rainbow of colors. And this is where it comes from the arctic weather sea ice has been declining for decades. And International Research group spent a year studying it to get a better understanding of Climate Change and its impact. Think. Well take winter is a black void in 2 senses firstly its dark thanks to months of poland nights in which the sun no longer rises over the horizon plus theres a huge data hole we know precious little about winter in the area around the north pole which plays a major role for our climate and is itself changing the ice has been receding for decades now what explains this Climate Change sure but how exactly. Does that affect this northern most part of the planet because if so how is the sea ice changing how does it grow in the winter and how does it melt in the summer. Christine hottest is a sea ice geophysicist in the us could be in the institute in gemini he sees the arctic winter as the key factor. Into. The ice forms in the winter and indoors through the summer. It has a considerable influence on the summer and therefore on the entire climate system. But to really study the young take during winter you need to be at one with the ice an International Research team made that very commitment since last october the palash done Research Ship has been drifting across the arctic ocean trapped in the pack ice. Its the center of the largest Arctic Research expedition ever lasting one full year. When its colder than minus 30 or even down to minus 60 with the wind chill factor its very hard to work and also very dangerous you have to cover up your entire body. Most Christian Hoss and his team use the winter months to investigate the sea ice on a quest for answers to the big question why is it shrinking. Their work involved extracting ice cores measuring the temperature and movement of the ice and cutting samples into thin slices their mission as such is not one of discovery but a data gathering to compile a detailed biography of the ice but they have made one major discovery during a dive by the trusty robot submarine. But of it was something id been hoping and searching for what i didnt know was what it would actually look like. Just below the ice in the sea water the robot came across glistening cloudless. Mass is comprised of ultra thin plates of ice known as plate let ice. Plate like ice is very macroscopic you can see it there are sheets of thin ice as big as your hand. They get stuck frozen onto the underside of sea ice and in various orientations. As the robot submarine swims around in the dark its lamps reveal all these things glittering in the distance. So as it gets closer you can see that there are ice crystals. Its a phenomenon already familiar from antarctica and one that the researches have now been able to observe for the 1st time in the arctic. Platelet ice can only form when the sea water beneath the ice has a temperature colder than 0 degrees celcius this super cooling leads to the water freezing and forming plate tectonics and seen on the ropes and gauges that the research is low into the countless cavities or cause emerge between the platelets to create whats called the poorest layer. Its a habitat not just for microorganisms and algae them but also for zoe plankton as a kind of tiny crustaceans such as krill coppa pods and amphipods we saw ample parts moving around the plate laid eyes looking for algae to eat and as they are also protected there from bigger animals from fish in particular arctic cod that would happily eat them orphans with. A newly discovered layer of arctic ice and say well and one more that needs more indepth analysis while the expedition across the arctic ocean continues Christian Hoss is now back on land together with untold terabytes of. A 10 hour waiting to be deciphered but he steam do have at least preliminary insights into the big question of how the ice in the arctic is changing but. It was very interesting to see that when we came onto the ice flow in october the ice was only 30 to 50 centimeters thick to get. It on over the course of the winter over the following 5 or 6 months and it grew to almost 2 meters in thickness that is it almost quadrupled thats a very important discovery. Until now researches knew only that the surface of the ice has been shrinking as seen by satellite suspiciously well during the summer over the last 4 decades that surface is almost taal ft in size. Satellites cannot measure however is the thickness of the ice. What weve now seen is that at the start of the season at the end of the summer the ice was much thinner than it had been 30 years ago the last time we measured ice in the syberia in arctic. What surprised us is how thick the ice became. By the end of winter it was not much different from the way it had been back then. As we have established that changes are greatest during the summer not only in terms of the extent of the ice but also to its thickness and that the ice recovers relatively well in winter. And then the fact that the ice is so since by the end of the summer actually helps to ensure that it recovers significantly in thickness jew in the winter i just dont know as for adults when the ice is thin and the ocean loses heat faster and more easily and that leads to the creation of more ice. As a consequence by the end of winter the ice is again about as thick as it was 30 years ago. But theres a lawmaking news 2 new surveys predict that the arctic ocean is likely to see ice free some a spike 2050. At the alfred vega institutes ice core lab in half and the temperature is held at a steady minus 25. 00 degrees celsius the facility is home to various some pulls from the arctic expedition such as these thin slices of ice cores which turned into crystals on the podium by slight. Results. We cut these thin slices of ice cores to see how the ice had grown whether the growth process was slow and under calm conditions which would create these long colomba crystals. Or if there had been strong waves in turbulence in the water. System then only these small round grainy crystals develop across time and record with Christian Haas expects the arctic ocean to become more turbulent making it impossible for a long column shaped ice crystals to form properly that will bring changes to the arctic ocean granular ice could then become more prevalent another insight into the workings of the arctic. The tiny crystals remind us that large structures are made up of small parts from the earth or the universe on the one hand and 2 atoms on the other everything is important and has a role to play a tiny and fascinating well thats a crucial element in the still mighty pack ice that covers the arctic. That is right why im very glad i do you have a science question youve always wanted answered were happy to help out send it in and if we answer it on the show youll get a little surprise as a thank you come on just awesome. For more stories from the world of science go to our website or find us on twitter and d w underscore science. Money muchness sumner wants to know whats on genes. Genes are found in most of the cells in our body. A gene is made up of d. N. A. Found in structures called chromosomes and the cell nucleus. One important thing genes do is provide instructions for building up all the various parts of our body. Genes also underlie our body processes and to a large degree they determine what we look like. Human genome that is the entire set of our genes has been sequenced. We have more than 20000 protein coding genes. A lot of research is going into finding out what our genes actually do. For example are there specific ones that determine how long we live. A helper in that particular quest is the naked mole rat this remarkable rodent is long lived and remains fit and healthy and to old age its genome is well understood. As to us one field of research is the role of genes in our ability to taste things and to find something yummy and others next. It turns out thats not just a cultural matter but also a genetic one. A technology called crisper its genes it modifies the cells genome by removing or adding bits of d. N. A. This enables it to turn genes on or off in plants and in animals including humans. Society will have to think hard about the implications of science is growing the ability to engineer our genes. And. Hearing voices. Visual hallucinations. Delusions. Schizophrenia is a mental disorder associated with changes in perception thoughts mood and behavior it can be hereditary so what genes are associated with the disease. The psychiatric clinic at berlins university hospital. A study here involves healthy test subjects providing saliva samples containing their genetic material and stoop a sions who suffer from schizophrenia. Geneticists. Is looking for genes that may play a role in the disease. The mind to presume least of my personal hope is to shed light on to the darkness of psychiatric. Knowledge so to speak. And supreme. People who suffer from schizophrenia may hear voices and be paranoid. Its unclear whats really happening inside their brains which is why Treatment Options have hardly changed in decades. But schizophrenia is known to be highly heritable a factor that geneticists now want to unravel. Theyre conducting large scale Genome Wide Association studies with tens of thousands of test subjects including those in berlin. Each individuals genetic material is examined for components that may be different for each person called single nucleotide polymorphisms or snips. The schizophrenia patient snips are then compared with those of all the healthy test subjects using statistical calculations. Certain snips are clearly more common among schizo phrenic looking at the genetic makeup in its entirety the especially common snips stand out like skyscrapers. A comparison of 35000 schizo phrenic with 47000 healthy subjects revealed 108 snips associated with the disease. The researchers called a confusingly complex genetic landscape a manhattan plant due to its resemblance to new yorks famous skyline. The snips identified the prominent skyscrapers constitute a vital clue they point the way to the genes that may play a role in schizophrenia. And is also what we were a little bit afraid of that its not just one gene that makes a person sick and guns feel for sheen its really many different genes that when combined. And create a persons individual risk. And there are hundreds the researchers analyzed every single gene theyve just discovered genes that influence the transmission of signals within the brain stefan presents the results at the european schizophrenia congress in berlin. I also want to show some other regions. Among the hundreds of genes is one that is affected by the medicines currently being used in schizophrenia treatment a match that has researchers hoping for other positive results were decided tones so these shows us that one central gene can be enough to immensely improve treatment for us but its just a question of finding it is not normal. This is crazy its like taking a step on the moon but its still a long way off because we know that developing medicines takes decades and its. A mammoth undertaking which is why hundreds of researchers have teamed up via the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium including stefan. With the help of large scale genomic studies theyre also researching other psychiatric disorders. Many of which now have a manhattan plant like the one for schizophrenia they provide a guide towards the relevant genes. But entirely different fields of application are also hidden within the genetic landscapes. The most hotly debated is the potential for poly to be used in diagnostics for instance or to predict the risk of disease does that mean a persons genetic material could be a predictor. Each individuals genetic material be examined for d. N. A. Sequence variations associated with the disease the number and nature of found can be used to calculate a personal risk such as. In some cases an individuals risk of succumbing to the disease can already be estimated but do people want to know that they have a 70 percent chance of contracting it at some point. Pandoras box with. Isnt sick. And you tell them for a disease that person may never develop. Have enormous consequences for the person themselves of. Their family their friends their associates. Legal issues it raises insurance issues. Apart from that putting the likelihood of developing the disease into numbers is restricted to the genetic element only. Person limbs and what happens in their life cannot be predicted. Environmental factors play a role sometimes a major one in the development of psychiatric illness. Experts agree. Are not suited to predicting risk or diagnosis but they can be useful. Or it already does have a very large influence is in research. Divides the test subjects into groups according to the subjects. And then they observe how the group with the especially high schizophrenia scores develops the researchers are a long way off from totally understanding the complex genetics of psychiatric diseases but they are making progress. In a moment well be taking a look at me well us. Were pretty impressive small but mighty well not all that small we can reach 135 centimeters and why up to 36 kilos. Is on usually think humans have up to 600. 00 hairs per square centimeter of skin we have up to 23000. 00 tall that. Other stuff of legends. We use them to build gigantic structures like this a dam 850 meters long so big its visible from outer space no wonder you call us busy. We might be rodents but were also ecosystem engineers geniuses though not all humans agree. Most people tend to think of beavers as a nuisance as past but it turns out that beavers are very beneficial to the ecosystem. Here. In the east river valley of southern germany water buffalo are helping keep these fields healthy organic farm m. I. T. s license is bringing them in for the winter almost all come on sweetie come on the cold. The water buffalo will spend the winter months at the familys farm. Great soviet state so. During the summer the water buffalo have some company here before us. With the buffalo gone its time to get some advice. Get hot shot a wildlife biologist is often killed in when beavers looked like they might come into conflict with farmers or other local residents this past summer the beavers built a dam along the edge of the meadow. When i got chicago youve just been working hard thats pretty fresh out there raising the dam for the winter. The obviously high for just a few yeah were really glad the beans are built this big dam along a pasture this year because as you see that allows the water to flow into the grazing areas just as are your goals to deflect if you hear i didnt serve us a little bit too much then this town water buffalo need watering in wallowing holes to regulate their body temperature during the hot summer. Only to veto the activity and without the beavers activity here wed have to either get water for the animals from outside or take them off the pasture i did so with that. But not everyone is such a fan of the dams the beef is build thanks everybody would give him a dominatrix only tend to see confluence when biebers build their dams or places that people are also using. This dam for example its created this wet area which can be used by other animals for that period and theres a part theres no longer it sensible its so wet that anyone driving on it would get bogged down so the entire. Valley several hectares of land is no longer accessible for human use and here you say that beavers set up shop because they like eating the corn from that field they also use the corn stalks to build their dam but that block the drainage and so now the areas under water this is what you tend to see when humans use land that is to close to wharton. Along this stretch of land adjacent to the river the local villages arent bothered by the dams its a good spot to study the long term effects of beef or activity for santa and knows the area like the back of his house. Says youre here. Weve been studying this habitat for 25 years the winter is an especially good time to see whats been happening and click often dumb the vegetation has receded and you can see the dam better and move along here more easily without. The nearby university of applied sciences carries out a lot of Research Projects here the 1st signs of beaver activity were detected here in 1909 and researches have been monitoring the area ever since. Just this used to be a relatively narrow stream with pastures to the right and left of it a small stream in the landscape totally changed into. The 1st choose waters that are less than 80 centimeters deep to build the dams the water behind the dam that rises creating the beaver pond. Since or to keeps flowing into the bondage eventually bursts its banks those streams of water branch out eventually a complex ecosystem emerges with patches of standing water as well as small streams some moving slowly others small quickly. We start to grow along the pond. Sif much trees die off and a marsh land emerges nearby this gives rise to a vibrant mosaic a very tabby taps. Just certain job the 1st and its fascinating to see how such a small animal can shape and transform an area. To build a dam here thats more than 120. 00 metres long and several generations of them kept doing it and its all many children at least. Fish used in small streams to circumvent the dam on to study carried out by the university of exeter showed that the dams actually improved the water quality. Thats because the dams act as natural filters removing suspended solids phosphate and nitrogen from the water downstream from a beaver dam the water contains about 70 percent fewest suspended solids 30 percent less nitrogen and 80 percent less phosphate on average than the water on the other side of the barrier. The sediment is deposited upstream of the dam where its used by plants such as reeds which should not rushed by the phosphate and nitrogen. The reed fills marshland the various will show ecosystems and the decaying would provide a rich habitat for many animals some quite uncommon as you can really see how life has returned to the area here starting with the dragon flies before we only had a few dragon fly species but now the experts have found 30 different species of them here then there are the amphibian and bird species which are now flourishing. Is hard to really put into it. Many long term studies confirmed that beavis boost the diversity of species in their habitats the busy creatures on past subtle but valuable allies in the fight to preserve our rapidly dwindling by. Divests. Thats all for this way come tomorrow today nice that you could join us next time well have more exciting stories from the fields of science and technology until then good bye. To. A mixed ethnic spags cast into one Dance Company 12 exceptional dancers from across the globe are brought together by one of the most exciting choreographers of our time. Thats the kind of area where a Church Scholar and the ballet of 2 friends are 21. 00. Coming up on d w. Largest waterfall here you can die in without getting my. Son brian has an art project done just traded by swiss artist a out tonio and a team of filmmakers designers this is. The multimedia show in south holland. Going to. 30 minutes w. Ws crime fighters are back again after goes most successful in radio drama series continues this season the stories focus on hate speech color of prevention and sustainable charcoal production. All of a sows are Available Online and of course you can share and discuss on africas Facebook Page and other social media platforms. Crime fighters tune in now. A new era has begun. The fire. For you feeling. This has been fair game. On our planet these. Places for the 1st time ever. Seems that consumed forests and entire residential areas of. Play such rising temperatures with water shortage of land clearance theres no bundles of flammable material. Once again i did theres no stopping the fires. Heavy equipment columns and. The zone will be going up in smoke. Comes a great show the world on fire starts aug 12th on d. W. We have to invite it back. And dance with the baby. This is d w news and these are our top stories at least 17 people were killed and more than 100 injured when a passenger plane skidded off the runway in heavy rain in the southern indian city of cozy kota the Air India Express flight from dubai was repatriating indian stranded by the covert 900 pandemic 190 passengers and crew were on board. The u. N. Is warning of a humanitarian catastrophe