Fragility in Nature

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Why are some materials and ecosystems easier to break than others? And what gives others better resilience? Joining Bridget Kendall are the celebrated American novelist Barbara Kingsolver, whose latest novel contemplates vulnerability in butterflies and humans; professor David Goulson, one of world’s leading experts on bumblebees, who explains why artificially rearing bumblebee nests can paradoxically lead to mass extinction; and Markus Buehler, bio-engineer from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who studies the molecular basis of strength and weakness in natural materials, such as human bones and spider’s webs. (Image: A lightbulb falling to the ground and shattering. Credit: Al Barry/Three Lions/Getty Images)