Lord Winston's latest book traces the fascinating history of our attempts at self-improvement but also questions their value.

Robert Winston's book, "Bad Ideas? An Arresting History of Our Inventions: How Our Finest Inventions Nearly Finished Us Off", celebrates humanity’s extraordinary inventions whilst warning us that our good intentions can sometimes end up as thoroughly bad ideas; weaponry, for one. 

But what of apparently more innocuous inventions such as farming, writing or medicine? All started off for the greater good but have since produced unforeseen fallout that continues to this day.