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Anorexia nervosa has some of the highest rates of death of any psychiatric disease. From an outsider’s perspective, anorexia may seem like nothing more than bad eating habits. But the disorder is far more complex, and experts have long believed that eating disorders have a genetic component. AN25K is trying to collect 25 000 DNA samples from people who have suffered from anorexia in order to understand what makes some people more predisposed to an eating disorder. In the UK aims to get 1 000 samples for the project. The Principle Research Investigator for AN25K, Professor Cindy Bulik, talks to Jane about why she wanted to start the mission and what she hopes it will achieve.

FREED is a pilot scheme trying to treat eating disorder patients earlier than they would normally on the NHS. Their initial findings show that by treating people with early intervention, sufferers of anorexia and bulimia are more likely to make a faster full recovery. To find out more, Jane is joined by Ulrike Schmit, Professor of Eating Disorders at Kings College London and one of the leaders of the scheme, and by Issy Jackson, a participant in the study.

Her first novel, Sister, was the fastest selling by a debut author and is due to be made into a film starring Emily Blunt. Rosamund Lupton’s latest thriller, set in the extreme landscape of Northern Alaska features a woman and her profoundly deaf 10 year old daughter trying to find out the truth about the disappearance of her husband. The Quality of Silence is told from the point of view of both mother and daughter as they struggle to communicate in this deadly and hostile environment.

The upcoming release of Werner Herzog's film Queen of the Desert (starring Nicole Kidman) will shed light on the extraordinary life of Gertrude Bell.  The film, based on Georgina Howell’s biography, is drawn from letters written extensively throughout Bell’s life and documents her phenomenal rise through the all-male ranks of military intelligence and casts light on the history of Iraq. Georgina Howell talks to Jane Garvey about the real Gertrude Bell.