The Naked Scientists Podcast

It's been cold in the UK this week! So what better way to spend your time than to stay in the warm and find the answers to all of your nagging science questions... So if you've ever wondered how fireworks have so many pretty colours, why a hedgehog will choose to go to sleep in a bonfire pile, or any science, nature, medicine or technology question - ask us now! Like this podcast? Please help us b...

Disco Psychology - the science of drinking and dancing feature in this week's Naked Scientists. We find out what your dance moves say about your genes and why drinking alcohol or smoking cigarettes makes faces seem more attractive. Also, we discover what happens in the minds of people suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, PTSD. Plus, researchers make brain washing a reality, roll out a st...

Nuclear fusion is the power source inside the Sun - so can we copy the physics of the stars to generate energy here on Earth? This week, we find out how nuclear fusion works, and how to mimic a star on Earth... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

New techniques to test for Down's Syndrome and oesophageal cancer feature in this week's Naked Scientists, along with the nanotechnology that may let you climb walls like spider man! We also take on your science questions and find out if it's possible to shoot a satellite, what keeps the Earth's core so hot, and how you can pass through fire unharmed! Plus, in a back-to-basics Kitchen Science - Da...

We catch up with the latest on cancer this week including an update from the National Cancer Research Institute conference in Birmingham. We hear how computers are helping doctors to read mammograms, how researchers are re-programming the immune system to attack tumours, and we get the low down on the new vaccine against cervical cancer. We also discover how blood cells can be used as a Trojan hor...

This week, how to live longer and look younger with the science of ageing! We discover how repairing damage to DNA could prevent the diseases associated with old age, and find out how to keep your skin looking younger for longer. Also, doing just four things could add fourteen years to your life - so find out what they are, right here! Plus, how gene therapy could cure one from of blindness, how t...

Superbugs and hospital acquired infections go under the microscope on this weeks Naked Scientists. We find out why Clostridium difficile has become such a problem, how to keep bacteria away from surfaces and see if there's a vaccine for MRSA on the horizon. Plus, we discover where fat cells hide out, why fungi fire spores at amazing speeds and how plant sugars can make perfect petrol. And in Kitch...

There's a bulging mailbag of science questions for the Naked Scientists this week, as we find out why we stop smelling smells, whether we can use viruses to kill cancer and why crisp and sweet packets make so much noise? Also, how unmanned spy-planes can speed up medical diagnoses in rural countries, how Internet anti-spam technology is helping to interpret ancient manuscripts, and the first water...

The biggest science experiment in the world - The Large Hadron Collider at CERN, will start on September 10th. So this week we peer inside a proton and discover how the LHC works to help scientists in the search for antimatter and the elusive 'Higgs boson'. Plus, we unlock the genetic key to a happy marriage, explore what giant clams can reveal about our ancestors and hear why bats silence themsel...

Before Chris and Co get back for the start of the new series, Ben and Diana dive deep into the science of the sea. We find out why cold water corals can act as a climate calendar, how fish feminised by human female hormones have a surprising effect on the ecosystem and discover the marine micro-organisms that keep the climate in check. Also, why the humble garden pond can guard against global warm...

The hunt for Bigfoot, how a beer or two can boost attractiveness and the brain basis of imagination go under the lens this week when Ben and Diana also meet the chemist-turned-rapper behind the contraceptive pill and the "Superheroes of Science" a concept album where science mixes with music. Plus, in an Olympic Kitchen Science, Ben and Dave tune in to a baseball bat's sweet spot... Like this podc...

Diana and Ben take the bridge this week for a journey around the world and out into space, with a selection of the best science from the Naked Scientists worldwide travels. We find out how planets form from stardust in just tens on millions of years, and how to use winks, wobbles and blips to find planets around distant stars. We find out why the James Webb Space telescope must be very cool to pic...

Science on the River - A Punt Down the Cam. The river Cam runs through Cambridge, past the colleges that have been home to influential scientists for hundreds of years. This week, we drift down the river, picking up key scientists as we go. We discover how petals attract pollinators, how carbon sequestration could call a halt to climate change and how ketamine could help us find the root of schizo...

It's an Extravaganza of Questions and Answers on the Naked Scientists this week as we take on your questions, including whether dogs can sniff out a seizure, what is fire made of, and how do glow in the dark objects work? Also, we hear what an artificial tongue can tell us about speech production and the way to build superior voice recognition software, we rev up a system that can harness the wast...

Drug Discovery: On this week's Naked Scientists, drug development goes under the microscope as we explore two new ways to find the treatments of tomorrow. We find out why size is important when it comes to chemicals that can kill superbugs, and how soil bacteria hold the chemical clues to the next generation of antibiotics. Plus, how sheets of carbon can be used to reveal single atoms of hydrogen...

We're going for gold on this week's Olympian Naked Scientists, by discovering the sporty science of performance enhancement. We find out how drugs can help boost an athlete's performance, and how the testing labs are hot on their heels! We also explore how altitude training and hi-tech trainers can power athletes past their personal bests. Plus, a stem cell cure for muscular dystrophy, flies with...

Give yourself the time to listen to this week's Naked Scientists Show, where we find out about the Body Clock! We discover the constant chemical cascade that keeps your clock in check, and how not seeing the sun leads to S.A.D. We probe the plant clock to explore how trees tell the time, and why even plants can suffer from jetlag. Plus, why Stradivarius' violins sound so good, why fun size snacks...

It's 150 years since Darwin's theory of Evolution was presented to the Linnean Society, and so we've Naturally Selected the Science of Evolution! We find out why scientists have revisited a textbook example of natural selection in action, find out why horny sheep are gambling on good weather and how bacteria in the lab can evolve into a new species! We find out why tragedy almost kept Darwin's ide...

Mirrors, Magnets and Meteorites make an appearance in this week's Naked Scientists Question and Answer Show. We find out how the immune system could be convinced to fight skin cancer, how future MRI scans could be in colour, and why easy-clean computer keyboards could help keep MRSA out of hospitals. We answer your questions about inhaling helium, wind turbines, bacteria and the molecular basis of...

Get Red Hot and Dirty with the Naked Scientists as we explore the science of volcanoes. We discover how the heat from hot rocks can be used to work out what gases are emerging, how likely a volcano is to erupt and whether it will go with a bang or a whimper. We also hear how hot runny rock can shatter under pressure to trigger an earthquake, and dip into the cooler, dirtier world of mud Volcanoes,...

Ancient Greece is on the naked scientists' menu this week as we travel back in time to 1200 BC to discover how modern science and a 3000 year old poem have solved an ancient riddle. A team of classicists, geologists and archaeologists claim to have found the island of Ithaca, home of the legendary Greek hero Odysseus. Digging further into the past we also hear how geophysics can help archaeologist...

Footballs in space, mind-controlled machines and long-lasting bubbles join your questions on this week's Naked Scientists Question and Answer show. We discover the feminine side of prostate cancer and the robot that can walk up walls, and also hear how a computer has designed the next generation of mosquito repellents. Plus, we revisit the Phoenix mission on Mars, and also find out how surfing the...

Hours before NASA's phoenix mission was due to land on Mars, the Naked Scientists took our own tour of the Martian landscape. We discuss how looking in valleys could tell us what shaped the Martian surface, and how probing Martian mud could reveal signs of life past and present. Also, we find out how scientists have watched the explosive death of a star, and how an asteroid collision millions of m...

Come with us on a tour of your body to discover how the bacteria that live on and in you play an important role! Bad breath bacteria, good gut bugs and the ones that escape through the other end all make an appearance, as we find out how bacteria are essential to your health and how probiotics could prevent or even treat asthma and allergies. Plus, we find out how clot busting drugs could treat br...

Using nature's own tricks, we find out how to avoid mosquito bites, grow more crops and keep the weeds away in this week's Naked Scientists. We find out why mosquitoes prefer some people to others, and how to use pheromones to turn an insect's sex-drive against it! Also, why dentists could use plasma to cut down on drilling, why breast is best for bigger brains and why Popeye was right, spinach re...