The Naked Scientists Podcast

Here at The Naked Scientists HQ, it's marine month! Throughout four programmes in July, come dip your toes into all things aquatic as we work our way down to the bottom of the deepest ocean. From building superior sandcastles to the Mexican clam that's invading Europe, we kick things off with a trip to the beach. Plus, how scientists have created the brightest light on Earth, new news on fake news...

Would you trust a robot to grow your food, to operate on you, to fight a war on your behalf, or to save your life in an emergency? We look at how robots are on course to alter our lives. Plus, new insights into how the Sun works, and climate change: why we need to wake up and smell the coffee: scientists are saying that warmer weather will affect the flavour of the world's favourite beverage. Like...

The Naked Scientists report back from the British Cardiovascular Society's annual conference, finding out how our tickers deal with extreme exercise and environments, from deep under the sea right into outer space. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

The Naked Scientists are joined by marine biologist Danielle Green, physicist Stuart Higgins, psychologist Duncan Astle and astrophysicist Carolin Crawford, to tackle your questions. This week, find out whether you can hear screams in space, how to clean a beach, and just how giant is a Giant Squid? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

As life moves increasingly online, so do crime and fraud. This week, we uncover some personal secrets from a supposedly blank hard drive, find out how hackers can use baby monitors to spy on people and hear about the next generation of passwords. Plus, news of how Zika virus could be used to combat brain cancer and plans to build a bigger, stronger particle accelerator. Like this podcast? Please h...

Journey back 3.7 billion years to the young earth, as we try to find out how life first began. Was it in a soup of colliding chemistry, a deep-sea hydrothermal vent or did life rain down on the earth from the cosmos? Plus, the microbial meal that changed the world. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

The Naked Scientists are joined by biologist Kate Feller, physicist Jess Wade, biochemist Andy Holding and Space Boffin Richard Hollingham, to field your science questions. This week, find out what happens to muscles in space, how to rid a car of flatulence, and whether any animals can become invisible. Plus, cyber security expert Paul Harris talks to Chris Smith about the recent cyber attacks - w...

Love it or loathe it maths is everywhere... from counting bees to interstellar trade with aliens, we explore how maths earned the title of the language of the universe. Plus, getting to know our new ancestor Homo naledi, how a good nights sleep can help to ease your pain and do cats really like milk? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week, The Naked Scientists go global as we explore language - can speaking more than one exercise our brain?; and is our ability to save money purely down to the way we talk? Plus, the rodents that provide new information for stroke therapy and how very hungry caterpillars could solve our plastic problem... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Cancer is a devastating disease, and one of the largest killers in the Western world. This week, in a special show, Kat Arney investigates how scientists are fighting back, from building tumours in the lab to a Google Earth for cancer. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

The Naked Scientists go on a tour of the intestine, from top to bottom, in search of the good and bad germs that lurk there and what they mean for our health. Plus, why touchscreens may be harming toddlers' sleep and why scientists all over the world are putting down their pipettes and picking up placards. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

What surprises might you find lurking in your DNA, and can that information be used against you? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

We speak to scientists turning embryonic cells into nerve cells to treat Parkinson's disease and growing an entire system of organs in the lab. Plus, how antibiotics taken during pregnancy may affect your child's behaviour and why climate change will lead to bumpier flights. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

The Naked Scientists are joined by cosmologist Andrew Pontzen, biologist Sarah Shailes, neuroscientist Philipe Bujold and biochemist Sarah Madden to pit their wits against your science questions. This week, find out how venus fly traps work, whether psychologists can read your mind and why there is so much variation in herbivore poo. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scient...

100 years since Rutherford split the atom, we investigate the secrets of the building blocks of our Universe. How can we harness the energy locked inside these particles, how have scientists been engineering brand new elements, and are we all the children of starlight? Plus, news of an anti-aging protein, a dinosaur family tree shake up and a new technique which can create millions of stem cells....

Are trends in modern living helping or harming our ability to reproduce? And how do factors affecting fertility differ between men and women? Plus, fighting brain tumours with artificial antibodies and are internet filters really keeping children safe? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

There is a floating museum above our heads: millions of fragments from past space missions are hurtling round the earth and could destroy our current satellites. We find out how spacecraft are coping now, and how we might be able to clean up space in the future. Plus, news of a synthetically engineered yeast genome, a breakthrough in OCD and a new ebola vaccine for gorillas. Like this podcast? Ple...

Why are we looking for earth-sized planets? Can I unshrink a woollen jumper? What does a black hole actually look like? Chris Smith is joined by David Rothery, Anna Ploszajski, Aimee Eckert and Michael Conterio to answer your science questions. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week, a crash course in climate change: we meet one strange fish already feeling the pinch, ask if humans are wired to ignore the threat, and look at one way we could all reduce our carbon footprint. Plus, why alcohol consumption can come back to bite you, the seven new planets discovered by NASA and the bees that have been trained to score goals. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporti...

This week, we investigate the HIV preventative measure PrEP, which could be turning the tide on new infection rates - but is it safe to buy online? Plus, the toughest ever spider's web, a journey back through the history of language and the plant that could help clean up our oceans. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

What's the difference between a meteorite, meteoroid, a comet and an asteroid? We tell you how to find your own space rock here on Earth, and hear from a scientists tracking where space rocks come down in the Australian outback. Plus, why quinoa could feed the world in future, and is vaping safer than smoking, or a gateway for a fresh legion of teen smokers? Like this podcast? Please help us by su...

Do giraffes get struck by lightning? What's the highest number a person could count to? How do animals have sex underwater? Chris Smith teams up with Tim Revell, Richard Hollingham, Chris Basu and Danielle Green to tackle your science questions, which range from the bottom of the ocean to outer space! Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Could a light in your brain cure epilepsy, or send you to sleep? The Naked Scientists investigate the mysterious field of optogenetics, and the treatments it promises to bring. Plus, news of a cancer-detecting artificial intelligence and a vaccination to fight fake news. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

The light bulb is a hundred-year-old technology whose time is finally up. This week, we shine a little light on its replacement to find out what makes it such a compelling alternative and look to the next revolution in lighting. Plus, how scientists are turning to robotics to treat heart failure, the death of NASA astronaut and last man on the Moon, Gene Cernan and do you really eat spiders in you...

This week, The Naked Scientists take a look at the science of laughter, asking why we like to laugh, hearing what babies find funny and meeting a joke-building robot. Plus, news of a gene editing technique taking on a deadly disease and a record-breaking knot. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists