The Naked Scientists Podcast

This week, from posters to pancakes - how do the objects we see around us every day actually get made? We're uncovering the science of manufacturing - from the very big, to the very small and the very complex. Plus in the news, why being a morning lark could protect you from breast cancer, and the project using drones and AI to keep tabs on ocean health. Like this podcast? Please help us by suppor...

This week, we've assembled a panel of experts to tackle your science questions, including: Are there plastics in the fish we eat? Can electrical devices affect your fertility? And how does Earth's tilt give us our seasons? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week the Naked Scientists are hitting the dance floor with a look at the science of the shimmy. Why do we do it, what makes a dance look good, and how can it be used to help people? Plus, in the news; how glowing lungs can fight infections, an app the reduces the symptoms of OCD, and we look at the future of the Internet... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

From brewing beer to cleaning up car emissions and even making less polluting fuels. We're asking - what exactly are catalysts, and how do they work? Plus, in the news, scientists discover the mechanism behind the majority of Alzheimer's cases, new technology helps beekeepers keep bees, and we explore the prospects for the survival of humanity with the Astronomer Royal. Like this podcast? Please h...

This week we go back thousands of years to meet our Neolithic ancestors, and discover how their innovations paved the way for all life as we know it. Explore the origin of farming and wine making, and find out how the Neolithic wielded the remarkable material obsidian. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week, can science help us to quit our vices? Do any animals have accents? And how big can a planet get? Joining Chris Smith to tackle your sci-curious questions was physicist Jess Wade, planetary geologist David Rothery, neuroscientist Bianca Jupp and zoologist Jacob Dunn. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week - from skin care to going under the knife, we're lifting the lid on the science of looking good. Plus in the news, a DNA repair kit that can fix genetic diseases and a UK project launches to clean up 7000 tonnes of space junk. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

In 1918, Spanish flu wiped out more people than World War 1. Now, a century on, we're asking why this pandemic packed such a punch, where flu came from in the first place, and how flu vaccines are made. Plus, fossilised fats from the world's first animals, a look at the IgNobel prizes, genes linked to hypertension, and the computer game that gets kids into engineering... Like this podcast? Please...

This week we're looking at the magnetic field keeping our planet safe, finding out how it's generated and whether some animals can actually see it. Plus, news of a technique to read out the time of our body clocks, the people making the case to reinstate Pluto as a planet, and how red alert signals can spread through plants in just seconds after something starts to eat them. Like this podcast? Ple...

It's Question and Answer time! The Naked Scientists tackle the medical musings and chemical queries you've been sending in. Joining Chris Smith in studio was Astrophysicist Matt Bothwell, Chemist Peter Wothers, Psychologist Helen Keyes and Human Physiologist Sam Virtue. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week, we explore the field of biomimicry and how nature can help inspire technologies of the future, including the crickets that are showing scientists how to make better hearing aids, dragonfly-inspired wind turbines and the aircraft that repairs itself. Plus, news of why heart disease begins much earlier than we thought, whether science publishing is facing a crisis, and the future of satel...

Join the Naked Scientists for a leisurely ride on a punt, past Cambridge's picturesque riverside colleges. At each stop the boat picks up some of the brightest brains from the University and hear about their cutting edge ideas, from fraud-preventing holograms to driverless punts. Plus, the team find out it's not always the best idea to perform chemistry on your drink supply. Like this podcast? Ple...

Mozart or Motown, most of us love music. We're digging into the science behind this much-loved pass time, be it listening to your favourite tunes, or playing them for yourself. Plus in the news - the discovery of an orphan planet, succumbing to robo peer pressure and do lemmings really jump off cliffs? We'll be finding out. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week we're on the historical Waterloo battlefield where veterans of modern wars - often with disabilities, PTSD and other mental scars - are joining archaeologists to excavate remains of one of the most important conflicts in European history. Plus news that an anti-obesity pill might be on the scientific menu, and the space probe heading for the hottest part of the Sun... Like this podcast?...

This week, medical uses of cannabis. What's the hype and what's the reality? We hear from the people who grow it, and the people who want to use it. Plus in the news, scientists grow replacement lungs in a lab, why a knock on the head can lead to dementia years later, and the very tiny thing that elephants are terrified of - and no, it's not a mouse! Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting...

We follow a day in the life in 2100, exploring the cities, transport, workplaces and health of the future. Plus, astronomers find water on Mars, a magnetic wire which could screen for cancer and why your cat's poo could change your brain... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

On 25th July 1978, 40 years ago, the first baby conceived using in vitro fertilisation - IVF - techniques developed to help people who couldn't have children naturally, was born. Her name was Louise Brown, and she owes her existence to the pioneering efforts of Cambridge embryologist Bob Edwards, research nurse Jean Purdy, and Manchester-based gynaecologist Patrick Steptoe. Together, this team lai...

We hope you've got your boarding passes at the ready! To celebrate 50 years of the jumbo jet, 100 years of the Royal Air Force and the recent arrival of the brand new F35 fighter jet in the UK, The Naked Scientists are taking a flight through the history and science of fighter aircraft. Plus, in the news, a new way to fight cancer by giving people cancer, how virtual reality can combat a fear of h...

This week, The Naked Scientists are swinging into summer! Guests Jane Sterling, Jim Bacon, Laurence Kemp and Howard Griffiths take on your holiday themed questions, including: Why do we get heat waves; how do you treat a jellyfish sting and why does the sun bring out freckles? Plus, can you separate fact from fiction in our fiendish summer-themed quiz? Find transcripts and more programmes at www.n...

This week, addiction! Why do we get hooked on things? Are video games addictive? And evidence that the gambling industry use artificial intelligence to make you more likely to keep playing. Plus, in the news, scientists discover how to turn insulin injections into a pill, a revolution in making biofuels much faster, and we find out about the science of why things roar! Like this podcast? Please he...

This week - we're exploding the science of volcanoes. Why do they erupt? What threat do they pose to aeroplanes? And what impact do they have on us and our environment? Plus, news that marriage cuts your mortality rate, what 800 million tweets have revealed about human moods, and the science behind the sound of a dripping tap... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

The Naked Scientists are delving into the science of heart disease; we've been to the UK's leading heart conference in Manchester. Hear from the researchers trying to discover the causes and new treatments for one of the world's most important diseases; why air pollution and heart attacks are linked, about the role of salt in high blood pressure and learn about a new vaccine for heart disease. Wit...

What is dj vu? Why do I get angry when I'm hungry? Why do I remember every Disney lyric, but can't remember how to set my oven? Materials physicist Jess Wade, neuroscientist Philipe Bujold, animal behaviour expert Eleanor Drinkwater, and physicist Francesca Day join Chris Smith, to answer a brilliant barrage of scientific questions... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scien...

This week we're taking a look at the science of football, from physics to psychology. And in the news, can being social stave off dementia and what new features have been found on the surface of Pluto? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week we're leaving planet earth in search of a new home. Is there a Planet B? How could we get there? And presenter Izzie Clarke takes a spin at astronaut training. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists