The Naked Scientists Podcast

The recycling revolution and the whereabouts of our waste are hot topics this week as David Butler describes a new technique for recycling water, Rebecca Weymouth lifts the lid on what happens to our domestic waste, Peter Barham reveals why plastic is so difficult to recycle, and Richard Thompson discusses how waste plastic threatens the environment. In Kitchen Science Derek turns old chip oil int...

Picking apart some miniature morsels of science this week are David Carey, who provides the big picture on the world of nanotechnology, Donald Fitzmaurice describes how DNA may be used as scaffolding for the next generation of computer chips, we breach the boundaries between physics and biology as Stephen Webb discusses how new microscopes can see developing cancers at the nano-scale, and Neal Mor...

Unlocking Natures medicine chest are doctors orders this week as Monique Simmonds reveals the research behind old herbal remedies, Tai-Ping Fan describes how Chinese medicine is being used for illnesses from gout to endometriosis, Jack Cuzick talks about clinical trials for a new drug for breast cancer, and Dr Chris is in St. Louis with details on a potato that fights back... In Kitchen Science, D...

Love, seduction and sexual attraction are in the air this week as Peter Brennan woos Chris and Kat with a discussion of pheromones and the science of smell, Charles Wysocki suggests how farmers can love thy neighbour by masking the stench of manure, we hit the dancefloor with William Brown who reveals the recipe for success at the Saturday night disco, and Peter Barham talks about the science of t...

This week we hand the show over to you, as Chris, Kat and Phil answer all your burning questions on science, technology and medicine. Anne-Maree Pearse joins us to describe the hellish plight of the Tasmanian Devil as it succumbs to an infectious facial cancer, Emma Marris discusses how scientists are bogged down in trying to prevent the Gulf of Mexico reclaiming large areas of Louisiana, and Dere...

This week we look to the solar system as Ian Sanders discusses where meteorites come from and how we can find them, astronaut Dr Stan Love describes how to avoid Armageddon asteroids, Maggie Aderin talks about satellites that monitor wind speeds, Richard Preece recounts the sticky tale of the hitchhiking snails, and Derek and Dave make water fibre optics in Kitchen Science. Like this podcast? Plea...

This week we shake up the world of science as Janet Sumner describes the dynamics of volcanic eruptions and the strutcure of the Earth, Tamsin Mather talks about how the gases from volcanoes affect our atmosphere and environment, Tiziana Rossetto discusses earthquakes, tsunamis and Pakistan, and Derek joins Herbert Huppert for an explosive experiment in Kitchen Science. Like this podcast? Please h...

This week we go green as Alison Smith discusses how algae get their vitamin B12, Tim Upson reveals the science behind composting, Heather Gorringe and Richard Fishbourne dish the dirt on what worms get up to in your compost heap, and John Pickett talks about natural mosquito repellents. Sticking with the insect theme, Nigel Franks describes how the first example of animal teaching has been found i...

With the indulgences of Christmas behind us, Steve ORahilly sheds some light on shedding a few pounds as he discusses the science of appetite, obesity and weight loss, Len Almond describes the role of exercise in losing weight, John ODoherty talks about what happens in our brains when we reach for our favourite brands, Jane Visvader and Connie Eaves describe their discovery of the breast stem cell...

This week we put our heads in a spin as listeners across the world test whether it is possible to detect the Coriolis Effect from your bath tub, Karl Kruszelnicki provides the answer to the Coriolis quandry from a bathroom Down Under, Kat Arney interviews Jack Ashby about how insects can catch criminals, and Drs Chris, Dave and Phil answer all your questions on science, technology and medicine. Li...

This week we learn about animal communication straight from the horses mouth. Dr Gillian Forrester, from the University of Sussex, describes how gorillas use tactile signals to communicate, Dr Katie Slocombe, from the University of St. Andrews, talks about her work on how chimpanzees use certain grunts to refer to specific food sources, Professor Joan Silk, from the University of California, discu...

This week we take a foray into forensics, as DI Alan Cook talks about how DNA is used to solve crime, Alec Jeffreys helps us brush up on how DNA fingerprinting works, Tamsin OConnell describes how DNA can help track down human origins, and in Kitchen Science we have a live DNA fingerprinting race in which schools battle it out to discover which of the Naked Scientists is the foul footed felon with...

This week we dive into deep time as cosmologist Mike Hobson explains how we measure the universe, the distance of the nearest galaxy, how scientists calculate the life span of the sun, and the definition of a light year, Chris Voigt describes how he made a 100 megapixel camera from bacteria, and Derek and Dave cook up a treat in Kitchen Science. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the...

This week we unravel the secrets of DNA as Darren Grafham discusses the importance of sequencing genomes and how the Human Genome Project has improved medicine, Mike Majerus reveals why we look different from worms despite sharing genetic information, Anna Lacey interviews BBC producer Mike Salisbury about the new David Attenborough series, Life in the Undergrowth, and Kitchen Science goes back to...

This week Prof. David Pritchard gets to the bottom of why parasites may help to get rid of allergies, Elizabeth Bernays describes how caterpillars acquire a taste for plants containing toxic chemicals when they have parasites, Chris Smith visits Westbourne High School in Ipswich to carry out fitness experiments for Healthcare Science Week, and Dave and Derek go bang with an explosive electrolysis...

In this explosions extravaganza, John Emsley and Jacqueline Akhavan describe the chemistry behind the bangs on bonfire night, George Pendle talks about Jack Parsons and the history of rocketry, Mark Schrope comes back down to earth to describe his experience of flying into the eye of Hurricane Rita, and Dave and Derek cool us off with a home made fire extinguisher in kitchen science. Like this pod...

This week we delve into the unexplained as Nick Pope discusses Britains biggest UFO case, the Rendlesham Forest Incident, Anna Lacey visits Rendlesham Forest to talk to Vince Thurkettle and Brenda Butler about their involvement in the Rendlesham sightings, Lisa Jardine-Wright discusses Mars, asteroid impacts and life on other planets, and Surendra Verma tells the true story behind his new book, Th...

This week we get bitten by the bug as Ian Burgess talks about the nasties that nibble us in the night, William Foster discusses social insects and how individuals in colonies communicate, Bee Wilson describes the useful properties of honey, and Megan Frederickson reveals how Amazonian ants use formic acid to create Devils Gardens. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientist...

As the flu season and the threat of avian flu comes closer, Professor John Oxford from the Royal London Hospital discusses what the flu is, where flu comes from and whether drugs and vaccines can prevent human and avian influenza. Professor Pat Troop, Chief Executive of the Health Protection Agency, describes the systems in place to stop an avian flu outbreak from spreading, and Dr Paul Digard, fr...

Stretching our grey matter this week is developmental biologist Dr Adrian Pini, who describes how our brain grows, how our brain works, and how it can become damaged, and Dr Huseyin Mehmet, who discusses the potential application of stem cells in repairing central nervous system damage. Also in the studio is Tom Smith from Cambridge University, who has designed a new pump that could help thousands...