Naked Scientists, In Short Special Editions Podcast
Episodes
In Conversation with Martyn Poliakoff
04 Aug 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Type "mad scientist hair" into Google and the number one result is this man, who is one of the country's leading lights in green chemistry but has als...
Will reading as a child make you a smarter adult?
28 Jul 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Were you a bookworm as a child? If you were, it might be making you smarter as an adult, according to a new study of identical twins, revealing that b...
Do you own a jealous dog?
28 Jul 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Dogs may become jealous if owners pay more attention to another dog. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Is there a genetic link to schizophrenia?
28 Jul 2014
Contributed by Lukas
A large international study has uncovered the strongest evidence yet for a genetic link to schizophrenia. The study, published in Nature this week, is...
How windfarms affect seals?
27 Jul 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Seals are using windfarms and under sea pipelines as bases for their hunting and fishing exploits. St Andrews University scientist Deborah Russell and...
The true cost of farming?
27 Jul 2014
Contributed by Lukas
When you're deciding what to have for dinner tonight, you might like to think about the environmental impact the food you're choosing. It's long been ...
Gut bacteria seek out injuries
17 Jul 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Marshall Montrose, of the University of Cincinnati, explained to Chris Smith how these gut bacteria, present in half the population's stomachs, can ca...
Obesity affects learning
16 Jul 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Ifat Levy from Yale University explains to Kat Arney her recent study which looked at participants ability to learn in a task which exposed them to im...
Is your sleep account in credit?
07 Jul 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Fruit flies to understand getting our sleep bank account in credit, how we perceive passing of time to help make up our minds in tricky situations. Pl...
Morality and Motivation
05 Jul 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Would you kill a person to save five others? Does religion evade morality by omission? And can you tweak people's motivations? Reporting on Morality a...
People prefer shocks to thoughts!
02 Jul 2014
Contributed by Lukas
How long could you be left alone with your thoughts? 10 seconds? A minute? Well, according to a new study published in the journal Science, people rea...
The Summer Science Exhibition 2014
02 Jul 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Every year the Royal Society hosts the Summer Science exhibition, where members of the public get a chance to see some of the amazing work being done ...
'Neonics' linked to honeybee decline
27 Jun 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Neonicotinoids are a group of chemical used as a pesticide on crops. In fact, they're so effective at killing pests, they're currently the most widely...
Can we use faces as passwords?
26 Jun 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Passwords are a tricky business, with thousands of people forgetting them every day, and some being hacked or guessed. The University of York has test...
Cheaper Solar Panels
25 Jun 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Using a cheap chemical used normally to make tofu stick together, scientists at the University of Liverpool have stumbled upon a much more environment...
UK government bans 'Qat'
25 Jun 2014
Contributed by Lukas
As of midnight on Tuesday, the herb "qat" became a Class C drug. Users chew the leaves of this east African flowering plant to achieve a buzz which, s...
Do we need another whooping cough vaccine?
25 Jun 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Whooping cough, also known as pertussis or the '100 day cough', kills around 300,000 people per year, but is one of the most common diseases that can ...
Why stress causes heart attacks
25 Jun 2014
Contributed by Lukas
You've probably heard the idea that stress gives you a heart attack, and we certainly know that it is a risk factor, along with things like high blood...
Mobile Microbiomes
25 Jun 2014
Contributed by Lukas
It's not just conversations that we share with our mobiles, but also our bacterial blueprints! According to Oregon scientist James Meadow, every time...
Why Salamanders can't get legless
23 Jun 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Salamanders can grow back entire limbs if they lose them. A team at University College London lead by Dr Max Yun are looking at the genetic pathways t...
The Science of Making Colour
22 Jun 2014
Contributed by Lukas
The latest digital imaging techniques are literally throwing new light on the ingenious variety of materials that have been used over the centuries to...
The Future of Flooding in Britain
20 Jun 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Six months after some of the worst flooding witnessed in Britain, Professor David Dermeritt from Kings College London explains to Graihagh Jackson how...
Mountaintop blasted to build largest telescope
19 Jun 2014
Contributed by Lukas
This week, 3000 metres up a Chilean mountain, scientists pressed the button to blow up half a million tonnes of rock. The mountain's called Cerro Arma...
Renewable Bioplastics
18 Jun 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Bacteria that can degrade the woody material in plant waste and turn it into an oil-free material for plastics manufacture have been developed by scie...
One-two punch for evolution
08 Jun 2014
Contributed by Lukas
There's a new theory this week claiming that men's faces evolved to take punches. It comes from researchers at the University of Utah and goes against...
Massive Super-Earth
06 Jun 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Has the likelihood of alien life existing just become a lot more likely? Astronomers at the Harvard-Smithsonian Centre for Astrophysics announced this...
Seabirds Chase Ships for Food
05 Jun 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Gannets are using fishing boats as fast-food outlets, chasing them for miles over the ocean. Thomas Bodey explains to Chris Smith how GPS tracking on ...
Does Nicolas Cage cause drownings?
05 Jun 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Does Nicolas Cage cause people to drown in swimming pools? Does margarine consumption lead to divorce? Tyler Vigen looked at relations between seeming...
The Battle of the Sexes
16 Mar 2014
Contributed by Lukas
The course of true love never did run smooth and this can be seen across the animal kingdom too. The Malacological Society of London held their annual...
Selecting Species to Save
14 Mar 2014
Contributed by Lukas
With as much as 30% of all species potentially at risk of extinction, there is a 'Noah's ark' problem of selecting which species to save. This week th...
The Naked Mole Rat
27 Feb 2014
Contributed by Lukas
The peculiarities of the naked mole-rat: what can we learn from them? Cambridge University pharmacologist Ewan St John Smith hosts this meeting of Caf...
David Willetts AAAS Audio Blog
20 Feb 2014
Contributed by Lukas
UK Universities and Science Minister, David Willetts, becomes his own radio presenter; here, on a tour organised by the UK's Science and Innovation Ne...
David Willetts Speech to the AAAS
15 Feb 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Addressing the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) 2014 meeting in Chicago, David Willetts, UK Minister for Universities and Sc...
Packing Up a Museum
12 Feb 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Moving house is one of life's most stressful events; so imagine packing up 4 million artifacts of a museum collection. That's exactly what they are do...
Can we eradicate Polio?
27 Jan 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Polio might not have been seen in Britain since the 1980's, but despite worldwide efforts the potentially fatal disease is still endemic in three coun...
Naked Scientists Guide to Genetics
13 Dec 2013
Contributed by Lukas
In The Naked Scientists Guide to Genetics, Simon Bishop explores some common genetics terms, meets a creature from the depths of the sea floor, and be...
#genes2shape: Tubby - from obesity to drought tolerance
28 Nov 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Recorded at the 2013 Genetics Society Autumn Meeting 'From Genes to Shape', Simon Bishop meets Marco Reitz, who works on the conserved gene 'Tubby'. S...
#genes2shape: Asymmetry... in snails
28 Nov 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Recorded at the 2013 Genetics Society Autumn Meeting 'From Genes to Shape', Simon Bishop meets Harriet Johnson, who works on the genes behind left-ri...
Afghanistan on the brain
27 Nov 2013
Contributed by Lukas
The mental scars left after trauma and how ecstasy can help treat post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Like this podcast? Please help us by supporti...
A weather forecast, for the dinosaurs
21 Nov 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Could plankton hold the key to understanding ancient climate conditions? New research suggests ocean temperatures from 200 million years ago could be ...
Bodyguard drugs and TB
01 Nov 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Tuberculosis is a major world problem, but extremely difficult to treat - vaccines are toxic to humans, and the disease-causing bacteria have a habit ...
Packing plants with eco energy
23 Oct 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Super energy-rich biofuels could soon be possible because of new research, dramatically reducing the environmental impact of intensive farming. Like t...
How important are the microorganisms all around us?
22 Oct 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. Jack Gilbert explains some of the surprising effects that microorganisms can have on our lives. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting th...
Diagnosing Emerging Disorders
15 Oct 2013
Contributed by Lukas
How do you look for the cause of a brand new medical problem? Simon Bishop speaks to Professor David Goldstein about using genetic sequencing to uncov...
Stopping HIV Spread
05 Oct 2013
Contributed by Lukas
HIV attacks the immune system, invading one type of cell called a CD4 lymphocyte. The virus encourages infected cells to sidle up alongside healthy, u...
Red-tailed Black Cockatoo Conservation
02 Oct 2013
Contributed by Lukas
One of Perth, Western Australia's best-loved and most striking birds - the red-tailed black cockatoo - once common, is now in severe decline. Victoria...
Tackling the tangles in Alzheimer's Disease
25 Sep 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Until recently, it has been extremely difficult to track the progression of Alzheimer's disease, as the neurons of the brain which are affected by the...
2013.09.17 - British Science Festival 2013: Ancient Parasites Treat Allergies
16 Sep 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Ancient parasites could be used to cure severe allergy sufferers according to new research from the University of Cambridge. Matt Burnett discovers ho...
British Science Festival 2013: Victorian Science
16 Sep 2013
Contributed by Lukas
The Victorian Science Spectacular came to Newcastle as part of the British Science Festival, and Ginny Smith went along to see what it was all about, ...
British Science Festival 2013: Ugly Animal Preservation Society
12 Sep 2013
Contributed by Lukas
This week after public vote, the Blobfish was announced to be the world's ugliest animal. The poll was run by Ugly Animal Preservation Society, a grou...
Diabetes Management - On your phone!
11 Sep 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Is real-time blood sugar monitoring on your phone a pipe dream? Not according to Professor Mike Trenell at Newcastle University. Matt Burnett finds ou...
British Science Festival 2013: Sugata Mitra's School in the Cloud
11 Sep 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Sugata Mitra's 'Hole in the Wall' experiments in a New Delhi slum showed how easily children can learn using the internet, with no adult supervision o...
Autism and dancing
10 Sep 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Dancing is a complicated skill, and learning a new routine changes the brain. Ginny Smith caught up with Antonia Hamilton and Emily Cross at the Briti...
British Science Festival 2013: Healthy Life Simulation
10 Sep 2013
Contributed by Lukas
The population of the modern world is ageing. However, not everyone's quality of ageing is equal and simple factors, such as where we live, can have a...
Self-Healing Concrete
10 Sep 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Inspired by biological systems that can self-repair, Diane Gardner is working on polymer 'ligaments', micro capsules of regenerative fluid and even em...
British Science Festival 2013: Ceri Brenner, Lasers
09 Sep 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Rutherford Appleton Central Laser Facility scientist Dr Ceri Brenner enlightens Ginny Smith about the world of lasers at the British Science Festival,...
British Science Festival 2013: Cosmic Rays and Technology
09 Sep 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Physicist Chris Frost explains, at the British Science Festival 2013, how cosmic rays disrupt the everyday technologies we rely on, as he outlines for...
Diamond Lasers - Just a James Bond fantasy?
08 Aug 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Diamonds are the new best friends of laser scientists.A new world of lasers is now being created through research which is harnessing the exceptional ...
The Science of Spin Bowling
08 Aug 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Today marks the first day of the fourth test in the Ashes and while England have already retained the urn, they're hoping that their spin bowlers, inc...
The Science of the Working Lunch
01 Aug 2013
Contributed by Lukas
We are often encouraged to relax during our lunch break, but research suggests that this can do interesting things to our minds. Like this podcast? Pl...
What Makes Plumes on Enceladus - Matt Hedman
01 Aug 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Enceladus, the tiny Saturnian satellite, regularly issues jets of salty water from its south pole that reaches kilometres in height above the moon's s...
Cycle Safety
29 Jul 2013
Contributed by Lukas
How can you make sure you are safe when you cycle? It might be more difficult that you think to ensure cars spot you... Like this podcast? Please help...
Exercise away the risk of stroke?
29 Jul 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Scientists at the University of South Australia have shown that regular exercise can dramatically reduce your risk of having a stroke in later life. P...
Brain scans to improve autism diagnosis
18 Jul 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Last week, a group at the University of California, Davis, released a paper which highlights the potential for the use of MRI brain scans in the diagn...
Giant Water Lily
13 Jul 2013
Contributed by Lukas
The Cambridge Botanic Gardens play host to a giant water lily, with leaves a small child can stand on, and a flower that undergos an overnight sex cha...
National Astronomy Meeting: Thursday
03 Jul 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Dark matter has long been needed by cosmologists to explain how structures like galaxies remain so strongly bound together. Catherine Peymans from the...
National Astronomy Meeting: Wednesday
02 Jul 2013
Contributed by Lukas
What will the last remaining lifeforms on the Earth look like as the Sun swells to become a red giant star? And why might future robotic explorers of ...
The Enigma Machine
02 Jul 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Last week marked the 101st birthday of the code-breaker and computer scientist Alan Turing, so Ginny Smith met up with James Grime, from the Enigma Pr...
National Astronomy Meeting: Tuesday
01 Jul 2013
Contributed by Lukas
I find out how the British Geological Survey is investigating the threat that solar storms pose to the world's electricity grids. David Southwood, Pre...
National Astronomy Meeting: Monday
30 Jun 2013
Contributed by Lukas
David Southwood, President of the Royal Astronomical Society, tells me why NAM is so important to him. I hear about plans to double the size of the Li...
Technology and Tennis
29 Jun 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Technological advances in racquets and balls are changing the way tennis is played, including allowing us to reach incredible 163mph serves. To find...
How do we make the right decisions?
25 Jun 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Clinical Neuropsychologist Barbara Sahakian explains why some people find it difficult to make decisions that are beneficial to them, and how drugs co...
Catalysts
16 Jun 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Catalysts Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Naked in Cheltenham
13 Jun 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Ginny Smith talked to scientists performing at Chetenham Science Festival, as well as trying out some hands- on activities. Like this podcast? Please ...
What is Random?
16 May 2013
Contributed by Lukas
We were discussing on the radio today how random numbers are generated, and how could it be proved - to the satisfaction of a mathematician - that the...
Science Toys, for Boys?
12 May 2013
Contributed by Lukas
A campaign has been launched to stop science toys being sold by some stores as "toys for boys". But what does science say on the matter? Introduced he...
Touching Up On Art Restoration
02 May 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Continuing from our podcast Restoring the Masters, Sally Woodcock, a PhD student from the Hamilton Kerr Institute talks about how we restore old oil p...
Science In-Situ
25 Mar 2013
Contributed by Lukas
This month we explore science 'in action' as we discover how researchers at the synchrotron are experimenting with implants, industrial catalysts and ...
BANG! Naked Science Festival
17 Mar 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Breasts, bazookas, bosons and bombs: The Naked Scientists take to the stage for the Cambridge Science Festival 2013. An explosive mix of fertile conve...
Tidal energy, turtle mating habits
12 Mar 2013
Contributed by Lukas
This week in the Planet Earth Podcast: a look at the potential to generate up to 20 per cent of the UK's electricity from tidal energy; and why unders...
What does DNA sequencing do for me?
12 Mar 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Cambridge chemist and biotechnologist Shankar Balasubramanian discusses DNA sequencing and its implications for health and disease. Like this podcast?...
Ice-Quakes in Svalbard
11 Mar 2013
Contributed by Lukas
We spoke to Emma Smith, a PhD student with the British Antarctic Survey about her work whilst she was based in the icy noth of Svalbard... Like this p...
Benedict Cumberbatch
06 Mar 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Sherlock star Benedict Cumberbatch is the Cambridge Science Festival's guest director this year, meaning he's been assisting the Cambridge University ...
Our ancient ancestors, deep sea worms
19 Feb 2013
Contributed by Lukas
This week in the Planet Earth Podcast: why textbook illustrations of our early ancestors may have to be re-drawn; and why underwater canyons contain a...
Using Genetics to Save the Ash Tree
05 Feb 2013
Contributed by Lukas
This week in the Planet Earth Podcast: decoding the ash tree's entire genetic sequence to produce a strain which is more resilient to ash dieback; the...
Pseudomonas aeruginosa - Martin Welch
01 Feb 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Researchers at Cambridge University announced the discovery of a new way to attack the bacterial "superbug" Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which accounts for...
Avian pox in UK great tits, top conservation issues
22 Jan 2013
Contributed by Lukas
This week in the Planet Earth Podcast: how a virus brought to the UK by insects poses a worrying threat to the country's great tit population; and whi...
Climate tipping points, basking sharks, primates
08 Jan 2013
Contributed by Lukas
This week in the Planet Earth Podcast: why understanding where plankton congregates can help us protect basking sharks and other marine creatures; how...
Protecting Nerves from Damage
05 Jan 2013
Contributed by Lukas
How can we protect neurons from degeneration? In this podcast from Cambridge Cafe Scientifique, we hear how understanding transport of proteins and o...
Planet Earth Podcast highlights from 2012
26 Dec 2012
Contributed by Lukas
This week in the Planet Earth Podcast: a look at some of the highlights from 12 months of the Planet Earth Podcast, including: a hairy crab; earthquak...
The Best of Synchrotron Science in 2012
21 Dec 2012
Contributed by Lukas
This month, we look back at Diamond's ten year anniversary celebrations to discover novel ways to store hydrogen gas, analyse the risks of a toxic mud...
Extra Questions - The Science Behind Broadcasting
18 Dec 2012
Contributed by Lukas
How does a radio broadcast work? We must have been on your wavelength this week, as we had more questions that we could fit in Naked Scientists Show!...
Citizen science projects, plants and greenhouse gases
11 Dec 2012
Contributed by Lukas
This week in the Planet Earth Podcast: how you can get involved in any one of the wealth of UK citizen science projects that have taken off recently, ...
Bat calls, weather balloons, telomeres and ageing
27 Nov 2012
Contributed by Lukas
This week in the Planet Earth Podcast: an online tool to identify bats is helping to protect them, and it could make a scientist of us all. Also, an a...
Solutions to urban flooding, peatland carbon storage
15 Nov 2012
Contributed by Lukas
This week in the Planet Earth Podcast: a look at potential solutions to urban flooding, and why scientists are so keen to measure carbon dioxide flow ...
Stories from the Synchrotron
15 Nov 2012
Contributed by Lukas
Fiction and Science collide this month as we discover the stories lurking beneath the surface of the synchrotron. We open up the books to investigate ...
Unique plants in Bristol, contraceptives and fish
30 Oct 2012
Contributed by Lukas
This week in the Planet Earth Podcast: how conservationists are using science to help protect rare plants found only in Bristol's Avon Gorge, and are ...
Man-made salt marshes, ground heat, storms
19 Oct 2012
Contributed by Lukas
This week in the Planet Earth Podcast: why salt marshes are so important, but are difficult to recreate; how storms are made; and why the ground benea...
Sir John Gurdon, Nobel Laureate
12 Oct 2012
Contributed by Lukas
Sir John Gurdon, from Cambridge University, talks to Chris Smith about the set of experiments that resulted in the award on the 2012 Nobel Prize for ...
Future-proofing forests, noisy gannets, Antarctica
03 Oct 2012
Contributed by Lukas
This week in the Planet Earth Podcast: the steps scientists are taking to make sure the trees we plant today can cope with tomorrow's warmer climate; ...