Show Me the Science with Luke O'Neill
Episodes
62. The Science of the Nocebo effect
03 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This week Luke asks if it might all be in our heads? Or a lot of it anyway. While many of us are surely familiar with the idea of the placebo effect, ...
61. The Science of Fungi and the Wood Wide Web
27 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The humble fungi is the focus of this week's podcast, and it really is a lot more complex and brilliant than we might have expected. Luke explores the...
60. The Science of Tears
20 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Why do we cry? What is it about humans that makes us shed tears due to sadness, laughter, anger or even onions? This week Luke explores the science of...
59. The Science of Stopping Ageing
13 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Science forges towards breaking another frontier this week, as Luke brings us news of a vaccine for ageing. Could we one day live forever? Could a sim...
57. The Science of Weight Gain/Loss
06 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
A new year and for many a new commitment to shift those extra pounds. But how much of weight gain is down to bad habits, and how much is down to more ...
55. The Science of Santa's Reindeer
23 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
On the eve of the greatest journey of the year, as Santa and his reindeer depart the North Pole to cross the globe, Luke explores the science of the a...
54. The Science of settling Europe
16 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
On cold, rainy winter nights Luke has found himself pondering a question - why on earth did humans end up coming to live in Europe? Why would we leave...
53. The Science of Plastics
09 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Plastic waste is a problem that the world needs to solve, and this week Luke explains why new discoveries are offering a potential route away from the...
52. The Science of Genomic Medicine
02 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
We return to the question of the human genome this week, as Luke explores how recent breakthroughs are paving the way for medical interventions of a k...
51. The Science of Plant Diets
25 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
We all know we should eat plenty of fruit and veg, but just why is a plant based diet so good for us? And is it able to give us all we need, without a...
50. The Science of Gene Therapy
18 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
What was once just a dream has become reality for scientists in recent years, and even in recent months, as gene therapy technology has advanced at a ...
49. The Science of Birth without Pregnancy
11 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
It sounds like the plot to science fiction set far into the future, but it is in fact seemingly growing nearer - the potential for human beings to rep...
48. The Science of Terrifying Creatures
04 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
It can seem as though nature has an incredible, unlimited imagination, and it is no surprise that some of the creatures of scary books and movies migh...
47. The Science of Psychedelics
28 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
From mysterious mushrooms to synthetic, mind-altering substances, humans have long used psychedelic drugs, leading to bouts of brilliant creativity an...
46. The Science of Shoemaker's Comet
21 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This week Luke brings us the story of a comet, or more precisely the story of the woman the comet was named after, the incredible Carolyn Shoemaker, w...
45. The Science of Touch
14 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Humans rely on our bodies' sense to survive and explore our world, but while we know a lot about some sense - like smell, hearing and vision - we know...
44. The Science of Big Machines
07 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This week Luke looks at the biggest machines ever built, and explains why they are not only a testament to humanity's never ending curiosity and ambit...
43. The Science of Woolly Mammoths
30 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This week's episode might sound like it's pulled from a Hollywood screenplay - the rapidly moving plan for a resurrection of the long extinct Wooly Ma...
42. The Science of Ig Nobel prizes
23 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The Ig Nobel awards are the silliest prizes in science, with experiments on everything from the power of beards to protect a face, to the best ways to...
41. The Science of Leisure Time
16 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
We all want more free time, more time to do what we want with our lives - from hobbies to simply sitting around with our feet up. But can we have too ...
40. The Science of Sound
09 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Whether deep in our oceans, stretching across our deserts, or even lurking in suburban neighbourhoods, there remain mysterious sounds even science can...
39. The Science of Pi
02 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
It is the most famous number of them all, and key to so much of what makes our lives tick - but what is Pi and why is it so central to our lives? This...
38. The Science of Private Space Flight
26 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
What was once the dreams of world leaders has now become the plaything of the super-rich, as space flight has very recently opened up to billionaires ...
37. The Science of Tattoos
19 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Humans have been indelibly marking their skin with ink for thousands of years, but why did we start to tattoo ourselves and how does it work? As alway...
36. The Science of Grandmothers
12 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This week it’s all about celebrating grandmothers. Luke explores the science that explains how grandmothers are the secret to humanity’s success, ...
35. The Science of Sea Smells
05 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
It's where life began for humans and animals of all kinds and it is essential to all life, but why exactly does the sea smell the way it does? Well, s...
34. The Science of Babies
29 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
They're not just cute, they also happen to carry some quite incredible super powers. From underwater survival to growing like giants, this week Luke e...
33. The Science of Sweat
22 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Why do we sweat? How important is it? What is the function and why does it smell do bad? And just how big is the deodorant business? This week Luke di...
32. The Science of our closest relatives
15 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Could we have found humanity's long lost cousin? A stunning discovery in China has led scientists to think it could be more closely related to humans ...
31. The Science of UFOs
08 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This week Luke takes a look at the recent US government report looking at mysterious sightings in the skies. What does the report tell us that we didn...
30. The Science of Alzheimer's
01 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Alzheimer's is one of the cruelest diseases we can face, robbing someone of their most cherished memories. Long ago thought of as an random affliction...
29. The Science of Human Limits
24 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The human body is an incredible machine, capable of spectacular speed, strength and feats of endurance. But how far can it go? How far can we push our...
28. The Science of the Human Genome
17 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Would you re-design yourself? Would you re-draw the very building blocks of your body and customise yourself as your vision of the ideal specimen of t...
27. The Science of Milk
10 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Its the bedrock of the immune system from birth and it's the fascinating, wonderous key to life of all mammals and one that only made its way into hum...
26. The Myths of Science
03 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This week Luke heads for the junction of science and old wives' tales, and seeks to dispel some popular myths about our world, from the true memory of...