Naked Scientists, In Short Special Editions Podcast

New research means we're going to have to think again about how human sperm swim. You might have seen movies of them looking a bit like tadpoles in a pond - the head carries the male's DNA and the long tail, or flagellum, propels the sperm forward. That motion was first described over 300 years ago, but now a joint team from Britain and Mexico think we might need to re-write the textbooks, as Eva Higginbotham heard from Hermes Gadelha... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

The world took a step towards our goal of harnessing nuclear fusion as an energy source last week when the construction officially began of ITER, the new International Thermonuclear Experimental fusion Reactor. Michel Claessens is the author of the book ITER: The Giant Fusion Reactor. He spoke to Adam Murphy about the project... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

In early August, the UK stepped back from some of the proposed lockdown easing measures. So how are public health officials managing these situations, are we in good shape to cope with the approaching winter, and is this the pattern of coronavirus cases we should expect going forward? Chris Smith hears from Maggie Rae, president of the faculty of Public Health.... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

The millions of rods and cones in the retina at the back of each of your eyes, which turn light into nerve signals to send to the brain, use a lot of energy. So the retina tends to burn out faster than the rest of the body. But now scientists have found that short bursts of a red light shone into your eyes could help reduce or even reverse this ageing process. Katie Haylor spoke to Glenn Jeffery, who's been looking at a group of 24 people with no eye disease for the study... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

The liver is an incredible organ that does a number of different jobs - including cleaning our blood and breaking down chemicals and drugs - to keep us healthy. And liver problems can have serious consequences, resulting in potentially needing a new one in the case of liver failure. And there aren't exactly loads of spare healthy livers around, and some people just aren't suited for transplant. But this week, scientists have published news of an artificial liver system that cleans the blood, and returns it again to the body within a matter of hours, whilst also encouraging the liver tissue to... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Colourful still life paintings of bowls of fruit have been a favourite of artists for generations, and there are thousands of examples in art galleries across the world. Now, two friends from Belgium - one an art historian, and the other a plant biologist - are asking for your help to find paintings that reveal clues about how some of our modern foods came into being. This unusual project came about when the two of them were on holiday in St Petersburg, and visited a museum - as Ive de Smet told Katie Haylor... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

After 22 years of searching, researchers at the Radboud University Medical Centre in the Netherlands have successfully identified the genetic cause behind a certain type of inherited adult hearing loss - a defect in the so-called RIPOR2 gene. Eva Higginbotham spoke to geneticist Hannie Kremer and ear nose and throat surgeon Ronald Pennings about how they did it. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Kim Hill catches up with virologist Chris Smith to review the Covid-19 current state of play, from Leicester's lockdown, the WHO stance on masks and aerosol spread, to long-term immunity and long-haul symptoms of Covid-19, the link between ethnicity and more severe Covid-19 disease, and whether the world's over-reacted to the coronavirus threat... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

How has the pandemic affected the global food supply? That's the subject of a recent report by the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation. Their message is that while there have been a few industry issues so far - overripe fruit left unpicked, spoiled batches of milk left undelivered - that's only a taste of what's to come if there's a huge global recession around the corner. Chris Smith and spoke to Maximo Torero - the organisation's chief economist - as well as University of Cambridge land economist Shailaja Fennell... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Cobalt is one of the 118 chemical elements, and it's a vital ingredient in making batteries for everything from your mobile phone to electric cars. Land mining for cobalt and other metals can be environmentally and socially damaging, but proposals for the deep sea mining of these metals in the Clarion-Clipperton Fracture Zone - the CCZ - an area about as big as Europe four thousand metres below sea level in the Pacific, is also controversial. Eva Higginbotham... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Do you consider yourself something of a Dr Doolittle? According to new research from the University of Amsterdam, we're all actually pretty good at understanding what animals are trying to express - at least, animals that we are closely related to like chimpanzees. Eva Higginbotham spoke to Roza Kamiloglu, the lead author on the study, about her research... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This month on the eLife Podcast we look at how sugar takes away the pleasure of consuming and makes you eat more, we find out what loneliness does to the brain, uncover new insights into how HIV infects females, and explore sex bias in biomedical research... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Astronomers have taken what might be the first ever picture of a baby planet being formed. It looks like a beautiful tornado-shaped spiral of light, and there's a tiny twist visible inside one of the arms of the spiral. Why is this an achievement? And how can you actually tell whether there's a planet inside that tiny point of light? Phil Sansom asked Anthony Boccaletti, who led the team from the European Southern Observatory in taking this picture - as well as University of Cambridge astronomer Carolin Crawford... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

You might think that when you're choosing a partner to have children with that your decision is entirely yours. However it turns out that biology has an interesting trick up its sleeve, which may surprise you. It turns out that there are guidance mechanisms that, like homing beacons, can help swimming sperm get to the eggs. It's because cells in women's bodies release special attracting chemicals into the fluid surrounding the eggs, and, according to a recent paper, these chemicals seem to prefer some sperm over others, taking the decision making completely out of your hands! In reproductive... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Everyday in the UK over 40 people die from liver disease, some of whom could be saved by having a liver transplant - but there aren't enough donor livers to go around. But what if we could grow livers in a laboratory, and use those instead? A team in Pittsburgh has now done just that in rats. The livers were transplanted into animals genetically modified to prevent them from rejecting the transplant. Eva Higginbotham heard from Alejandro Soto-Gutierrez how they did it... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Where are we now, six months into the COVID-19 pandemic? The official global death toll is over 380,000 with well over 6 million confirmed cases according to the World Health Organisation. Are we deceiving ourselves that we really understand it? Jonathan Ball is a virologist at the University of Nottingham who's met some exotic viruses in his time - so for an update, Chris Smith asked his thoughts on the coronavirus and its weird symptoms... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

A few weeks ago some stork babies made the news as the first white stork chicks to hatch in the UK for over 600 years. Despite the very long gap, here in the UK a legacy of these large, white, migratory birds has persisted. I'm Eva Higginbotham, and I spoke to Dr Alexander Lees, senior lecturer in Conservation Biology at Manchester Metropolitan University, about the new arrivals, monogamous dating for storks, and the history of white storks in Europe. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Phase 2 of the hydroxychloroquine debacle, how the race to publish is leading to rapid retractions, whether Sweden's having second thoughts, did Covid come out of a lab, innate immunity and antibody responses, and how many tests prove I'm negative? Virologist Dr Chris Smith talks to Radio new Zealand National's Kim Hill... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Donald Trump got a lot of stick when he talked about using disinfectant and light to kill off COVID-19 - seemingly implying people should drink bleach or shine a torch down their throats. Now a team at Columbia University has indeed discovered a narrow wavelength within UV light that they call 'far-UVC', that as well as killing viruses on surfaces, is also safe for humans because it can't get through our skin. Eva Higginbotham heard more from David Brenner... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

In this week's coronavirus update, the impact of blood groups on Covid risk, progress towards a vaccine, and the UK still has 8000 cases a day: what does this mean for herd immunity? Also, is Sweden's approach the wrong one, has hydroxychloroquine died a death, what actually is the Covid syndrome, what role may genes play, and how do we calculate Covid excess mortality? Dr Chris Smith talks to Radio New Zealand National's Kim Hill... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

A herd of fluffy wild Kashmiri goats made the news back in March at the onset of the lockdown when they descended on the Welsh town of Llandudno to explore where all the people had got to. Now, after an investigation by a scientist in London, it turns out that goats are not only curious creatures, but, as the first domesticated livestock species some eleven thousand years ago, they are also able to understand human gestures like pointing. Eva Higginbotham spoke to Alan McElligott from the University of Roehampton about his research... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

The UK government has come under fire for failing to protect care homes from the spread of the coronavirus. The facilities have seen more than 14,000 coronavirus-related deaths so far - that's over a quarter of the UK's total mortality, in just a tiny fraction of the population. And these figures echo a similar situation across European countries. Chris Smith spoke to Julienne Meyer - a nurse, an emeritus professor at City University of London, and an adviser to the National Care Forum... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Progress in vaccine trials, the longevity of immune responses to Covid-19 and coronavirus vaccines, animal models of Covid-19, genetic stability of SARS-CoV-2, is hydroxychloroquine a good gamble, coronaviruses on clothes, why do death rates vary, and how is Sweden faring? Kim Hill talks to Chris Smith to find out... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

A special Covid-19 news update: Have you had a test for COVID-19? Some results from the symptom tracker app. Also, how blood plasma from Covid-recoverees is being used to treat patients acutely ill with the virus. Do hospital and office aircon systems need a rethink to prevent disease spread in future? What happens if you catch coronavirus during pregnancy? And what are the future impacts of Covid-19 on transport? Chris Smith, Katie Haylor, Phil Sansom and Eva Higginbotham report... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Will SARS-CoV-2, the cause of Covid-19, continue to circulate for years to come? What's the story with infection in children, and how is Kawasaki Disease involved? Are separate strains of the virus spreading in different countries and accounting for differences in severity? And will the virus mutate to sidestep a vaccine? Radio New Zealand National's Kim Hill talks to Chris Smith to find out... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

If, before a date, you like to spritz yourself to smell great for that special someone, you could be in good company, as this week, scientists in Japan have published a paper looking at ring-tailed lemurs who might be doing a similar thing. There's much debate about whether sex pheramones actually exist in humans - that is, whether we exude chemicals to stimulate some sort of sexual behavioural response in someone else. But could this be what's happening in our distant primate cousins? And what could this mean for us? Primate expert Jacob Dunn, who wasn't involved in the study and is from... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Sometimes scientists try to study one thing and end up accidentally discovering something else. Cancer researcher Cathy Wilson from the University of Cambridge recently experienced such good fortune. While trying to understand the function of cancer gene 'myc' in mice, a gene that goes haywire in almost all human cancers, she accidentally ended up achieving the holy grail of heart disease research - making heart cells start dividing to make more cells. Eva Higginbotham spoke to her about the happy accident... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Scientists discover why Covid-19 causes some people to lose their sense of smell and taste, that patients probably don't catch coronavirus for a second time soon after their first encounter, why children probably are equally infectious, and remdesivir - does it make a difference? Dr Chris Smith joins Radio New Zealand National's Kim Hill for another coronavirus conversation... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Across the world, universities have been closed, researchers sent home and many classes are either not taking place or they've shifted online; so how does that impact the way universities are operating, and what's been the financial and scientific impact. Chris Smith spoke with Stephen Toope, Vice Chancellor of the University of Cambridge... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Researchers have discovered a link between certain chemicals found in plastics and the premature births. The chemicals are from a class called phthalates, and they're used in a wide variety of household products as well as in food processing lines. However, when they get into people's bodies, there's evidence that they can disrupt human hormone systems. And now American scientists have found that women whose bodies had high levels of a particular phthalate just before they conceived ended up significantly more likely to give birth too soon. Carmen Messerlian, an epidemiologist at the T.H. Chan... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

We're all spending more time at home right now, and being cooped up indoors can feel rather challenging. And with spring very much sprung here in the UK, what better time than to get those fingers green with growing stuff! So, a few weeks ago, novice gardener Katie Haylor spoke horticultural learning coordinator Sandie Cain from Cambridge University Botanic Garden. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

As human trials of Covid-19 vaccines kick off in the UK, what kind of protection might we expect, and when will we know. Also, the thorny issue of facemasks - do they help contain the contagion, or not? Also, children as active 'super spreaders' of the disease, strange blood clotting effects, and a distinctive form of pneumonia caused by Covid. Dr Chris Smith joins Radio New Zealand National's Kim Hill for an update on what this week has revealed about SARS-CoV-2... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Recorded back in early March for our Cambridge Science Festival event, before the current lockdown measures were put in place, Cambridge University physicist and science stand up comedian Fran Chadha-Day treated us to one of her sets. So, grab a cuppa and take a seat. Becuase, without further ado, here's Fran Chadha-Day! Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Will a vaccine against the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus be forthcoming, and what other measures are effective at fighting Covid-19? We're setting great store by social distancing, but is 2 metres going far enough? Chris Smith joins Radio New Zealand National's Kim Hill to discuss the latest developments in the evolving coronavirus situation, including the UK lockdown extension, and other therapeutic strategies to aid people stricken by the virus... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week, Prime Minister Boris Johnson's close-call with Covid-19, reversing the lockdown, how contact tracing can control outbreaks, changing public practices around face masks, and can the exhalations of a passing jogger infect me? Chris Smith joins Radio New Zealand National's Kim Hill for another coronavirus update... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

The risk of bringing home coronavirus on your groceries is very low, but what's the best way to minimise the threat? Chris Smith explains... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

As our high streets are becoming increasingly deserted by humans, it's becoming apparent that we aren't the only creatures roaming our cities. Birds are still chirping away out there. A city is not a natural place for a bird, but some species manage to thrive. Intelligence was once thought to be the deciding factor, but maybe that's not the whole story, as put forward by new research in Nature Ecology and Evolution. Melanie Jans-Singh found out more from UCL's Alexander Pigot... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

As the lockdown tightens and a quarter of the world's population are forced to stay at home, Chris Smith and RNZ's Kim Hill link up to talk about the latest coronavirus facts. They explore whether facemasks protect you or just lead to a false sense of security, herd immunity and our lockdown exit strategy, why some people suffer more severe infections than others, and if antibodies from recovered Covid-19 victims can help those dying from the disease... Also, the brilliant Coronavirus Rhapsody sung by Adrian Grimes with lyrics by Dana Jay Bein and music by Queen. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Space-grown lettuce may sound like something from science-fiction, but astronauts on the International Space Station, or ISS, have been enjoying their leafy greens since mid 2015, thanks to NASA's Veggie plant growth system. Megan McGregor spoke to Gioia Massa, project scientist at Kennedy Space Centre, and Howard Griffiths from the University of Cambridge... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

As the UK goes into lock-down and the government announces unprecedented spending to support businesses and workers, Chris Smith rejoins Radio New Zealand National's Kim Hill to discuss the scientific basis for these tactics, and how the story will end... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Last year scientists from the University of Exeter discovered that staring at seagulls can discourage them from stealing your food. Not content with saving the chips of many a seaside tourist, they have now discovered that herring gulls are more likely to interact with food after it has been touched by humans. But how exactly do you test a seagull's preferred snack? Megan McGregor spoke to the study's lead author, Madeleine Goumas, to find out more... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Every household across the world produces wastewater. While usually we think of it as waste that has to be treated, a new study by the UN Institute for Water, in the National Resources Forum, conceives of wastewater as a largely untapped resource. The scientists, led by Manzoor Qadir, have estimated the total amount of wastewater in the world. This is the first comprehensive study that includes places with little recorded data. According to its result, the total amount of wastewater produced per year globally could cover the entire land in the world (minus Antarctica) by 1 metre. Melanie... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

As the focus shifts to Europe, now regarded as the epicentre of the coronavirus pandemic, Chris Smith rejoins Radio New Zealand National's Kim Hill to debate whether the UK stance, currently at odds with the reaction seen across the rest of Europe, is the right one. They ask, how effective are travel bans, why Italy has been so hard hit, why children don't seem to be getting sick, and the influence of the weather on the spread of SARS-Cov-2... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This month, new hearing tests to spot those likely to struggle with speech in noisy environments, how your DNA is at risk from hacking on a public database, plants with three parents, researchers recreate endometriosis in mice and show that cannabis might be an effective treatment, and the nerve fibres that make us like a cuddle. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Chris Smith rejoined Radio New Zealand National's Kim Hill on Saturday 29th February as New Zealand declares its first case of Covid-19. So far the novel coronavirus has infected more than 80,000 people and caused over 2,800 deaths. They review the on-going situation and how the world is reacting... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Cannabis has all sorts of effects on the body, including - it seems - on memory. A new study has shown that questioning people who are acutely high on cannabis makes them more vulnerable to forming false memories makes them more vulnerable to forming false memories; like remembering something differently to how it happened, or remembering something that never happened at all. Here, scientists from the Maastricht University in the Netherlands put high participants in a virtual reality simulation where they either witnessed or committed a crime, and then interrogated them shortly after. Phil... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Zoos are big players in conservation, investing 750 million dollars in conserving species in the wild. Researchers from Trinity College Dublin discovered, maybe unsurprisingly, that zoos with more visitors are able to contribute more to conservation projects. But what exactly gets people to visit a zoo? Megan McGregor spoke to the study's lead author, Andrew Mooney... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Listener Paul got in touch wondering, given that diamonds are made of carbon, how big a diamond you could make if you turned all the carbon atoms in a lump of coal into a sparkler. Would it make a worthwhile engagement ring? Getting her hands dirty to find out the answer, here's Cambridge University materials scientist Megan McGregor... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Ancient wasp nests have enabled scientists to, for the first time, accurately pinpoint the ages of rock paintings dating back thousands of years in a remote part of Australia. And the picture that emerges is one of the continent's earliest human inhabitants getting to grips with climate change. Speaking with Chris Smith, Damien Finch is based at the University of Melbourne but works in what's arguably one of the most beautiful places on Earth... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Chris Smith joined Radio New Zealand National's Kim Hill on Saturday 1st February in the wake of the World Health Organisation's decision to declare the Chinese coronavirus outbreak a global health emergency. They review the on-going situation and consider the likely trajectory the disease will follow around the world... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists