The eLife Podcast

In this episode, how kangaroos alter their postures to store more energy in their Achilles tendons and boost movement efficiency, the moths that make a beeline when they hear plants "talking" to them, tracking how people pick up diseases from their surroundings, the contribution fingerprints make to touch sensation, and some forgotten female scientists are recognised at the Eiffel Tower, in France. Get the references and the transcripts for this programme from the Naked Scientists website

This month, compelling evidence for why some species keep their eyes closed for sometimes several weeks after birth, scientists prove that the "nocebo" effect is more potent than a placebo, researchers report what happens when fish eggs and mouse sperm mix, the signals that cells use to measure the lengths of their telomeres, and some clever physics reveals the workings of Darwin's "warm little pond"... Get the references and the transcripts for this programme from the Naked Scientists website

This month, as the eLife Podcast hits its century, we hear how getting frog dads to cross-foster tadpoles has revealed the way in which some frogs come by their microbiomes, the ants that do gene therapy, signs that disease causes a breakdown in nutrient exchange between the elements of the microbiome, how fungi reprogram immune cells to cause over-reactions in sepsis, and new insights into how tapeworm larvae in the brain cause seizures... Get the references and the transcripts for this programme from the Naked Scientists website

In the eLife podcast, a university compost heap has turned up Finland's first documented "giant virus". Also, why monkeys de-sand their supper, and how learning more languages actually makes brain tissue thinner. Then, the link between sugar and neonatal sepsis, and how a cancer controls its hydra host by bestowing it with extra tentacles... Get the references and the transcripts for this programme from the Naked Scientists website

What is the impact of an extra year at school on the brain? Also, how poison dart frogs come by their toxins, using movies to track the developing infant nervous system, the insect-spread bacterial plant parasite that is a mastermind of matchmaking, and a new cancer tool to link disease with the best drugs. Chris Smith takes a look at some of the most powerful papers out this month in eLife... Get the references and the transcripts for this programme from the Naked Scientists website

This month, how films are helping neuroscientists link brain activity patterns to specific thought processes, a breakthrough in managing opiate overdose, a technique to study animal teamwork, extracting more information from brain scan data, and how childhood adversity blunts later fear responses... Get the references and the transcripts for this programme from the Naked Scientists website

Predicting how influenza viruses will evolve, how deserts decompose matter despite the dry, what worms are revealing about a gene linked to autism, and what makes mice fearful of cat smells. Dr Chris Smith talks to the authors of the latest leading research in eLife... Get the references and the transcripts for this programme from the Naked Scientists website

This month, signs that cancers communicate with the brain to alter mood, why antibodies are unreliable in research, evidence that social training can cut stress and boost brain volume, and agents derived from birth products that suppress inflammation and kill pain... Get the references and the transcripts for this programme from the Naked Scientists website

This month, Chris Smith hears how blood-thirsty bacteria sniff out wounds to trigger infections, how ants navigate at night, how male and female brains respond differently to starvation, and inflammation linked to premature labour... Get the references and the transcripts for this programme from the Naked Scientists website

This month, how human encroachment and conflict on nature drives emerging diseases, the role of "stigmergy" in guiding the nest-building feats of termites, a project to track infectious abortions in Africa, why people need to speak the same language around neurodiversity, and what fat flies are revealing about the way weight gain affects food-related recall... Get the references and the transcripts for this programme from the Naked Scientists website

This month, how animals hibernate and evidence that muscle myosin makes its own heat in the cold, brain scans to reveal how ketamine relieves resistant depression, the way the brain changes when animals build a bond, the evolution of flu outbreaks, and how aphantasia affects autobiographical memory. Get the references and the transcripts for this programme from the Naked Scientists website

This month we hear what orangutans can tell us about the origins of human speech, we ask if science making life even harder for dyslexics, where do the scientists we train end up and do they stay in science, and new insights into the songs whales sing underwater... Get the references and the transcripts for this programme from the Naked Scientists website

In the eLife Podcast this month, signs that bees are oblivious to pesticides in nectar, sea anemone stinging strategies, a new means of cell-cell communication to share growth factors and other signals, how plants make a comeback when ice sheets retreat, and how the world's biggest bird uses wind and waves to good effect to minimise the costs of takeoff... Get the references and the transcripts for this programme from the Naked Scientists website

This month, how an extinct marine mammal made its haemoglobin work in the cold, how does learning compassion change the shape of the human brain, women publishing cautiously, how populations evolve to social distance in disease conditions, and can biochemical clocks accurately track ageing in children? Join Dr Chris Smith for a look at some of eLife's latest leading papers... Get the references and the transcripts for this programme from the Naked Scientists website

This month join host Dr Chris Smith to hear how a nuclear power station provides the opportunity to test theories of the effects of global warming on how fish grow, evidence that personalised medicines have an added placebo effect, the genes for skin colour and skin cancer, why five friends is optimal for best brian health, and the role of the immune system in the ageing ovary... Get the references and the transcripts for this programme from the Naked Scientists website

This month we look at a method to raise the bar on the quality and trustworthiness of information shared over social media networks, how fish running a fever heal from infection faster, what miniature bat backpacks can reveal about the eating and hunting habits of our flying mammalian cousins, how kingfishers come by their plumage patterns, and the evolution of spider venom genes. Join Dr Chris Smith for a look inside the science at eLife... Get the references and the transcripts for this programme from the Naked Scientists website

This month, the genetic variants inherited from millions of years back that protect from disease but can cause illnesses; also, signs that we trust human-sourced information more than what a computer might say, how the whiff of a female can make some mice live longer, what bird's eggs can tell us about dinosaurs, and how taking a leaf out of "doughnut economics" can help academics combat the climate crisis... Get the references and the transcripts for this programme from the Naked Scientists website

Why are 90% of humans right handed and where did we get this from; genes for how - and where - hair grows; the intriguing timing behind how sunflowers flower; how the microbiome of the bee weaponises dietary toxins to deal with parasites, and a connection emerges between personality type and mitochondria... Get the references and the transcripts for this programme from the Naked Scientists website

The ability to recreate dinosaurs inside computers means the true nature of the spinosaurus can now be uncovered, what the Afro Barometer reveals about the potential to use mobile phones to deliver remote health interventions, is intercropping being held back by using the wrong seeds, and signs that firstborns suffer seven months of stress when a baby brother or sister comes along, in bonobos at least. Get the references and the transcripts for this programme from the Naked Scientists website

This month, what ultrasound scans are revealing about how primates learn to cry before birth, the new imaging technique highlighting brain structural changes linked to speech and language impairments, why eLife is breaking the publishing mould to prioritise the preprint in future, and how evolution turn a single lung into a pair... Get the references and the transcripts for this programme from the Naked Scientists website

This month, what happens to the microbiomes of wild animals when they share cities with humans, how being crushed in a cancer makes metastatic cells more malign, a genetic tool to uncover when populations merged back in history, how mating affects the moth sense of smell, and why Africa offers a wealth of research opportunities for the neuroscience community... Get the references and the transcripts for this programme from the Naked Scientists website

Signs that some vapes inflame the brain and other organs, how a whiff of CO2 puts mosquitoes into feeding mode, how long, at present rates, it will take before science reaches gender parity, and how babies get their vitamin D. Chris Smith looks inside some of the latest papers in eLife... Get the references and the transcripts for this programme from the Naked Scientists website

This month, diabetes and the body clock, the antibodies we raise to Covid-19 vaccines versus infection, dinosaurs armoured like tanks, baboons catching up on sleep, and how language evolution goes hand in hand with handedness... Get the references and the transcripts for this programme from the Naked Scientists website

This month, the genes linked to human birth onset, signs hunter gatherers already had a taste for cereals before farming came along, how sunflowers balance UV protection, aridity resistance and attractiveness to pollinators, a contagious cancer that can jump the species barrier, and inside the eLife Ambassador Programme... Get the references and the transcripts for this programme from the Naked Scientists website

This month, the bones missing from Australopithecus sediba's backbone are uncovered, but what do they reveal about this ancient hominid's posture? Also, why a link to the nervous system is crucial for salamander limb regeneration, the bacteria that can treat bacterial infections, the social stomach in ant colonies, and even old worms can combat the ageing process... Get the references and the transcripts for this programme from the Naked Scientists website

This month, corals that can resist bleaching, signs that the human immune system went up a gear about 8000 years ago, documenting plant cells with an ambitious initiative to generate an atlas all the cell types in all types of plants, new insights into the science of the hug hormone oxytocin, and how deleterious genes hold up the evolution of healthy genes too... Get the references and the transcripts for this programme from the Naked Scientists website

This month, mobile phones are an excellent proxy to test for Covid-19, stress and hair going grey, signs that junk food inflammes the immune system, what makes rats want to help other rats, and the emerging infections in South America linked to conquest and the slave trade. Dr Chris Smith takes a look at more of the top science publishing in eLife... Get the references and the transcripts for this programme from the Naked Scientists website

This month, male baboons pay a high ageing price for climbing the social ladder, evidence for the reality of the widowhood effect whereby breaking a pair-bond provokes cancer growth, a new way to track where vaccine antigens go in the body, an integrated model for Alzheimer's Disease, and better ways to predict pain and analgesia in newborns... Get the references and the transcripts for this programme from the Naked Scientists website

This month: how hummingbirds hum, how elephants evolved anti-cancer genes so they can sustain big bodies, gorillas that grow up without their mothers, and why deforestation causes peaks and then troughs in malaria cases... Get the references and the transcripts for this programme from the Naked Scientists website

This month: the first self-blinded study into microdosing psychedelics, using DNA analysis to understand what bacteria is in river water, and what's the evidence for parasites preventing inflammatory diseases? Plus, comparing different methods for evaluating your cellular age, and an analysis of non-inclusive language used in life sciences journals... Get the references and the transcripts for this programme from the Naked Scientists website

This month: how a dose of magnesium can improve long-term memory, scientists scrutinise the world's sourdough microbes, and evidence that we're overlooking important COVID-relevant genes. Plus, shark behaviour in low oxygen environments, and using baboon mummies to solve a mystery of ancient times... Get the references and the transcripts for this programme from the Naked Scientists website

This month we hear about the animals that turn their dinner into solar panels, the first images of anti-nausea drug molecules engaging with their receptors, and what thousands of you told eLife about the people who support their colleagues at work. Plus, exercise stops cancer cells from growing and how we hold onto bad food memories... Get the references and the transcripts for this programme from the Naked Scientists website

This month we hear about an artificial intelligence (AI) breakthrough for infertility, how ketamine can mimic some of the decision-making difficulties seen in schizophrenia, a new device to observe and document mosquito feeding behaviour, the key to scar-free wound healing, and how open is open access publishing at the moment? Get the references and the transcripts for this programme from the Naked Scientists website

This month on the eLife podcast, artificial intelligence reveals a better test for prostate cancer, is the brain stuffed with neuronal stem cells, bonobos with cultural preferences, and why some insects play "follow my leader"... Get the references and the transcripts for this programme from the Naked Scientists website

This month on the eLife Podcast we hear about why whale-watching boats are just too noisy, how oily fish combats heart failure, breakthroughs in halting Huntington's disease, and how your wiggling ears can betray your intentions... Get the references and the transcripts for this programme from the Naked Scientists website

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... Get the references and the transcripts for this programme from the Naked Scientists website

This month we explore how genetic plasticity enables sparrows to live alongside us and fish to evolve rapidly to life in caves. We also hear why "Test! Test! Test!" is so critical to safe healthcare provision during the coronavirus pandemic, how a new technique can find drugs that boost the fungal killing power of fluconazole, and how changes in land use have knock-on effects on soil-dwelling invertebrates... Get the references and the transcripts for this programme from the Naked Scientists website

This month, why screening at airports for Covid19 is unlikely to work, how flight forced bat viruses to become virulent, MRI scans of throat singers reveals how they produce multiple sounds at the same time, and the role that DNA does and does not play in education... Get the references and the transcripts for this programme from the Naked Scientists website

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. Get the references and the transcripts for this programme from the Naked Scientists website

Have these paralysed patients helped to reveal the brain basis of why we gesticulate when we talk? Also, new insights into how the body clock keeps track of the seasons, signs that immunity to Zika virus wanes with time, why human body temperature is lower than it was 150 years ago, and diversity in science: how can we better hold on to rare talent? Get the references and the transcripts for this programme from the Naked Scientists website

What accounts for the bomb-proof biology of the tardigrade? How do ants avoid traffic jams? Why thou shalt not abuse statistics in 2020, do badgers transmit bovine TB to cows, and is mental illness on the rise among early-career scientists? Get the references and the transcripts for this programme from the Naked Scientists website

This month, join Chris Smith to hear how sleep deprivation sends your endocannabinoids skyrocketing and triggers a tendency to binge, how many new genetic mutations you inherit from your parents, the gene for behaviour that turned out to be nothing of the sort, what good and bad learners have in common with youTube influencers, and from online collective whinge to paper in eLife: the careers of newly appointed PIs. Get the references and the transcripts for this programme from the Naked Scientists website

This month, doctors doing U-turns: the medical practices without much evidence to prop them up, wind-tunnel experiments reveal how geese fly at extreme altitudes, why mating makes bees go blind, stress remodelling the brain's myelin, and what goes on during a stint aboard the International Space Station? Join Chris Smith for a look inside the latest papers in eLife... Get the references and the transcripts for this programme from the Naked Scientists website

This month, the blind monkey that lacks a visual cortex but can still see, the bee-hunting wasps that use a gas cloud to keep harmful fungi at bay, adaptive optics that can image blood vessels of all sizes in the eye, the new field of palaeoshellomics, and how to mix a family with a scientific career... Get the references and the transcripts for this programme from the Naked Scientists website

This month, stunning fossil remains of a beetle that evolved to exploit ants and appeared rapidly after ants became social themselves, how inflammation in early life alters the ability of the nervous system to adapt to changing respiratory demands in adulthood, how DNA can be used to track where people picked up malaria, the researchers drawing up new ways to illustrate science, and meet Mike Eisen, eLife's new Editor-in-Chief... Get the references and the transcripts for this programme from the Naked Scientists website

How the brain handles sensations from amputated body parts, evidence that government vaccination campaigns to target measles really work, the heel-prick blood test at birth that can detect prematurity, testing the reproducibility of science at the level of a whole nation, and the multipartite viruses the spread as an infectious swarm: scientists show that they replicate different parts of the virus in different cells... Get the references and the transcripts for this programme from the Naked Scientists website

The shellfish that release insulin into the water to catch fish, brain activity patterns that predict future addictions, how to do gene drive experiments safely, and is the first author position gender neutral? Chris Smith talks to leading scientists publishing groundbreaking papers in eLife... Get the references and the transcripts for this programme from the Naked Scientists website

Why one in five published papers that use cultured cells may be wrong, the frog that sings underwater without air, genes that make you live longer, seeing evolution through bats' eyes, and do brainier people have bigger brain cells? Join Chris Smith as he talks to the authors of five hard-hitting new papers published in eLife... Get the references and the transcripts for this programme from the Naked Scientists website

This month in the eLife Podcast, how scientists got oestrogen signalling all wrong in breast cancer, fungus-farming ants and their microbial helpers, how smells influence memory, the tension between Pacific mineral riches and deep-sea species, and how oxytocin boosts bravery... Get the references and the transcripts for this programme from the Naked Scientists website

In this episode of the eLife Podcast, the nerves with a taste for salt, why fur seal pups succumb to hookworms, the oldest fossilised flowers ever found, the monkey business of chimp personalities, and the 11 million year old flying squirrel foung in a rubbish tip... Get the references and the transcripts for this programme from the Naked Scientists website