The Naked Scientists Podcast

This week's podcast is live from the British Society for Gene Therapy (BSGT) conference in Brighton, UK. Some of the world's top gene and stem cell therapists explain how we can manipulate genes to treat a variety of disorders, from cystic fibrosis and haemophilia to cancer and blindness. We hear what life is like as a haemophiliac and answer your questions, including whether gene therapy can alter all the cells in our bodies and how scientists account for the ethics and side effects of this research. Plus, is a human moustache like a cat's whiskers? Find out in Question of the Week! Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Can moonlight and a magnifying glass be used to start a fire? Why do bananas go brown and does it happen faster in the fridge or the fruitbowl? Why are ice and snow slippery? And how does flyspray work? Alongside your quality science questions in this week's Question and Answer science phone-in, we also hear how how space scientists have spotted a whole planet's worth of water in a nearby system, the surprising discovery that seaweed is making corals seasick, we serve up a digital delight with the kitchen that teaches you both to cook and speak French, and we find out why an antiviral a day... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week, Plant Pests and Plant Pathology - we find out what happens when plants get ill, how to understand and prevent the spread of plant disease, and how they can call up an insect army to defend them if they're attacked. We also find out why some horse chestnut trees are going brown before their time, and meet the pesky critter responsible! Plus, a new technique to cleanly edit out and correct errors in the DNA code, how the plague bacterium hasn't changed in 600 years, and why children, but not chimps, choose to work together. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week, we're investigating alternatives to petrol. We'll board a biofuel powered bus to meet the plant scientists who are using algae to make biodiesel. We'll find out how to turn household waste into hydrogen, and meet the brains behind Bristol's first hydrogen powered passenger boat! Plus, the brain basis of boundless optimism, why a bacteria-busting chemical keeps injured arteries open, and a run down of this year's Nobel prizes! Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Could a Siphon be used in orbit? Why do leaves change colour in Autumn? How is immunity passed from mother to baby through breastfeeding? Why do earthquakes happen away from plate boundaries? How do microwaves heat up food? We storm through your questions this week as well finding out how Twitter can be used to monitor moods around the world, how carbon dioxide can be converted back into a fuel, how biomarkers hidden inside ECG's can predict the risk of a repeat heart attack and how glowing bacteria can send secret messages! Plus, in Kitchen Science, we make flames without fire by making iron... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

We've whipped up an appetising take on the science of food and cooking for you this week. With a main course of cookery in the kitchen served up by a cake-baking physicist followed by a microbiological look at the cheese board and then the bacterial basis of the Best Before Date for dessert, this three-course scientific combo is an absolute academic feast. Also on the menu this week, how scientists are using brain scanners to reconstruct the movies we see in the mind's eye and we ask whether Einstein was wrong as scientists report particles apparently moving faster-than-light... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week, we're chilling out in the world of cryogenics, the science of the super-cold. We'll find out what happens to living tissue when it freezes, and how we can use low temperatures to keep organs, and maybe even one day whole bodies, in suspended animation. We also talk to the company behind an attractive new design of super-efficient fridge that runs on magnetism. In the news we hear how computer gamers have contributed to a breakthrough in HIV, why humans are programmed for overconfidence, and how the nervous system controls the immune system. Plus, we ask, is modern medicine altering... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week, we seek the science of supercomputers! We find out how they work, and how they can answer some of the biggest questions in science. We also hear about the World Community Grid, which offers scientists computer time donated by volunteers worldwide. In the news we hear how computer aided design can help breast restoration, why special stem cells with just one set of chromosomes can aid geneticists, and how Earth's precious gold may have come from outer space. Plus, we explore the workings of the humble calculator in Question of the Week! Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Reader in evolution at Wits University, Lee Berger, made a life-changing discovery when he uncovered the remains of a new species of hominid, Australopithecus sediba, in South Africa. Here, Chris Smith gets to meet the newest addition to the human family tree... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Why do some animals poo wherever the fancy takes them, whilst others are more fussy about the locations of their lavatory actions? What triggers pins and needles? How do some fish survive in both fresh and saltwater? And how are new nerve cells born in the adult brain? We burn through your best science questions this week as well as taking a look at Hubble's successor, the James Webb Space Telescope, and hearing how a computer model of a heart can revolutionise cardiac drug design and reviewing the evidence that bacteria were already antibiotic resistant over 30,000 years ago... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week, Chris explores some of the cutting edge research taking place in Aberdeen. We meet a scientist making new cannabis-like chemicals that lack the side effects of the real thing, talk to a man exploring the deepest part of the Pacific - 7 miles down - to find out what's living there. Plus, thalidomide - 50 years on. Scientists now know why it had the damaging effects it did on unborn babies, but can they make a safe form of the agent so it can be used to treat cancers, leprosy and HIV? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

The rain in Spain falls mainly on the "plane". Or so the saying goes, but new research has confirmed that aeroplanes do cause clouds to dump their contents prematurely, often around airports, and in this week's show we explore this weather-altering effect of aviation. We also ask industry leader Rolls-Royce to explain how a jet engine works and how their designers have cut noise pollution from planes by over 99% since 1960. In the news, we hear how scientists are forecasting more accurate space weather predictions thanks to a new way to spot sunspots before they even erupt, a new study finds a... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Are designer molecules poised to take us into a new chemical dimension? This week, we explore how, long before the bunsen burner gets lit, computer aided chemistry can enable us to create in silico imaginary new molecules, reactions and designer catalysts. We also delve into how chemicals are manufactured on a massive scale with a visit to a plant making zeolites. And in the news, how hydrogen-metabolising bugs can supercharge deep-sea mussels, how reprogrammed immune system cells can hunt-down cancer, and nature's stock exchange - how plants and fungi develop a subsoil free-market economy... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Do bubbles help or hinder when doing the dishes? Can we find evidence of material from Earth on the Moon? Can camera lenses cause fires? And is fluoride in drinking water safe? In this Question and Answer show, we tackle your science queries, finding out if higher air pressure means louder sounds and if plants from cuttings remain genetically identical over centuries. Plus, launching Lego men to Jupiter, making brain cells from skin cells, and how vampire bats home in on hot blood... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week, we take a dive beneath the waves to look back at the last year in Ocean science. We call in on deep sea microbes, spawning corals and even a seahorse surgery. Plus we hear how the Census of Marine Life all got started and find out about some very strange creatures with sex organs on their heads... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week, we look back over the last few months of space science. We'll hear how scientists search for planets in the glare of their parent star, why a simulated mission to Mars will help us to understand how astronauts will cope with isolation, and the challenges of communicating astronomy on television. Plus, what our solar system looks like to a distant observer, and how antique globes tell the story of our understanding. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week we take a look back at a year's-worth of Naked Archaeology including a dig through some Pomepiian poo for clues about the Pompeiian lifestyle, the art of spear throwing with an atlatl and exposing the most recent neanderthals of the Caucasus. Plus we identify alien donkeys and learn how to make history from prehistory! Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week, we bring you the best bits of technology from the world of engineering including a guiding light into the workings of a retroreflector, the dual life of bi-stable structures, and a new way to harness energy from our rivers. Plus, we unearth the workings of a copper mine, discover how Barnes Wallis designed his famous bouncing bomb and bring you an atomic insight into the art of metalworking! Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week, we explore the problem of persistent pain. We find out how chronic pain is currently treated, and look to our DNA for the genetic clues that could lead to future painkillers. In the news, a new TB vaccination that stands out on it's own, how babies make sense of broken toys, and why flying in a flock may be exhausting for pigeons. Plus, in Question of the Week, Diana asks why we have a spare copy of some organs. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week, we find out how to get useful gas from useless coal, and make money from waste carbon dioxide! Underground coal gasification could allow us to access huge amounts of energy in inaccessible coal seams. We find out how it works as well as exploring a new method for capturing waste carbon and turning it into useful chemicals. In the news, dinosaurs inspire new designs for aircraft, spotting a star being ripped apart by a black hole, and the South African bid for the world's biggest radio telescope. Plus, Diana asks what the point is of "junk" DNA? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

The good side of microbes goes under the microscope this week as we explore how the 100 trillion bacteria that thrive on us and in us, and even outnumber our own cells ten times over, work with the body to maintain good health. We also hear from the Nobel prizewinner who's turning the stomach bug Helicobacter pylori into an edible vaccine against the flu and how to build better bioreactors to culture them in! Plus, how trees cause clouds to form, more evidence that the building blocks of life came from outer space, how nicotine keeps smokers thin and built-in cardiac stem cells that can mend a... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

What would we see at the edge of the universe? Are there long term health effects of eating spicy food? Why doesn't diesel need a spark to ignite? It's another Naked Scientists science question and answer show, where we take on your questions! Find out how a volcano makes Mars wobbly, why birds' lungs are more efficient than mammalian lungs and how a single speaker can make so many sounds at once. Plus, an outbreak of a new and lethal strain of E.coli and why increasing ocean acidification may be deafening fish. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

What happens when a blacksmith meets a metallurgist? This week we explore what's happening at the molecular scale when the smithy works a piece of iron, we meet the superalloys that survive temperatures way above their melting points inside jet engines, and at the Rolls Royce precision casting facility we discover how precision plane engine parts can be cast from a single metal crystal. Also, in the news this week, how the blind brain has a built-in sonar, an attractive new magnetic material turned on by a current, and a new technique to detect troublespots brewing inside arteries. Plus,... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week's Naked Scientists is not to be sneezed at - we're looking at the science of allergies! We explore what happens to cause your body to overreact to harmless things, and find out how potentially fatal peanut allergy can be cured. Plus, how a dose of parasites could keep allergies at bay, and how special filters can engineer a breath of extremely fresh air! Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

We cast our nets wide this week to catch the science of aquaculture or fish farming! We'll find out how farming marine life can reduce reliance on disappearing wild stocks, and explore the effect on the local environment. Also, how recycled fish poo and waste water can help repair damaged wetlands, and in Naked Engineering we find out how robotic fish can keep tabs on pollution in ports. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Is standing or reclining best for the perfect suntan? Can we see atoms? Why add pennies to Big Ben's pendulum? It's a question and answer show so we shoulder your scientific conundra! We'll find out how web companies keep up with growing data demands, what causes white ridges on fingernails, and why a clean glass keeps cola fizzier. Plus, in Kitchen Science, we find out how to balance a broom whilst blindfolded! Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Computers that can lip-read, a robot that follows your brain waves, prosthetic arms controlled by thinking about fingers that have been amputated, the future of nuclear fusion, Bandaids for batteries, why oral cancer rates are up 200% on 20 years ago and a brain stimulator for obsessive compulsive disorder. While the team take a well-earned Easter break, join Dr Chris for a look at the latest science from the AAAS in Washington DC. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

For Easter this week, we explore how synchrotron radiation can be used to probe and find answers to a variety of scientific questions as we bring you a special programme of highlights from the Diamond Light Source podcast. We hear how changes to key proteins can cause hypertension and pre-eclampsia, how green rust could provide a greener future and discover a new type of magnetic material which could make data storage faster, cheaper and more compact. Plus, we explore a new form of solar cell which could make solar energy more affordable in the future. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Two pioneers in the field of gene therapy join us to discuss how they're developing modified viruses to deliver healthy copies of genes to save patients afflicted by lethal genetic diseases. We also hear how energy can be harvested from footsteps and heartbeats to power nanodevices, and how a new SWARM of satellites is about to be deployed to study the Earth's magnetic field from space. Plus, in the news, how "ums" and "ahs" can boost a baby's learning power, how mankind talked his way out of Africa and how scientists are recreating schizophrenia in a Petri dish... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Do dogs get ticklish? What wakes up mosquitoes at meal times? Do animals use weapons? In this fast-paced Question and Answer show we also focus on the nuclear threat from Fukushima and hear how gut bugs raise the risk of heart disease, why flaps for wind turbines have got engineers in a spin, and why tidiness stops stereotyping. Plus, how to make a balloon fireproof and what causes dark circles under the eyes when we get tired... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week, we go wireless to explore the science of mobile phones. We hear how new error-correction techniques are promising to put an end to poor quality communications, we meet a new system that lets you borrow the antennae of other nearby phones to boost your data download rates, and a major study that's examining the potential health impacts associated with mobile phone use. Plus, in the news, the now not-so-anomalous Pioneer probe anomaly, the chemical cure that can flatten phobias and how a biased worm could overturn an election victory... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Life in inaccessible places - including in caves sealed off from the Sun and around deep-sea vents - is the subject of this week's Naked Scientists. In these intriguing environments, bacteria replace plants as the primary producers, extracting energy from the minerals around them to sustain a whole ecosystem. We also hear about the bone-eating worms that make a meal of whale carcasses that fall to the seafloor, an engineering trick for separating mined-metals from mud and, in the news, why the world's waves are getting bigger, how sperm can be grown in a dish and a gene that drives melanoma.... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week, we find out what lies beyond the limits of our Universe as we discuss multiverses, higher dimensions, string theory and supersymmetry. We find out how these ideas develop from basic principles and how the LHC can help to confirm, or refute, their existence. In the news, how quartz creates mountain ranges, progesterone excites sperm, and why birds can't help but fly into things. Plus, Meera and Dave find out how to engineer electrons to travel close to the speed of light, and Simon Singh explains how to discover the distance to a far away star. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Can you electrocute weeds? Why do teeth go wobbly? And which cells last a lifetime? In this bumper edition of the Naked Scientists, we tackle your pressing science questions and find out how the shuttle manoeuvres in space, what makes wounds itch, whether reverse osmosis can make moonshine and if static can stick a cat to a wall. Plus, how diamonds deal death to tumours, cooperation in the elephant world and an update on the Japanese earthquake situation. We also hear how a hairy leg can help you bend water to your will, and Diana discovers why potato peelers never need sharpening! Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

From anti-ague to anti-Alzheimer's agent: over the 112 years since it was first trademarked, Aspirin has evolved from popular painkiller to powerful preventative against heart attacks, strokes and even cancer. In this week's show we trace its history from the extraction of aspirin-like chemicals from willow bark to the creation of the drug itself. Plus, in the news, how the chemistry of life could have come to Earth in a meteorite and why we need to be careful with stem cells: a new study finds they have an above-average mutation rate. Also, a new technique to etch graphene sheets with... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Just the bare bones this week as we find out how exercise strengthens the skeleton and how new scanning techniques can help to pick up osteoporosis earlier and inform its management. We also try out a new gadget for measuring the force muscles can apply and, in the news, discover what a self-healing tumour can tell us about common cancers, evidence that mammalian hearts can repair themselves and a new laser-based tool for diagnosing melanoma. Plus, how the bones of people who died up to a hundred years ago are helping scientists to combat chronic back pain by building a computer model of the... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

We look to the skies in this week's Naked Scientists show, to uncover ways to monitor and change the chemistry of the atmosphere. We join researchers on board an air-sampling aeroplane to discover how atmospheric chemistry changes once the sun sets, and we discuss options for engineering the climate if things get too hot. In the news, the Ecuadorian population that may hold the genetic key to a disease-free life, and the rocks that move themselves around in Death Valley. Plus, a targeted muscle re-innervation strategy to afford amputees more powerful prosthetic control. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

How do magnets multiply? What keeps an aeroplane in the air? How do wild animals avoid incest? It's open season on science questions in this week's Naked Scientists. We'll find out if oil extraction leaves a cavity, can cranberry juice cut urine infection rates and what happens when two lightning bolts collide? In the news, evidence of bipedalism in an early human ancestor, how oily fish helps avoid common causes of blindness and how smartphones are taking the pain out of cardiac rehabilitation. Plus, in Kitchen Science, the unexpected physics of a flying balloon. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week we're getting inside the workings of the next generation of chips that are set to pack a bigger computing-punch but at a fraction of the energy-expenditure of todays' models: CTO Mike Muller joins us to explain the revolutionary technology that leading microprocessor-maker ARM is developing. Also, energy-efficient world-wide computing - we find out how distributing data-processing demands around the planet can turn waste energy into useful computations, simultaneously saving CO2 emissions, and in the news this week, a new malarial mosquito threat, rejection-free artificial blood... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Leprosy goes under the microscope this week as we uncover the origins of one of the oldest known human diseases, recognised this week on World Leprosy Day. A quarter of a million new cases are diagnosed every year, but how is the illness spreading, what damage does it do to the body and can it be stopped? We also hear what archaeologists are unearthing about the history of leprosy and where it came from in the first place. Plus, why it's time to rethink the workings of the circadian clock, brain scans for bilingualism, cow-stomach bacterial genes for biofuels, and the engineering that lies... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

We're analysing the matter of antimatter this week to find out what is antimatter, how is it made and why's it so rare in the Universe? We talk to researchers at CERN who are capturing anti-hydrogen so scientists can study it properly for the first time, and Dave and Meera call in to the hospital to hear how antimatter holds the key to better body scans. Diana discovers how gravity bends a beam of light and there's also news of a novel way to neutralise HIV, researchers uncover how brains gauge the passage of time, and agriculture on the microscale: scientists have found the world's smallest... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Does a metal implant turn a person into a living lightning-conductor or radio receiver, is eye-size important, why is frost bad for freezers, where did the first organic molecules come from, what happens to sparkling drinks in space and why does a bump on the head make you see stars? This week, join Chris, Sarah and Dave as they pit their wits against the latest crop of your top questions. Plus, why making new computer chips looks set to become easy PC, how stem cells can get to the heart of Long QT Syndrome, feeding the world in 2050 and a new musical device to keep the drummer in the driving... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

We're discussing human dissection in this week's Naked Scientists. Chris visits the dissection room to find out how trainee doctors benefit from dissecting real bodies, and why many medical schools are increasingly turning to alternatives. We're joined by physician and film maker Paul Trotman, who followed the lives, and beyond, of three donors to explore the reasons why people choose to donate their bodies, and the impact the process had on the student's lives. In Naked Engineering, we find out how a design that copies the body's own structure and movements can make better artificial... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

In this special podcast we focus on the highlights of this year's National Pathology Week. We'll be going behind closed doors for a tour of the pathology labs at Great Ormond Street Hospital, and we'll explore the role of veterinary pathologists in diagnosing and treating animal disease. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

In this special episode of the Naked Scientists podcast, we explore the world of Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES), a technology allowing people paralysed from the waist down to row and cycle by using external electrodes to stimulate leg muscles. Michele Vanoncini investigates how it works, what benefits it can bring and talks to some of the people who have used the technique to go for gold... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

In this festive episode, can you get drunk through your feet, the chemistry of cocktails, twelve marine critters of Christmas, the best food and drink combos to eschew indigestion, does a carbon fibre bike go faster, why are snowflakes different shapes and a way to impress your peers at the office party by blowing out candles round corners... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Graphene is the focus of this week's Naked Scientists, including how it holds the key to the super-flexible touch screen displays of tomorrow, super-light composites and the next generation of computer chips. In the news, a breakthrough in understanding Alzheimer's Disease, why glider pilots should be paying more attention to how falcons fly and why a new exoplanet has led astronomers to question current theories of planetary formation. Plus, we celebrate the first chunk of cheese to make it into orbit and ask if there's any evidence of a health benefit from wearing magnetic bracelets... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Current breakthroughs in electricity generation and distribution go under the spotlight in this week's sizzling edition of the Naked Scientists. We talk to the team with the electrical equivalent of cold-storage that can put power "on ice" until it's needed, and we hear how bright sparks in the UK are leading the charge to roll out "energy kiosks" to empower rural communities in Africa. We also check out a new form of small-scale turbine to extract power from rivers whilst minimising the environmental impact. In the news, why young people are more likely to fall victim to the flu, how a dose... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

How heavy is the Earth? How do snakes digest huge meals? Should I fear falling bullets? We take on these questions and more in this Naked Scientists Question and Answer show! We'll discuss the ideal hair for head lice, the mechanics of using a straw and why men's bits shrink in the cold! In the news we explore the link between jetlag and forgetfulness, discover a moon with an oxygen atmosphere, and a new technique to tell someones age by their blood. Plus, in Kitchen Science we find out why a full carton is much harder to shake. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

IQ-elevating agents that can boost brain power are being used by over 10% of university students. But how do these cognitive-equivalents of anabolic steroids for the brain actually work, what are their effects and are they safe? Moreover, is the advantage they confer an ethical one? And if not, should universities be screening students ahead of exams to deter their use? Meanwhile, in the news this week, we find out how lasers can cut complications in cataract surgery, why some people are allergic to wine, we hook up with the highlights from the world's biggest neuroscience meeting including... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists