In this edition of The Naked Scientists: It's 5 years since COVID began and the WHO hosted their first press conference. But how much have we learned and are we prepared for the next pandemic? Also, a report from the UK House of Lords points to a rapidly closing window of opportunity to capitalise on "engineering biology" - but what is that? And, is there a hidden planet lurking out past Pluto? A new telescope will soon enable astronomers to find out... Like this podcast? Please help us by suppo...
Jan 17, 2025•31 min•Ep. 1118
Titans of Science continues with the microbiologist who discovered how an extraordinary relationship between two methane-eating seafloor species has shaped the world we know today. To explain that and much more is the ocean aficionado Antje Boetius... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Jan 14, 2025•31 min•Ep. 1117
In the news podcast this week, the first human death from bird flu in the US has made virologists vigilant about its potential threat. Also, we learn about the potentially billions of tonnes of sequestered hydrogen on Earth that could be used for clean energy, and hear of the promising results in animals for new drugs for treatment resistant prostate cancer. Then, the unintended cognitive consequences of lead mining in the Roman empire, and question of the week takes us back to a time when all t...
Jan 10, 2025•34 min•Ep. 1116
Titans of Science continues, where we talk to some of the major movers and shakers leading the way in their respective fields. This time we're hearing from Cambridge neuroscientist, and expert on obsessive compulsive disorder - OCD - Trevor Robbins... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Jan 07, 2025•30 min•Ep. 1115
In this edition of The Naked Scientists, a look ahead to 2025. We ask experts in the field of health, AI, astronomy, marine science, and archaeology what we should look forward to over the next 12 months... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Jan 03, 2025•29 min•Ep. 1114
In this edition of Titans of Science, Chris Smith chats with co-founder of Annals of Improbable Research, and the master of ceremonies for the Ig Nobel prize, Marc Abrahams... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Dec 31, 2024•29 min•Ep. 1113
In this edition of The Naked Scientists, we ask leading experts in the fields of health, AI, space, marine biology, and archaeology about the moments that defined 2024... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Dec 27, 2024•28 min•Ep. 1112
In this edition of The Naked Scientists, we look back at another brilliant year of science and select some of our favourite stories to come out of it... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Dec 20, 2024•54 min•Ep. 1111
Our Titans of Science season continues with the man who used AI to create an unprecedented number of custom proteins: Nobel Prize winning biochemist David Baker... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Dec 17, 2024•28 min•Ep. 1110
In the news pod, Chris van Tulleken tells us what he's got planned for this years Royal Institution Christmas Lectures. Then we hear about the innovation to harness energy from radioactive carbon-14 atoms, and learn more about when humans and Neanderthals got to know each other. Then, we look skyward, where astronomers have described a series of mysterious near-Earth objects similar to the famous Oumuamua... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists...
Dec 13, 2024•34 min•Ep. 1109
Titans of Science returns with Jocelyn Bell Burnell who discovered radio pulsars as a postgraduate student at Cambridge. Her work not only revolutionised the field of astrophysics, but inspired one of the most famous pieces of music artwork too... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Dec 10, 2024•30 min•Ep. 1108
In the News pod, Google DeepMind's weather forecasting AI model outperforms traditional tools. Also, new data from volcanoes on Venus dampen theories it was once a watery world, and is this double action weight loss drug the successor to Ozempic and Mounjaro? Then, we hear the proof that crustaceans can feel pain, and will seek drugs to relieve it... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Dec 06, 2024•33 min•Ep. 1107
Obsessive compulsive disorder - OCD - is a mental health condition where intrusive, unwanted thoughts can become all consuming. Some people report anxieties over something terrible happening to them or someone they love for example, and, in some cases, in a bid to alleviate these fears, they may carry out compulsive actions repetitively to the point they become extremely disruptive to their lives.Due to pervasive misconceptions around this serious psychiatric condition, a lot of people suffer wi...
Dec 03, 2024•31 min•Ep. 1106
In the news, a potentially game-changing new injection to ease the suffering caused by asthma attacks shows success. Also, who should fix the gas leak on the International Space Station? Then, fossilised footsteps fuel speculation over interactions between early human ancestors, and we find out what the presence of amber in Antarctica reveals about the history of this now desloate land... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists...
Nov 29, 2024•32 min•Ep. 1105
In this edition of The Naked Scientists, how much of a part do innovations in nuclear energy production, like SMRs and microreactors, have to play in our nuclear future? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Nov 26, 2024•30 min•Ep. 1104
In this animal-themed edition of the news: What prompted scientists to put vampire bats on a treadmill? Also ahead: why medicinal leeches are returning to the UK's waterways. Plus, the spiders that know what kind of food will satisfy their dietary needs. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Nov 22, 2024•33 min•Ep. 1103
On today's programme, we are going to examine attempts to end HIV/AIDS as a public health threat by the end of the decade.The AIDS pandemic is unarguably the worst health threat to confront the population in the modern era. We believe close to 100 million people have died of the disease so far since it first emerged in the early 1900s.It's proved a very tough nut to crack; when I first went to medical school in 1993, a patient with advanced AIDS and just weeks away from dying came to speak to us...
Nov 19, 2024•35 min•Ep. 1102
This episode of The Naked Scientists: what's at stake at this year's UN climate summit in Azerbaijan? Also, the 80 million-year-old fossil revealing how birds came by their big brains; and why the UK's oldest satellite has wandered off over the Americas... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Nov 15, 2024•31 min•Ep. 1101
In this edition of The Naked Scientists, could weight loss jabs help shrink the size of the global obesity crisis... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Nov 12, 2024•32 min•Ep. 1100
New NICE guidance urges HRT as a first-line treatment for menopause symptoms, the enormous black hole that doesn't obey our existing laws of physics, and what DNA analysis is revealing about the people who inhabited Pompeii... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Nov 08, 2024•31 min•Ep. 1099
Initially, the upside to children having access to a supercomputer in their pockets seemed obvious: immediate access to the reams of educational information on the internet, seamless communications with their friends, a source of constant entertainment. But as mental ill health amongst our youngsters continues to rise, many are pointing to smartphones, and particularly the social media platforms on them, as mainly to blame.Today, we'll hear what the screen age is doing to our stone age brains, h...
Nov 05, 2024•31 min•Ep. 1098
In this edition of The Naked Scientists: The UK detects its first case of the new Mpox variant, but some are saying what took us so long; also the discovery of a lost city beneath the jungle canopy in Mexico; and the robots helping Cambridge scientists understand the evolution of fish... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Nov 01, 2024•37 min•Ep. 1097
The US election between Democratic nominee Kamala Harris and Republican nominee Donald Trump is going down to the wire. Indeed, this has been described by many as the closest presidential election ever seen. Inevitably, with tensions so high on either side, the cry of electoral interference is a common one. But just how is today's technology being used to sway voter opinion, and by how much? That's what we seek to uncover on this week's programme... Like this podcast? Please help us by supportin...
Oct 29, 2024•32 min•Ep. 1096
In this edition of The Naked Scientists: Sir Chris Hoy goes public with his terminal prostate cancer diagnosis; the World Health Organization has declared Egypt malaria-free; also, it's time to change the clocks in some countries. But what impact does it have on our perception of time? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Oct 25, 2024•33 min•Ep. 1095
In this edition of The Naked Scientists, as NASA's Europa Clipper mission successfully blasts off towards Jupiter's moon, we look at how it leads the search for life in our solar system... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Oct 22, 2024•32 min•Ep. 1094
In this edition of The Naked Scientists: The new form of insulin that switches itself off before blood sugar falls too low; also, scientists suss out the origins of most of the meteors that fall to Earth; and why the longest lived patch of snow in the Scottish Highlands finally looks set to melt away... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Oct 18, 2024•29 min•Ep. 1093
In this edition of The Naked Scientists, what science has to say about whether a vegan diet is a healthy diet... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Oct 15, 2024•33 min•Ep. 1092
In the news pod, how electrically conductive stitches can speed up wound healing. Scientists find the DNA of human victims embedded in the teeth of two African lions shot in the 1800's. And the Nobel Prizes explained: who's won what, and what for? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Oct 11, 2024•32 min•Ep. 1091
Today, we're going in depth on traumatic brain injuries. James Tytko speaks with Dawn Astle, daughter of former England striker Jeff Astle, about the finding that his death was linked to head trauma sustained during his playing career. Also, Prof Peter Hutchinson gives an overview of head injuries, and Adel Helmy talks about changing the rules of some sports to reduce risk. Then, Alexis Joannides describes one of many new technological innovations to support medical staff dealing with TBIs, befo...
Oct 08, 2024•33 min•Ep. 1090
In this edition of The Naked Scientists: Diabetes fixed with stem cells: scientists reprogramme a patient's fat cells to produce insulin; also why some security specialists are worried Chinese-made electric cars could pose a threat; and our interview with world-famous stargazer and physicist Brian Cox... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Oct 04, 2024•30 min•Ep. 1089
