The Naked Scientists Podcast - podcast cover

The Naked Scientists Podcast

The Naked Scientistswww.thenakedscientists.com
The Naked Scientists flagship science show brings you a lighthearted look at the latest scientific breakthroughs, interviews with the world's top scientists, answers to your science questions and science experiments to try at home.

Episodes

From Russia with Love: The Science of Hybrid Warfare

In this edition of The Naked Scientists, we'll find out how Putin and his cadre in the Kremlin play a neverending game of technological cat and mouse... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Feb 11, 202532 minEp. 1125

Mantis shrimp's punch, and low-methane rice

In this week's Naked Scientists Podcast: Uncovering the secret behind the mantis shrimp's giant punch. Also, developing a new strain of rice that produces a fraction of the methane, and shaking virus particles to hear their song. Plus, we profile NASA's new chief, Jared Isaacman... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Feb 07, 202532 minEp. 1124

Can you grow a building?

This week on The Naked Scientists, we've teamed up with Cambridge University Press and specifically the team behind Research Directions, their suite of new, open access journals that are all about publishing research in a novel and exciting way.Science is, of course, all about asking questions and developing experiments to test hypotheses. But only rarely does a topic have a single facet. Instead, one key question invariably leads to many others; and the answers to these can, as the Research Dir...

Feb 04, 202534 minEp. 1123

Asteroid Bennu's brine, and DeepSeek shocks Silicon Valley

In this edition of The Naked Scientists: Samples back from space reveal tantalising insights into where the life-linked chemicals that kick-started biology on Earth could have come from. Also, the impact of China's DeepSeek AI model on society, finance, and the global tech market. And why imported olive trees turn out to be the perfect cover for stowaway snakes and insects... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists...

Jan 31, 202535 minEp. 1122

Titans of Science: Charlie Swanton

It's our final Titans of Science offering of this series, with world-leading cancer expert Charlie Swanton. We'll hear how the latest developments in our understanding of cancer's mechanisms are shaping treatments and preventative measures... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Jan 28, 202532 minEp. 1121

Malaria infection trial, and weeing chimpanzees

On the Naked Scientists News show: a new UK trial seeks to infect healthy people with malaria in a bid to get to grips with the dormant stage of the infection. Then, we hear how T cells could be the key to ensuring more organ transplant successes, and should we all be taking fewer flights? Also, some curious observations regarding chimpanzees and their communal toilet routines... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists...

Jan 24, 202534 minEp. 1120

Science of Scotch: How whisky is made

In this special episode of The Naked Scientists, join Chris Smith on a journey from farm to whisky tumbler, as he witnesses the intricate processes behind producing high quality Scotch. Richard Broadbent leads a tour of Bairds Malt's site in Witham, explaining how British barley is prepared for its transformation into the delicious spirit, before Alistair McDonald of the Clydeside Distillery in Glasgow walks us through the five hundred year old craft of distilling malt whisky... Like this podcas...

Jan 21, 202533 minEp. 1119

5 years of COVID, and the hunt for Planet X

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, 202531 minEp. 1118

Titans of Science: Antje Boetius

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, 202531 minEp. 1117

Bird flu threat, and what the Romans really did for us

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, 202534 minEp. 1116

Titans of Science: Trevor Robbins

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, 202530 minEp. 1115

What science will thrive in 2025?

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, 202529 minEp. 1114

Titans of Science: Marc Abrahams

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, 202429 minEp. 1113

The science that defined 2024

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, 202428 minEp. 1112

The best of 2024!

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, 202454 minEp. 1111

Titans of Science: David Baker

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, 202428 minEp. 1110

Food science, ancient human genes, and dark comets

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, 202434 minEp. 1109

Titans of Science: Jocelyn Bell Burnell

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, 202430 minEp. 1108

AI takes weather forecasting by storm, and crabs use aspirin

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, 202433 minEp. 1107

OCD and balance in the brain

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, 202431 minEp. 1106

Jab to alleviate asthma attacks, and amber in Antarctica

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, 202432 minEp. 1105

Can nuclear innovation help meet our energy needs?

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, 202430 minEp. 1104

Amazing animals: bats on treadmills, and showering elephants

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, 202433 minEp. 1103

Are we on track to end new infections of HIV?

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, 202435 minEp. 1102

The stakes at COP29, and the rogue Skynet satellite

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, 202431 minEp. 1101

Can weight loss jabs tackle the obesity pandemic?

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, 202432 minEp. 1100

Pompeii DNA, and a black hole feeding faster than it should

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, 202431 minEp. 1099

How do we reduce harms to children from smartphones?

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, 202431 minEp. 1098

Monkeypox in the UK, and the lost Mayan city

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, 202437 minEp. 1097

Could technology swing the race for the White House?

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, 202432 minEp. 1096
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