The Naked Scientists Podcast

Why do cats have vertical pupils? Do clouds defy gravity? What is the brain basis of road rage? The Naked Scientists team tackle these and many more science questions, with help from an all-star guest panel. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week we're in for a little light relief, as we explore how light-based technologies are delivering a brighter future, in medicine and beyond. Plus, in the news, a new gene therapy for spinal muscular atrophy, scientists make sonic holograms, and the most accurate reconstruction of a dinosaur yet. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week - Cambridge's key role in the mission to map the milky way! We learn how the Gaia space telescope is pinpointing the positions of a billion stars in our galaxy.Plus, news of a net which will leave mozzies dead or infertile, the DNA double-double helix discovery, and can the moon cause earthquakes? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week, we don our uniforms for a lesson in the science of education: what's the best way to mould the minds of the future? Plus, a new drug that could cure malaria with a single dose and we find out what happened to the ice bucket challenge. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Can we see the lunar landing sites with a telescope? Why is it cooler at altitude despite being closer to the Sun? Why is there no salt in sea ice? Was it windier when the Earth turned faster? What will end life on Earth sooner, the cooling core or the Sun becoming a red giant? Is modern medicine damaging the gene pool? How old is the average atom? This week David Rothery, Caroline Steel, Andrew Holding and Adam Townsend join Kat Arney to answering the science questions that you've been sending in... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week, The Naked Scientists are celebrating their 15th birthday and so Graihagh Jackson puts science under the microscope and questions its importance in today's world. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week, we find out how science can help you get from script to screen in animated movies, from the physics of balancing a giraffe on a tightrope to the researcher putting voice actors in a brain scanner. Plus, news of why we're more prone to viral infections when we're jet-lagged, how a common technique to prevent premature birth could actually cause it and did campfires kill the Neanderthals? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

100 years since the first UK drug law, we explore the controversial and confusing science behind the drugs debate. From the brain basis of addiction to how ecstasy could treat anxiety, what are the implications of the world's war on drugs? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

From farting fish to the link between diet and cancer, Kat Arney and Chris Smith take on your questions with Matt Middleton, Giles Yeo and Eleanor Drinkwater... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

The Olympics is finally upon us and from going for gold in the tropical Rio climate to boosting the efficiency of jet engines, our ability to cope in high temperatures could make the difference between falling or flying. This week on The Naked Scientists we're exploring the many ways in which humans, and machines, can handle the heat. Plus, which country tops the charts when it comes to height? Also, we'll hear how tomatoes hold the key to fending off a deadly parasite. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week we'll need you to fasten your seatbelts because we're taking a trip into the future of fuels. We're asking if biofuels are really that brilliant and finding out how one lab is attempting to reinvent diesel.Plus, new research that could help unclog arteries and the data storage solution that operates at the scale of individual atoms. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

The Naked Scientists bring you a 'ruff' guide to dogs! We chart the ancient origins of our favourite pets, examine how smart dogs could provide clues into human disease and explore the science behind the problems caused by years of inbreeding. Plus, news of why it's not just redheads who are more at risk from the sunny weather, and does Pokemon Go mark a new frontier in gaming? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

The 11th of July was world population day and at current figures there are over 7.4 billion of us living on the planet. That number continues to grow and at the same time the proportion of people living in urban environments is also increasing.This week we're asking if there's space for animals in our concrete jungles and what we can do to persuade people to put nature first.Plus, in the news we learn how new technology is speeding up vaccination production and how ancient bacteria could increase plant growth. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week, we're answering the science questions that you've been sending in, including: is the Earth's core cooling down, how do messages from space probes get back to Earth and why sleeping on your front might increase your risk of Alzheimer's Disease... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

The Naked Scientists are hosting their very own dinner party, and the guests include a master distiller, a MasterChef finalist and a master of chocolate, all on hand to help reveal the science behind the perfect dinner party. Plus, the world's fastest supercomputer boots up in China and news of why itchy mosquito bites are more likely to infect. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week on the Naked Scientists, we observe a post-mortem. The patient was in his seventies but the coroner ordered an autopsy because the cause of death wasn't clear. Chris Smith observes pathologist Alison Cluroe conduct the procedure as she tries to find out why the patient died and sees how this once common practice is still saving lives... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This programme comes to you from the British Cardiovascular Society Conference in Manchester, where leaders in the field have been presenting their latest research on preventing heart disease: one of the leading causes of death. We explore the radioactive toothpaste that can help you predict heart attacks, listen in to a genuine heart transplant and ask whether running really keeps your heart healthy. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

A growing global population means we are facing a considerable housing shortage and it has been estimated that by 2025, as many as 1.6 billion individuals will face crowded substandard housing.But, the need to build more homes comes at a cost as in countries like the U.K., half of the population's carbon emissions come just from the buildings we inhabit. So, can we have sustainable housing that still meets the demands of a growing population?Plus in the news: painkillers that could actually be making your pain worse, the secrets of the earth's magnetic core and the truth behind the naked... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week on the Naked Scientists, are we more prone to struggle with stress and if so why? Graihagh Jackson is probing the state of our mental health by taking a stress test to unearth how the human body responds and why; we'll be seeing whether having a 'gut feeling' has anything to do with it and what we can all do to unwind a little more. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week we delve into the science of salt: what does it do in the body, how can it cause problems for farmers, and what avenues are scientists exploring to desalinate sea water and keep us all refreshed? Plus, one in ten adults have ADHD, the contagious cancer that's followed dogs across the world, and how scientists are growing a brain in a dish to find answers to Alzheimer's Disease... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists