The Naked Scientists Podcast

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

We set sail to discover the science of sustainable shipping in this week's Naked Scientists. We visit an enormous wave tank to find out how the sea swell can impact on damaged ships, and look at the problems caused by sulphur-rich shipping fuel. Plus, we hoist the SkySail, an enormous parafoil kite that can be deployed from the deck of a ship to cut fuel consumption by up to 60%. In the news we hear how happiness can be found here and now, why children tire so quickly when walking and how Earth became oxygenated 400,000 years earlier than we thought. Also, we investigate the elegant... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

We catch up with cancer research this week including evidence that cancers subvert stem cells to suppress the immune system and how covert "hit and run" viral infections may be triggering a lot more tumours than we first thought. Also, joining us from the National Cancer Research Institute conference in Liverpool, cancer biologist Bob Weinberg explains how he sees cancer becoming a controllable chronic condition within just ten years. Plus, the buzz around a new tumour-spotting ultrasound technique, how a burst of electricity to the brain boosts mathematical ability, a new trick to block the... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

It's National Pathology Week 2010 and to celebrate the launch we're joined by pathologist Dr Suzy Lishman to take on your science questions! We'll find out where phlegm comes from, how petroleum jelly helps healing and the weight of red blood cells synthesised in a human lifetime. Also, can you concentrate lasers with lenses, why does an open carport stop frost, and if carnivorous plants photosynthesise, why do they need to eat insects? Plus, how researchers in Scotland are sniffing out pollution with such sensitivity, they can detect forest fires all the way from Canada! In Kitchen Science,... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) goes under the microscope this week. We find out how the virus hijacks cells to construct new HIV particles and hear how close scientists are to developing a vaccine to block infection. In the news, we learn how bitter taste receptors in the lungs could lead to new asthma treatments, how our ancestors enjoyed some veg with their meat and how gene therapy could offer a way out of depression. Plus, how Lego is helping university students build a creative career in the world of engineering... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

It's a bumpy ride on this week's Naked Scientists, as we explore the science of turbulence. We'll find out what turbulence is and why it needs some of the most powerful computers in the world to study it. We'll discover how puffs of water can terminate turbulence in tubes, and how convection keeps the temperature just right in new buildings. In the news this week, we hear about a potential new super-vaccine for TB, the comet that turned into an asteroid and the prospect of new low-cost gold-free leads for your hi fi. Plus, in Question of the Week, we find out why some people prefer not to... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

How do advertisers get inside your head? This week we explore the field of neuromarketing - how a knowledge of your brain and behaviour can help marketers to manipulate your buying habits. We'll find out how the brain choses what stimuli to pay attention to and the neurological basis of why celebrity sells. In the news, the first Census of Marine Life and how researchers have got wind of the fact that men really are sweatier than women. Plus, we hit the shops to investigate how retailers trick you into overfilling your basket! Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Why do you see flashes and patterns when you press your eyeballs? Would an antimatter magnet attract normal matter magnets? What is the hardest human bone to break? We take on your science questions this week, as well as explore the bed of Lake Windermere the gravity hills of Barbados and the first discovered habitable exoplanet. Plus, a flapless aircraft takes flight, how the brain decides which hands to use and why Raman spectroscopy offers a rum deal for anti-drug squads. In Kitchen Science, we find out why spit can form strings of beads... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week we delve deep into the secrets of the brain. We'll find out how MRIs could be used to read your mind, and how they could help unlock what is going on in the brain of a person suffering from delusions or hallucinations. In the news we'll hear that the process of nerve repair could offer clues to cancer spread, and how it was gorillas that originally gave us malaria. Plus in Naked Engineering, Dave and Meera explore the amazing world of superconductors... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

We explore the history of Pi, examine rheumatoid arthritis and seek the science of sleep in this roundup of the British Science Festival. In the news, we hear how to read the history of the solar system on the surface of the moon, and discover a development in quantum computing. Plus, we launch Naked Engineering, stripping off the image of dirty overalls to discover how engineers solve real-world problems. Diana asks if olive oil is healthier than butter in our Question of the Week. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Why are there two high tides a day when there's only one moon? Would a planet made of glass be transparent? Does dreaming about exercise burn more calories? And what would happen to a tankful of fish launched into Earth's orbit? To find out, and to hear how the solar cells of the future can keep themselves clean, how researchers have uncovered a new way to combat cancer and how astronomers have spotted showers of meteors hitting Jupiter, join Drs Chris, Dominic and Dave as they blast off into a new series of the Naked Scientists in pursuit of the ultimate answers to your wildest and wackiest... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week, we go back down under to explore the latest science from the land of kangaroos, bandicoots and the world's largest radio telescope - the square kilometer array. Chris goes on a tour of the universe from the comfort of the SciTech Planetarium, meets Nobel Prize-winning scientist Barry Marshall and the fluffy marsupials under protection at Project Eden. We find out why Australia is the perfect place to look further in to space than ever before, witness the battles between bee sperm and examine how tempting sharks with the scent of food can change their behaviour. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

To celebrate the launch of the brand new Naked Oceans podcast, we venture beneath the waves to investigate the impacts of oil spills on the marine environment. We hunt down the hidden world of microbes in the Louisiana wetlands, trace the fingerprint of oil in the open oceans, and discuss the likely fallout from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. We'll also be exploring the effects of a changing climate on marine habitats, finding out what warmer water means for life at the poles and meeting some of Antarctica's unique marine wildlife. Plus, Carl Safina, President of... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week, we've got a roundup of recent news and interviews from the Naked Astronomy and Naked Archaeology Podcasts. Digging into Archaeology, Diana O'Carroll will be looking into Bronze Age burial practices, meeting some of our oldest known walking ancestors and finding out how past human migrations are written in our genes. while Looking to the stars, Ben Valsler explores the challenges of building extremely large telescopes, finds out how rubic's cube size satellites can help test new technology and consults a team of experts to answer your questions on dark matter, planets and spacecraft... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

The Tour de France is the subject of this week's summer special as we look into the science and engineering of professional road bikes, training the human physique to endure thousands of kilometres on the saddle and eating the right food to keep you on the road. We also go out along some of the stages of the tour, meet a professional sprinter, find out why fans travel thousands of miles to see their cycling heroes in action and meet the doctors, mechanics, and organisers that turn the Tour de France into the well oiled machine that it is! Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

In this Special edition of the Naked Scientists, we explore the science of the Glastonbury Festival. We find out what it takes to turn a farm into a city and back every year, and how to keep clean water flowing in, and waste flowing out, for nearly 200,000 revellers. We examine the scientific issues being discussed at the festival by groups like Greenpeace and Water Aid, and ask Baba Brinkman, Paloma Faith, Josie Long and Robin Ince if scientific discussion can find a home at a festival of performing arts. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

How do we know that ants count their footsteps? We'll find out in this Naked Scientists Question and Answer show, as well as ask if rubber soles really protect you from electric shocks, if hair will clean itself when you don't, and why a layer of shaving foam stops the mirror from steaming up. Also, the spores that fly on smoke rings, new ways to capture carbon, pain free vaccine patches and the vaginal gel that could block HIV transmission. Plus, Meera investigates vintage computers and in Kitchen Science, Dave discovers how popping candy gets it's pop! Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

We go nuclear this week to investigate the future of atomic energy, the issues surrounding nuclear waste management and how a proposed new breed of hybrid fission-fusion reactors might help to boost nuclear fuel efficiency and minimise radioactive waste. Also, following the 65th anniversary of the first nuclear bomb test, we hear how the accidental wilderness created where "the Gadget" was detonated is now a flourishing example of biodiversity. In Kitchen Science we build a home-made radiation-detector and we get to the bottom of why humans kiss. Plus, news of malaria-proof mosquitoes, turning... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

The role of lasers in biomedicine goes under the spotlight this week as we explore the workings of photodynamic cancer therapy, find out how laser tweezers can be used to force-feed bugs to white blood cells and hear how a new technique uses laser-powered DNA nanoswitches to spot specific genes. Also, why the proton just got smaller, prompting a reevaluation of some trusted laws of physics, how antidepressants in seawater can make shrimps swim towards danger and a novel mechanism for natural selection - beneficial bacteria! Plus, in Kitchen Science, what the patterns produced by laser light... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

We explore the explosive science of volcanoes this week! We find out what you can learn from drilling into a restless volcano, how gravity is used to "weigh" volcanoes and watch them fill with magma, and we explore the theories behind volcano formation. Plus, we hear about the genes that could mean you'll live to be 100, fossil evidence of the earliest multi-cellular organism and the signs that Sabre-toothed tigers packed a mighty punch, as well as a big bite. In Kitchen Science, we get messy with a cola and wallpaper paste eruption! Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists