The Naked Scientists Podcast

The high-tech scanners that can home in on chemicals produced by cancers, how bats and dolphins share genes for echolocation and why barefoot runners have a smoother track record. Also this week, augment your reality: find out how new technologies can add extra information to the way you see the world by making a mobile phone into a virtual tour guide or even a pocket mechanic! Plus, how virtual reality worlds are helping to rehabilitate stroke victims, and, in a theatrical twist, for Kitchen Science Dave discovers the workings of a baffling stage illusion... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

On this explosive Naked Scientists, explore the science of explosions, looking at what happens when a landmine explodes and how to study shockwaves. Plus, how to make safer 'insensitive' munitions, and the 'ecology' of insurgency. Plus, how infected cells accelerate the infection rate, why your memories are stored in a grid and in Kitchen Science we show you how to do a controlled explosion in your own home! Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Can sea water keep roads frost-free? Why does the LHC need to be so cold? How does antifreeze work and what's the freezing point of beer? This week we run the risk of frostbite to tackle the coolest science questions as well as warming up in the hot tub to hear what household appliances devour the most power! We also find out how researchers are growing stem cells from umbilical cord blood, the scientific reason why a needle is so hard to find in a haystack, and how the smell of a fertile woman boosts a man's testosterone. Plus, do people really look like their pets? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

We open our ears to the science of sound and hearing this week with a look at the genetic causes of deafness and how a deaf person's brain decodes sign language. We also hear how auditory illusions can fool you into hearing things that aren't there and meet a sound simulation system that can improve the clarity of railway station announcements and recreate the "cocktail party effect" to help build better hearing aids. Plus, we find out why light makes migraines more painful, how cleaner fish keep each other in check and, in Kitchen Science, Dave swaps Ben's ears around... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Thrusting space science into the audio dimension, this week the Naked Scientists unveil a new series for 2010 - Naked Astronomy. Hosted by Ben Valsler together with Cambridge space scientists Carolin Crawford, Andrew Pontzen, Dominic Ford and a host of other cosmologically-gifted contributors, this new monthly programme brings the Universe to your ears. Further episodes of the show are available at nakedscientists.com/astronomy Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

In a festive mood, this week the Naked Scientists meet their meat and dissect Christmas Dinner, but not with a carving knife! We also hear how scientists are able to re-create the acoustics of long-gone churches and cathedrals to appreciate how ancient musical compositions and carols would have sounded to an assembled congregation. Plus we also come face to face with a submarine volcano, dip into the story of a planet formed exclusively from water and find out why the skull is impervious to the effects of osteoporosis... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Where did the 2009 H1N1 swine influenza pandemic come from? This week we hear the evidence that this new 'flu may have escaped from a laboratory. We also explore rising rates of resistance to the antiviral drug Tamiflu, hear how 'flu vaccines are made and a mutant 'flu strain developed by scientists to protect the population. Plus, why soy cuts cancer recurrence rates, how a case of mistaken identity spells trouble for endangered fish, a computer model for unclogging coronary arteries and in Kitchen Science Ben and Dave measure the speed of a sneeze... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Join us to explore the virus behind Hepatitis C. We'lle be investigating the causes, prevention and treatment of this often masked but serious disease. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

How wide is the universe? What makes steak tough? Why does beetroot give me red urine? These tricky questions get stripped down in this Naked Scientists Question and Answer show. We'll be hearing about the camouflaged plant that doesn't need the Sun, a power plant that relies on osmosis and how the feeling of breath on your skin helps you to work out what sounds you're hearing. Also, in Kitchen Science, we use straws and a cup of water to show you how airbrushes and carburettors work! Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week, we head down under to explore the latest Australasian science - we'll discover the new, state-of-the-art facility where high-tech lasers and cameras breed the best plants; explore a new remedy for wine ruined by bush fires and find out why grapes killing themselves is the tip to a wonderful tipple. We also reveal, two new bowel-bugs that cause gastroenteritis and why porridge is good for your guts. Plus, we investigate the best temperatures for serving wine, in Question of the Week! Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

On this week's Naked Scientists, we seek the start of the solar system. We'll be finding out how clouds of gas and dust can clump and diversify to become stars, asteroids and the planets we know so well. Plus, we find out what happens to sculpt the surface of planets, and how the Rosetta mission will be the first craft to land on a comet! Also,how the smell of old books can help to preserve them, deleting old memories to make room for new ones and the frightening rate of Greenland ice loss. Plus, in Kitchen Science, Ben and Dave explain how margarine and meteorites tell us about Earth's... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week, we investigate infertility and In-Vitro Fertilization (IVF). We find out how a new high resolution temperature monitor conceived in Cambridge can help couples get pregnant, and explore new ways to improve the success of fertility treatment. Plus, a new extra-fast and super-cheap way to sequence the human genome, the science of eating slowly, and fish dining out at the Shark Cafe. Also, we find out how newborns cry with an accent and examine the inner workings of an egg... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

The most distant object ever discovered as well as the events of National Pathology week feature in this week's show as we take on your science questions! We investigate whysocks go missing in the wash, whether light from the sun is a continuous beam and whether numerous vaccines can be given together in one dose. We also find out how higher heels make for a better runner and reveal the world's fastest camera. Plus, we find out why we get a better signal when holding an aerial and show you how to make a helicopter using card and pencils! Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week we're showcasing a new bimonthly programme strand which we're making in collaboration with the folks at Diamond, the UK's Synchrotron Light Source. In this episode, we dig deep into the world of archaeology to learn how scientists at Diamond are investigating our cultural heritage. We find out how scanning samples of the Dead Sea Scrolls can help decipher them, how probing timber from the Mary Rose can improve its conservation and how studying pigments in paintings could protect major pieces of art! Find out more at www.thenakedscientists.com/diamond. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

We explore the basis of brain diseases on this week's Naked Scientists. We find out what happens to the brain in Huntington's disease, discover the genes behind Alzheimers and a potential treatment for autoimmune diseases like Multiple Sclerosis or MS. Also, the nerve cells in the ear that make loud sounds painful, the extraordinary eyes of the Mantis Shrimp and the world's largest web spinning spider. Plus, how spiders make glue from silk and snot, and in Kitchen Science, we show you a way to fool your brain into making your body do something unexpected. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

We reach for the skies on this week's Naked Scientists, with High Altitude Adventures. We find out how the body reacts to the low oxygen at high altitudes, and join Laura Soul testing the theories on a trek up to Everest base camp. Plus, we find out how the continental collisions that made mountains may have plunged the Earth into an ice age. We also hear how the rate of mutation changes in lab-bench evolution, how looming sounds make our vision more sensitive, why poking a stem cell can change its fate and the chemistry behind the taste of fizz. In Kitchen Science, we make a mountain... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

The Nobel prizes feature on the Naked Scientists this week alongside a bumper crop of your science questions! We find out why water expands when it freezes, whether animals have regional accents, and how many rockets you would need to crash into the moon to knock it off course. Plus, how the insects splattered on windscreens are helping scientists to study biodiversity, the virus linked to chronic fatigue syndrome and the prospect of a paper-thin digital camera. Also, We find out how India is coping with the IT boom, and show you how to make a spud gun from stationery! Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week, we catch up with the latest from the front line of cancer research. Kat Arney reports from the National Cancer Research Institute's annual conference, we find out how proton therapy is promising for targeting tumours and look at the hormones and stem cells involved in breast cancer. Also, the role of aspirin in the 1918 Spanish flu epidemic, how recession could be healthy and tuning in to the Earth's vibrations. Plus, in Kitchen Science, we show you how to see using sound! Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

We bring you the highlights from European Researchers Night 2009, which filled the Great North Museum with explosions, music and laughter. We meet Brainiac's Jon Tickle to discuss the physics of custard, find out why My Little Ponies belong in a museum and explore the murder mystery of the Lindow Man. Also, how embryology inspired fashion design and how Spanish rocks point to North Sea oil. Plus, we rock out with the Punk Scientists... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Join us in a peek at the secret lives of birds. We find out just how a cuckoo convinces others to care for it's young, and the tragic outcome for the cuckoo chick when the rouse is discovered. We meet the clever corvids, capable of problem solving feats that may even outfox the great apes. Also, how green tea makes strong bones,the genes involved in prostate cancer and online robotic surgeons. Plus, in Kitchen Science we find out how Dave Ansell spent his schooldays - making stationery fly! Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists