The Naked Scientists Podcast

As winter approaches, we take a trip down south to look at some of the cool research going on in Antarctica. Jane Francis talks about six-foot penguins and a time when Antarctica was warm and ice-free, Kate Hendry describes what it is like to work in Antarctica today, and Derek and Dave bring a welcome injection of heat as they find out how hand warmers work. We then dive into the waters around Antarctica with Povl Abrahamsen, who uses automated subs to look under the ice sheets and find out how they are changing, and Mike Fedak describes how his team have attached data collection instruments... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week we explore the science of sound including the mathematics of music and the geometry of jazz with mathematicians Tim Gowers, from Cambridge University, and Robin Wilson from the Open University. We also get to the bottom of why helium makes your voice go all squeaky, we nail a crook by using the sound of his voice in an audio line up, and Kirsty MacDougall explains where accents come from. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Why scratch your head at science when Dr Chris, Dr Dave and Dr Kat are here to answer all you questions?! In this weeks question and answer special, we discover why liquid washing tablets don't dissolve from the inside, why some genetic diseases only manifest in later life, is gravity constant, and why do men get hairy nostrils and ears when they hit sixty? There will also be a fireworks special in hounour of bonfire night including Dr Roy Lowry, who hold the record for firing the most rockets in five seconds, and Derek and Dave pull out an angle grinder for some sparkly Kitchen Science. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week we take a look at some super cool science, as Tim Jackson describes how superconductors work, what they are, and how superconductors are helping astronomers get a clearer view of the universe. Also on the show, Ed Tarte discusses applications of superconductors and SQUIDS in the non-invasive discovery of heart defects and observing brain activity in the unborn foetus, and Science Graduate of the Year Alex Mischenko talks about his new environmentally friendly cooling device. In Kitchen Science, Derek Thorne and Ted Forgan show superconductivity in action with a frying pan, some... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Helping us tune into the science of sound this week is Bob Carlyon, who explains how we hear, how we can concentrate on one voice in a noisy room, and what it sounds like to have a cochlea implant. From the hard of hearing to the most finely tuned ears on the planet, Ian Russell describes how the greater moustached bat catches prey in complete darkness while flying at 40 miles per hour, Trevor Cox turns the sound of breaking wind into a record breaker as he talks about the biggest ever whoopee cushion, and in Kitchen Science, Derek and Dave investigate the science of balance with the help of a... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Taking a look at the science of sight is consultant ophthalmologist Nick Sarkies, who will discuss eye diseases and how we can treat them, and Ron Douglas provides insight into colour vision and how the world appears though the eyes of animals. Sticking with our animal focus, Bob and Chelsea reveal that there may be three times as many poisonous fish as there are snakes, and in Kitchen Science, Derek Thorne stops himself bouncing off the walls long enough to discover how superballs spin. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Cancer biology goes under the microscope this week, as Gerard Evan talks about the causes of cancer and how cancer spreads around the body. Also on the show, and joining us live from the National Cancer Research Institute Conference, is Fran Balkwill who will be discussing cancer treatments and the development of targeted therapies, and Kat Arney, who will be talking about the latest news in cancer research. We also travel Stateside for a Sciencce Update from Bob and Chelsea, hear from Michael Halpern from the Union of Concerned Scientists about governments interfering with scientific... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Answering all your cosmic conundrums this week are Drs Chris, Dave and Phil who discuss why blood is red, the size of the ozone hole, how to make magnets, the best way to get rid of excess mucus, and sticking with the gooey theme, Adam Summers discusses how some tarantulas keep a firm hold on the ground by producing sticky silk from their feet. Moving much further away from terra firma, New Horizons scientist Hal Weaver talks about the mission to Pluto, what they hope to find there and why the Kuiper Belt objects are so intriguing, and in Kitchen Science, Derek Thorne and Hugh Hunt carry out... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Chemistry and lightning quick reactions are under discussion this week as Emma Schofield explains what a catalyst is, how catalytic converters work and how catalysts can help to clean up the atmosphere, and Fraser Armstrong discusses fuel cells, using hydrogen as a fuel and how enzymes naturally found in bacteria are making hydrogen a more realistic energy source for the future. In Kitchen Science, both guests are used as guinea pigs as Dave Ansell demonstrates the wonder of enzymes with nothing but a slice of bread... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Explaining how science can help us dig up the past is Lawrence Owens, who uses teeth and bones to uncover the life and sometimes gruesome death of mummies in Peru and Bolivia, and Harriet Allen describes how the pollen record and layers of lake sedimentation can reveal what the environment was like 10 000 years ago. Also on the show, Nick Brooks talks about how climate change in the Sahara may have given rise to complex human societies, and taking us back even further in human evolution is Clive Finlayson, who discusses how a new fossil discovery shows that Neanderthals were alive and kicking... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

In the hot seat this week is Beverley Glover, who will describe how flowers warm their nectar to entice passing pollinators, real life weatherman John Law discusses weather predictions and how to calculate temperature days in advance, and Marcel Visser explains how warming weather and earlier springs spell disaster for migrating birds. Also on the show, we will hear from Katey Walter about a new source of atmospheric methane, and in Kitchen Science, Derek and Dave get their hands wet in the name of discovering how the human body judges temperature. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

The Naked Scientists are back to answer all your burning science questions. Dr Chris, Dave and Helen tackle hot flushes, why spiders love living in our houses, how many stars are in the Milky Way, and why cows in a field always face in the same direction... We will also be connecting direct to Norwich, the host of this years British Association Science Festival, to hear about a world record attempt at the most people in a bubble, and sticking with bubbles, Dave and Derek make lava lamps in Kitchen Science. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

In our last show before the summer, Dr Chris, Dave and Derek answer all your questions on science, technology and medicine including why paintings fade in sunlight, why body hair grows at different rates, whether UV light poses a danger at the disco, how weightlessness can be experienced on Earth, and sticking with space, Steve Miller explains the origin of Jupiter's giant red spot and its smaller relative red spot junior. We will also be repeating a famous experiment to see if people can accurately estimate physical attributes from the sound of someones voice, and in Kitchen Science, Derek... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

I predict a riot... or not. This week we're joined by crowd control experts Dr Clifford Stott, from Liverpool University, and Dr John Drury, from Sussex University, wholl be discussing why violence kicks off at football matches, how to spot a spat and the science of mass evacuation. Taking us on a flight of fancy, Dr Gay Gibson, from the University of Greenwich, who describes her research into the harmonious music of mosquitoes, and in Kitchen Science, Derek Thorne bangs out a tune from an oven shelf... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Marine biology and conservation specialist Dan Laffoley, from English Nature, and Chris Lynam, from the University of St Andrews join us to dissect the state of the worlds oceans and marine protected areas. From the conservation science institute in Alaska, Bruce Wright takes us on a tour of the world of salmon sharks, and in kitchen science we do battle against the atmosphere using a Magdeburg sphere. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Rutherford Appleton Laboratory astrophysicist Chris Davis joins us to shed light on the structure and workings of the sun and the newly-launched STEREO mission, Cambridge University engineer Jeffery Lewins talks nuclear, and Anna Nicolaou asks why do some people burn whilst others turn brown? On a practical level, in kitchen science, Derek and Dave lift the lid on how suncream works. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

In honour of the annual hoards if bleary-eyed hayfever sufferers, we are joined by Carrock Sewell who describes how the immune system works, what causes allergic reactions and how we might be able to cure them, and Mark Booth discusses parasites, how they suppress and evade the immune system and how the Matangini Project attempts to provide parasite-free water in Africa. Sticking with the African continent, Derek Thorne travels to Tanzania to learn how to make ugali in Kitchen Science. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Breaking things down to the building blocks of life this week is Mark Ross, who discusses the evolution of sex chromosomes, genetics and genomes, Michael Traugott describes a novel way of using genetics to find out who is eating whom in underground food webs, and Derek Thorne gets fruity with Lucy Wheatley extracting DNA from a kiwi... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Answering all your questions on science, technology and medicine this week are Drs Chris, Dave and Kat, who will be revealing why spicy foods make you sweat, the highest possible temperature, the cause of labyrinthitis and why tissues turn black after receiving frostbite. Also on the show is Mark Skousen, a direct descendent of Benjamin Franklin, who will be talking about the life and work of this famous scientist and statesman; and in Science Update, Bob and Chelsea find some animal magic in the feeding strategies of killer whales and the interpretation of a horse whinny. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Scratching the itch of curiosity this week is William Foster, who will be talking about the evolution of social insects and his quest for social beetles in Thailand, Claire Rind flies in the face of current car safety technologies by using knowledge of collision avoidance in locusts, Matt Shardlow discusses how man-made wastelands can be a haven for rare invertebrates, and Derek Thorne joins Ed Turner in the garden to discover how to make pitfall traps. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists