Biology Interviews

The Microbiology of Cheese

Professor Martin Adams talks through how cheddar and stilton cheeses are made.Martin Adams, University of Surrey

Where do all the salmon go? Planet Earth Online

Salmon numbers in the UK have been falling since the 1970s. This isn't down to overfishing, so scientists are trying to find out why. However, salmon are pretty tricky to follow. Their life cycle takes them from rivers into the open oceans, and then back again to rivers to breed. Now, a new technique that uses samples of the fish’s scales could change all that.Dr Clive Trueman & Dr Kirsteen MacKenzie, University of Southampton

Cryoprotectant Molecules - Nature's Anti-freeze

Freezing is a great way to slow down chemical reactions and this is why we use a freezer to stop food going off and why organs that are going to be transplanted are kept cold. Freezing can do serious damage to biological tissues, but some organisms have evolved very clever chemical ways around this. Lorna Dougan is biophysicist at Leeds University who's been trying to figure out how this works.Lorna Dougan, University of Leeds

Special Stem Cells With Single Sets of Chromosomes

Researchers in Cambridge have created mammalian stem cells that only contain a single set of chromosomes. Most mammalian cells are diploid - they contain two copies of each chromosome. This is a complication for cell biologists and geneticists, hoping to study the function of individual genes...Anton Wutz, Cambridge University

Social weight Loss, Youthful plants and Moon Landings

Socialising to lose weight, polymers for probiotics, the never-ageing plant and picturing Moon landings...Matthew During, Ohio state University, Iza Radeska, University of Wolverhampton, Johan Erlean, Stockholm University, Mark Robinson, NASA

Critter of the month - Loggerhead turtle

Wallace J. Nichols picks a long distance migrant on a fascinating pan-ocean journey as our critter of the month.Wallace J. Nichols, California Academy of Sciences

Science and management of whale hunting

Is there such a thing as sustainable whaling? And will the hunt continue? We find from the Secretary and head scientist of the International Whaling Commission.Simon Brockington and Greg Donovan, International Whaling Commission

Nitrogen, Mobile Phones and Anti-cancer traps

How dead dinosaurs fertilise forests, why mobile phones answer the call in emergencies, a DNA trip-switch for cancer and a Star Trek style "sick bay" beams down to Leicester Royal Infirmary...Naked Scientists NewsFlash!

Mood Altering Microbes

Probiotics, the "friendly" bacteria, seem to have the potential to treat anxiety and depression related disorders due to the effects they have on brain activity...Professor Paul Forsythe, McMaster University

Translational Traffic Jams

Are all genes made equal? In other words, do the protein recipes that they encode all get turned out at the same rate? Surprisingly, the answer is no. With the help of a mathematician, molecular biologist Ian Stansfield is trying to find out why.Ian Stansfield & Mamen Romano, University of Aberdeen

The Causes of Clubfoot

On the subject of limbs, and how they can go wrong...Martin Collinson

Yeast's Sense of Direction

Fungal infections can be deadly, but who would have guessed that yeasts have better directional sense than many humans? Dr Alex Brand has been investigating the directional growth of yeast cells using microscopic obstacles and electric fields.Dr. Alex Brand, University of Aberdeen

Vitamin A, Brain Shrinkage and Depression

It’s known that a deficiency or an excess of vitamin A, otherwise known as retinol, and its derivative retinoic acid can affect the birth of new nerve cells, but is this true in adults too? Chris Smith spoke to Peter McCaffery…Professor Peter McCaffery, University of Aberdeen

Exploring the Deepest Oceans

Alan Jamieson and his team have been tackling the task of exploring the ocean's deepest points, hadal regions, named after the greek underworld Hades...Alan Jamieson, University of Aberdeen

Artificial Chromosomes for Muscular Dystrophy

Duchenne muscular dystrophy, or DMD, is a genetic condition in which sufferers lack the ability to produce dystrophin – an essential structural protein in muscles. The size of the dystrophin gene precludes existing gene therapy techniques, but researchers in Italy could achieve the same using artificial chromosomes...Giulio Cossu, University of Milan

The Earth Microbiome Project

A new global initiative called the Earth Microbiome Project plans to build up a genetic picture of the billions of bacteria that inhabit every corner of the Earth and to find out how they fit into Earth’s ecosystems. Planet Earth Podcast reporter Tim Hirsch has been talking to some of the scientists involved...Tim Hirsch

Homing In With Heat - How Vampire Bats find Blood

How do blood thirsty vampire bats home in on the best place to bite and therefore guarantee achieving a trouble-free feed? Well the answer is that they've evolved their own built-in infrared detectors to pinpoint where the best blood vessels are... Professor David Julius, University of California, San Francisco

Behind the scenes at Naked Oceans

An exclusive glimpse into the making-of Naked Oceans season one.Helen Scales, Sarah Castor-Perry

Unveiling Antihistamines Binding

Simone Weyand discusses her new insight into the workings of antihistamines...Simone Weyand, Imperial College London

Planet Earth - Cuckoo Trickery

How do cuckoos fool their hosts...Professor Nick Davies, University of Cambridge