Science Interviews

Evolving Multicellularity

Prior to about 1 billion years ago, all life on earth consisted of single-celled organisms. Then something happened to trigger squads of these cells to team up together to produce the first multicellular organisms, like our bodies, and this was a watershed in the evolution of life on Earth. Now, researchers at the University of Minnesota have managed to make yeasts do something similar, but in this case it only took them about 60 days...Professor Michael Travisano, University of Minnesota

Suicidal Comets and Dancing Beetles

Comets plummeting into the Sun's atmosphere, why exercise can keep diabetes at bay, how the public are helping seismology research and why Dung beetles like to dance...Carey Lisse, John Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory; Congcong He, University of Texas Southwestern medical centre; Richard Allen, UC Berkeley; Emilay Baird, University of Lund

Wiring the Brain to Robotic Limbs

Scientists are moving closer to developing ways to interface with the brain and to decode what nerve cells are saying to each other, and can use this neural chatter to connect the brain to artificial limbs...Professor Andrew Schwartz, University of Pittsburgh

Mapping Solar Storm Risk - Planet Earth Online

Solar storms can disrupt satellites, communications and power supplies and so scientists have now produced the first ever map that shows which regions of the UK power grid are most at risk...Dr Ciaran Beggan, British Geological Survey

Implants to improve impaired vision

How implanting a new chip which contains light sensors and an amplifier could be a treatment for impaired vision for patients with retinitis pigmentosa...Dr. Marcus Groppe, Nuffield Laboratory of Ophthalmology

What is cybernetics?

What is cybernetics? Does it include things like pacemakers and cochlear implants? How is it being used to treat Parkinson's, Depression and Tourette's Syndrome? Kevin Warwick discusses what we can learn about ourselves by mixing man with machine...Kevin Warwick, Reading University

Potentially Pandemic H5N1

Should we publish details of how to make viruses with pandemic potential? We explore the controversy and meet one of the scientists whose work is under question...Mark Peplow, Nature; Ron Fouchier, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam

Quitting Smoking, Exoplanets and Carnivorous Plants!

Why nicotine replacement may not be the key to kicking the habit, how most stars in our solar system have planets accompanying them, How Fungi could hold the key to tackling lead pollution and a new plants which makes a meal out of worms!Gregory Connelly, Harvard School of Public Health; Martin Dominik, University of St Andrews; Geoffrey Gadd, University of Dundee; Caio Pereria, State University of Campinas.

Studying wandering albatross on Bird Island

How to study the bird with the largest wings in the world.Andy Wood, British Antarctic Survey

Critter of the Month - Cuttlefish

Heather Mason Jones chooses a clever, colourful critter this month.Heather Mason Jones, University of Tampa

Moving Important Bird Areas into the sea

We hear about a new global network of protected areas for seabirds.Ben Lascelles, Birdlife International

Parkour and Primate Movement - Planet Earth Online

Free-runing, or parkour, is helping scientists understand how orang-utans move across a forest canopy...Suzanna Thorpe, University of Birmingham

Chimp Viruses Vaccinate Against Hepatitis C

Over 170 million people are infected with Hepatitis C worldwide and at the moment there is no effective vaccine. But now scientists may have found a way to protect people – by adding parts of the hepatitis C virus to a harmless virus that normally infects chimpanzees...Professor Paul Klenerman, University of Oxford

Spiderworms, Exploring Vents, Clues to deafness and Bulking up!

Silkworms producing spider silk, new species discovered at hydrothermal vents in Antarctica, a gene providing new insight to deafness and the science behind bulking up this new year...Randy Lewis, Utah State University; Alex Rogers, University of Oxford; David Ornitz, University of Washington; Athanassia Soritopoulos, INSERM

A Festive Treat from Professor Karmadillo!

We were joined by Professor Karmadillo, with a festive musical take on the recent news from CERN that they have seen tantalising hints of the existence of the Higg's Boson...Professor Karmadillo

Fossil Feathers in Colour - Planet Earth Online

An international team led by Roy Wogelius from the University of Manchester has developed a new technique that reveals the colour, and even chemistry, of fossil birds – birds that are more than 100 million years old...Roy Wogelius, University of Manchester

Walking on the Seabed, Miniature Steam engines and Cool Mosquitoes

We explore how African lungfish are providing insight into the evolution of walking, the design of the world's smallest steam engine, how birds tweet at a higher pitch to be heard in the city and reveal just how mosquitoes keep their cool...Heather King, University of Chicago; Clemens Bechinger, University of Stuttgart; Emily Mockford, University of Aberystwyth; Claudio Lazzari, University of Tours

Why do Brussels Sprouts make you fart?

We explore just what goes on inside our bodies to cause the flatulence resulting from eating Brussels sprouts...Sarah Castor-Perry

The Naked Scientists Dream Gadgets

The team discuss what they would most like to get under their tree this Christmas...Dominic Ford, Helen Scales, Dave Ansell

The Death of Biostatistics?

Given that people are increasingly using crowd source data in their research, are old style stats still up to the job? Arnoldo Frigessi explores...Arnoldo Frigessi, University of Oslo in Norway