This week, we look into new ways of putting a tiger in your tank! We find out how pond life could help make eco-friendly biodiesel and how new types of batteries can power electric cars for further than ever before without running out of juice. Plus, how Margaret Thatcher’s face can tell us how monkeys recognize each other, what sharks have in common with serial killers and why dolphins are a bit like jet fighters. And in Kitchen Science, we see how batteries work in Arctic conditions.
|
This week we dig into into the science of farming and food production. We find out how transgenic plants can help us dispense with the need for chemical pesticides and how giant greenhouses at the shoreline can be home to super-efficient farms of their own. We explore the problems faced by our sweet honey bee and in Kitchen Science we do some plant modification of our own; no transgenics knowledge needed, just food colouring.
|
On this Naked Scientists Question and Answer show, we discover how storms create slow earthquakes and how a local star, Betelgeuse, could explode very soon. We also hear of an accurate way to date pottery and explore the physics of helicopter seeds. Plus, why hurricanes rotate in opposite directions either side of the equator, the ultimate fate of stars and how to boil your fishtank without harming the fish. All this and in Kitchen Science we snap some spaghetti to seek the physics of pasta!
|
This week, we seek the science of Architecture. We find out how rapid prototyping technology could help us print out entire houses, and how natural light and ventilation could cut our energy bills. Plus, giggling gorillas tell us how laughter evolved and birds that learn from their neighbours. In Kitchen Science, Dave challenges you to build the best bridge, using only a single sheet of A4 paper!
|
How does nature inspire technology and engineering? We find out how bamboo may make effective wind turbines and how the protein that enables bees to flap their wings can soothe your bad back. Also this week we explore the explosive backsides of bombardier beetles and how they have inspired powerful fire extinguishers. In the news: how oil lies hidden below the North Pole and why some fatty acids help our immune system more than others. Plus, in Kitchen Science we pop some corn kernels to find out how polystyrene is made.
|
Science gets under your skin on this week's Naked Scientists, where we find out how human skin colour evolved to make the best of our sunlight. We explain why albino people have no skin pigment at all and how to heal wounds without leaving scars. Also, the nano-scale media storage that will last a billion years, the toxic bite of the komodo dragon and the biological link between cancer and depression. Plus, we shine a light on jaundice phototherapy, with the help of a urinating glass baby!
|
We're open to your questions on the Naked Scientists this week, finding out how photosynthesis works underwater, exploring the sex lives of barnacles and discussing if rockets punch holes in the ozone layer. Plus, a viral cause of hypertension, how bees stick to petals like velcro, and a new, super-dense deuterium - 130,000 times denser than water! We hear about the new generation of eBook readers, and in Kitchen Science Dave vacuums his bathroom scales to weigh the air!
|
This week, we're diving into the science of clean water, finding out why rivers and ponds are essential for wildlife, and how alien invaders are colonising our waterways. Plus, how a diet of glycerol makes yeast live longer, how microbes in mosquitoes can block malaria and how planting trees could reduce your electricity bills. We hear about the European Space Agency's Planck and Herschel missions to study the formation of galaxies and the fate of the universe, and in Kitchen Science, we explore the carbonated chemistry of fizzy water!
|
On this week's Naked Scientists, we explore the engineering and materials science that will give rise to the future of transport! We find out how jet engine parts grown as a single crystal of superalloy will make flights more efficient, and how clever computer control make it easier for trucks to turn. Plus, pain-free injections for the needle-phobic, Boogie with birds and the synthesised sound of Swine Flu proteins. In Kitchen Science, Ben and Dave look back over 7000 years to seek the science of the wheel...
|
In this week's atmospheric Naked Scientists, we're putting the air that we breathe under the microscope. We find out how air quality is monitored, how new technology could help you plan the least polluted walk to work and why seaweed might be responsible for making it rain! Also, we find out why dolphins spit for their dinner, how every cloud may have a lead lining and how the pesky mosquito's inspired a portable artificial pancreas. Plus, we get the low-down on the latest pandemic candidate - swine flu.
|
This week, we find out how a giant parachute could help avoid satellite collisions, why the schizophrenic brain can't see a popular optical illusion and discover that all octopodes (or octopuses?) are poisonous! Plus, we take on your science questions, discussing cycling on the moon, electric fences and couples getting tazered together. In Kitchen Science, we make a sprinkler from a spinning straw!
|
This special Naked Scientists comes to you from the MTN Sciencentre in Cape Town, South Africa, with some of the highlights of SciFest Africa. Meera goes on safari to find out how the Born Free Foundation re-home mistreated lions while Chris tracks the Black Rhino to discover how to conserve this critically endangered species. We find out how the Naked Scientists live science show, Crisp Packet Fireworks, wowed and inspired the festival's visitors. Plus, the story of the Coelacanth, tackling TB and Ben and Dave have an explosive Kitchen Science!
|
This week we hark back to the days before NHS patient records and find out how illnesses in ancient Rome, Victorian London and 17th century Italy were treated. We also explore how the modern history of medicine is being recorded as it happens and how methods used to track DNA mutations can be used to the trace the evolution of ancient manuscripts.
|
This week, we'll strip computer science down to it's components and find out what we should expect to see in the next 5 years. We find out about the thinking behind artificial intelligence, what the future holds for Second Life and how neuroscience can help us build truly intelligent computers. Plus, get your sunglasses out early this year for Kitchen Science where we make an LCD monitor vanish.
|
Get festive with the Naked Scientists at the Cambridge Science Festival! We sniff out the sizzling science of our food, explore the workings of a mobile phone and hear the songs of the Cavendish Society for the first time since the 1930s. Plus, insights into the neurological basis of dyslexia, toxic airborne copper dust and paint that heals its own scratches. Dr Ben Goldacre joins us to explain why abuse of statistics could make you a suspected terrorist or falsely suggest you have HIV. In Kitchen Science, Dave plugs a pickled gherkin into the national grid!
|
We get to the point of cutting edge Naked science this week, answering your science questions and exploring the science of sword swallowing. We find out how the amazon could become a carbon criminal, learn how to predict the extent of an avalanche, and celebrate the passing of DD45 - an object that floated past the Earth inside the orbit of the Moon. Plus, we find out if you can catch foot odour, if a bath full of vodka would get you drunk, and the delights of Liver a L'Orange! Meera Senthilingam takes a 'thinking Walk' with Sir David Attenborough to learn about Charles Darwin, and Dave seems to defy physics by making bubbles that sink!
|
This week we’re seeking the science of laughter and music. We're speaking to comedian Robin Ince about how geneticists and astronomers can inspire stand up comedy, listening to the music of the world’s first online science music festival, and genetically profiling comedienne Katherine Ryan. We also get the giggles to find out what happens in your brain to make laughter so addictive. Plus, we’ll follow the footprints of human evolution, find out how Jupiter and Saturn acted as celestial bulldozers, and discover how a cheeky octopus left an aquarium knee deep in water!
|
On this week's stellar Naked Scientists we're staring out into space. We find out how technology developed to see inside your body can give a whole new dimension to pictures of deep space, we celebrate the launch of the International Year of Astronomy and discover a new type of dwarf galaxy formed from ancient primordial gas clouds. Also in the mix, overcoming peanut allergies, fat dinosaurs and disguised meningitis bacteria. Plus, we answer Sir David Attenborough's Question of the Week and Ben and Dave build a telescope!
|
On this week's Naked Science Love-in, we explore the science of love, bonding and sexual attraction. We discover the molecules which mediate monogamy, how women advertise their fertility in the way they talk and why symmetry is so sexy. We also hear about a new drug that could help heart failure patients to be more active, some surprisingly swift songbirds, and the latest advances against Alzheimer's. Plus, in Kitchen Science, Ben and Dave make their own invisible ink to send secret letters!
|
On this weeks snow-bound Naked Scientists, we're taking on your science questions! We discover the caterpillar that tricks it's ant hosts into treating it like royalty, find out why fish get lost in acidic seas and why the gravitational pull of tonnes of ice may lead to greater sea level rise than predicted. Plus, we find out what happens to salt after it's spread on roads to avoid ice, what processes make the sea salty and how scientists weight the moon. In Kitchen Science, it's 'on your marks' for a microwave race - will water boil before ice melts?
|
This week, we're studying the science of the seriously small - nanotechnology. We'll find out how tiny, flexible electronics could be implanted under the skin to restore lost sensation, and how tiny protein covered silicon "diving boards" can show us how superbugs evade antibiotics. Also, how sheets of carbon just one atom thick can be used to read the entire human genome in just a couple of hours, and how nanotech "motherships" can deliver exactly the right amount of drug, directly to where it's needed. Plus, the plant genome that could solve the food crisis, how our fingerprints help us to feel fine textures, and how a new way to make LEDs could slash our household bills. And, as if that wasn't enough, in Kitchen Science Dave will be looking for silver in soot!
|
We get Smart on this week's Naked Scientists with the science of self-healing, self-sensing and self-cleaning materials. We hear how carbon fibre polymers could lead to self-healing spacecraft, why a titanium coating keeps windows clean and kills superbugs, and how helicopters can warn you when they're damaged. Also, how gut bugs tell the story of our ancestors' migration into Australia and beyond, how RNA housekeeping allows humans to function with fewer genes than a banana, and how molecular metal cages safely store hydrogen, or sieve out carbon dioxide. Plus, we mix borax and glue to make bouncy, stretchy goo!
|
Is obesity in your genes? This week we find out how hormones, genetics and even your mother's diet contribute to your chances of becoming obese and succumbing to obesity-related diseases. We also take a look into the surgical way to lose weight fast - liposuction, figure out how the lengths of your fingers predicts your financial prowess and uncover a new source of antibiotics from the sea. Plus, is there life on Mars? We talk with the NASA scientist who recently discovered methane on the red planet to find out what this might mean, and in a fruity edition of Kitchen Science we explore the wobbly chemistry of jelly!
|
Happy New Year! For our first show of 2009, we take on your science questions. We find out how earthworms can get airborne, why people get cramp and why Dr Chris' hypnic jerk frightens people on the bus. We also listen to the flirtatious duet between two mosquitoes, find out how rocks are arranged on Mars, and how stem cells bring sight back to blind mice. Plus, we find out how to make indoor snow and explain why all of these snowflakes are identical, and in kitchen science Dave explains the science of sneezing on your computer screen!
|
6th Jan 2009
- Why Not "Ask the Naked Scientists?"
There's no Naked Scientists show this week, so why not try "Ask the Naked Scientists" - our weekly phone in show with Sue Marchant. This week, we answer qustions like why do we have Adam's Apples? Do other primates have them? When we find new species are they due to evolution? Why do we get sleep in our eyes? Plus, we reveal the healthiest type of olive oil, investigate spinal surgeries and look into the rare condition of Morgellons Disease.
|
|
|
