2006 Series

Kat Arney

Chris Smith

In honour of the annual hoards of bleary-eyed hayfever sufferers, we are joined in the studio by Professor Carrock Sewell from the University of Lincoln, who describes how the immune system works, what causes allergic reactions and how we might be able to cure them, and Dr Mark Booth from Cambridge University 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 this week's Kitchen Science.

 

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Phil Rosenberg

Chris Smith

Breaking things down to the building blocks of life this week is Dr Mark Ross from the Sanger Institute in Cambridge, who discusses the evolution of sex chromosomes, genetics and genomes; Dr Michael Traugott from the University of Innsbruck 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...

 

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Dave Ansell

Kat Arney

Chris Smith

Answering all your questions on science, technology and medicine this week are Drs. Chris, Dave and Kat, who'll 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 Dr Mark Skousen, a direct descendent of Benjamin Franklin and the editor of The Compleated Autobiography by Benjamin Franklin, who'll 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's whinny.

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Helen Scales

Chris Smith

Scratching the itch of curiosity this week is Dr William Foster from Cambridge University, who will be talking about the evolution of social insects and his quest for social beetles in Thailand; Dr Claire Rind from the University of Newcastle-Upon-Tyne flies in the face of current car safety technologies by using knowledge of collision avoidance in locusts; the Conservation Director of Buglife Matt Shardlow will discuss how man-made wastelands can be a haven for rare invertebrates; and Derek Thorne joins Dr Ed Turner in the garden to discover how to make pitfall traps.

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Helen Scales

Chris Smith

 

On this week's edition of the Naked Scientists radio show and podcast, Nottingham University's Liz Sockett and Cambridge University's Ali Ashby and Stacey Efstathiou will be putting the worlds of bacteria, fungi and viruses under the microscope.

 

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Phil Rosenberg

Chris Smith

Powering the generators for this week's show on energy is Dr Nicky White from the Bullard Laboratories at Cambridge University, who describes how oil is formed, how we find and extract oil, and how long oil supplies will last; Professor Lynne Macaskie from Birmingham University discusses how fuel cells can be run on hydrogen gas created by bacteria mixed with sugary waste from the confectionery industry; and Peter Hughes from Hughes Research Ltd. explains how his Electro-Kinetic Road Ramp could soon be powering your local street lamps. In Science Update, Bob and Chelsea reveal how llama spit can be used to spot the ultimate power-up, caffeine, and in Kitchen Science Derek Thorne and Chris Muirhead from Birmingham University reveal a low energy method for chopping your vegetables...

 

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Chris Smith

Kat Arney

Dave Ansell

Answering all your science questions this week are Drs. Chris, Dave and Kat, including why some people are so prone to static electric shocks, whether humans will ever exceed the speed of light, how pain killers know where the pain is, and why cows get sunburnt in some places and not others... Also on the show, Bob Hirshon and Chelsea Wald will be keeping us up to date with the latest news from across the pond in Science Update, Professor Felicia Huppert from Cambridge University discusses the science of well-being and nature's feel-good factors, and Derek Thorne sets sail in Kitchen Science as he learns how to make matchstick boats.

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Kat Arney

Mandy Morton

Dave Ansell

Bringing music to our ears this week is Dr Hugh Hunt from Cambridge University who discusses the science of sound, how harmonics work, and how to play music in a tea cup, Jez Wells from the University of York describes the frontiers of music technology including recreating the sound of long-destroyed cathedral, the secrets behind making a floboe, an instrument that is half flute and half oboe, and how to revive the sound of a castrato: a man with the voice of a choirboy. To compensate for the castrato's lost manhood, Bob Hirshon and Chelsea Wald look at some cutting edge uses for testosterone in Science Update, and Anna Lacey makes music with nothing but a long pink tube in this week's Kitchen Science.

 

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Helen Scales

Chris Smith

As the ten-year ban on British beef exports is lifted, Professor Tony Minson from Cambridge University joins us to discuss what causes BSE, how it is spread and why it is such a problem. With another example of how animal diseases can be passed to humans is Dr Joanne Webster from Imperial College London who describes the life cycle of Toxoplasma gondii, how it makes mice as mad as hatters and a possible link to schizophrenia in humans. But it's not all doom and gloom as Professor Margaret Stanley from Cambridge University reveals how a cervical cancer vaccine is proving highly successful in clinical trials, and Derek Thorne has fun with food colouring in Kitchen Science.

 

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We return to the lost world of the dinosaurs. Cambridge University palaeontologists Leslie Noe and Matt Wilkinson discuss the origins, life and demise of the dinosaurs including how they mastered the power of flight. And are the rules about fossils really set in stone - Mary Schweitzer describes the discovery of original dinosaur tissue from fossils,together with a new way to sex a dinosaur. Also, the Natural History Museum's Angela Milner introduces Fran Beckerleg to the animatronic dinosaur exhibition, and in Kitchen Science Derek and Sheena turn eggs into gyroscopes...

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