Latest Shows

10th Feb 2012 - Find out answers to those questions you have always been wondering about.

How do thermoelectric generators work?

Huge amounts of energy are lost from power stations and cars as heat. But what if we could harness that heat and turn it into useful electricity? That's what thermoelectric generators or TEGs can help us do. In this Naked Science Scrapbook we find out how they exploit a temperature gradient to produce power and how they're already powering space explo...

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• How does a microwave work?
• Why do sprouts make you fart?
• How does autofocus work?
• More...

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What is freezing rain, do cats control their owners, how do accents arise, why does hair go grey, what is the origin of deja vu, why did my glass table spontaneously explode and is the world population becoming more or less genetically diverse? Dr Chris tackles this week's round up of the best science questions from South Africa...

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Naked Oceans takes a look around the lush world of seagrasses. We find out how diversity of critters, big and small, keep seagrasses healthy. And we shine a spotlight on a little known seagrass muncher, the West African Manatee.

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Could diet foods be making you fatter? How do we learn to like the foods we eat? This week, we indulge in the science of appetite, diet and diabetes. We'll find out how our early experiences of food can alter our diets for life, and ask if low calorie alternatives to sweet and fatty foods can fool the brain into underestimating the energy content of the real thing. Also, how synthetic chemists are searching for compounds to monitor blood glucose and control diabetes. Plus, how regions of the brain can “catch” Alzheimer’s from each other, we discover a new microscopy technique that can open a window on the brain in action, and talk to the Australian ecologist who thinks more introduced species, including elephants, could stabilise the Aussie ecosystem.

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26th Feb 2009 - In the back of our office we found some old instructional films where the inimitable Dr Otherford demonstrates various kitchen science experiments.

Super-speed tennis ball bounce

We present the final outing of this twelveweek featuring the inscrutable Dr Otherford as he succeeds in his efforts to make a simple tennis ball ascend into the air with a most surprising level of rapidity. This he achieves with the sole aid of a ball purportedly obtained from exotic lands.

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• Invisibility Cloak
• More...

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How much of the baby you were born as it still part of you now? Plus we ask - can you brew beer in space?......

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This week in the Planet Earth Podcast - Richard Hollingham goes to the River Wandle in south-west London to find out how scientific research is helping to revitalise this heavily-used river; later he goes to Cambridge to hear about some of the hottest conservation topics for 2012.

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In this NewsFlash - How regions of the brain may “catch” Alzheimer’s from each other, why a new microscopy technique can open a window on the brain in action and why one ecologist thinks more introduced species, including elephants, could stabilise the Australian ecosystem!

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Can a mid-infra red view reveal the universe’s secrets? In this month's Naked Astronomy, we meet MIRI, the Mid Infra Red Instrument set to launch on the James Webb Space Telescope. It should give us a glimpse of the very first galaxies and examine the clouds of hydrogen gas spread throughout the universe. We’ll also find out how distorted galaxies can shed light on the distribution of dark matter, discover El Gordo - a newly discovered galaxy cluster.

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This month, we step inside to explore what, and who, it takes to run the synchrotron. We meet the people that keep the electrons accelerating to produce light beams 100 billion times brighter than the Sun, every day! We explore the health and safety needed when working with high levels of radiation, the equipment used to ensure every inch of the machine runs smoothly and the industries using Diamond to produce our everyday products. Plus, we hear how the facility is run from the top down as well as bring you the latest news and events from Diamond!

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We're back! And this month we start by taking a tour of the terribly glamorous ditches in East Anglia. Yes, the whole landscape is one giant piece of drainage archaeology! Plus, we talk about a Roman gladiatorial school, an Iron Age road, Australopithecus sediba and Acheulian tools.

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In this Festive edition; the best combinations of food and drink to avoid indigestion over the Christmas period, safer ways to grill meat and we reveal if lightweight, carbon fibre bikes really are the fastest option. We also look back over 2010 to to remember some of the years key scientific discoveries, including the domestication of fruit trees across of Africa and the increase of western diseases due to urbanisation. Plus, we find out what makes someone photogenic, in Question of the Week!

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