Naked Scientists Podcast

Chris Smith

Kat Arney

Clean water is something that many of us take for granted, but Dr Mark Booth from Cambridge University describes how in many parts of the world dirty water can lead to life-threatening disease and parasitic infections. To talk about the current strategies in place to supply clean water we're joined by Dr Alex McKie from Surrey University, and Professor Colin Humphreys from Cambridge University explains how high-energy UV LEDs could help provide clean water in the future. In Kitchen Science, Helen Scales and Dave Ansell bring sweetness and light to a house in Cottenham...

Chris Smith

Helen Scales

Dr Chris and Dr Helen answer all your burning science questions, including why frost can form even when the air temperature is above zero, why hair looks darker when it's wet, why sunlight looks red through your eyelids, and whether cracking your knuckles really causes arthritis. We also talk to Chemistry World editor Mark Peplow about venomous vipers, artificial kidneys, and how LSD might be switching on hallucinations, and in Kitchen Science Anna Lacey and Dave Ansell look at some slightly safer visual effects with the help of a sodium street light.

Kat Arney

Chris Smith

Nuclear energy is always in the news, but how much do you know about nuclear fission and what happens to nuclear waste? To find out, Naked Scientists Anna Lacey and Dave Ansell visit Sizewell B power station in Suffolk, and studio guest Ian Farnan from Cambridge University discusses nuclear waste disposal and why current methods might not contain the radiation as long as we thought. But as clinical radiologist Anant Krishnan explains, radiation plays a crucial role in medicine, including allowing us to see broken bones and killing off tumours. Sticking with uses of radiation that save lives, Anna and Dave find out how a smoke detector works in Kitchen Science.

Chris Smith

Kat Arney

Health effects of pollution, plus David Julius reveals the molecular mechanisms of pain and what chillies have in common with tarantulas, Geoff Woods explains why some people can't feel pain, and to talk about phantom limbs and ways of dealing with pain is Cathy Stannard. In Kitchen Science, Derek Thorne braves the cold to sniff out the science of sausages, and in the final part of our Science and Colour series, Anna Lacey discovers how wearing the right colours could bag you the perfect date.

Chris Smith

Helen Scales

This week we take a look at extreme environments and the organisms that live in them. Dr Crispin Little from the University of Leeds talks about hydrothermal vents and the fastest fossilisation on the planet, Professor Steve Scott from the University of Toronto explains why mining companies are interested in hydrothermal vents, and Dr Lisa Pratt from the University of Indiana describes how bacteria find energy three kilometres beneath the surface of the earth, and how similar strategies could be used by life on other planets. From the extremes of the Earth to the extremes of the kitchen, Derek Thorne and Hugh Hunt find out what's hot and what's not in the dishwasher...

Helen Scales

Chris Smith

Following this week's crazy weather Dr Chris and Dr Helen have a look at Climate Change. Eric Wolff from the British Antarctic Survey tells us what secrets about our climate are locked away in ancient ice, Jon Gibbins from Imperial College tells us about ways we can store all that excess carbon dioxide underground, and Ali talks to Alison Hill from the British Wind Energy Association and Max Carcas from Ocean Power Delivery about wind energy and wave energy. Derek Thorne, Dave Ansell and Ali Webb try to discover how much power we could generate by hooking the country's gyms to the electricity grid.

Dave Ansell

Kat Arney

Chris Smith

With a new year comes a whole new stack of science questions to challenge Dr Chris, Dr Dave and Dr Kat. This week they explain where the sand in the Sahara comes from, whether mirrors can reflect x-rays, if it is dangerous to live near a phone mast, and whether splitting water could solve our energy problems. We are also joined by the editor of Chemistry World, Dr Mark Peplow, who talks about labs the size of a postage stamp, nanoparticles in exhaust fumes, and how putting milk in your tea might not be such a good idea, and sticking with chemistry, Dave Ansell discovers which household liquids make dirty pennies look like new. In the fourth part of our series on science and colour, Anna Lacey finds out how wearing red could turn you into a world-class sportsperson.

Dave Ansell

Helen Scales

Chris Smith

In the first show of 2007, Drs Chris, Dave and Helen find out why red wine is better for you than white wine or grape juice, and explore the science of healthy living with with London University researcher and author Roger Corder. We also discover the science behind another of the nation's favourite drugs, caffeine, with the help of Bristol University's Peter Rogers, and University of St Louis researcher Jeffrey Gordon explains how the bugs living in your intestines help you to make the most out of mealtimes. They might also, he thinks, make some people fat. Plus, in Kitchen Science, Dave demonstrates the physics of how salt keeps roads frost-free.

Kat Arney

Dave Ansell

Chris Smith

In the final show of 2006, Dr Chris, Dr Dave and Dr Kat answer all your science questions including why poppadoms curl upwards in the pan, how seedless grapes grow, and if lightning really does strike twice. To celebrate the coming of Christmas, Professor Colin Humphries from Cambridge University joins us to explain the astronomical phenomenon behind the Star of Bethlehem, and in Kitchen Science Derek Thorne and Alicia Webb knock back a few shots of vodka to find out how breathalysers catch drink-drivers. In the second part of the Science of Colour series, Anna Lacey finds out about the history of mauve and how hair dye conceals those dreaded greys.

Helen Scales

Chris Smith

Shedding light on the deepest depths of the universe is Professor Gerry Gilmore from Cambridge University, who talks about the Big Bang and the mystery of dark matter. We also hear from Professor Peter Muller and Dr Giulio del Zanna from the Mullard Space Laboratory about 3-D imaging of the surface of Mars and how solar flares contribute to everything from the Northern Lights to damaging communication systems. Professor David Block from the University of Witwatersrand describes how Andromeda, the galaxy closest to the Milky Way, was recently involved in a galactic collision, and in case you fancy seeing some collisions here on Earth, Derek and Dave are in the kitchen making meteorite craters.