Naked Scientists Podcast

The Naked Scientists: Science Radio & Science Podcasts

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Your Questions and the BA Science Festival
13 Sep 2008

17th Dec 2006 - The Christmas Q & A Show

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.


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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.


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Dr Chris, Dr Dave and Dr Phil answer all your questions on science, technology and medicine, including why spiders don't run out of silk, what is the universe expanding into, what a flame looks like in space, and what happens when the brain is cut off from a supply of oxygen. We also talk to Dr Mark Peplow from Chemistry World about polonium 210, how much was needed to kill former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko, and where the perpetrators could have acquired it. Sticking with nasty substances, Derek Thorne and Dave Ansell make a mess with milk and vinegar in the name of Kitchen Science.


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Repairing damage in the nervous system is incredibly challenging, but our guests this week have some promising solutions. Consultant ophthalmologist Dr Robert MacLaren from Moorfields Eye Hospital and colleagues at University College London have discovered a way to encourage the growth of photoreceptors in the retinas of blind mice, and Professor Geoff Raisman from University College London will discuss his research into spinal cord repair. In Kitchen Science, Derek Thorne and Hugh Hunt take a closer look at the aerodynamics of a ping pong ball.


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19th Nov 2006 - Science in Antarctica

As winter approaches, we take a trip down south to look at some of the cool research going on in Antarctica. Dr Jane Francis from Leeds University talks about six-foot penguins and a time when Antarctica was warm and ice-free, Kate Hendry from the University of Oxford describes what it's like to work in Antarctica today, and Derek and Dave bring a welcome injection of heat as they find out how hand warmers work. We then dive into the waters around Antarctica with Dr Povl Abrahamsen from the British Antarctic Survey, who uses automated subs to look under the ice sheets and find out how they're changing, and Dr Mike Fedak from the University of St. Andrews describes how his team have attached data collection instruments to the fur of elephant seals to explore completely unchartered depths of the Southern Ocean.


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This week we explore the science of sound including the mathematics of music and the geometry of jazz with mathematicians Professor Tim Gowers from Cambridge University, and Professor Robin Wilson from the Open University. We also get to the bottom of why helium makes your voice go all squeaky, we nail a crook by using the sound of his voice in an audio line up, and Dr Kirsty McDougall from Cambridge University explains where accents come from.


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Why scratch your head at science when Dr Chris, Dr Dave and Dr Kat are here to answer all your questions?! In this week's Naked Science question and answer special, we discover why liquid washing tablets don't dissolve from the inside, why some genetic diseases only manifest in later life, is gravity constant, and why do men get hairy nostrils and ears when they hit sixty? There will also be a fireworks special in honour of bonfire night, including Dr Roy Lowry from the University of Plymouth who holds the record for firing the most rockets in five seconds, and Derek Thorne and Dave Ansell pull out an angle grinder for some sparkly Kitchen Science.


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This week we take a look at some supercool science, as Dr Tim Jackson from Birmingham University describes how superconductors work, what they are, and how superconductors are helping astronomers get a clearer view of the universe. Also on the show, Dr Ed Tarte from Birmingham University will discuss applications of superconductors and SQUIDS in the non-invasive discovery of heart defects and observing brain activity in the unborn foetus, and Science Graduate of the Year Alex Mischenko talks about his new environmentally friendly cooling device. In Kitchen Science, Derek Thorne and Professor Ted Forgan show superconductivity in action with a frying pan, some liquid nitrogen and a very strong magnet...


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Helping us tune into the science of sound this week is Dr Bob Carlyon from the MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, who explains how we hear, how we can concentrate on one voice in a noisy room, and what it sounds like to have a cochlea implant. From the hard of hearing to the most finely tuned ears on the planet, Professor Ian Russell from the University of Sussex describes how the greater moustached bat catches prey in complete darkness while flying at 40 miles per hour, Professor Trevor Cox from the University of Salford turns the sound of breaking wind into a record breaker, as he talks about the world's largest whoopee cushion, and in Kitchen Science, Derek and Dave investigate the science of balance with the help of a humble office chair and some unsuspecting volunteers...


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Taking a look at the science of sight is consultant ophthalmologist Dr Nick Sarkies from Addenbrooke's Hospital, who will discuss eye diseases and how we can treat them, and Professor Ron Douglas from City University provides insight into colour vision and how the world appears through the eyes of animals. Sticking with our animal focus, Bob and Chelsea reveal that there may be three times as many poisonous fish as there are snakes, and in Kitchen Science, Derek Thorne stops himself bouncing off the walls long enough to discover how superballs spin.


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Cancer biology goes under the microscope this week, as Professor Gerard Evan from the University of California San Francisco talks about the causes of cancer and how cancer spreads around the body. Also on the show, and joining us live from the National Cancer Research Institute Conference, is Professor Fran Balkwill from Queen Mary's School of Medicine and Dentistry, who will be discussing cancer treatments and the development of targeted therapies, and Dr Kat Arney, who will be talking about the latest news in cancer research. We also travel Stateside for a Science Update from Bob and Chelsea, hear from Dr Michael Halpern from the Union of Concerned Scientists about governments interfering with scientific research, and experience the deep freeze with a couple of balloons and some liquid nitrogen in Kitchen Science.


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Answering all your cosmic conundrums this week are Drs. Chris, Dave and Phil who discuss why blood is red, the size of the ozone hole, how to make magnets, the best way to get rid of excess mucus, and sticking with the gooey theme, Professor Adam Summers from the University of California Irvine discusses how some tarantulas keep a firm hold on the ground by producing sticky silk in their feet. Moving much further away from terra firma, New Horizons scientist Dr Hal Weaver from Johns Hopkins University talks about the mission to Pluto, what they hope to find there and why the Kuiper Belt objects are so intriguing, and in Kitchen Science, Derek Thorne and Hugh Hunt carry out their own launch by throwing engineering textbooks high into the air.


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Chemistry and lightning quick reactions are under discussion this week as Dr Emma Schofield from the Johnson Matthey Technology Centre explains what a catalyst is, how catalytic converters work and how catalysts can help to clean up the atmosphere, and Professor Fraser Armstrong from Oxford University, who discusses fuel cells, using hydrogen as a fuel, and how enzymes naturally found in bacteria are helping make hydrogen a more realistic energy source for the future. In Kitchen Science both guests are used as guinea pigs as Dave Ansell demonstrates the wonder of enzymes with nothing but a slice of bread...


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Explaining how science can help us dig up the past is Dr Lawrence Owens from Birkbeck College, who uses teeth and bones to uncover the life and sometimes gruesome death of mummies in Peru and Bolvia, and Dr Harriet Allen from Cambridge University describes how the pollen record and layers of lake sedimentation can reveal what the environment was like 10 000 years ago. Also on the show, Dr Nick Brooks from the University of East Anglia talks about how climate change in the Sahara may have given rise to complex human societies, and taking us back even further in human evolution is Professor Clive Finlayson from the Opens internal link in current windowGibraltar Museum, who discusses how a new fossil discovery shows that Neanderthals were alive and kicking in Gibraltar well after the arrival of modern humans. Leaving the past behind them in Kitchen Science, Derek and Dave make their very own futuristic forcefield.


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In the hot seat this week is Dr Beverley Glover from Cambridge University, who will describe how flowers warm their nectar to entice passing pollinators, real life weatherman John Law from Weatherquest discusses weather predictions and how to calculate the temperature days in advance, and Professor Marcel Visser from the Netherland Institute of Ecology explains how warming weather and earlier springs spells disaster for migrating birds. Also on the show, we will hear from Katey Walter at the University of Alaska Fairbanks about a new source of atmospheric methane, and in Kitchen Science Derek and Dave get their hands wet in the name of discovering how the human judges temperature.


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The Naked Scientists are back to answer all your burning science questions. Dr Chris, Dave and Helen tackle hot flushes, why spiders love living in our houses, how many stars are in the Milky Way, and why cows in a field always face in the same direction... We will also be connecting direct to Norwich, the host of this year's British Association Science Festival, to hear about a world record attempt at the most people in a bubble, and sticking with bubbles, Dave and Derek make lava lamps in Kitchen Science.


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In our last show before the summer, Dr Chris, Dave and Derek answer all your questions on science, technology and medicine including: why paintings fade in sunlight, why hairs on different parts of the body grow at different rates, whether ultraviolet light poses a danger at the disco, how weightlessness can be experienced on Earth, and sticking with space, Steve Miller from University College London explains the origin of Jupiter's giant red spot and its smaller relative, red spot junior. We'll also be repeating a famous experiment to see if people can accurately estimate physical attributes from the sound of someone's voice, and in Kitchen Science, Derek and Dave dice with death as they calculate the drag on a flag at 70 miles per hour...


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 I predict a riot... or not, as this week we're joined in the studio by crowd control experts Dr Clifford Stott from the University of Liverpool and Dr John Drury from the University of Sussex, who'll be discussing why violence kicks off at  football matches, how to spot a spat and the science of mass evacuation. And taking us on a flight of fancy from crowds of people to swarms of mosquitoes, Dr Gay Gibson, from the University of Greenwich, describes her research into the harmonious music of mosquitoes. In Kitchen Science, Derek Thorne bangs out a tune from an oven shelf...                     
                                                                                                                                     


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Marine biology and conservation specialist Dan Laffoley, from English Nature, and Chris Lynam, from the University of St Andrews join us to dissect the state of the world's oceans and marine protected areas. From the conservation science institute in Alaska, Bruce Wright takes us on a tour of the world of salmon sharks, and in kitchen science we do battle against the atmosphere using a Magdeburg sphere.


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Rutherford Appleton Laboratory astrophysicist Dr Chris Davis joins us to shed light on the structure and workings of the sun and the newly-launched STEREO mission, Cambridge University engineer Dr Jeffery Lewins talks about nuclear energy and the differences between fusion and fission power, and Dr Anna Nicolaou from the University of Bradford asks why do some people burn whilst others turn brown? On a practical level, in Kitchen Science, Derek and Dave lift the lid on how suncream works.

 


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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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Brightening up the darker corners of your science knowledge this week are Drs Chris, Phil and Kat, who look at colour-blindness in dogs, harnessing heat energy from the centre of the Earth, how glow in the dark motorbikes could save lives, and erasable tattoos that wipe away the memory of the ex we'd rather forget... Also on the show, Ron-Hale Evans talks about ways to improve memory and creative brain power, Dr Michael Stebbins reveals how his book Sex, Drugs and DNA aims to fight back against all those standing in the way of science, and Anna Lacey learns to play the wine glasses in Kitchen Science.

 


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Delving into the dark depths of science this week is Dr Ron Douglas from City University in London, who describes the fascinating world of deep sea fish, bioluminescence and the sights from a deep sea sub, Dr Jason Hall-Spencer from the University of Plymouth talks about cold water corals and the threats posed by fishermen, and from slightly warmer waters Dr David Kline from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama reveals how Caribbean corals are suffering due to sugar pollution. Also in the show, Fran Beckerleg interviews John Ablett at the Natural History Museum in London about a giant squid called Archie, and getting the low down on the high seas, Derek Thorne finds out how a submarine works in Kitchen Science.

 


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Bringing a ray of sunshine to the studio this week is Alex Hill from the London Met Office, who will be describing how meteorologists predict the weather on a daily basis, Dr Tim Palmer from the European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting reveals how understanding seasonal weather patterns can help scientists predict outbreaks of malaria, Dr Emily Shuckburgh from Cambridge University discusses how faraway oceans can affect our local weather, Fran Beckerleg braves the roof of the London Weather Centre, and Sheena Elliott joins Derek Thorne in Kitchen Science to shed light on why the sky is blue.


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Picking apart the inner workings of our brains this week are Dr Irene Tracey from Oxford University, who discusses the origin of pain at the neurological level and how we can reduce pain, Dr Philip Shaw from the US National Institute of Mental Health reveals why having a bigger brain does not make you more intelligent, Dr Kathleen Taylor from Oxford University talks about her new book 'Brainwashing: the science of thought control', including whether brainwashing is a real phenomenon and how we can avoid it, and from brainwashing to the bathtub, Derek Thorne scrubs up on density in this week's Kitchen Science.


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Answering all your burning science, technology and medicine questions this week are Dr Chris, Dr Dave and Dr Phil, who look at why purifying seawater won't solve our water shortage problems, how 3D glasses work and whether a man on a meteor would have to hold on tight or sit back and soak up the stellar scenery. We'll also be receiving an update from Daniel Scuka at the European Space Agency on the Venus Express Mission, Professor Diana Liverman from Oxford University talks about how to turn down the heat on climate change, and in Kitchen Science Anna Lacey finds out why we hear strange voices when we play old records backwards...


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Conservation and saving species go under the spotlight this week as science writer Dr Henry Nicholls draws attention to the plight of 'Lonesome George', the last giant tortoise of his kind, Dr David Aldridge from Cambridge University discusses the problem of invasive species and how he is purging freshwater ecosystems of zebra mussels with a poison pill, Chris interviews Professor Rick Shine from the University of Sydney about the wave of invasive cane toads legging it across Australia, from waves to the ocean, Dr Helen Scales discusses the issues behind marine conservation, and sticking with the watery theme, Derek Thorne whips up a storm in Kitchen Science.


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Time is very much the essence of this week's show, as Professor Russell Foster from Imperial College London discusses the human body clock, where it is and how it gives our bodies a daily rhythm, Professor Karl-Arne Stokkan from Tromso University in Norway describes how reindeer body clocks adapt to twenty four hours of sunlight, Dr Alex Webb from Cambridge University talks about plant circadian rhythms and how they differ from animals, and Anna Lacey interviews Professor Cynthia Kenyon from the University of California, San Francisco about how to survive longer and cheat time.

 


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The recycling revolution and the whereabouts of our waste are hot topics this week as Professor David Butler from the University of Exeter describes how we can make our homes greener by reusing water, Rebecca Weymouth from the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Waste Partnership lifts the lid on what happens to our domestic waste, Dr Peter Barham from Bristol University gives us the breakdown on why plastic is so difficult to recycle, and Dr Richard Thompson from the University of Plymouth provides a perspective on how problem plastic threatens the marine environment. In Kitchen Science Derek Thorne discovers how to turn old chip oil into biodiesel, and from making fuel to running on empty, Anna Lacey asks Professor Andrew Prentice how the human body copes with famine.


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Picking apart some miniature morsels of science this week are Dr David Carey from the University of Surrey, who provides the big picture on the world of nanotechnology, Professor Donald Fitzmaurice from University College Dublin describes how DNA may be used as scaffolding for the world's smallest computer chips, we breach the boundaries between physics and biology as Dr Stephen Webb from the Daresbury Laboratory discusses how new microscopes can see developing cancers at the nano-scale, and Neal Morgan from Cambridge University explains how nanoparticles are stamping out stinky socks... Also on the show, Professor Jim Clark from George Washington University tells us about digging up the ancestors of T. rex, and in Kitchen Science Derek and Dave dish the dirt on how gravy thickens.


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Unlocking Nature's medicine chest and borrowing from biology are doctor's orders this week as Professor Monique Simmonds from the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew reveals the research behind old herbal remedies, Dr Tai-Ping Fan from Cambridge University describes how Chinese medicine is being used for illnesses from gout to endometriosis, Professor Jack Cuzick from Cancer Research UK talks about clinical trials for a new drug for breast cancer, and Dr Chris is at the AAAS conference in St. Louis digging around for science news and details on a potato that fights back... In Kitchen Science, Derek unleashes the explosive power of flour, and Anna Lacey interviews Professor Peter Austin from the School of Oriental and African Studies on why thousands of languages are threatened with extinction.


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Love, seduction and sexual attraction are in the air this week as Dr Peter Brennan from Bristol University woos Chris and Kat with a discussion of pheromones and the science of smell, Dr Charles Wysocki from the Monell Chemical Senses Centre suggests how farmers can love thy neighbour by masking the stench of malodorous manure, we hit the dancefloor with Dr William Brown from Rutgers University who reveals the recipe for success at the Saturday night disco, and Professor Peter Barham talks about the science of taste, food and the ingredients for the perfect Valentine's Day dinner!


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This week it's over to you as Drs. Chris, Kat and Phil prepare to answer all your burning questions on science, technology and medicine. Anne-Maree Pearse from the Mount Pleasant Laboratories in Launceston, Tasmania, joins us to describe the hellish plight of the Tasmanian Devil as it succumbs to an infectious facial cancer, Emma Marris from Nature magazine discusses how scientists are bogged down in trying to prevent the Gulf of Mexico reclaiming large areas of Louisiana, and in Kitchen Science Derek and Dave put glow-sticks on ice at the Astley Cooper School in Hemel Hempstead.


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This week we look to the solar system as Dr Ian Sanders from Trinity College Dublin discusses where meteorites come from and how we can find them, real-life astronaut Dr Stan Love joins us from NASA's Johnson Space Centre in Houston to describe a method of avoiding Armageddon asteroids, Dr Maggie Aderin from Science Innovation Ltd. takes us from meteorites to meteorology, as she talks about satellites that monitor wind speeds, Dr Richard Preece from Cambridge University recounts the sticky tale of the hitch-hiking snails and Derek and Dave make water fibre optics in Kitchen Science.


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This week we shake up the world of science as Dr Janet Sumner from The Open University describes the dynamics of volcanic eruptions and the structure of the Earth, Dr Tamsin Mather from Cambridge University talks about how the gases from volcanoes affect our atmosphere and environment, Dr Tiziana Rossetto discusses earthquakes, tsunamis and her recent visit to Pakistan, and Professor Herbert Huppert joins Derek in the kitchen to perform an explosive experiment.


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This week we go green as Dr Alison Smith from Cambridge University discusses how algae get their vitamins, the Superintendent of Cambridge University Botanic Gardens Dr Tim Upson describes the science of composting, Heather Gorringe and Richard Fishbourne from Wiggly Wigglers dish the dirt on what worms get up to in your compost heap, Prof. John Pickett from Rothamsted Research talks about his research on natural mosquito repellents, we find out about Ant School from Prof. Nigel Franks at Bristol University, and in Kitchen Science, Derek is itching to reveal how ants lay chemical trails to their food.


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With the indulgences of Christmas behind us, Prof. Steve O'Rahilly from Cambridge University aims to shed some light on shedding a few pounds, as he discusses the science of appetite, obesity and weight loss, Prof. Len Almond from Loughborough University describes the role of exercise in losing weight, Prof. John O'Doherty from the California Institute of Technology talks about what happens in the brain when we choose our favourite food brand, Drs. Jane Visvader and Connie Eaves describe their discovery of the breast stem cell, and Derek and Dave find out what cream and paint have in common in Kitchen Science.


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