How do odour-killing insoles stamp on smelly feet? Do submariners' ears pop? How do Portuguese Man o'War jellyfish reproduce? We take on your science questions this week as well as hearing the highlights from the Cambridge Science Festival and making a tornado from flames. Plus, news of octopuses having high definition temper tantrums, why some people are genetically wired to feel more pain, eyeless scorpions that have evolved their way out of a blind alley and how scientists can see what's going in your mind's eye...!
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Shedding some light on new advances in solar technology, this week's Naked Scientists explores how nanotechnology can boost solar cell efficiency and how flexible photovoltaics can be rolled up - and rolled out - to help power military operations. In Kitchen Science we reveal how to make your very own solar cell from some old electronics, and in this week's news, the gene combination that's perfect for tuberculosis, the methane time-bomb ticking off the Siberian coast, the first human writing and how doctors are knocking migraines on the head with a magnet.
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We dive into the science of water security in this week's Naked Scientists. We find out how building a dam alters the local weather, and how simple interventions can help bring safe water and sanitation to the millions that still need it. We find out how new groups set up in Africa and Europe are bringing researchers together to help us use water more efficiently in an ever changing world, and discover the leak-stopping technology that really does hold water. Plus, the secret messages that fish send in ultra-violet and a genetic trick to stop Dengue getting off the ground.
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How can we make the most of the wind? In this week's Naked Scientists, we find out how Humpback whales have inspired a new, more efficient design for turbine blades and stall-resistant aeroplane wings and how an inflatable wind generator flies like a kite to extract energy from high altitude winds anywhere in the world. We also hear how a specially-designed wind generator has helped Antarctic-based scientists save 30 thousand litres of diesel. Plus, a simple programme to cut child deaths in the developing world by 30 percent, a new technique for keeping tabs on tumours and a sugar-based solution for keeping virus vaccines fresh without fridges...
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We investigate the toilet habits of the animal kingdom this week as well as taking a pot shot at which way a dirty golf ball swings in mid air, answering whether warmer waters attract more sharks and if there's a genetic basis to intelligence. We also get an update on what geologists studying the recent earthquake in Haiti are learning from information beamed back from space, and how a new tech-driven initiative called Crisis Camps is helping to streamline aid efforts after a catastrophe. Plus, laser-sensitive nanoparticles that can help to identify tumours, the genome of a 4000 year old man and whether elephants can run...
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Could plastics be polluting your body? This week, we hear how hormone-mimicking chemicals leaching from plastics can cause coronaries, strokes and diabetes. Even the plastic mineral water bottle isn't safe - snails grown in them produce more offspring. Also, how oestrogen in lakes can feminize fish and cause their populations to plummet, Meera takes a trip to the sewage works to see how we clean up our act and, in Kitchen Science, Ben and Dave play with mud to find out how a water filter works. Plus, the hot news this week: how sperm get turned on, recreating colourful dinosaurs and understanding how mosquitoes smell the world.
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The high-tech scanners that can home in on chemicals produced by cancers, how bats and dolphins share genes for echolocation and why barefoot runners have a smoother track record. Also this week, augment your reality: find out how new technologies can add extra information to the way you see the world by making a mobile phone into a virtual tour guide or even a pocket mechanic! Plus, how virtual reality worlds are helping to rehabilitate stroke victims, and, in a theatrical twist, for Kitchen Science Dave discovers the workings of a baffling stage illusion...
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On this explosive Naked Scientists, explore the science of explosions, looking at what happens when a landmine explodes and how to study shockwaves. Plus, how to make safer 'insensitive' munitions, and the 'ecology' of insurgency. Plus, how infected cells accelerate the infection rate, why your memories are stored in a grid and in Kitchen Science we show you how to do a controlled explosion in your own home!
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Can sea water keep roads frost-free? Why does the LHC need to be so cold? How does antifreeze work and what's the freezing point of beer? This week we run the risk of frostbite to tackle the coolest science questions as well as warming up in the hot tub to hear what household appliances devour the most power! We also find out how researchers are growing stem cells from umbilical cord blood, the scientific reason why a needle is so hard to find in a haystack, and how the smell of a fertile women boosts a man's testosterone. Plus, do people really look like their pets?
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We open our ears to the science of sound and hearing this week with a look at the genetic causes of deafness and how a deaf person's brain decodes sign language. We also hear how auditory illusions can fool you into hearing things that aren't there and meet a sound simulation system that can improve the clarity of railway station announcements and recreate the "cocktail party effect" to help build better hearing aids. Plus, we find out why light makes migraines more painful, how cleaner fish keep each other in check and, in Kitchen Science, Dave swaps Ben's ears around...
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5th Jan 2010
- Launching Naked Astronomy
Thrusting space science into the audio dimension, this week the Naked Scientists unveil a new series for 2010 - Naked Astronomy. Hosted by Ben Valsler together with Cambridge space scientists Carolin Crawford, Andrew Pontzen, Dominic Ford and a host of other cosmologically-gifted contributors, this new monthly programme brings the Universe to your ears. Further episodes of the show are available at nakedscientists.com/astronomy
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