Naked Scientists Podcast

The Naked Scientists: Science Radio & Science Podcasts

This week, we tackle more of your science questions.  So if it's a Chemistry conundrum, a technology teaser, some brain beating biology or even if you're just theorising some physics, get in touch!


This week, we find out the latest in the fight against cancer, from treatment to prevention.  We hear the latest news and Dr Kat reports from the National Cancer Research Institute Conference.


This week, how to live longer and look younger with the science of ageing!  We discover how repairing damage to DNA could prevent the diseases associated with old age, and find out how to keep your skin looking younger for longer.  Also, doing just four things could add fourteen years to your life - so find out what they are, right here!  Plus, how gene therapy could cure one from of blindness, how to get more distance from a tank of diesel and counting insects - how bees can count up to four, but not five.  Also, in Kitchen Science, we explore the stretchy science of rubber bands!


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Superbugs and hospital acquired infections go under the microscope on this weeks Naked Scientists.  We find out why Clostridium difficile has become such a problem, how to keep bacteria away from surfaces and see if there's a vaccine for MRSA on the horizon.  Plus, we discover where fat cells hide out, why fungi fire spores at amazing speeds and how plant sugars can make perfect petrol.  And in Kitchen Science, Ben and Dave launch a liver-powered rocket!


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There's a bulging mailbag of science questions for the Naked Scientists this week, as we find out why we stop smelling smells, whether we can use viruses to kill cancer and why crisp and sweet packets make so much noise?  Also, how unmanned spy-planes can speed up medical diagnoses in rural countries, how Internet anti-spam technology is helping to interpret ancient manuscripts, and the first water bears in orbit - how tardigrades survived a trip into space, without a suit! Plus, in Kitchen Science, Dave shows you how to impale a potato using only a drinking straw!


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The biggest science experiment in the world - The Large Hadron Collider at CERN, will start on September 10th.  So this week we peer inside a proton and discover how the LHC works to help scientists in the search for antimatter and the elusive 'Higgs boson'.  Plus, we unlock the genetic key to a happy marriage, explore what giant clams can reveal about our ancestors and hear why bats silence themselves to avoid traffic jams.  Plus, in Kitchen Science, Ben and Dave get dizzy with the science of spinning!


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31st Aug 2008 - Science of the Seas

In a round up of interviews from around the world, we seek the science of the sea!  We find out how human actions affect the oceans, how a coral calendar could tell us millions of years of climate history, and how female hormones in the water can feminise fish.  We also find out how marine micro-organisms affect the atmosphere, and how the humble garden pond could fight climate change.  All this and in Kitchen Science, Ben and Dave have a unique tea party, to ask 'how useless is a chocolate teapot?'


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17th Aug 2008 - The Sounds of Science

The hunt for Bigfoot, how a beer or two can boost attractiveness and the brain basis of imagination go under the lens this week when Ben and Diana also meet the chemist-turned-rapper behind the contraceptive pill and the "Superheroes of Science" a concept album where science mixes with music. Plus, in an Olympic Kitchen Science, Ben and Dave tune in to a baseball bat's sweet spot...


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10th Aug 2008 - The Final Frontier

Diana and Ben take the bridge this week for a journey around the world and out into space, with a selection of the best science from the Naked Scientists worldwide travels.  We find out how planets form from stardust in just tens on millions of years, and how to use winks, wobbles and blips to find planets around distant stars.  We find out why the James Webb Space telescope must be very cool to pick up the hot infra-red radiation of deep space, and how the ExoMars rover could take us to previously unseen parts of Mars. Then we come back down to Earth with a bump (or should that be burp?) to discover the astronomical effort it takes to feed the population of the Olympic Village.  Plus, in Kitchen Science, Dave tries in his own unique way to get a bottle rocket into orbit!


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Science on the River - A Punt Down the Cam.  The river Cam runs through Cambridge, past the colleges that have been home to influential scientists for hundreds of years.  This week, we drift down the river, picking up key scientists as we go.  We discover how petals attract pollinators, how carbon sequestration could call a halt to climate change and how ketamine could help us find the root of schizophrenic delusions.  Also, we explore how evolved enzymes could make chemical reactions billions of times faster, and learn of the ultimate fate of the universe with Astronomer Royal, Professor Martin Rees.  Plus, in Kitchen Science we see how sunlight can start a fire and mirrors can cause explosions!


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It's an Extravaganza of Questions and Answers on the Naked Scientists this week as we take on your questions, including whether dogs can sniff out a seizure, what is fire made of, and how do glow in the dark objects work?  Also, we hear what an artificial tongue can tell us about speech production and the way to build superior voice recognition software, we rev up a system that can harness the waste heat in car exhaust to boost efficiency, find out how to flavour breast milk and hear why dolphins sing lullabies.  Plus, in Kitchen Science, Ben and Dave go for a drive with a helium filled balloon to uncover the basis of inertia!


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