http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/ Science Interviews from the Naked Scientists en Fri, 16 Dec 2011 03:57:09 +0000 http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/uploads/tx_naksciconfig/temp/NS_Interview_144.jpg http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/ 144 144 http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1902/ naksci_interview_1902_d/m/Y Tue, 13 Dec 2011 15:44:00 +0000 Given that people are increasingly using crowd source data in their research, are old style stats still up to the job? Arnoldo Frigessi explores... - Arnoldo Frigessi, University of Oslo in Norway Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1901/ naksci_interview_1901_d/m/Y Tue, 13 Dec 2011 14:40:57 +0000 Richard Hollingham investigates why ozone depletion sparked unanimous change around the World in 1987 and whether a similar feat could be achieved to fight Climate Change... - Jonathan Shanklin, British Antarctic Survey Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1900/ naksci_interview_1900_d/m/Y Tue, 13 Dec 2011 13:39:43 +0000 If we collect enough data about our behaviour, can we start to make models that can begin to reveal the hidden rules of how we behave? - Professor Steven Bishop, UCL Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1899/ naksci_interview_1899_d/m/Y Tue, 13 Dec 2011 12:49:59 +0000 Social scientists have been taking advantage of mobile phones and social networking sites to unobtrusively capture vast amounts of information in order to analyse our behaviour. We discuss how such tactics are deployed... - Dr Jason Rentfrow, Cambridge University Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1898/ naksci_interview_1898_d/m/Y Mon, 12 Dec 2011 12:49:49 +0000 Qualified London taxi drivers know their way around over 25,000 streets in the capital. And, if you scan their brains, you find that the structure called the hippocampus is much bigger than it is in the average non-taxi driver. But was it bigger to begin with, or did learning London like the backs of their hands trigger the cabbies brains to change? - Professor Eleanor Maguire, University College London Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1897/ naksci_interview_1897_d/m/Y Sun, 11 Dec 2011 18:44:16 +0000 Bed Bugs travelling from abroad, why night shifts increase a female's chance of diabetes and how to deter the unwanted affection of a fish... - Coby Schal, North Carolina State Universitys; An Pan, Harvard University; Safi Darden, Exeter University Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1889/ naksci_interview_1889_d/m/Y Tue, 6 Dec 2011 14:55:22 +0000 Welding up at metal pipe doesn't sound terribly tricky, but what about when it's 1 km underwater? Engineer Neil Woodward has pioneered a robotic underwater solution... - Neil Woodward, Isotek Oil and Gas Ltd, Cranfield University Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1888/ naksci_interview_1888_d/m/Y Tue, 6 Dec 2011 14:36:59 +0000 Sue Nelson is off in search of the disappearing European shag, which is a sea bird similar to a cormorant.... - Hannah Grist, University of Aberdeen Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1887/ naksci_interview_1887_d/m/Y Tue, 6 Dec 2011 13:52:15 +0000 Also this week - scientists in the US have developed a computer programme that can spot the degree to which photos have been digitally doctored... - Hany Farid, Dartmouth College Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1886/ naksci_interview_1886_d/m/Y Tue, 6 Dec 2011 13:17:06 +0000 Inland waterways can be extremely rich sources of archaeology, and the River Thames - which flows through the middle of London - is awash with history that erosion is now steadily revealing. A project called the Thames Discovery Programme monitors the foreshores, and Meera Senthilingam ventured out at low tide with archaeologist Elliot Wragg at a site in Greenwich, London.... - Elliott Wragg, Thames Discovery Programme Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1885/ naksci_interview_1885_d/m/Y Tue, 6 Dec 2011 12:42:56 +0000 Diving down beneath the waves to discover how archaeologists locate and recover treasure from old shipwrecks... - Dave Parham, University of Bournemouth Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1883/ naksci_interview_1883_d/m/Y Fri, 2 Dec 2011 17:16:29 +0000 How heading footballs could lead to brain injuries, a new target for drugs against Malaria and more evidence for the cleverness of corvids... - Andrew Tobin, University of Leicester; Michael Lipton, Einstein school of Medicine; Thomas Bugnyar, Max Planck School of Ornithology. Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1881/ naksci_interview_1881_d/m/Y Tue, 29 Nov 2011 13:17:08 +0000 Now most people will have seen a thermal camera - a special type of camera that can detect the far infrared radiation that's emitted by hot things. These are used by rescue workers to find injured people and also by the police to find hiding criminals. They're also incredibly useful in the world of non-destructive evaluation as the technique of thermography is great at seeing otherwise invisible defects in materials..... - Tony Dunhill, Rolls Royce and British Institute of Nondestructive testing Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1880/ naksci_interview_1880_d/m/Y Tue, 29 Nov 2011 12:18:08 +0000 We explore how invasive plant species can affect landscapes and indigenous wildlife... - Professor James Bullock, Wallingford's Centre for Ecology and Hydrology Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1879/ naksci_interview_1879_d/m/Y Tue, 29 Nov 2011 12:17:40 +0000 One technique which will probably be familiar with from medicine is sonography or imaging with sound. To find out how ultrasonic waves can help us see inside metal components, I met Bristol University's Professor Bruce Drinkwater... - Professor Bruce Drinkwater, Bristol University Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1878/ naksci_interview_1878_d/m/Y Tue, 29 Nov 2011 11:15:42 +0000 A new study has confirmed the long term benefits of taking statins to treat heart disease... - Richard Bulbulia, University of Oxford Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1877/ naksci_interview_1877_d/m/Y Tue, 29 Nov 2011 11:01:23 +0000 Changhuei Yang explains his design for a lensless microscope... - Professor Changhuei Yang, University of California Institute of Technology Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1876/ naksci_interview_1876_d/m/Y Tue, 29 Nov 2011 10:37:35 +0000 Abigail Woodfin discusses the uses of confocal microscopy in dynamic viewing of bodily functions... - Dr. Abigail Woodfin, Queen Mary University of London Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1875/ naksci_interview_1875_d/m/Y Fri, 25 Nov 2011 18:20:19 +0000 Lenses displaying emails before your eyes, flowing materials, stress on the mind and a night flowering orchid... - Babak Parviz, University of Washington; Erno Hermans, Donders Institute; Zhengwei Pan, University of Georgia; Andrew Shuiteman, Kew Gardens Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1874/ naksci_interview_1874_d/m/Y Tue, 22 Nov 2011 16:00:17 +0000 Looking at ways to reduce the cost of anti-venom... - Robert Harrison, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1873/ naksci_interview_1873_d/m/Y Mon, 21 Nov 2011 18:11:06 +0000 Denis Burdakov explains what happens when you have food on the brain... - Dr Denis Burdakov, Cambridge University Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1872/ naksci_interview_1872_d/m/Y Tue, 15 Nov 2011 18:07:08 +0000 - Dao Nguyen, McGill University; Devin Terhune, University of Oxford; David Julius, UCSF Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1871/ naksci_interview_1871_d/m/Y Tue, 15 Nov 2011 13:29:03 +0000 Ian Lipkin discusses the science behind the film Contagion which depicts the series of events that unfold with the outbreak of a new strain of flu... - Ian Lipkin, University of Columbia Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1870/ naksci_interview_1870_d/m/Y Tue, 15 Nov 2011 12:35:04 +0000 Richard Hollingham visits St. Brelade in Jersey to talk to a team of archaeologists who're reappraising the caves to learn more about the Islands Neanderthal history... - Matt Pope, University College London Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1869/ naksci_interview_1869_d/m/Y Tue, 15 Nov 2011 12:03:24 +0000 A new biotechnology company called Medicago have developed a technique for quickly and cheaply producing vaccines using tobacco plants. Genes from the flu virus are added to the plants using a bacterial Trojan horse and Professor Brian Ward from McGill University is the medical officer for Medicago and he told me how it works....... - Professor Brian Ward from McGill University Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1868/ naksci_interview_1868_d/m/Y Tue, 15 Nov 2011 11:18:53 +0000 As we enter "flu season" in the northern hemisphere, to help track the spread of seasonal flu here in the UK and throughout Europe, researchers at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine have launched an initiative called "flu survey". We spoke to Professor John Edmunds to find out more... - Professor John Edmunds , the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1865/ naksci_interview_1865_d/m/Y Tue, 15 Nov 2011 10:52:46 +0000 Looking at whether flu can trigger heart attacks in vulnerable people - Dr. Charlotte Warren-Gash from University College London Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1863/ naksci_interview_1863_d/m/Y Fri, 11 Nov 2011 15:35:32 +0000 A new target for Malaria vaccines, How seeing and paying attention to things uses separate parts of the brain and the world's smallest electric car... - Julian Rayner, Sanger Institute; Masataka Watanabe, University of Tokyo; Paul Weiss UCLA; Karen Williams, Staunton-on-Wye Endowed Primary School Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1855/ naksci_interview_1855_d/m/Y Tue, 8 Nov 2011 13:51:21 +0000 Madhusudan Srinivasan discusses a new target for cancer drugs - blocking the repair of DNA... - Madhusudan Srinivasan, University of Nottingham Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1854/ naksci_interview_1854_d/m/Y Tue, 8 Nov 2011 13:39:04 +0000 The science surrounding cancer is multifaceted. It involves clinicians, chemists, geneticists, and even physicists. The essential work of developing new treatments and clinical approaches is backed up by developments in imaging technology that allow us to detect and observe tumours with ever increasing fidelity... - Professor Martin Leach, Co-director of the CRUK and EPSRC Cancer Imaging Centre Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1853/ naksci_interview_1853_d/m/Y Tue, 8 Nov 2011 12:56:38 +0000 How stable is the West Antarctic ice sheet. It's one of the biggest questions in Climate Science. After all, if the ice itself melted then global sea levels could rise by between 3 and 5 metres, and that would be a catastrophe. To work out how stable the ice sheet has been in the past, scientists at the University of Exeter has been using a process known as cosmogenic isotope dating.... - Chris Fogwell, University of Exeter Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1852/ naksci_interview_1852_d/m/Y Tue, 8 Nov 2011 12:38:12 +0000 Professor Chris Marshall discusses research on the Ras pathway and his hopes for personalised medicine making it to the cancer clinic in the next decade. - Professor Chris Marshall from the Institute for Cancer Research in London Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1851/ naksci_interview_1851_d/m/Y Mon, 7 Nov 2011 15:53:49 +0000 Most cell types in our body are being constantly replenished, but we still get old. A sub population of cells are said to undergo senescence - chemical controls kick in and stop them from dividing to produce new cells. When we're young, these are then cleared out by the immune system, but as we age they start to build up in our tissues. Now, researchers at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester suggest that these cells may play an important role in diseases of old age... - Dr Jan van Deursen, Mayo Clinic Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1850/ naksci_interview_1850_d/m/Y Fri, 4 Nov 2011 17:21:55 +0000 This week's NewsFlash explores how smoking could pave the way for cocaine use, how our skin sees sunlight in order to protect us and the secret of being a roaring success... - Amir Levine, Columbia University; Amato Evans, Virginia University; Elena Oancea, Brown University; Sarah Klemuk, University of Utah Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1847/ naksci_interview_1847_d/m/Y Tue, 1 Nov 2011 15:51:10 +0000 Maria Limberis explores how respiratory disorders such as Cystic Fibrosis can be targeted by gene therapy... - Maria Limberis, University of Pennsylvania Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1846/ naksci_interview_1846_d/m/Y Tue, 1 Nov 2011 15:47:32 +0000 You'll remember, in the film Jurassic Park scientists manage to reconstruct dinosaurs from DNA preserved for tens of millions of years. Sadly for killer dinosaur fans, DNA doesn't appear to last that longbut it turns out that proteins do... - Roy Wogelius, University of Manchester Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1845/ naksci_interview_1845_d/m/Y Tue, 1 Nov 2011 15:40:41 +0000 Kathy High explains how changing the expression of genes can help treat diseases such as Haemophilia... - Kathy High, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1844/ naksci_interview_1844_d/m/Y Tue, 1 Nov 2011 15:13:37 +0000 Haemophilia is a disorder of blood clotting factors, leading to excessive bleeding in patients. To find out what it's like to live with the condition, Meera Senthilingam met Adam Jones... - Adam Jones, University of Sunderland Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1843/ naksci_interview_1843_d/m/Y Tue, 1 Nov 2011 14:15:40 +0000 Rob MacLaren explores how we can manipulate genes to restore vision in patients with inherited blindness... - Robert MacLaren, University of Oxford Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1842/ naksci_interview_1842_d/m/Y Tue, 1 Nov 2011 14:09:40 +0000 Iain McNeish discusses how adenoviruses could be used to find and kill cancerous cells within the body... - Iain McNeish, University College London Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1841/ naksci_interview_1841_d/m/Y Tue, 1 Nov 2011 14:03:58 +0000 Simon Waddington explains how you could use gene therapy to treat certain disorders as early as in the womb... - Simon Waddington, University College London Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1840/ naksci_interview_1840_d/m/Y Mon, 24 Oct 2011 15:42:32 +0000 Scientists have brought language and computer science to the kitchen to teach you a language whilst you're cooking your dinner... - Paul Seedhouse, Dan Jackson, Jurgen Wager; Newcastle University Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1839/ naksci_interview_1839_d/m/Y Fri, 21 Oct 2011 14:58:38 +0000 The opening of the World's first spaceport, improving IVF success with genetic screening, New hope for a Malaria Vaccine and how Giant Pandas survive on Bamboo... - Richard Branson, Virgin; Dagan Wells, University of Oxford; Tsiri Abunyega, Malaria Vaccine Initiative; Fuwen Wei, Chinese Academy of Sciences Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1838/ naksci_interview_1838_d/m/Y Tue, 18 Oct 2011 16:49:11 +0000 John Pickett discusses how plants can recruit insects to keep other pests at bay... - Professor John Pickett, Rothamsted Research Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1837/ naksci_interview_1837_d/m/Y Tue, 18 Oct 2011 16:37:45 +0000 Emily Seward takes you on a trip to find leaf miners...and they appear to be everywhere. - Emily Seward Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1836/ naksci_interview_1836_d/m/Y Tue, 18 Oct 2011 16:24:01 +0000 Chris Gilligan explains how mathematical models can be used to monitor the spread of plant disease... - Chris Gilligan, University of Cambridge Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1835/ naksci_interview_1835_d/m/Y Tue, 18 Oct 2011 15:08:35 +0000 Rob Marrs explains how 'thug' species could be more damaging to our environment than invasive plant species... - Rob Marrs, University of Liverpool Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1834/ naksci_interview_1834_d/m/Y Tue, 18 Oct 2011 14:46:55 +0000 A new technique to repair errors in DNA while leaving no trace has been reported in the journal Nature. The researchers have corrected an error that leads to an untreatable liver disease, and this technique could eventually lead to treatments for an extremely wide range of genetic illnesses... - Professor David Lomas, Cambridge Institute for Medical Research Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1833/ naksci_interview_1833_d/m/Y Tue, 11 Oct 2011 16:42:27 +0000 We find out why Vitamin D can keep Tuberculosis at bay, how muscles can be mimicked with nanotubes, how prosthetic can be controlled using brain signals and another reason to eat your greens... - Robert Modlin, UCLA; Andrew Schwartz, University of Pittsburgh; Ray Baughman, University of Dallas at Texas; Marc Vendhoen, Babraham Institute Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1832/ naksci_interview_1832_d/m/Y Tue, 11 Oct 2011 15:20:08 +0000 Hydrogen is a clean fuel, that can be produced in a number of clean ways. But how do we actually make use of it? Ben Valsler meets the brains behind Britain's first fuel cell powered passenger boat... - Jas Singh, Auriga Energy; Keith Dunstan, The Bristol Packet Company Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1831/ naksci_interview_1831_d/m/Y Tue, 11 Oct 2011 14:40:17 +0000 In the UK, we throw away over 7 million tonnes of food every year, the majority of which goes to landfill. But thanks to recent advances in microbial biotechnology, this waste could become a valuable future source of energy in the form of biohydrogen... - Dr. Mark Redwood from the University of Birmingham Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1830/ naksci_interview_1830_d/m/Y Tue, 11 Oct 2011 14:39:28 +0000 Could we soon be driving to work powered by algae? Emma Stoye discusses, with three Cambridge scientists, the potential for algae oils to be used as a fuel source. - Elena Kazamia, Jit Ern Chen and Dr. Nic Ross, Department of Plant Sciences, Cambridge University, Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1829/ naksci_interview_1829_d/m/Y Tue, 11 Oct 2011 13:04:22 +0000 Phytoplankton are the smallest organisms in the sea. Even so, these tiny little plants can be studied from space to provide clues on climate change and steer us away from eating sickly shellfish... - Peter Miller, Plymouth Marine Laboratory Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1826/ naksci_interview_1826_d/m/Y Mon, 10 Oct 2011 16:51:37 +0000 This week has seen the announcment of the 2011 Nobel Prizes, so we invited BBC science correspondent Victoria Gill to walk us through who got what, where and when, and why... - Victoria Gill, BBC Science Correspondent Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1824/ naksci_interview_1824_d/m/Y Fri, 7 Oct 2011 17:13:57 +0000 The opening a the largest ground telescope ever built, A probe planning a journey to the Sun and the revival of chivalry...in crickets. - Antonio Hales, ALMA; Matt Anderson, Harvard Medical School; Fabio Favata, European Space Agency; Migeul Nicolelis, Duke University; Rolando Rodriguez-Munoz, Exeter University Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1822/ naksci_interview_1822_d/m/Y Tue, 4 Oct 2011 13:39:30 +0000 Chris Hill and Martin Siegert tell Richard Holligham about the technology which will be used to drill through over 3km of ice and look for life in a hidden Antarctic lake in this week's Planet Earth podcast. - Chris Hill and Martin Siegert, University of Edinburgh Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1821/ naksci_interview_1821_d/m/Y Tue, 4 Oct 2011 10:07:20 +0000 An analysis of over half a billion tweets worldwide has confirmed that regardless of country or culture, we're all in a better mood in the morning. Scientists at Cornell University have analysed the messages posted on Twitter by 2.4 million people from 84 different countries to find out more... - Michael Macy, Cornell University Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1820/ naksci_interview_1820_d/m/Y Fri, 30 Sep 2011 13:12:36 +0000 In this week's news roundup we discuss Chinese Space Stations, the Dead Sea Scrolls going online, using CO2 to generate fuel and encrypting messages with glowing bacteria... - Anu Ohja, National Space Centre; Geza Vermes, University of Oxford; Rich Masel, Dioxide Materials; Michel Lucas, Harvard School of Public Health; David Walts, Tufts University; Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1819/ naksci_interview_1819_d/m/Y Tue, 27 Sep 2011 13:46:45 +0000 Successfully decoding and reconstructing of the visual images experienced by volunteers viewing a sequence of Hollywood movies may lead to communication with brain injured patients and even being able to watch your own dreams like a video... - Jack Gallant, University of California, Berkeley Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1818/ naksci_interview_1818_d/m/Y Tue, 27 Sep 2011 11:21:31 +0000 When Turner and Constable first painted Stonehenge about two hundred years ago, the very famous monument was surrounded by species rich chalk grasslands. The Stonehenge Landscape Restoration project aims is to restore the landscape surrounding the monument by recreating the chalk grasslands and reintroducing biodiversity to the area... - Chris Gingell, Grace Triston-Davies Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1817/ naksci_interview_1817_d/m/Y Tue, 27 Sep 2011 09:53:51 +0000 The science of cake baking... - Amy Chesterton, Cambridge University Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1816/ naksci_interview_1816_d/m/Y Tue, 27 Sep 2011 09:04:16 +0000 What are the risks of food? Are 'best before' dates actually useful? - Dr Nick Brown, Addenbrookes Hospital Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1815/ naksci_interview_1815_d/m/Y Tue, 27 Sep 2011 08:56:13 +0000 Professor Martin Adams talks through how cheddar and stilton cheeses are made. - Martin Adams, University of Surrey Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1806/ naksci_interview_1806_d/m/Y Fri, 23 Sep 2011 15:29:55 +0000 A roundup of the week's science news including neutrinos moving faster than light, anti-virals from sharks, limitless Hydrogen supplies and the benefits of female promiscuity... - James Gillies, CERN; Michael Zasloff, Georgetown University; Bruce Logan, Pennsylvania State University; Matthew Gage, University of East Anglia Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1805/ naksci_interview_1805_d/m/Y Tue, 20 Sep 2011 13:12:25 +0000 The CEO of Camfridge, Neil Wilson, explains new refrigeration technology which could double the efficiency of household fridges. - Neil Wilson, Camfridge Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1804/ naksci_interview_1804_d/m/Y Tue, 20 Sep 2011 12:23:34 +0000 Salmon numbers in the UK have been falling since the 1970s. This isn't down to overfishing, so scientists are trying to find out why. However, salmon are pretty tricky to follow. Their life cycle takes them from rivers into the open oceans, and then back again to rivers to breed. Now, a new technique that uses samples of the fish's scales could change all that. - Dr Clive Trueman & Dr Kirsteen MacKenzie, University of Southampton Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1803/ naksci_interview_1803_d/m/Y Tue, 20 Sep 2011 11:08:43 +0000 Freezing is a great way to slow down chemical reactions and this is why we use a freezer to stop food going off and why organs that are going to be transplanted are kept cold. Freezing can do serious damage to biological tissues, but some organisms have evolved very clever chemical ways around this. Lorna Dougan is biophysicist at Leeds University who's been trying to figure out how this works. - Lorna Dougan, University of Leeds Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1802/ naksci_interview_1802_d/m/Y Tue, 20 Sep 2011 10:38:18 +0000 New advances in preserving organs so that they are healthy for transplantation... - Barry Fuller, UCL Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1801/ naksci_interview_1801_d/m/Y Mon, 19 Sep 2011 11:04:27 +0000 Prehistoric marine monsters, human tissue, aircraft wings and even fossilised crocodile dung are yielding their innermost secrets to a unique new X-ray Imaging Centre. - Professor Ian Sinclair, University of Southampton Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1800/ naksci_interview_1800_d/m/Y Fri, 16 Sep 2011 15:09:47 +0000 A round up the week's science news including the planting of vaccines, lie detection, elements at risk and testosterone levels in fathers... - Brian Ward, McGill University; Frances Wall, University of Exeter; Prashant Pillai, University of Bradford; Hassan Yugail, University of Bradford; Christopher Kuzawa, Northwestern University. Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1799/ naksci_interview_1799_d/m/Y Tue, 13 Sep 2011 13:39:20 +0000 Paul Calleja explains the workings and uses of the Cambridge University High Performance Computing Resource Cluster named 'Darwin'... - Paul Calleja, University of Cambridge Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1798/ naksci_interview_1798_d/m/Y Tue, 13 Sep 2011 12:48:39 +0000 Supercomputers are, as the name suggests, extremely powerful computing devices. They are used to model extremely complicated systems such as the weather as well as for high precision simulations and complex calculations required in quantum physics. So that might be molecular modelling, it might even be predicting revolutions and many, many more things. Chris Maynard from the EPCC explains more... - Chris Maynard, Edinburgh Parallel Computing Centre Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1797/ naksci_interview_1797_d/m/Y Tue, 13 Sep 2011 12:47:43 +0000 Joe Jasinski explains the workings of the World Community Grid and this supercomputer hopes to benefit benefit humankind... - Joe Jasinski, IBM Research Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1796/ naksci_interview_1796_d/m/Y Tue, 13 Sep 2011 11:41:57 +0000 Over the last few years there have been various government schemes here in the UK to pay farmers to plant live grass strips around the edges of fields of crops. The idea is to encourage wildlife but research suggests they might be better off planting wild flowers... - Robin Blake, University of Reading & Mark Robbins Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1795/ naksci_interview_1795_d/m/Y Mon, 12 Sep 2011 17:22:18 +0000 Researchers in Cambridge have created mammalian stem cells that only contain a single set of chromosomes. Most mammalian cells are diploid - they contain two copies of each chromosome. This is a complication for cell biologists and geneticists, hoping to study the function of individual genes... - Anton Wutz, Cambridge University Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1794/ naksci_interview_1794_d/m/Y Fri, 9 Sep 2011 16:45:28 +0000 Socialising to lose weight, polymers for probiotics, the never-ageing plant and picturing Moon landings... - Matthew During, Ohio state University, Iza Radeska, University of Wolverhampton, Johan Erlean, Stockholm University, Mark Robinson, NASA Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1790/ naksci_interview_1790_d/m/Y Tue, 6 Sep 2011 12:57:54 +0000 Richard Hollingham explores the process of carbon capture and utilisation where the carbon removed from our atmosphere could be turned into bricks and mortar... - Anthony Benham, Marco Drea, Mercedes Maroto-Valer, University of Nottingham Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1789/ naksci_interview_1789_d/m/Y Tue, 6 Sep 2011 12:44:30 +0000 Dr. Matt Mountain explains the design of the James Webb Telescope and how infra-red will be used to study the very first galaxies that ever formed... - Dr. Matt Mountain, Space Telescope Science Institute Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1788/ naksci_interview_1788_d/m/Y Mon, 5 Sep 2011 15:10:38 +0000 How dead dinosaurs fertilise forests, why mobile phones answer the call in emergencies, a DNA trip-switch for cancer and a Star Trek style "sick bay" beams down to Leicester Royal Infirmary... - Naked Scientists NewsFlash! Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1787/ naksci_interview_1787_d/m/Y Mon, 5 Sep 2011 14:18:03 +0000 Probiotics, the "friendly" bacteria, seem to have the potential to treat anxiety and depression related disorders due to the effects they have on brain activity... - Professor Paul Forsythe, McMaster University Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1786/ naksci_interview_1786_d/m/Y Tue, 30 Aug 2011 13:35:36 +0000 Are all genes made equal? In other words, do the protein recipes that they encode all get turned out at the same rate? Surprisingly, the answer is no. With the help of a mathematician, molecular biologist Ian Stansfield is trying to find out why. - Ian Stansfield & Mamen Romano, University of Aberdeen Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1785/ naksci_interview_1785_d/m/Y Tue, 30 Aug 2011 13:28:39 +0000 It's 50 years this year since the drug thalidomide was withdrawn from sale after it was linked to birth defects but Neil Vargesson has been trying to find out how it works in order to produce a safer version... - Dr Neil Vargesson Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1784/ naksci_interview_1784_d/m/Y Tue, 30 Aug 2011 13:23:03 +0000 On the subject of limbs, and how they can go wrong... - Martin Collinson Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1783/ naksci_interview_1783_d/m/Y Tue, 30 Aug 2011 13:12:02 +0000 Fungal infections can be deadly, but who would have guessed that yeasts have better directional sense than many humans? Dr Alex Brand has been investigating the directional growth of yeast cells using microscopic obstacles and electric fields. - Dr. Alex Brand, University of Aberdeen Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1782/ naksci_interview_1782_d/m/Y Tue, 30 Aug 2011 12:40:18 +0000 It's known that a deficiency or an excess of vitamin A, otherwise known as retinol, and its derivative retinoic acid can affect the birth of new nerve cells, but is this true in adults too? Chris Smith spoke to Peter McCaffery - Professor Peter McCaffery, University of Aberdeen Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1781/ naksci_interview_1781_d/m/Y Tue, 30 Aug 2011 12:05:15 +0000 Pharmacologist Professor Ruth Ross has successfully weeded out some promising chemicals from the marijuana plant... - Professor Ruth Ross, Aberdeen University Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1780/ naksci_interview_1780_d/m/Y Tue, 30 Aug 2011 11:52:55 +0000 Alan Jamieson and his team have been tackling the task of exploring the ocean's deepest points, hadal regions, named after the greek underworld Hades... - Alan Jamieson, University of Aberdeen Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1779/ naksci_interview_1779_d/m/Y Tue, 30 Aug 2011 11:35:56 +0000 If you shop online, you probably increasingly find yourself relying on the reviews other purchasers have posted for some products, but how do you know who to believe? Thankfully, Computer Scientist Chris Burnett is online and on the case... - Dr. Chris Burnett, University of Aberdeen Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1778/ naksci_interview_1778_d/m/Y Tue, 30 Aug 2011 11:18:11 +0000 We're often looking to nature for inspiration and novel ways to treat disease. But to take chemicals from the sea bed to the bed side, Marcel Jaspers is looking deep into the ocean... - Professor Marcel Jaspers, Marine Biodiscovery Centre, Aberdeen University Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1777/ naksci_interview_1777_d/m/Y Tue, 23 Aug 2011 16:06:19 +0000 Current estimates suggest that there are over half a million people airborne around the planet at any moment in time. inevitably, some of the aircraft carrying those people will be passing through clouds and recently, researchers have shown that this can cause a very strange phenomenon to occur... - Andy Heymsfield, National Center for Atmospheric Research Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1776/ naksci_interview_1776_d/m/Y Tue, 23 Aug 2011 15:48:50 +0000 As air traffic grows, the noise of aircraft is becoming an increasingly important problem. To find out what manufacturers are doing to solve the problem, Ben Valsler has been to speak to Rolls Royce's Senior Project Engineer for Noise, Joe Walsh, and their Chief Noise Specialist, Andrew Kempton... - Andrew Kempton & Joe Walsh, Rolls Royce Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1775/ naksci_interview_1775_d/m/Y Mon, 22 Aug 2011 17:00:25 +0000 Carbon capture and storage has been seen by the government as an important way to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. The idea is that you capture carbon dioxide emissions from industry and then you lock the gas away underground inside rocks out of harm. But what actually happens to the carbon dioxide once it's down underground? - Keith Bateman, Caroline Graham, Chris Rochelle; British Geological Society Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1774/ naksci_interview_1774_d/m/Y Mon, 22 Aug 2011 15:26:00 +0000 Duchenne muscular dystrophy, or DMD, is a genetic condition in which sufferers lack the ability to produce dystrophin - an essential structural protein in muscles. The size of the dystrophin gene precludes existing gene therapy techniques, but researchers in Italy could achieve the same using artificial chromosomes... - Giulio Cossu, University of Milan Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1773/ naksci_interview_1773_d/m/Y Mon, 15 Aug 2011 13:25:48 +0000 How do manufacturers make chemicals on seriously large industrial scales? We sent Meera Senthilingam and Dave Ansell to find out - David Compton, Industrial Chemicals Ltd Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1772/ naksci_interview_1772_d/m/Y Mon, 15 Aug 2011 13:06:00 +0000 A new global initiative called the Earth Microbiome Project plans to build up a genetic picture of the billions of bacteria that inhabit every corner of the Earth and to find out how they fit into Earth's ecosystems. Planet Earth Podcast reporter Tim Hirsch has been talking to some of the scientists involved... - Tim Hirsch Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1771/ naksci_interview_1771_d/m/Y Mon, 15 Aug 2011 11:33:43 +0000 In order to design useful new compounds, we need to know exactly what structure any new chemical will take. Computer models, combined with more traditional crystallography, are leading the way in predicting how any given molecule will arrange itself... - Dr Graeme Day, Cambridge University Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1770/ naksci_interview_1770_d/m/Y Mon, 15 Aug 2011 10:54:56 +0000 One of the most important chemical players in nature is the protein. The structure of a protein gives it specific chemical and mechanical properties. Predicting the structures of proteins could allow us to design brand new proteins and enzyems, to help catalyse a range of reactions. One man making significant headway in this direction is Professor David Baker from the University of Washington - Professor David Baker, University of Washington Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1769/ naksci_interview_1769_d/m/Y Mon, 15 Aug 2011 10:38:11 +0000 How can we generate hydrogen quickly and efficiently? Nature has its own way to do this using enzymes called hydrogenases - but now, by taking a leaf out of Nature's book and then improving upon it, researchers have developed a catalyst that works ten times faster than the biological equivalent... - Dr Morris Bullock, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1768/ naksci_interview_1768_d/m/Y Tue, 9 Aug 2011 12:32:49 +0000 Water sports - surfing, body boarding, kite surfing, etc have all become increasingly popular in recent years, but the number of people who are getting into trouble in the water has correspondingly also gone up. Now a group of surfers and scientists are trying to understand the processes of rip currents so that we can make beaches safer places to be... - Dicken Berrimen, RNLI; Tim Scott, & Paul Russell, University of Plymouth Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1767/ naksci_interview_1767_d/m/Y Mon, 8 Aug 2011 16:29:27 +0000 How do blood thirsty vampire bats home in on the best place to bite and therefore guarantee achieving a trouble-free feed? Well the answer is that they've evolved their own built-in infrared detectors to pinpoint where the best blood vessels are... - Professor David Julius, University of California, San Francisco Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1766/ naksci_interview_1766_d/m/Y Tue, 2 Aug 2011 11:55:53 +0000 Over the past year, we've met up with lots of marine experts to talk about their work. To delve a little bit deeper into their devotion to the oceans, we asked them to tell us: if they were a marine critter, which one would they be and why? We have some really great answers and here are some of the highlights... - Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1765/ naksci_interview_1765_d/m/Y Tue, 2 Aug 2011 11:47:27 +0000 A major landmark in ocean science was reached in October 2010 with the completion of the world's first Census of Marine Life. It was 10 years in the making, involved hundreds of scientists all across the globe who joined forces to take on the enormous challenge of discovering as much as possible about the abundance, diversity, and distribution of life in the oceans... - Jesse Ausubel, the Sloan Foundation; Sylvia Earle Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1764/ naksci_interview_1764_d/m/Y Tue, 19 Jul 2011 11:48:15 +0000 We explore how carbon dates can be statistically analysed in order to look at prehistoric England and causewayed enclosures... - Alex Bayliss, English Heritage Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1759/ naksci_interview_1759_d/m/Y Thu, 7 Jul 2011 13:21:20 +0000 How do jet engines actually work? One simple way to think about it is Suck, Squeeze, Bang, Blow. The engine sucks air in the front, compresses it, adds fuel which burns, expands and is blown out of the back, producing thrust and pushing the plane along... - Professor Jim Wickerson, Rolls Royce Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1758/ naksci_interview_1758_d/m/Y Thu, 7 Jul 2011 11:36:56 +0000 How should astronomers go about communicating their work? Mark Thompson is President of Norwich Astronomical Society, a regular on the BBC's The One Show, and recently was one of the team, alongside professor Brian Cox and Comedian Dara o'Briain on "Stargazing Live!" At this year's National Astronomy Meeting, he took his presenting skills to a new audience - astronomy academics - Mark Thompson, President of Norwich Astronomical Society Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1757/ naksci_interview_1757_d/m/Y Thu, 7 Jul 2011 11:34:57 +0000 Climatologists and geologists have developed a number of ways to estimate the temperature on Earth going back a very long way in Earth's history - but astronomers would like to know the historic temperature of the entire universe - going back more than 13 billion years. George Becker, a fellow at the Kavli Institute for Cosmology, uses the light from Quasars to read off the climatological history of the universe... - George Becker, Kavli Institute for Cosmology Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1756/ naksci_interview_1756_d/m/Y Thu, 7 Jul 2011 11:33:26 +0000 What would our solar system look like to extra-solar observers? Dr Chris Stark, from the Carnigie Institute in Washington, has been trying to find out... - Chris Stark, Carnigie Institute Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1755/ naksci_interview_1755_d/m/Y Thu, 7 Jul 2011 11:32:21 +0000 Should we ever want to visit our astronomical neighbours, we will first need to get over a lot of technological, physiological and psychological challenges. To find out how a long mission isolated from Earth would affect astronauts, Mars 500 invited a number of volunteers to simulate the experience from a specially designed facility in Russia. Peter Graef, from the German Space Agency, explains why - Peter Graef, German Space Agency Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1754/ naksci_interview_1754_d/m/Y Thu, 7 Jul 2011 11:31:42 +0000 How do we spot planets in the glare of their parent star? Ben Oppenheimer is associate curator of astrophysics at the American Museum of Natural History, and he studies exoplanets and a type of 'failed star' called brown dwarfs... - Ben Oppenheimer, Associate Curator of Astrophysics at the American Museum of Natural History Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1753/ naksci_interview_1753_d/m/Y Tue, 5 Jul 2011 15:55:50 +0000 Hugh Hunts explains what needs to be considered when designing a bomb to bounce across water.... - Professor Hugh Hunt & Hilary Costello, University of Cambridge Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1752/ naksci_interview_1752_d/m/Y Mon, 27 Jun 2011 13:47:15 +0000 Looking for new ways to interfere with pain... - Professor John Wood, University College London Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1751/ naksci_interview_1751_d/m/Y Mon, 27 Jun 2011 13:30:01 +0000 We find out why some people suffer pain from injuries that took place many years ago... - Dr Mike Bailey, Pain Management Unit at Ipswich Hospital Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1750/ naksci_interview_1750_d/m/Y Mon, 27 Jun 2011 12:23:27 +0000 How do cuckoos fool their hosts... - Professor Nick Davies, University of Cambridge Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1749/ naksci_interview_1749_d/m/Y Mon, 27 Jun 2011 12:10:21 +0000 We explore how to detect damage and deterioration in bridges and other structures to keep them lasting longer... - Dr. Elena Barton, National Physical Laboratory Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1744/ naksci_interview_1744_d/m/Y Wed, 22 Jun 2011 16:38:54 +0000 Flock Flying Tires Pigeons - Dr Jim Usherwood, Royal Veterinary College Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1743/ naksci_interview_1743_d/m/Y Mon, 20 Jun 2011 15:08:40 +0000 This week we are in Cambridge's Museum of Technology to explore the engineering of an iconic bit of coal-fired power - the steam engine... - David Gates, Cambridge Museum of Technology Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1742/ naksci_interview_1742_d/m/Y Mon, 20 Jun 2011 15:05:55 +0000 Skyonic have developed "Skymine", a system that not only extracts CO2 but actually turns it into something they can sell! - Joe Jones, Skyonic, Texas Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1741/ naksci_interview_1741_d/m/Y Mon, 20 Jun 2011 15:03:44 +0000 Underground coal gasification is a way to get useful fuel from otherwise inaccessible coal seams that are simply un-economical to mine. - Dermot Roddy, University of Newcastle Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1740/ naksci_interview_1740_d/m/Y Mon, 20 Jun 2011 14:50:39 +0000 Radiocarbon dating is an extremely accurate and useful tool to date archaeological finds which contain any previously living material. - Tom Higham, Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1739/ naksci_interview_1739_d/m/Y Mon, 20 Jun 2011 14:29:03 +0000 The Square Kilometre Array, or SKA, should help us to answer some of the big outstanding questions about our universe. It will either be located in Australia or South Africa. Bernie Fanaroff, project manager for the South African SKA bid, met up with Chris Smith - Bernie Fanaroff, Project Manager of the SKA in South Africa Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1727/ naksci_interview_1727_d/m/Y Mon, 13 Jun 2011 14:46:00 +0000 Harnessing bacteria often involves growing them in large tanks called fermenters or bioreactors; but how do you make sure that the concentration of foodstuffs in every part of that tank is just right for the bugs to flourish and there are no "chemical corners" in which waste can accumulate... - Martina Micheletti, University College London Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1726/ naksci_interview_1726_d/m/Y Mon, 13 Jun 2011 14:39:00 +0000 Australian researchers - Rob Warren and Barry Marshall - won the Nobel Prize for their discovery in the 1980s of the bacterium Helicobacter pylori, which causes ulcers and stomach cancer in some of the people who carry it... - Barry Marshall, QE2 Medical Centre in Perth Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1725/ naksci_interview_1725_d/m/Y Mon, 13 Jun 2011 14:33:11 +0000 We're familiar with the idea of friendly bacteria, and foods, drinks and supplements that promote healthy gut flora are found in all supermarkets. But how friendly are these microorganisms, and what do they actually do? - Dr. Karen Scott, Aberdeen University Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1724/ naksci_interview_1724_d/m/Y Mon, 13 Jun 2011 14:26:11 +0000 Small particles released by tree leaves can cause brighter whiter clouds to form above forests, altering our climate... - Catherine Scott, University of Leeds' Institute of Climate and Atmospheric Science Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1723/ naksci_interview_1723_d/m/Y Mon, 13 Jun 2011 14:13:41 +0000 Paul Riley explains how stem cells in the adult heart can be triggered to produce new muscle cells when the heart is damaged... - Paul Riley, University College London Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1719/ naksci_interview_1719_d/m/Y Thu, 9 Jun 2011 17:14:28 +0000 Hearing aids work on the general one-size-fits-all principle that if you are finding it hard to hear something you simply turn the volume up. Now unique computer modelling techniques, combined with new ways of carrying out hearing tests, are revolutionising the way that hearing loss and impairment is diagnosed and treated... - Professor Ray Meddis, University of Essex Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1718/ naksci_interview_1718_d/m/Y Mon, 6 Jun 2011 15:29:46 +0000 Although it's a popular conversation topic - it's very tricky to predict the English weather. But what about if you wanted to predict the weather in space? - Dr Richard Horne, British Antarctic Survey and David Wade, Atrium Insurance Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1717/ naksci_interview_1717_d/m/Y Mon, 6 Jun 2011 15:28:56 +0000 Computer scientists at Cambridge University have come up with a way to make mobile phones work more intuitively in future... - Daniel Wagner, Cambridge University Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1716/ naksci_interview_1716_d/m/Y Mon, 6 Jun 2011 15:28:19 +0000 It is a proven fact that if you elevate the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere this will have the effect of acidifying the sea, because carbon dioxide when it dissolves forms carbonic acid. This acidification can change the way that fish react to the world around them... - Dr Steve Simpson, Bristol University Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1715/ naksci_interview_1715_d/m/Y Tue, 31 May 2011 14:42:23 +0000 If you've been on a flight recently, then there's a very high likelihood that you were carried aloft by a jet engine. These work by compressing air and squirting in fuel which then burns, expands, and generates thrust. But this also creates one of the harshest imaginable environments inside the engine. To withstand this takes specialist superalloy components which are produced with a very high precision and to find out how they're being made, Ben Valsler has been to the casting facility of one of the world's top jet engine manufactures, Rolls Royce in Derby... - Paul Withey, Casting Specialist for Rolls Royce Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1714/ naksci_interview_1714_d/m/Y Tue, 31 May 2011 13:25:33 +0000 We humans have been moulding metal to our will for at least 3,000 years. In fact, our use of metals mark the beginning of the aptly named Bronze Age. These days we fine tune the properties of metals to perform in extreme circumstances - inside nuclear reactors, jet engines, rockets, et cetera. To find the right combination of properties, we rely on metallurgists like Howard Stone at Cambridge University's Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy... - Howard Stone, Cambridge University Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1713/ naksci_interview_1713_d/m/Y Tue, 31 May 2011 12:30:07 +0000 Earth observation from satellites is an extremely important way of examining everything from glaciers to tree cover in the Amazon. But sometimes, satellite measurements aren't quite enough. Planet Earth podcast presenter Sue Nelson met members of the Natural Environment Research Council's Airborne Research and Survey Facility... - David Davis, James Johnson and Carl Joseph from the NERC Airborne Research and Survey Facility Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1712/ naksci_interview_1712_d/m/Y Tue, 31 May 2011 12:01:55 +0000 What happens at a molecular level as a blacksmith works on a piece of metal? To find out, Meera took metallurgist John Aveson to meet Gordon Bevan, a blacksmith in Eltisley in Cambridgeshire... - John Aveson, Cambridge University; Gordon Bevan, blacksmith in Eltisley. Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1711/ naksci_interview_1711_d/m/Y Tue, 31 May 2011 11:20:50 +0000 What is round and measures 1 billionth of a millimetre across? Yes, you guessed it, it's the electron. Theories have predicted that these particles should be spheres, but proving this has been tricky. Now after 10 years of trying, a team at Imperial College London have succeeded... - Jony Hudson, Imperial College London Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1703/ naksci_interview_1703_d/m/Y Tue, 24 May 2011 16:23:44 +0000 Allergic conditions were virtually unheard of before the 19th century, and this has led some people to suggest that leading an overly hygienic life may increase the tendency for the immune system to react to things that it would normally ignore. To tell us more, Professor Rick Maizels from Edinburgh University is with us - Professor Rick Maizels, Edinburgh University Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1702/ naksci_interview_1702_d/m/Y Tue, 24 May 2011 16:18:38 +0000 We explore how filters can be designed to provide a breath of truly clean air... - Chloe Agg, WPS-CEL Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1701/ naksci_interview_1701_d/m/Y Tue, 24 May 2011 14:59:07 +0000 Food allergies are relatively common - figures from the US suggest that up to 8% of young children and 3.7% of adults are affected. In many cases it's little more than a nuisance, but for some, exposure can be fatal. Dr Pamela Ewan joins us from Addenbrooke's hospital, where they've been developing a way to treat peanut allergy sufferers - Dr Pamela Ewan, Addenbrookes Hospital Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1700/ naksci_interview_1700_d/m/Y Tue, 24 May 2011 14:23:40 +0000 In April 2010, a previously dormant volcano in Iceland released a massive ash cloud that closed most Europe's air space and disrupted millions of people's travel plans. Planet Earth podcast presenter Sue Nelson was one of those people stranded abroad, so she welcomed the chance to meet Oxford University's Professor David Pyle for whom this cloud had an academic silver lining... - Professor David Pyle, Oxford University Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1699/ naksci_interview_1699_d/m/Y Tue, 24 May 2011 12:32:17 +0000 UK scientists have made big step forward in the field of organ transplantation. King's College researcher Robert Lechler and his colleagues have found a way to purify a rare population of immune cells called T-regs, short for regulatory T-cells, which help to switch off immune responses against donor organs that could help to reduce the risk of rejection. - Professor Robert Lechler, King's College London Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1690/ naksci_interview_1690_d/m/Y Mon, 16 May 2011 10:55:15 +0000 Wading into a river and digging until you get to the slime, soil, dirt and other matter at the bottom may not be everyone's idea of a good day out - but, in the right hands, a core of river sediment can become an eye-opening time machine into the past... - Chris Vane, British Geological Survey Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1689/ naksci_interview_1689_d/m/Y Mon, 16 May 2011 10:32:55 +0000 Fish have developed an extremely efficient way of locomotion, so researchers are trying to emulate fish for novel ways of monitoring the oceans... - Professor Hueosheng Hu, University of Essex Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1688/ naksci_interview_1688_d/m/Y Mon, 16 May 2011 10:27:07 +0000 Aquaculture isn't restricted to the oceans - many aquatic organisms can actually be farmed on land. This is potentially good news for reducing the environmental impacts of aquaculture because all the byproducts can be contained, including large amounts of solid waste and enriched salty water. But how do you dispose of a whole lot of fish poo without harming the environment? - Dr Kevan Main, Mote Marine Laboratory, Florida Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1687/ naksci_interview_1687_d/m/Y Mon, 16 May 2011 09:59:34 +0000 Using lasers and over 100,000 hours of computing time, researchers have exposed the previously unknown molecular shape of epidermal growth factor receptors, EGFRs, which are known to be involved in the development of cancer... - Dr Marisa Martin-Fernandez; STFC's Central Laser Facility & Dr Martyn Winn; Computational Science and Engineering Department Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1686/ naksci_interview_1686_d/m/Y Mon, 16 May 2011 09:55:25 +0000 If you've been shopping for a fish supper lately you've almost certainly been offered both farmed and wild fish. Fish farms are found all over the world, and can be a really good way of reducing reliance on wild stock, but there are also some very real environmental concerns.... - Dr Kenny Black, Scottish Association for Marine Science Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1683/ naksci_interview_1683_d/m/Y Mon, 9 May 2011 10:48:32 +0000 If you live in an old or historical building then you're also probably aware that there can be downsides too. Sometimes all the features that make a building beautiful contribute to it being a cold and draughty dwelling. So how do you make buildings that are hundreds of years old energy efficient - without tearing them down and starting all over again? - Professor Bob Lowe, UK Energy Research Centre Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1682/ naksci_interview_1682_d/m/Y Mon, 9 May 2011 10:41:05 +0000 A new study sheds more light on how the brain responds to its first ever whiff of nicotine. By looking at activity in the brain tissue of a rat as it's exposed to nicotine for the very first time, Professor Daniel McGehee, at the University of Chicago, can help to understand how exposure to an addictive drug causes changes in the brain - Professor Daniel McGehee, University of Chicago Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1681/ naksci_interview_1681_d/m/Y Tue, 3 May 2011 16:50:52 +0000 What happens if someone loses a body part? Can an artificial replacement be wired back up to the brain so it can be controlled? Todd Kuiken is pioneering this approach at the University of Chicago and Chris met up with him, together with his patient Glen Lehman, and surgeon Martin Baechler... - Dr Martin Baechler, Dr Todd Kuiken (Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago), Glen Lehman Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1680/ naksci_interview_1680_d/m/Y Tue, 3 May 2011 16:40:02 +0000 New research simulates battery designs on a computer to try and predict what the next breakthrough might be. - Kristin Persson, the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California. Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1679/ naksci_interview_1679_d/m/Y Tue, 3 May 2011 16:28:50 +0000 New materials known as 'microcapsules' are being used to extend the life-span of batteries.... - Scott White, University of Illinois Naked Science Interviews http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1678/ naksci_interview_1678_d/m/Y Tue, 3 May 2011 16:18:57 +0000 Life needs accessible nitrogen - but for over 100 years we've known that the amount of nitrogen available may not be enough. Professor Jim Galloway explains why fertilising soil may cause more problems than it solves... - Professor James Galloway, University of Virginia Naked Science Interviews