Synopsis
The Naked Scientists flagship science show brings you a lighthearted look at the latest scientific breakthroughs, interviews with the world's top scientists, answers to your science questions and science experiments to try at home.
Episodes
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COP28, Swine flu in the UK, and Bennu samples arrive
01/12/2023 Duration: 30minIn this week's news pod, we preview the COP28 climate summit with Richard Black and get the latest on a confirmed case of a new strain of swine flu in the UK. Also, we speak to the researcher discovering the capacity for language learning in babies yet to be born, and hear from a scientist who has finally got their hands on a sample from the Bennu asteroid... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
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Jet engines, hearts, and planets: the world of digital twins
28/11/2023 Duration: 28minIn this episode of The Naked Scientists, we'll be taking a closer look at digital twins. What are they, and could they be the future of engineering, healthcare, and climate science? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
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COVID inquiry revelations, and red wine headaches
24/11/2023 Duration: 38minThis week on The Naked Scientists, A damning indictment of our politicians' grasp of science emerges from the Covid Inquiry. Also, we'll ask who is behind the high-profile cyber hacks on the British Library. And, how researchers got to the bottom of why some of us get red-wine headaches? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
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Spinal stimuli and good vibrations: All about Parkinson's
21/11/2023 Duration: 35minThis week - following the revelation that a man with debilitating Parkinson's Disease has been helped to walk again with a special implant that stimulates nerves in his spinal cord - that's what we're going to look at in this half hour. We'll be hearing from the surgeon who performed the operation, and other experts seeking to understand more about the condition... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
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Chickenpox and weather bots
17/11/2023 Duration: 30minThis week on the Naked Scientists; why, after many years, chickenpox vaccines for children finally look set to become the norm in the UK. Also, will artificial intelligence beat our weather forecasters? And can comets seed the biological building blocks of life to planets like Earth? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
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Selective breeding: designing dogs, and conserving tigers
14/11/2023 Duration: 29minThis week, we're taking a look at the genetics of selective breeding, how it might be dooming certain breeds of dog but saving certain endangered species. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
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Breast cancer drug breakthrough, and hibernating hedgehogs
10/11/2023 Duration: 34minIn this edition of The Naked Scientists, the drug called Anastrozole can help prevent thousands of cases of breast cancer among older women: but at what cost? Also, climate change expert Mark Maslin on what we need to know about the forthcoming COP28 summit kicking off soon in Dubai. And, how the UK's hedgehogs have been going through a rough patch... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
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Faeces and phages: Moulding the microbiome
07/11/2023 Duration: 31minToday, we're helping you to get to know your microbiome, and hearing why a better understanding of it viewed by some as the next frontier in helping us to live longer, healthier lives. First, we explore the co-evolution of man and microbe, and the suite of modern techniques helping to clear up the remaining mysteries of the intestines. And, later on, how medicine is mobilsing the microbiome to ward of antibiotic resistant bacteria using faecal transplants and 'good' viruses... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
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Flu vaccinations, and calls for AI regulation
03/11/2023 Duration: 34minAs flu season starts to bite the Northern Hemisphere, we look into the efforts to develop the most effective vaccines. Also, an AI expert reviews the recent Safety Summit hosted at Bletchley Park, how chimps are demonstrating human battle tactics, why cockney accents are becoming less common amongst young people, and how one might go about bending a laser around the Moon... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
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Halloween, and why you should love creepy creatures
31/10/2023 Duration: 29minThis week, during the spookiest time of the year, we're going to look at the unfair portrayal that certain organisms get due to their reputation of being scary, dangerous, or gross, just like the ones above my head now. Instead, we will talk about what makes them great for both the planet and ourselves, as well as what we can do to protect them. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
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Long COVID, and strengthening hurricanes
27/10/2023 Duration: 29minIn this edition of The Naked Scientists, new analysis on the prevalence of long COVID. How widespread is it? Also, could climate change be causing hurricanes in the Atlantic to get stronger? And, we ask if scientists have finally established how bees decide which flower to forage from next... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
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Time to ditch daylight saving?
24/10/2023 Duration: 28minAs winter creeps over the Northern hemisphere, many of us will be turning time backwards by an hour in aid of daylight saving time. But why do we do this? In this episode, we weigh up whether there's really a robust rationale for changing the clocks depending on the time of year, hearing from scientists and historians... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
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Head knocks and food system shocks
20/10/2023 Duration: 30minIn the news pod, we speak to World Rugby's Chief Medical Officer to hear how they're making the professional game as safe as possible. Also, we explore the potential consequences of climate change on the world's stock of farmland, and hear why an increasing number of satellites means our atmosphere is filling up with potentially harmful chemicals. Then, we send a member of the team for an eye test, and find out whether swatting mosquitoes could impact selection pressures on the species... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
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The James Webb Space Telescope
17/10/2023 Duration: 30minThis week, the beginning of the universe and the search for extraterrestrial life. We look at the technological marvel that is the James Webb Space Telescope. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
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Bedbugs, pig organ transplants, and 1918 flu deaths
13/10/2023 Duration: 29minThis week on The Naked Scientists, the rise of the bedbugs. Leading bedbug expert, James Logan, will tell us all we need to know. Also, could genetically modified pig kidneys soon be transplanted into humans? the clinical trial is now awaiting approval. Plus, why it might be time for us to reappraise the impact of the 1918 flu pandemic. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
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When not if: Preparing for the next pandemic
10/10/2023 Duration: 36minMedical professionals largely agree: the world is far more susceptible to a Covid level crisis than it ever has been. Mass urbanisation, political instability and climate change are among the factors contributing to an increased risk of diseases jumping from animals into people. We hear from scientists who demand action before the next coronavirus arises, likely to be within the decade... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
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Malaria vaccine, Fukushima wastewater & Nobel prizes
06/10/2023 Duration: 33minIn the news pod: the WHO have recommended the Oxford Covid jab for use - we talk to someone who helped design it. We also speak with the scientist who questions whether the Fukushima wastewater disposal plans are as controversial as some would have us believe, and there's a round up of this year's Nobel prizes... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
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Titans of Science: Sally Davies
03/10/2023 Duration: 25minIn this edition of The Naked Scientists, it's time for the conclusion of our summer series: Titans of Science. Chris Smith chats with England's former Chief Medical Officer and the current Master of Trinity College, Cambridge: Dame Sally Davies. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
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COVID variant vaccines, and sinking antimatter
29/09/2023 Duration: 27minIn this episode of The Naked Scientists, A future proof covid jab that combats variants that don't even exist yet. Reassuringly for theoretical physics, signs that antimatter does obey the rules of gravity, and why one doomsday scenario is predicting we'll all be wiped out in 250 million years time, when plate tectonics give us a new supercontinent. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
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Titans of Science: Robert Winston
26/09/2023 Duration: 32minThis week's guest is a pioneer of IVF, award-winning broadcaster, and member of the House of Lords, Robert Winston. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists