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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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
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Spinal injury repair, and embryo editing ethics
22/09/2023 Duration: 31minThis week on The Naked Scientists: A breakthrough in treating spinal cord injuries, worrying news about red fire ants in Sicily, we look at what it means for us in the UK. Plus, NASA is sending a sample of an asteroid back to Earth - it arrives this weekend; find out what scientists are hoping to learn. All that and more on this week's show... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
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Titans of Science: Anthony Fauci
19/09/2023 Duration: 30minTime for the next installment in Titans of Science! This week's very special guest is the former chief medical advisor to the White House during the pandemic, Dr Anthony Fauci. He tells Chris Smith his fascinating story, from a boyhood flair on the basketball court, his rise to prominence handling an HIV crisis, to what it was like working with Donald Trump... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
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Ban on cheap vapes, and farewell to Dolly's 'father'
15/09/2023 Duration: 30minOn the news pod, we ask whether an outright ban is the best way to deal with the health and environmental cost of sweet shop style vapes. Also on the programme; a new device for detecting Covid on patients' breath, the search for life elsewhere in the universe intensifies, and we pay tribute to Ian Wilmut, the 'father' of Dolly the sheep Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
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Titans of Science: Helen Sharman - part 2
12/09/2023 Duration: 29minPart 2 of the extraordinary story of the first Briton in space. What was life like on a space station? How do you get back down? and what do you do afterwards? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
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Concrete concerns, and pharaoh de toilette
08/09/2023 Duration: 31minIn this edition, can civil engineers help rescue the UK's crumbling schools and hospitals? Also, new initiative that is hoping to improve the treatment of sepsis, and how the scent of ancient Egypt has been replicated in a Danish museum... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
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Titans of science: Helen Sharman - part 1
05/09/2023 Duration: 30minToday's guest is Helen Sharman, the first Briton in space. Our conversation ranges from her early beginnings working in a chocolate factory - Mars, would you believe - to her run in with the then leader of the Soviet Union... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
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London ULEZ emissions tax, and uterus transplants
01/09/2023 Duration: 30minThis week, London's latest ULEZ expansion - will it make much difference to air quality? The concerning impacts of poaching, and not just to endangered species, and the curious case of a woman with a worm in her brain. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
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Return to the Moon: Why now?
29/08/2023 Duration: 28minThis week, we're casting our eyes towards the brightest and largest object in our night sky: the Moon. As India becomes the 4th nation to achieve a successful soft landing on our only natural sateillite, we saw a fantastic opportunity to chart the history of how the Moon was formed and the many billions worth of missions invested in finding out more about it... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
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Serial killers, and sails on supertankers
25/08/2023 Duration: 30minIn the news this week, how can we understand the motivations of serial killers? Also, we ask a dermatologist to outline the early signs of melanoma, and find out about the initiative to reduce carbon emissions from the shipping industry using aeroplane wings. Plus, water voles are being reintroduced in the Lake District - we hear from the site manager in charge. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
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The perfect plate of food: seasonal and well seasoned
22/08/2023 Duration: 29minEating. We all have to do it 3 times a day and there's a lot to consider every time we do: is what I'm eating good for me? Is it sustainable for the planet? Can I afford the time or the expense to prepare it? In this episode, we address all these concerns, but with a focus on why food brings us joy in the first place: taste and flavour! Join Chris as he embarks on a culinary challenge to achieve everything he wants from his dinner, without compromising on cooking something delicious. The adventure takes him to a top Cambridge restaurant, to hear how a local chef is making tasty dishes with... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists