The Naked Scientists Podcast

This week on The Naked Scientists, we've teamed up with Cambridge University Press and specifically the team behind Research Directions, their suite of new, open access journals that are all about publishing research in a novel and exciting way.Science is, of course, all about asking questions and developing experiments to test hypotheses. But only rarely does a topic have a single facet. Instead, one key question invariably leads to many others; and the answers to these can, as the Research Directions team put it, "assemble into chains of collaborative work".They're asking really important... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

In this edition of The Naked Scientists: Samples back from space reveal tantalising insights into where the life-linked chemicals that kick-started biology on Earth could have come from. Also, the impact of China's DeepSeek AI model on society, finance, and the global tech market. And why imported olive trees turn out to be the perfect cover for stowaway snakes and insects... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

It's our final Titans of Science offering of this series, with world-leading cancer expert Charlie Swanton. We'll hear how the latest developments in our understanding of cancer's mechanisms are shaping treatments and preventative measures... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

On the Naked Scientists News show: a new UK trial seeks to infect healthy people with malaria in a bid to get to grips with the dormant stage of the infection. Then, we hear how T cells could be the key to ensuring more organ transplant successes, and should we all be taking fewer flights? Also, some curious observations regarding chimpanzees and their communal toilet routines... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

In this special episode of The Naked Scientists, join Chris Smith on a journey from farm to whisky tumbler, as he witnesses the intricate processes behind producing high quality Scotch. Richard Broadbent leads a tour of Bairds Malt's site in Witham, explaining how British barley is prepared for its transformation into the delicious spirit, before Alistair McDonald of the Clydeside Distillery in Glasgow walks us through the five hundred year old craft of distilling malt whisky... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

In this edition of The Naked Scientists: It's 5 years since COVID began and the WHO hosted their first press conference. But how much have we learned and are we prepared for the next pandemic? Also, a report from the UK House of Lords points to a rapidly closing window of opportunity to capitalise on "engineering biology" - but what is that? And, is there a hidden planet lurking out past Pluto? A new telescope will soon enable astronomers to find out... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Titans of Science continues with the microbiologist who discovered how an extraordinary relationship between two methane-eating seafloor species has shaped the world we know today. To explain that and much more is the ocean aficionado Antje Boetius... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

In the news podcast this week, the first human death from bird flu in the US has made virologists vigilant about its potential threat. Also, we learn about the potentially billions of tonnes of sequestered hydrogen on Earth that could be used for clean energy, and hear of the promising results in animals for new drugs for treatment resistant prostate cancer. Then, the unintended cognitive consequences of lead mining in the Roman empire, and question of the week takes us back to a time when all the continents were clumped together... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Titans of Science continues, where we talk to some of the major movers and shakers leading the way in their respective fields. This time we're hearing from Cambridge neuroscientist, and expert on obsessive compulsive disorder - OCD - Trevor Robbins... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

In this edition of The Naked Scientists, a look ahead to 2025. We ask experts in the field of health, AI, astronomy, marine science, and archaeology what we should look forward to over the next 12 months... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

In this edition of Titans of Science, Chris Smith chats with co-founder of Annals of Improbable Research, and the master of ceremonies for the Ig Nobel prize, Marc Abrahams... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

In this edition of The Naked Scientists, we ask leading experts in the fields of health, AI, space, marine biology, and archaeology about the moments that defined 2024... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

In this edition of The Naked Scientists, we look back at another brilliant year of science and select some of our favourite stories to come out of it... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Our Titans of Science season continues with the man who used AI to create an unprecedented number of custom proteins: Nobel Prize winning biochemist David Baker... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

In the news pod, Chris van Tulleken tells us what he's got planned for this years Royal Institution Christmas Lectures. Then we hear about the innovation to harness energy from radioactive carbon-14 atoms, and learn more about when humans and Neanderthals got to know each other. Then, we look skyward, where astronomers have described a series of mysterious near-Earth objects similar to the famous Oumuamua... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Titans of Science returns with Jocelyn Bell Burnell who discovered radio pulsars as a postgraduate student at Cambridge. Her work not only revolutionised the field of astrophysics, but inspired one of the most famous pieces of music artwork too... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

In the News pod, Google DeepMind's weather forecasting AI model outperforms traditional tools. Also, new data from volcanoes on Venus dampen theories it was once a watery world, and is this double action weight loss drug the successor to Ozempic and Mounjaro? Then, we hear the proof that crustaceans can feel pain, and will seek drugs to relieve it... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Obsessive compulsive disorder - OCD - is a mental health condition where intrusive, unwanted thoughts can become all consuming. Some people report anxieties over something terrible happening to them or someone they love for example, and, in some cases, in a bid to alleviate these fears, they may carry out compulsive actions repetitively to the point they become extremely disruptive to their lives.Due to pervasive misconceptions around this serious psychiatric condition, a lot of people suffer with their symptoms for a long time before getting help. It's also complicated to unpick the... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

In the news, a potentially game-changing new injection to ease the suffering caused by asthma attacks shows success. Also, who should fix the gas leak on the International Space Station? Then, fossilised footsteps fuel speculation over interactions between early human ancestors, and we find out what the presence of amber in Antarctica reveals about the history of this now desloate land... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

In this edition of The Naked Scientists, how much of a part do innovations in nuclear energy production, like SMRs and microreactors, have to play in our nuclear future? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists