The Naked Scientists Podcast

London and many other European cities face the prospect of a 300 million penalty every year over bad air. Engineers say part of the solution lies with electric transport, so this week the Naked Scientists are getting under the hoods of a new generation of vehicles ranging from the first electric buses to tomorrow's supercars. Plus, news about how scientists are making objects levitate in the lab - with sound - and why there are now 3 types of "type 2" diabetes... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

The Naked Scientists have been on a trip to Mars but we forgot to ask one BIG question, should we even be going at all? We complete the series with a debate featuring a space politician, a geologist, an astronomer and a would-be Mars pioneer. Plus, in the news, will faecal transplants change your personality, and how sci-fi has been predicting technology for years. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

In episode three of our series Destination Mars, we finally arrive at the Red Planet - but what is waiting for us when we get there? We examine possible solutions to the challenges of building a home on an alien planet, including a Star Trek-inspired health scanner and bacteria that can be engineered to grow rocket fuel. Plus, the science headlines from around the world: a brain scan for epilepsy, the bees that are addicted to caffeine and the science behind hallucinations. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

To rocket engineers, the idea of transporting humans to Mars is a one colossal headache. Compared to inert satellites and probes, humans are highly unpredictable, needy and fragile. Radiation is our body's kryptonite; microgravity renders the bones thin and weak and if you broke a leg, it could take months to fix. These are just a few of the hundreds of problems scientists are grappling with when considering how they might send people to the rocky red planet. We'll be taking a closer look at some of those obstacles this week and asking if it's actually possible to get people to Mars. Plus,... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Destination Mars: this month we're launching a series of programmes to probe what it's going to take to send people to the Red Planet. We'll be looking at rocket technology, how to keep people fed and watered away from Earth and whether we really can hope to exist sustainably on Mars. This week we're focusing on the space pioneers who will take the first steps towards getting us there. Plus, in the news, four intestinal bacteria that can prevent asthma, a new magnetic material to protect you in car crashes, and a magic bullet to stop bleeding... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

We take on your science questions: Can animals feel guilty? Could drones detect landmines? What's the furthest a paper plane could fly, and why don't spiders get stuck on their webs? Plus, a look at this week's science news - a development for Europe's Extra Large telescope, and the health challenges faced at the Rugby World Cup. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week we find out what it takes to save a life, from doctors performing open chest surgery in the street to helping people recover in the longer term from severe brain injuries. Plus, news of a real invisibility cloak, how caffeine gives us a boost, and why scientists need you to quiz your dog. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Climate change - and concerns about rising levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere - are often in the headlines. However, looking back in the history of the earth, it's clear that this isn't the first time carbon dioxide levels have risen. So why should we worry now? We delve into the past to explore the effects climate change can have on the oceans and how that, in turn, can impact the climate. Plus, in the news, a new species of early human ancestor, the scientist who's jumping the Hubble queue with a helium balloon, and why humans are hard-wired for laziness... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week we're asking whether scientists and technologists are in short supply, and how the way that we teach science in schools is changing: some classrooms are pumping out published papers! Plus, in the news, a 2 metre-long scorpion, seabirds with stomachs stuffed with plastic, and the facts behind fat - is butter really all that bad for you? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week is a very special, edition of the Naked Scientists as we dedicate a whole hour to the world's favourite dwarf planet - Pluto. But how did it get there in the first place? What has the New Horizons probe uncovered? And what's beyond Pluto? Graihagh Jackson puts the mission under the microscope, talking some of the leading scientists from the New Horizons operation and taking a trip to the edge of our solar system... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

On the face of it, symmetry may seem simple, but diving beneath the surface reveals a whole new world. Over the last 100 years, the mathematical idea of symmetry has proved to be a guiding light for the world of physics. But what does a mathematician mean by symmetry? How does this link in with the world around us? And could it be the key to the mysterious 'Theory of Everything'? Plus, in the news, a new MRI-based cancer treatment, zero-emission highways and the curious case of Whistled Turkish. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

We delve into the disgusting to discover the emotion of disgust and how it affects our lives. From cockroaches dipped in juice to the importance of sanitation, no topic is off limits as we find out about the psychology of this most powerful of emotions and its applications. Plus, in the news, a universal flu therapy, why zebras have stripes, and the robot that can jump on water. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Hundreds of times stronger than steel, transparent, an excellent electrical conductor, and weighing next to nothing, graphene is hailed as a wonder material. But what is it doing for us now? And where will it take us in future? This week graphene goes under the microscope. We hear how industry can mass produce it, we uncover how it can clean up air in cities, produce the world's fastest lasers, revolutionise communications and boost the power of computers. Plus, news of how Earth's earliest life reproduced, how to regenerate human organs, and why animals have different shaped pupils... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Hormones are the driving force behind reproduction and are what make us keen to go make babies. We follow some of these hormones to hear how they have an influence from birth to death, and also the unexpected consequences they have on society, including causing the stock market to crash. Plus what Philae has revealed about the comet it landed on, how the bugs in your guts might be making you moody, and the key to keeping hamsters happy... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

From why scientists so often use the word "so" to the feasibility of charging a human by USB, how much Silly Putty it would it take to cover the entire Earth, and whether we could genetic engineer super-abilities into humans, we answer your burning science questions... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week, we're investigating the Millennium Prize Problems - a set of mathematical equations that, if solved, will not only nab the lucky winner a million, but also revolutionise the world. Plus, the headlines from the world of science and technology, including why screams are so alarming, how fat fish help the human fight against flab, and what's the future of money? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week, broadcasting live from the centre of Cambridge, the Naked Scientists delve into the digital age we live in. We look at new, exciting ways to get kids into coding, how big data is changing the world of healthcare, and we take to skies to go drone racing. But what are the problems we face in this technological age? We find out who is using our online data, and explore the dangers of connecting to public Wi-Fi... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Things get a little dangerous as we don our body armour and head out into the battlefield. How do explosives work and what can we do to protect against them? We take a sneak peek at AnUBIS, a device that uses donated human body parts to help to understand the injuries an explosion can cause, and we investigate bomb-proof materials that could also be used in sports. Plus, in the news, why antibiotics at an early age might make you fat, the comet with a cave inside, and why you shouldn't marry your cousin... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

It's 60 years since the world's first atomic clock was created. But what is time? When did time begin, and how accurate is timekeeping today? We'll be asking why we need leap seconds, we cook up a Big Bang with lasagne and hear how planet Earth is a terrible time keeper. Plus, in the news, scientists uncover the cause of tinnitus, what do your baby's eyes say about its future behaviour, and one of the earliest life forms goes under the microscope... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Tens of thousands of Londoners developed painful, apple-sized, pus-filled boils before dying from the dreadful disease within days. But just as the ordeal of the Black Death seemed to be subsiding, the Great Fire struck the city. But did the conflagration actually save the lives of thousands? In this scorcher of a show, we go in search of the cause of the plague, explore the origins of the Great Fire, and ask whether history might repeat itself? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists