The Naked Scientists Podcast

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

What's the point of mosquitoes? Do your eyes pop out if left open when sneezing? Is the Universe infinitely big? Are birds really related to dinosaurs? What is quantum entanglement? If the space station is held in orbit by gravity, why do things float about inside it? Why does hayfever make your eyes itch? Can animals forecast earthquakes? Find out in this week's show where you're in the driving seat asking us the questions... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

For World Blood Day we've been delving into the history of blood letting, getting stuck into blood donation and exploring exciting new possibilities for making blood that's safe for everyone. Plus, a new test to reveal every virus infection you've ever had, the LHC fires up again after a two year shut down, and a new weapon in the fight against Ebola... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Are we on the verge of solving one of the longest standing puzzles in physics? Physicists think we're close to discovering the identity of Dark Matter, the mysterious, invisible substance that accounts for nearly a quarter of the mass of Universe. So how will scientists see it, and why does its discovery matter? Plus, genes for pain, how smartphones can save lives, whether babies can feel pain, and how to make tastier cheese... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Colour-switching sticklebacks, geckos with enough adhesive power to hold up a human, bats with built-in sonar and moles with amazing noses - this week we go in search of the world's most incredible animals. Scientists passionate about their species put their cases to our panel. But which animal will be crowned king? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week, can we colonise Mars? What's causes that smell after it rains? Can genetics inform skin care? And how do astronauts shower in space? Chris Smith, Richard Hollingham and Max Sanderson join Kat Arney to take on your quandaries, and also discuss some of the science news you might have missed this week: the Russian space race fail, hijacking a jet by hacking, and why humans feel pain... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week, endoscopies for jet engines, how the aviation industry could have us cruising for an infectious bruising, the workings of radar, and whether cheap flights actually cost the Earth. Plus, in the news, why doctors could soon be culturing your cancer, the evolution of music, Messenger smashes into Mercury, and do you want to know if your DNA spells trouble for your future health? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Celebrating two hundred years since the devastating eruption of Indonesia's Mount Tambora, this week, accompanied by music from Michael Levy, we explore the science of volcanoes. We find out what causes volcanoes, we ask whether eruptions can be predicted, how we can keep people safe, and we re-create the physics of an eruption in the laboratory. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week, the science at play in an industry that dwarfs both Hollywood and the music world: computer games. We hear how video games are altering the brains of players, why lovers of the shoot-em-up could be carving out a niche for themselves in the military, and whether adrenaline-fuelled sessions on a console can be addictive. Plus, why you might need a DNA test before going on holiday in future, evidence that bees are attracted by insecticides, and how colour can affect your body clock... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week, you pit your wits against the Naked Scientists team and challenge us to answer your science questions. Is there an evolutionary reason why humans have rhythm? Do people sneeze in their sleep? Why do crabs walk sideways? And how do stinging nettles sting? Chris Smith, Carolin Crawford and Ginny Smith join Kat Arney get their teeth into your conundra, and take a closer look at the stories hitting the headlines, including a sieve that separates oil from water, how you can sniff happiness in sweat, and the Hubble telescope celebrates its 25'th birthday... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

The impact of modern medicine is drastically changing our concept of death. Increasingly, people are being resuscitated successfully, sometimes hours after they first died. So this week we toe the line between life and death, learn lessons from those who survived without oxygen for hours, discover how we could live immortally as robots, and hear about a very special type of cryo-ambulance to prep you for long term storage. Plus, news that the Dutch have grown nearly a foot taller in 2 centuries, what your fingers say about your marathon prospects, and the secret language of gibbons... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

The Naked Scientists take a special holiday look at some egg-cellent Easter science, including a breakthrough in how to unboil an egg, the genetically modified chickens that can't catch bird flu and why the Easter bunny might be knocked off his perch by a toucan. Plus, is a chocolate teapot really useless? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

From crime scene to court room and all the evidence in between. Join Chris Smith and Ginny Smith at our reconstructed crime scene to find out how science is used to help solve a forensic investigation, including dissecting pig organs, testing for drugs, planting false memories into our audiences' brains and trying out the world's first lie detector suit... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week, how rogue antibodies turned one woman's existence into a living nightmare of delusions, hallucinations and paranoia, we examine the evidence that ME - or chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) - might be an autoimmune disease, and why the blues might be down to a hostile immune response. Plus, how tracking eye movements can be used to influence decisions, why remembering causes you to forget, a new 3d-printer inspired by Hollywood's Terminator, and the genetic map of the UK: apparently the Romans didn't fancy breeding with us very much... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Is it a particle? Or is it a wave? This week we're looking at light. From its earliest origins and what it can reveal about the Big Bang, to why Newton prodded his eye with a needle to probe the origins of colour, how the brain decodes the visual world and bionic implants to reverse blindness. Plus, in the news, a revelation in the remarkable colour-changing capabilities of chameleons, how an ultrasound can combat Alzheimer's Disease, and what people do with their fingers following a handshake... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week, the world of parasites. We find out what's living in you and on you, how these invaders hijack your immune system and how they can even control the behaviours and body shapes of their hosts. Plus, in the news, the oldest remains of our first human ancestors are uncovered in Ethiopia, scientists weigh a stegosaurus and NASA's Dawn probe reaches the dwarf planet Ceres, but what awaits it there...? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

From Archimedes leaping from his bath shouting Eureka, to Isaac Newton's falling apples and Volta's piles that produced electricity on tap, this week we recreate some of the scientific experiments that changed the way we view the world. Join Ginny Smith and Chris Smith on a journey through two thousand years of discovery that includes bricks on ropes, a singing Solar System, a hydrogen detonation and a spectroscope... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Cannabis is as controversial as it is complicated. Does smoking it cause schizophrenia, and can chemicals from the plant cure cancer? Plus in the news, the new breed of chemicals that are putting our ozone layer at risk and why teenage sperms are more likely to be mutants. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week, how we're haemorrhaging personal information through our smartphones. We hear how snoopers can eavesdrop on your mobile signals while you're out in public to track down your home address. A computer scientist tells us what he discovered on a bunch of second-hand mobile phones picked up off eBay, and the website that grades the threat's you face from any app yu install. Plus, the stories making the headlines from the world of science and technology, including figuring out how much dark matter is in the Milky Way, and a breath test to diagnose Parkinson's Disease... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists