Naked Scientists Special Editions Podcast

Many people make the assumption that climate change means that places will become warmer; and indeed some will. But more important in some ways is how the climate in a particular geography might become more variable. Because, if the temperatures, cloud cover and rainfall become less predictable and operate over a greater range than they have historically, this could affect how the ecosystems - the web of plant and animal life - in those areas can operate. And this week scientists took the first steps towards studying whether this is a real risk and highlighting those areas we need to worry... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

American band They Might be Giants, famous for charting singles 'Birdhouse in your Soul' and 'Istanbul', have also made an album all about science. It's called 'Here Comes Science', and aims to teach children about things like biology and physics, featuring songs like 'My Brother the Ape' and 'I Am a Paleontologist'. The band dropped by Cambridge as part of a tour promoting their new album 'Glean', so Naked Scientist Georgia Mills took the opportunity to speak to founding member John Linnell about songs, science and controversy... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

100 years after Einstein predicted them, scientists have finally discovered gravitational waves. For 25 years, hundreds of scientists across 16 countries have been trying to detect these elusive ripples and yesterday, the LIGO team announced they had finally detected them. Graihagh Jackson went to the announcement and met with the British scientists on the LIGO team... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Last week, the outbreak of Zika virus in Brazil prompted the World Health Organisation to declare a global health emergency. The virus is spreading fast and has been linked to microcephaly, in which children are born with underdeveloped brains. Consultant virologist Tim Wreghitt spoke to Chris Smith about the situation... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week, a British researcher got the green light to genetically modify human embryos - this is the first time that gene editing has been approved in embryos. However, it hasn't been met with open arms by everyone, with some arguing this is the first step to 'designer babies.' Graihagh Jackson spoke to Geneticist Andrew Wood to find out what exactly gene editing involves... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Sperm whales are renowned for being the biggest toothed whales of our seas, migrating thousands of miles every year. But this week, photos of cetacean carcasses were splashed across the media.16 of these majestic creatures have beached across the UK, the Netherlands and Germany Some arrived alive, some were already dead and there's a lot of speculation as to what caused it to happen Graihagh Jackson's been investigating with the help of marine ecologist Bill Amos Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Science is full of conspiracy theories, the moon landings were faked and climate change is a hoax, but how many of them are likely to be true? Felicity Bedford spoke to Dr. David Robert Grimes from Oxford University who has given conspiracy theorists the benefit of the doubt and built a mathematical model to test whether, if these conspiracies were real, they would still be a secret... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Call the Midwife is one of the UK's best loved TV shows, and the new series has just started on the BBC. But as well as its empathetic characters and gripping story-lines, what makes the show special is its attention to detail when it comes to historical and medical accuracy, such as when it tackled the Thalidomide scandal from the late 1950s. Ginny Smith recently had the opportunity to visit the set of Call the Midwife and talk to those who make the show happen, both on and off the screen. She started by asking Executive Producer Dame Pippa Harris about just what it is that makes the show so... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Hibernating animals put their bodies through huge amounts of stress but seem to remain unharmed. Professor Rob Henning from Groningen University explained to Connie Orbach how mimicking their protective mechanisms might be the key to human health. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Leukemia is a cancer of the white blood cells that normally fight infection. About one person in every 200 will develop the disease, a common form of which is called AML, or acute myeloid leukemia. At the moment it tends to have a relatively poor prognosis and over the past 40 years there have been relatively few new treatments for the disease. A bone marrow transplant is often the only chance an individual has. But this week an international team of scientists led by researchers in the UK announced the discovery of a new way to control the disease by blocking the signals that drive the growth... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

The current threat level from terrorism in the UK and many other countries is set to severe, and police and security forces acknowledge that their jobs are being made much harder because today's terrorists have at their disposal a range of communications and social network tools to help them to form alliances, attract new recruits and orchestrate terror campaigns. But, the associations that terrorists make through these channels can also help to identify them, if police are able to screen this sort of data routinely. Most people, though, are justifiably concerned about privacy. Now Michael... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Dogs drink in a very distinctive way, lapping up water and, more often than not, making a huge mess. But, until now, the exact way they did this has been a mystery. Thankfully, scientists at Virginia Tech wouldn't let sleeping dogs lie and they've worked out the physics behind how dogs drink. Georgia Mills caught up with lead researcher Sunny Jung, who explained how they did it. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

"195 Nations Set Path to Keep Temperature Rise Well Below 2 Degrees Celsius" were the headlines issuing from Paris in the wake of the Conference of the Parties - or COP21 - meeting. So how will this be achieved, can it be achieved at all, what has the UK signed up to do? Manchester University climate scientist Alice Bows-Larkin was there to hear the verdict... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

On Tuesday the UK Space Agency's first official astronaut, Tim Peake embarked on the trip of a lifetime to the International Space Station. The launch was broadcast live on the BBC and watched around the world. Connie Orbach went to join the celebrations at the Science Museum in London... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

What was the most momentous bit of science that you heard about this year? Every December the journal Science asks its editorial staff this question and they eventually crown one discovery their "Breakthrough of the Year". Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

A plant protein used to communicate with friendly soil fungi has been identified by Cambridge University scientists. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

How an Acorn grew into, amongst other things, an Apple: What began as a business making home microcomputers now turns out the processing brain behind 95% of the world's smartphones. Mike Muller has been at the firm since its inception; he explained to Graihagh Jackson how he and 11 other engineers turned the business into one of the world's largest tech firms... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Researchers have linked a gene with your ability to stop smoking, but not all of the scientific community is in agreement... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

People with the best social networks, who sing in choirs; play instruments; go to church and take part in team sports, all live longer and tend to be happier, studies have shown. People who feel lonely, or isolated, on the other hand, fare less well and are more prone to ill-health. Now a new study, published this week in the journal PNAS and examining the immune systems of lonely people and monkeys has revealed why this might be. John Capitanio revealed all to Chris Smith... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Compulsive sexual behaviour, more commonly known as sex addiction, is driven by the huge novelty provided by online material, a new study has found. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists