Naked Scientists Special Editions Podcast

There's the old saying that if you want to understand someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. But what if you could walk in their actual body? Thanks to virtual reality headsets, this is now - at least virtually - possible. And by fooling people into thinking they have a child's body, or one belonging to someone of a different skin colour, Mel Slater and his colleagues in Barcelona discovered, as he explained to Kat Arney, that this changes their behaviour too... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

How do we know about the ancient animals that used to roam the Earth? If all life got its start in the sea, then why do most animals now live on land?Sara Sjosten went behind the scenes at the Sedgwick Museum of Earth Science with Sarah Finney to find out more about where fossils come from and one special little creature from 360 million years ago... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Luis von Ahn invented CAPTCHA - the system that uses a picture of a word to determine whether you are a human or a computer. But when von Ahn realised just how much time was being wasted by filling in CAPTCHAs, he wondered whether that man-power could be used for something good. Now the very same process is digitising millions of books, that are available for free, as von Ahn told Chris Smith. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

What's the science behind the so-called 5:2 or intermittent fasting diet? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Does your dog pay attention to what you say? Thinking back to the last time it rolled in something stinky, or ran off with your socks, you may not be convinced. But new research from the University of Sussex shows that man's best friend is at least listening; and not only to what we say, but how we say it. Georgia Mills spoke to Victoria Ratcliffe, who tested over 200 willing canines... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Marie Blackman Northwood is a biomedical scientists normally based in Cambridge,who is currently in Sierra Leone, lending her hand to the fight against Ebola. She spoke to Chris Smith about her experiences. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Religion and nature might have more to do with each other than you thought. In the biggest study of its kind, a team of evolutionary biologists, anthropologists, linguists and religious scholars examined the religions of societies from around the world to see if there was any link between where they lived and what they believed. They found that they can predict which societies will worship moralising high gods - gods who are believed to have created the earth and who care about how humans treat each other - based on how harsh the environments are that people live in. Sara Sjosten spoke to lead... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Are you a morning person or a night owl? Whichever you are, your daily rhythm is determined by your circadian clock - powered by a small group of cells in the brain - and it tells you when to get up and when to sleep. Now Professor Bill Wisden and his team at Imperial College have discovered a second biological clock in the brain, located in a little cluster of nerve cells that produce a chemical called histamine, which helps to wake us up. Kat spoke to him to find out more about this molecular alarm clock. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Just a handful of genetic changes are what turned wildcats into domestic pets, scientists have now shown. And many of these changes are linked with genes that affect how the brain processes rewards and pleasure. In other words, humans won over cats by appealing to their desire for kitty treats and stroking. Over time, those that responded best to this nurturing were more likely to be bred by humans, leading to increasingly docile, domesticated pets. Graihagh Jackson has been hearing from some cat lovers but first she spoke to one of the researchers - Bronwen Aken from the Wellcome Trust's... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Researchers say that doing anti-social shifts over many years can dent your brain power. In other words you can't think straight. The team collected data from three thousand workers in France, who underwent memory and other tests of brain function. Individuals who had worked shifts for over ten years had the same results as someone six and a half years older than them. But here's the good part. Luckily the effect may be reversible. Chris Smith spoke to study author Philip Tucker, from Swansea University, to find out more... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Tim Bussey, professor, budding rock star and performer explains to Hannah Critchlow how he's addressing scientific gender inequality with a re-release from the 80s... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Would you prefer your prime minister, president, or beloved leader to look healthy, intelligent, or both? Researchers from the VU University of Amsterdam say that given the choice, people prioritise healthy-looking candidates over intelligent ones. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

The quest to understand the fundamental rules governing life has taken another step forward, as new research from the University of Cambridge reveals. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

As international trade increases, particularly by sea, we're seeing more stowaways; but not of the human variety. Scientists are reporting that animals and plants are hitching rides around the world on boats - and even on fishing tackle. They then setup home in other countries where, with nothing to eat them, they can become dangerously invasive. Timothy Revell spoke to David Aldridge an expert in invasive species about the UK's most recent arrival. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Whilst Magic - a young golden retriever - may love chasing a stick, curling up on a rug and enjoying a biscuit as much as the next dog, he is certainly no ordinary dog. Trained by Milton Keynes based organisation Medical Detection Dogs, he can sniff out when his owner Claire Pesterfield, a sufferer of Type 1 diabetes, is about to suffer an attack brought on by low blood sugar levels, that could lead to her losing consciousness. By alerting and getting assistance, this extraordinary dog helps Claire lead a more ordinary life.Amelia Perry spoke to Claire, at Addenbrooks Hosptial, where she is... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week in the Planet Earth Podcast: Tamara Galloway, Matt Cole and Ceri Lewis of the University of Exeter talk about their research on the effects of fragments of plastics from food packaging, drinks bottles and even facial scrubs on marine wildlife. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Which part of our brain helped us become the social and (for the most part) intelligent creatures we are today? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Thousands die due to alcohol consumption each year, did raising the price of alcohol in the UK reduce these costs? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Until recently when technology took over, a coal miner's best friend was a caged canary that would warn of a build-up of life-threatening gases. Now US scientists are saying that the sense of smell is the coalmine canary of human health, with people who fail a smell test being at much greater odds of dying within the following 5 years. Jay Pinto, from the University of Chicago, tested over 3000 over 55s on their ability to correctly identify rose, leather, fish, orange, and peppermint smells. He told Chris Smith about how he followed them up five years later, of those who failed the smell... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

During an asthma attack, inflammation in the airways leads to breathlessness, and severe cases can end up with sufferers being hospitalised or even dying.One culprit that can make asthma worse is the virus that causes the common cold, known as rhinovirus. But why does a cold mean a runny nose and feeling a bit grotty for most people, but can lead to dangerous breathing problems in asthmatics?Kat spoke to Imperial College's David Jackson, who's one of a team that has been finding out. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists