Synopsis
Probing the weird, wacky and spectacular, the Naked Scientists Special Editions are special one-off scientific reports, investigations and interviews on cutting-edge topics by the Naked Scientists team.
Episodes
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Selecting Species to Save
14/03/2014 Duration: 04minWith as much as 30% of all species potentially at risk of extinction, there is a 'Noah's ark' problem of selecting which species to save. This week the Royal Society held a meeting to discuss extinction risks and the best strategies to prioritise conservation. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
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The Naked Mole Rat
27/02/2014 Duration: 14minThe peculiarities of the naked mole-rat: what can we learn from them? Cambridge University pharmacologist Ewan St John Smith hosts this meeting of Cafe Scientifique, Cambridge, kicking off with an interview about the naked mole rat with Chris Berrow... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
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David Willetts AAAS Audio Blog
20/02/2014 Duration: 33minUK Universities and Science Minister, David Willetts, becomes his own radio presenter; here, on a tour organised by the UK's Science and Innovation Network, he charts his meetings with scientists and entrepreneurs in Chicago, including discovering how researchers are trying to develop new batteries, he meets MIRA the Argonne supercomputer, attends a synthetic biology convention, talks to technology start-up CEOs, addresses the AAAS fellows forum and talks in depth to his travelling companions, Nottingham chemist Martyn Poliakoff and Edinburgh Vice Prinicipal Mary Bownes... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
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David Willetts Speech to the AAAS
15/02/2014 Duration: 21minAddressing the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) 2014 meeting in Chicago, David Willetts, UK Minister for Universities and Science, outlines how the special relationship between Britain and the US, coupled with competition and collaboration, is driving discovery and the next generation of technology... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
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Packing Up a Museum
12/02/2014 Duration: 06minMoving house is one of life's most stressful events; so imagine packing up 4 million artifacts of a museum collection. That's exactly what they are doing at Cambridge University's museum of Zoology. Harriet Johnson went to find out how they're getting ready for the 3 year project to update and improve the museum, and also sneaked a look at some of the best bits of the collection before it all gets packed away... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
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Can we eradicate Polio?
27/01/2014 Duration: 06minPolio might not have been seen in Britain since the 1980's, but despite worldwide efforts the potentially fatal disease is still endemic in three countries. Kate Lamble caught up with the Director of Immunisation at the Department of Health, Professor David Sailsbury as he visited St Johns college in Cambridge to speak about the global effort to eradicate the disease. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
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Naked Scientists Guide to Genetics
13/12/2013 Duration: 26minIn The Naked Scientists Guide to Genetics, Simon Bishop explores some common genetics terms, meets a creature from the depths of the sea floor, and befriends a family of fancy rats! The terms DNA, genes, chromosomes and inheritance are explored PLUS are humans really 50% banana? Music featured: Adventure, Darling by Gillicuddy http://freemusicarchive.org/music/gillicuddy/; Dan-O, at http://danosongs.com. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
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#genes2shape: Asymmetry... in snails
28/11/2013 Duration: 02minRecorded at the 2013 Genetics Society Autumn Meeting 'From Genes to Shape', Simon Bishop meets Harriet Johnson, who works on the genes behind left-right asymmetry... in snails. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
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#genes2shape: Tubby - from obesity to drought tolerance
28/11/2013 Duration: 03minRecorded at the 2013 Genetics Society Autumn Meeting 'From Genes to Shape', Simon Bishop meets Marco Reitz, who works on the conserved gene 'Tubby'. So-called because mutant Tubby creates obese mice, the gene has a very different role in plants - salt and drought tolerance. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
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Afghanistan on the brain
27/11/2013 Duration: 06minThe mental scars left after trauma and how ecstasy can help treat post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
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A weather forecast, for the dinosaurs
21/11/2013 Duration: 05minCould plankton hold the key to understanding ancient climate conditions? New research suggests ocean temperatures from 200 million years ago could be encoded in sea shell chemistry. Simon Bishop spoke to Professor Simon Redfern from the University of Cambridge, about the work. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
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Bodyguard drugs and TB
01/11/2013 Duration: 05minTuberculosis is a major world problem, but extremely difficult to treat - vaccines are toxic to humans, and the disease-causing bacteria have a habit of hiding in the very cells tasked with destroying them. Immune system bodyguard drugs that fend off TB before it can hide could soon be possible, according to new research. Simon Bishop speaks to Professor Kurt Drickamer about the work. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
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Packing plants with eco energy
23/10/2013 Duration: 04minSuper energy-rich biofuels could soon be possible because of new research, dramatically reducing the environmental impact of intensive farming. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
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How important are the microorganisms all around us?
22/10/2013 Duration: 07minDr. Jack Gilbert explains some of the surprising effects that microorganisms can have on our lives. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
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Diagnosing Emerging Disorders
15/10/2013 Duration: 05minHow do you look for the cause of a brand new medical problem? Simon Bishop speaks to Professor David Goldstein about using genetic sequencing to uncover the cause of new disorders. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
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Stopping HIV Spread
05/10/2013 Duration: 05minHIV attacks the immune system, invading one type of cell called a CD4 lymphocyte. The virus encourages infected cells to sidle up alongside healthy, uninfected cells before making them unload an infectious cargo of HIV, passing on the virus. Now researchers have discovered that a molecule called ADAP plays a critical role in this process. They've found a way to alter this ADAP molecule so that it can still do its normal job inside an immune cell - so the cell stays healthy - but it can't cooperate with HIV, stopping the virus spreading. Chris Rudd from Cambridge University is the lead author... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
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Red-tailed Black Cockatoo Conservation
02/10/2013 Duration: 06minOne of Perth, Western Australia's best-loved and most striking birds - the red-tailed black cockatoo - once common, is now in severe decline. Victoria Gill met Murdoch University's Dr Kristen Warren who has been trying to find out why, by using tracking devices... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
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Tackling the tangles in Alzheimer's Disease
25/09/2013 Duration: 05minUntil recently, it has been extremely difficult to track the progression of Alzheimer's disease, as the neurons of the brain which are affected by the disease are impossible to view directly. However this week a Japanese research group, writing the the Journal Neuron, announced the development of a new radioactive compound which could be used, in conjunction standard medical imaging, to track the progression of Alzheimer's in the brain. Naked Scientist Priya Crosby spoke to lead author on the paper, Dr Makoto Higuchi, to find out more about this exciting new possibility for Alzheimer's... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
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British Science Festival 2013: Victorian Science
16/09/2013 Duration: 06minThe Victorian Science Spectacular came to Newcastle as part of the British Science Festival, and Ginny Smith went along to see what it was all about, and caught up with some of the performers afterwards. Dr Aileen Fyfe and Prof. Iwan Morus showed what new technologies the Victorians would have been astounded at, and discussed why we need to think about the past when doing science. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
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2013.09.17 - British Science Festival 2013: Ancient Parasites Treat Allergies
16/09/2013 Duration: 04minAncient parasites could be used to cure severe allergy sufferers according to new research from the University of Cambridge. Matt Burnett discovers how Dr Piers Mitchell has unearthed which parasites infected our ancient ancestors. Doctors could use these parasites, which have co-evolved with us, to divert the attention of an overactive immune system away from allergens. This could be the best way to treat patients with severe allergies like asthma and hay fever, and may even have implications for other diseases like inflammatory bowel disease. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists