Virtual Life

In front of a live audience at the Cambridge Science Centre, Chris Smith is joined by three paleontologists to discuss fascinating fossils! Alex Liu explains where the first animals evolved from, Stephanie Pierce describes how animals first crawled out of the oceans and Jon Tennant digs into how the dinosaurs died out. The team also answer questions like how big are fossilied spiders? Plus, Dave Ansell and Kate Lamble break down bones and discover how we know how fast dinosaurs ran... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

5 Touko 201459min

With the demand for new homes ever increasing, we ask what will the buildings of the future be like? Will new materials like bamboo or plastic take a bigger place in our houses? And how can we make our accommodation greener? Plus, in the news, the first model of all of Earth's ecosystems, what a 115 year old can tell us about aging, how to improve cochlear implants, and what happens if you try and stowaway on a plane... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

28 Huhti 201453min

In a special show from Cambridge and New Zealand, Hannah Critchlow investigates the research into Huntington's Disease. How has the search to correct a single gene enhanced our understanding of how the brain functions? How are sheep helping to unpick the pizzle of the human mind? Plus we visit a brain bank to find out how tissue donors are supporting the scientific research. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

21 Huhti 201452min

In this question and answer special, the Naked Scientists get stuck into your queries, like why are planets round? Why do we laugh when tickled? Does wearing glasses make your eyesight worse? And how many trees could offset carbon emissions? Plus, in the news, the app that could help you get over jet lag and the Heartbleed bug which could affect your internet security. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

14 Huhti 201451min

Bigger, better and longer lasting - this week we go in search of the battery technology that will power the future as well as consider the shortcomings of our present technologies. We also try to tune-in to our own broadcast on a radio powered by moss! Plus, in the news, the genetic switch for spinal nerve regeneration, the ocean deep inside Enceladus, young-smoking dads condemn their sons to adult obesity and why cereals make eye contact with you... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

7 Huhti 201453min

How handedness spans the scientific world, from the smallest particles in the Universe to the drugs that cure disease and even the way you hold a pen, goes under the microscope this week as we explore the realms of asymmetry. Plus, in the news, the world's first synthetic chromosome, the goo that stops bones breaking, is there a giant planet lurking beyond Pluto, aircraft black boxes and anti-aphrodisiacs... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

1 Huhti 201452min

2014 is the Year of Code, with the UK even becoming the first major economy to introduce computer programming to the school timetable. This week we investigate why coding, and getting kids into computer science has become so important. Plus, in the news, why the estimated number of smells a human can detect has gone from 10,000 to a trillion, the astronomers who have detected primordial gravitational waves, and a new supercomputer, in Scotland... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

25 Maalis 201453min

Pit your wits against the combined brain power of the Naked Scientists, in this question and answer Special as the team try to find out the truth behind the age of the Milky Way? Whether plants die of old age, and how cats make their fur stand on end? Plus, in the news, contagious yawns, and how the number of takeaways on the way to work affects your risk of weight gain... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

18 Maalis 201453min