Invasive Species, Conservation and the Last Giant Tortoise

Marine biology and conservation specialist Dan Laffoley, from English Nature, and Chris Lynam, from the University of St Andrews join us to dissect the state of the worlds oceans and marine protected areas. From the conservation science institute in Alaska, Bruce Wright takes us on a tour of the world of salmon sharks, and in kitchen science we do battle against the atmosphere using a Magdeburg sphere. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

22 Heinä 200658min

Rutherford Appleton Laboratory astrophysicist Chris Davis joins us to shed light on the structure and workings of the sun and the newly-launched STEREO mission, Cambridge University engineer Jeffery Lewins talks nuclear, and Anna Nicolaou asks why do some people burn whilst others turn brown? On a practical level, in kitchen science, Derek and Dave lift the lid on how suncream works. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

15 Heinä 200655min

In honour of the annual hoards if bleary-eyed hayfever sufferers, we are joined by Carrock Sewell who describes how the immune system works, what causes allergic reactions and how we might be able to cure them, and Mark Booth discusses parasites, how they suppress and evade the immune system and how the Matangini Project attempts to provide parasite-free water in Africa. Sticking with the African continent, Derek Thorne travels to Tanzania to learn how to make ugali in Kitchen Science. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

8 Heinä 200655min

Breaking things down to the building blocks of life this week is Mark Ross, who discusses the evolution of sex chromosomes, genetics and genomes, Michael Traugott describes a novel way of using genetics to find out who is eating whom in underground food webs, and Derek Thorne gets fruity with Lucy Wheatley extracting DNA from a kiwi... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

1 Heinä 200657min

Answering all your questions on science, technology and medicine this week are Drs Chris, Dave and Kat, who will be revealing why spicy foods make you sweat, the highest possible temperature, the cause of labyrinthitis and why tissues turn black after receiving frostbite. Also on the show is Mark Skousen, a direct descendent of Benjamin Franklin, who will be talking about the life and work of this famous scientist and statesman; and in Science Update, Bob and Chelsea find some animal magic in the feeding strategies of killer whales and the interpretation of a horse whinny. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

24 Kesä 200657min

Scratching the itch of curiosity this week is William Foster, who will be talking about the evolution of social insects and his quest for social beetles in Thailand, Claire Rind flies in the face of current car safety technologies by using knowledge of collision avoidance in locusts, Matt Shardlow discusses how man-made wastelands can be a haven for rare invertebrates, and Derek Thorne joins Ed Turner in the garden to discover how to make pitfall traps. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

17 Kesä 20061h

This week we focus on the science of the very small - the microbial world of bacteria, viruses and fungi with Nottingham Universitys Liz Sockett and Cambridge Universitys Stacey Efstathiou and Ali Ashby. Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Derek and Sheena explain how to make litmus paper from red cabbage, we meet a generation of miniature (dwarf) dinosaurs, and calculate the extra fuel cost of flying a flag from your car for the world cup... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

10 Kesä 200655min

Powering the generators for the show this week is Nicky White who describes how oil is formed, how we find and extract oil and how long oil supplies will last, Lynne Macaskie discusses how fuel cells can be run on hydrogen gas created by bacteria and sugary waste, and Peter Hughes explains how his Electro-Kinetic Road Ramp could soon be powering your street lamps. In Science Update, Bob and Chelsea reveal how llama spit can be used to spot the ultimate power-up, caffeine, and in Kitchen Science Derek Thorne and Chris Muirhead reveal a cool way to chop your vegetables... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

3 Kesä 200656min