Fitter fat cells, and Earth spins slightly faster

For Easter this week, we explore how synchrotron radiation can be used to probe and find answers to a variety of scientific questions as we bring you a special programme of highlights from the Diamond Light Source podcast. We hear how changes to key proteins can cause hypertension and pre-eclampsia, how green rust could provide a greener future and discover a new type of magnetic material which could make data storage faster, cheaper and more compact. Plus, we explore a new form of solar cell which could make solar energy more affordable in the future. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

23 Huhti 201133min

Two pioneers in the field of gene therapy join us to discuss how they're developing modified viruses to deliver healthy copies of genes to save patients afflicted by lethal genetic diseases. We also hear how energy can be harvested from footsteps and heartbeats to power nanodevices, and how a new SWARM of satellites is about to be deployed to study the Earth's magnetic field from space. Plus, in the news, how "ums" and "ahs" can boost a baby's learning power, how mankind talked his way out of Africa and how scientists are recreating schizophrenia in a Petri dish... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

17 Huhti 201155min

Do dogs get ticklish? What wakes up mosquitoes at meal times? Do animals use weapons? In this fast-paced Question and Answer show we also focus on the nuclear threat from Fukushima and hear how gut bugs raise the risk of heart disease, why flaps for wind turbines have got engineers in a spin, and why tidiness stops stereotyping. Plus, how to make a balloon fireproof and what causes dark circles under the eyes when we get tired... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

10 Huhti 20111h 2min

This week, we go wireless to explore the science of mobile phones. We hear how new error-correction techniques are promising to put an end to poor quality communications, we meet a new system that lets you borrow the antennae of other nearby phones to boost your data download rates, and a major study that's examining the potential health impacts associated with mobile phone use. Plus, in the news, the now not-so-anomalous Pioneer probe anomaly, the chemical cure that can flatten phobias and how a biased worm could overturn an election victory... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

3 Huhti 201159min

Life in inaccessible places - including in caves sealed off from the Sun and around deep-sea vents - is the subject of this week's Naked Scientists. In these intriguing environments, bacteria replace plants as the primary producers, extracting energy from the minerals around them to sustain a whole ecosystem. We also hear about the bone-eating worms that make a meal of whale carcasses that fall to the seafloor, an engineering trick for separating mined-metals from mud and, in the news, why the world's waves are getting bigger, how sperm can be grown in a dish and a gene that drives melanoma.... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

27 Maalis 201157min

This week, we find out what lies beyond the limits of our Universe as we discuss multiverses, higher dimensions, string theory and supersymmetry. We find out how these ideas develop from basic principles and how the LHC can help to confirm, or refute, their existence. In the news, how quartz creates mountain ranges, progesterone excites sperm, and why birds can't help but fly into things. Plus, Meera and Dave find out how to engineer electrons to travel close to the speed of light, and Simon Singh explains how to discover the distance to a far away star. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

20 Maalis 201156min

Can you electrocute weeds? Why do teeth go wobbly? And which cells last a lifetime? In this bumper edition of the Naked Scientists, we tackle your pressing science questions and find out how the shuttle manoeuvres in space, what makes wounds itch, whether reverse osmosis can make moonshine and if static can stick a cat to a wall. Plus, how diamonds deal death to tumours, cooperation in the elephant world and an update on the Japanese earthquake situation. We also hear how a hairy leg can help you bend water to your will, and Diana discovers why potato peelers never need sharpening! Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

13 Maalis 20111h 2min

From anti-ague to anti-Alzheimer's agent: over the 112 years since it was first trademarked, Aspirin has evolved from popular painkiller to powerful preventative against heart attacks, strokes and even cancer. In this week's show we trace its history from the extraction of aspirin-like chemicals from willow bark to the creation of the drug itself. Plus, in the news, how the chemistry of life could have come to Earth in a meteorite and why we need to be careful with stem cells: a new study finds they have an above-average mutation rate. Also, a new technique to etch graphene sheets with... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

6 Maalis 201155min