Is there such a thing as a "girls' throw"?
Does exercise lead to a more muscular heart? Why can an unfit cyclist cycle faster than an olympic runner runs? How do kinetic watches work? We answer your questions in this week's Naked Scientists Podcast, and find out why so many dead bugs end up on their backs, how salmonella gets into an egg, and if it's more efficient to fill your freezer than run it half empty? In the news we hear how farming migrated across Europe, why distant stars might have influenced life on Earth, and why rogue DNA can cause heart failure. Plus, we home in on the parts of the pigeon brain that respond to... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
28 Apr 201259min
Clock This! - The Science of the Circadian Rhythm
The body clock goes under the Naked Scientists' spotlight this week. We unpick the mechanisms that enable human cells, plants and even bacteria to track the time of day and alter their activities accordingly, and we hear the evidence that night work makes you put on weight and boosts your diabetes risk. In the news, how cells grafted into the eye restore sight to blind mice, the three genes that can convert scar tissue back into beating cardiac muscle following a heart attack, and electrical stimulation that returns movement to limbs paralysed by spinal injury. And on the subject of the body... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
21 Apr 201259min
Saving Submariners and Studying Deep Sea Species
How can we save the occupants of stricken submarines? What species survive in the deepest depths of ocean trenches? Recognising the centenary of the Titanic tragedy, we're diving deep to meet the Rolls-Royce NATO Submarine Rescue System, we find out about a new initiative to discover what really lives at the bottom of the ocean and hear how volcanoes are acidifying the seas. Plus, what robots can tell us about cocktail party conversations, the mystery of the pigeon's magnetic navigation, and can oil-based face-cream make you fat...? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
14 Apr 201259min
Naked Oceans - From Plastics to Poo
This week we bring you a special look at marine pollution from the Naked Oceans team, going from plastics to poo to explore some of the many ways we pollute the seas. We find out the truth behind the Pacific Garbage Patch, discover how human sewage is wiping out corals in the Caribbean, and in Critter of the Month, a marine expert describes which ocean creature they'd like to be and why... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
7 Apr 201222min
Why did my Dishcloth Detonate?
Why does sunlight make me sneeze? What causes air turbulence? Why do energy-saving lights take time to warm up? In this week's question and answer show we also investigate why microwaving a dishcloth causes it catch fire, whether mining could change the Earth's orbit and why streetlights shine with an orange glow. In the news, meanwhile, how electrical brain stimulation can make impossible problems tractible, a pint-sized rocket to take spacecraft to the moon and a tornado spotted on the surface of the Sun... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
1 Apr 201259min
Going Nuclear
This week we're exploring the future of nuclear energy, including meeting the makers of a new design of nuclear reactor that can consume the fuels that other plants can't burn. We also delve into ways to unclog pipes inside reactors without the risks of going inside. And where do you stand on the nuclear debate? Should we be exploring alternatives, or is there no alternative to a nuclear-future? We talk to two parties on opposite sides of the debate. Plus, what the Messenger probe has found on Mercury, a blood test to predict an imminent heart attack, flushing out evidence of drug use from... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
25 Mar 201259min
Why Viruses Don't Infect the Same Cell Twice
Immune-manipulating parasites, bacterial genomes married to disease processes and viruses that bounce off already-infected cells make for an infectious episode of the Naked Scientists this week. Also up for analysis, why the eyes vote no to long space journeys; the problem with prostate cancer prediction; why nanoparticles trigger bacteria to breed superbugs and the contagious question of which cancers you can catch... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
18 Mar 201259min
Sensors and Sensibility
Smart sensors can open a window into the environment. In this week's Naked Scientists Podcast we find out how networks of sensors around Heathrow airport can study how planes alter the atmosphere, and how a similar network can monitor an Oxfordshire floodplain. Plus, we find out how the tools of a surgeon are helping to keep jet engines in flying form. In the news, we hear how gut bugs promote blood vessel growth, why fresh fruit and veg gives you a healthy hue and how scientists are analysing antimatter with microwaves... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
11 Mar 201259min
