Fitter fat cells, and Earth spins slightly faster

In the news, the old liver drug that turns out to be able to prevent Covid-19 infection, the artificial intelligence systems that pass the Turing test and can write their own computer programmes, and what bats and heavy metal singers have in common. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

9 Dec 202227min

Last month, we were told, the 8 billionth person was added to Earth's human population. But despite many acknowledging that some of the biggest threats facing us and the planet, like climate change - stem from our impact on world, and the more of us there are, the worse those threats will be, the topic of population is mysteriously absent from the dialogue at major international fora, like the recent COP27 meeting in Egypt. Surely "living sustainably" must include, as David Attenborough puts it, not over-running the planet and destroying it in the process?So how many people can, or should the... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

6 Dec 202230min

A new Alzheimer's drug shows some promise in trials, but are the risks from side effects worth it? A new contraceptive inspired by Roman history and shellfish... And the surprising discovery about ants that scientists missed for over a century... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

2 Dec 202228min

If you've recently applied for a job, you may have been asked to fill out a personality test. From banks and consultancy firms to fast-food outlets, they're increasingly being used as a way to improve efficiency and perceived fairness in recruitment.The most common tests used for these purposes are based on the so-called 'big 5' personality traits that psychologists have settled on as providing a good indication of just what makes us tick. Such personality tests take the form of a questionnaire in which the participant indicates their alignment with statements concerning human behaviour,... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

29 Nov 202228min

In the news this week, we hear about the novel approach to diagnosing diseases by looking at the chemical compounds in patients' breath, a new way of attacking viruses without damaging our cells, the potential for life on Mars, successful trials prescribing heat for health conditions, and what low frequncy noises we can't even hear can do for our propensity to dance... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

25 Nov 202232min

This week, it is time to put your questions to a panel of excellent experts in one of our Q&A shows! We are going to be investigating how we track disease outbreaks, why our ears go pop, and why neanderthal DNA makes some of us more susceptible to diseases like COVID. Plus, we have a science quiz based on the World Cup. See how you fare against our experts... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

22 Nov 202259min

This week, we're talking about the so-called scientific reproducibility crisis: an alarming sounding study was released earlier this year which concluded that less than one third of breast cancer research papers had reproducible results. So who's to blame? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

15 Nov 202230min

In this episode, How researchers are growing new blood in the lab, the scientists planning for potential alien communications, and why fertiliser may be fooling bees' ability to spot flowers... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

11 Nov 202228min