Medicinal microbes for kidney stones, and musky mice

In our last show before the summer, Dr Chris, Dave and Derek answer all your questions on science, technology and medicine including why paintings fade in sunlight, why body hair grows at different rates, whether UV light poses a danger at the disco, how weightlessness can be experienced on Earth, and sticking with space, Steve Miller explains the origin of Jupiter's giant red spot and its smaller relative red spot junior. We will also be repeating a famous experiment to see if people can accurately estimate physical attributes from the sound of someones voice, and in Kitchen Science, Derek... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

5 Aug 200657min

I predict a riot... or not. This week we're joined by crowd control experts Dr Clifford Stott, from Liverpool University, and Dr John Drury, from Sussex University, wholl be discussing why violence kicks off at football matches, how to spot a spat and the science of mass evacuation. Taking us on a flight of fancy, Dr Gay Gibson, from the University of Greenwich, who describes her research into the harmonious music of mosquitoes, and in Kitchen Science, Derek Thorne bangs out a tune from an oven shelf... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

29 Juli 200656min

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 Juli 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 Juli 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 Juli 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 Juli 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 Juni 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 Juni 20061h