Flu season starts early, and staving off hungry seagulls

This week, we're talking electric cars: we get someone to drive one for a few days to find out how easy the switch to electric might be. And news of the brainy computer that's made a breakthrough against superbugs, and, on Mars, why the little green men are quaking in their boots... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

3 Mars 202058min

For many, the term Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a phrase straight out of sci-fi, conjuring up visions of utopias or dystopias, from films ranging from the Terminator to I Robot. But what was previously sci-fi is now increasingly becoming reality. AI technology exists, and there's a brand new frontier where it's being applied to the world of healthcare. AI is helping to diagnose cancer, design new medicines, and even predict a person's medical future. In this programme, in partnership with Microsoft, we explore where AI technology is taking us... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

27 Feb 202028min

With the leap year upon us, and the rare appearance of Feb 29th, we're "marking time" to find out how time works: from why time seems to go faster when we're older, to the mind-bending warping of time around black holes. Plus, in the news, scientists develop a way to produce electricity from thin air, how old mattresses are feeding refugees, and why bringing back beavers might solve some of our flooding problems... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

25 Feb 202058min

This week we delve into the disease that accounts for a quarter of all cancer diagnoses in men: prostate cancer. We'll be finding out how it's picked up and diagnosed, as well as speaking to someone who lives with the condition. Plus, in the news: our update on the coronavirus, from life in quarantine to developing a vaccine; cutting aircraft emissions by flying just a bit higher; and how scientists can take a dinosaur's temperature from its fossilised eggs... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

18 Feb 202059min

This week - tick tock! We're talking body clock science! Whether it's eating, sleeping, or coming down with something - we're taking a look at the biology of our daily rhythms. Plus in the news, doctors begin testing gene editing to treat cancer, and what have honeybees and love hearts got in common? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

11 Feb 202058min

What's a white hole? Why don't we use brain scans to diagnose mental health and why was cyanide Agatha Christie's poison of choice? All this and more as our panel of experts answer your questions. Joining Chris Smith this time are: Astronomy specialist Matt Bothwell, forensic toxicologist Lorna Nisbet, neuroscientist Camilla Nord and physiologist Sam Virtue... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

4 Feb 202058min

This week we're donning our kilts and raising our whisky bottles to celebrate Burns Night! The two-century-old Scottish holiday honours the memory of the great poet Robbie Burns, and in this episode we're hosting our very own Burns Supper - but with a special twist of science. We've got haggis, history, and a live science ceilidh! Plus in the news, an update on China's virus outbreak, the Earth's oldest meteor crater, and scientists recreate the voice of a 3000-year-old Egyptian Mummy.... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

28 Jan 202058min

This week: food waste. Worldwide, a third of the food we buy ends up in the bin. Why? And what can science do to help? Plus - will 2020 be another climate record-breaker, and what are the climate-change consequences for future food production here? A new way to treat type 1 diabetes. And why, nutritionally-speaking, packed lunches for many children leave a lot to be desired... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

21 Jan 20201h