The Naked Scientists Podcast

In this enlightening discussion, John Ealing from the Manchester MND Care Centre delves into motor neurone disease, honoring rugby legend Rob Burrow and the ongoing quest for better treatments. Alexander Forse unveils a revolutionary carbon sponge designed to efficiently capture CO2 from the air, presenting hope for environmental challenges. Inga Kamp shares insights on hydrocarbons in young star disks, linking them to planet formation. The episode also humorously addresses a rare condition where a woman gets drunk without drinking, highlighting the intriguing effects of gut microbes.

This week on The Naked Scientists, we are looking at attempts to map the dark universe. As the new space telescope Euclid seeks to unlock the mysteries of dark matter and dark energy, we ask why their secrets have eluded us for so long... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This episode of The Naked Scientists: The genetically engineered mosquitoes released to fight malaria in Africa; how fake news skews public opinion, and who is behind it; and, finding out what it's like to own an extra thumb! Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This episode of The Naked Scientists, as infected blood victims are finally promised compensation following the UK government's cover up of the scandal, we trace the story back to the very beginning, and hear from some of the victims who now have justice... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

In this edition of The Naked Scientists: How science can help cut the carbon footprint of concrete; designer antibodies to introduce cancers to immune assassins; and the caterpillars that sense static charge on wasp wings to beat a hasty retreat... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

We're coming back to the topic of generative artificial intelligence, asking how this potentially gamechanging technology is going to be integrated into our society. We'll hear an explanation of neural networks from Geoff Hinton, one of the founding fathers of AI, and some of the most promising avenues for maximising the strengths of machine learning systems with tech journalist David McClelland. After a brief update on the debate around AI sentience from the foothills of the Himalayas from Nicky Clayton, we explore why chatbots might be about to stop advancing as rapidly as before, and how... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

In the news pod, geneticist Henrik Salje tells us about the relative ineffectiveness of the measles vaccine for infants born via c-section. Also, the incredible memory-making abilities of Eurasian jays with Nicky Clayton, and Ramsey Faragher relates how quantum-based navigation can overcome the vulnerabilities of GPS. Then, Ulf Buntgen explains how tree rings have revealed that the summer of 2023 was the hottest in 2000 years in the northern hemisphere, and Toby Wiseman explains the marvel of our working theory of everything. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Linguistics - the scientific study of language - is our topic for today. Chris Smith learns about the potential origins of human language with David Crystal, and how we assimilate vocal sounds into sentence structures with the University of Cambridge's Mirjana Boziv. Then, a fascinating finding about the way apes layer their communication is described by Adriano Lameira, before Cambridge's Regina Karousou Fokas gives Chris a lesson in Greek... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

In the news pod, the nanotechnology enabling the production of a new vaccine to immunise against future coronaviruses. Then, how we can use psychedelic treatments without giving patients an unwanted trip, and how it was discovered that squirrels and humans were both living with leprosy in medieval England. Plus, what does the latest exoplanet discovery tell us about how far the closest habitable planet might be? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Exploring cancer trends in the UK, mutations driving cancer growth, the impact of screening programs, AI in cancer screening, next-generation therapies targeting cancer cells, personalized vaccines, and engineered immune cells for cancer treatment.