5 Live Science Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Quakes, bad indoor air, and will we be eating bacteria in future? Feb 12, 2023

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Dr Chris Smith and the Naked Scientist team present the latest science news, analysis and breakthroughs.

Why Turkey can expect aftershocks for up to a year, as we examine the science behind this week's massive earthquake. Plus encrypted letters from Mary Queen of Scots decoded, efforts to drive up indoor air standards, and the revolutions in farming and food production to make food cheaper.

Transplanted brains, sugar taxes and satellites Feb 05, 2023

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Dr Chris Smith and the Naked Scientist team present the latest science news, analysis and breakthroughs.

This week: Human brain tissue transplants wire themselves into rat brains, signs sugar taxes cut obesity, and the science of satellites, including the company planning to forge new metals in orbit.

Can a chatbot be a good broadcaster? Jan 29, 2023

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Dr Chris Smith and the Naked Scientist team present the latest science news, analysis and breakthroughs.

In today’s programme: is paying people to switch off their electricity the right strategy? We hear about bacteria that can eat ocean plastic. And find out more about the spiders that can grow back their limbs!

Plus we find out if an AI chatbot is any good as a broadcaster.

History of Booze Jan 22, 2023

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Dr Chris Smith and the Naked Scientist team present the latest science news, analysis and breakthroughs.

In this week's programme: How hair follicles might hold the key to reversing scars, but not just in skin: in hearts and other organs too; scientists crack how to grow new brain cells in the laboratory dish; and what a mutant from millions of years ago is revealing about how ancient animals mated.

As many of us are taking part in Dry January, we look at the history of booze.

All aboard 'Boaty McBoatface' Jan 15, 2023

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Dr Chris Smith and the Naked Scientist team present the latest science news, analysis and breakthroughs. This week we discover a breakthrough in treating type 2 diabetes, and find out why the Virgin Orbital launch failed earlier this week

Plus, we look at microplastics and the oceans at large as we go aboard the ocean research vessel the RRS Sir David Attenborough, which could have originally been named 'Boaty McBoatface', as they prepare to set sail for the Antarctic. And we discover how the Boaty McBoatface name lives on through one of the research submarines that is deployed on board the ship.

New Year's Q&A Jan 08, 2023

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Dr Chris Smith and a panel of experts answer your science questions for the New Year, including: how starts burn for millions of years?

How do you create a nation of mathematicians?

And how can misinformation change the shapes of our brains?

The Best Of 5 Live Science 2022 Jan 01, 2023

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This week, we bring you the best of 5 Live Science from the year just gone, including the James Webb Space Telescope, clocks so accurate they can tell the time difference between your head and your feet, and science proves that teenagers tune out to their parents' voices!

The Science of Magnetism Dec 18, 2022

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Dr Chris Smith and the Naked Scientist team present the latest science news, analysis and breakthroughs.

In today’s programme: A breakthrough in nuclear fusion: what’s happened and what does this mean in practical terms? A new way to stop your glasses fogging up during this cold snap. Plus why are scientists so attracted to the topic of magnetism?

8 billion people and counting Dec 11, 2022

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Dr Chris Smith and the Naked Scientist team present the latest science news, analysis and breakthroughs.

In today’s programme: The old liver drug that turns out also to be able to prevent Covid-19 infection and the Artificial Intelligence systems that pass the Turing Test and can write their own computer programs. Plus, the 8 billionth person was born last month, so we ask - how many people can the planet really support?

5 live Science Dec 04, 2022

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Dr Chris Smith and the Naked Scientists with the latest science news and analysis.