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Naked Scientists, In Short Special Editions Podcast — Life Sciences
Naked Scientists, In Short Special Editions Podcast

Probing the weird, wacky and spectacular, the Naked Scientists Special Editions are special one-off scientific reports, investigations and interviews on cutting-edge topics by the Naked Scientists team.

Copyright: © The Naked Scientists

Latest Episodes:

Why stress causes heart attacks Jun 26, 2014

Show notes

You've probably heard the idea that stress gives you a heart attack, and we certainly know that it is a risk factor, along with things like high blood pressure, high cholesterol, obesity and smoking. But exactly how stress affects the body to increase the chances of having a heart attack is a bit of a mystery. Now a team of US and German scientists think they might have figured it out. It turns out that stress increases the number of immune cells, known as white blood cells, in atherosclerotic plaques - the fatty blobs that clog up your veins and give you a dicky ticker. Lead researcher... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Cheaper Solar Panels Jun 26, 2014

Show notes

Using a cheap chemical used normally to make tofu stick together, scientists at the University of Liverpool have stumbled upon a much more environmentally-friendly and cheaper way to manufacture very light-weight solar panels called thin film photovoltaics. Science writer Mark Peplow explains the significance of the find to Chris Smith... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

UK government bans 'Qat' Jun 26, 2014

Show notes

As of midnight on Tuesday, the herb "qat" became a Class C drug. Users chew the leaves of this east African flowering plant to achieve a buzz which, some say, is similar to caffeine. The ban is surprising because the UK's Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs have argued that there isn't sufficient evidence that qat causes health problems to justify a ban. David Nutt is professor of neuropharmocology at Imperial College London and spoke to Chris Smith about the stimulant. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Mobile Microbiomes Jun 26, 2014

Show notes

It's not just conversations that we share with our mobiles, but also our bacterial blueprints! According to Oregon scientist James Meadow, every time you interact with your phone you deposit a bug fingerprint unique to you. And this means that our mobiles could actually be used to track how we pick up and exchange microbes with the world around us and even screen doctors and nurses to see who might be carrying potentially harmful bugs.Chris Smith spoke to James Meadow to find out more. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Why Salamanders can't get legless Jun 24, 2014

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Salamanders can grow back entire limbs if they lose them. A team at University College London lead by Dr Max Yun are looking at the genetic pathways that enable these amphibians to regenerate their arms and legs. This could help us understand how human healing can be improved, as Victoria Gill explains to Chris Smith... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

The Science of Making Colour Jun 23, 2014

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The latest digital imaging techniques are literally throwing new light on the ingenious variety of materials that have been used over the centuries to create artists' paint pigments. A new exhibition at the National Gallery in London is looking at the history of colour making over time. Jane Reck has been finding out how preparations were given a helping hand with a state-of the art positioning easel that provides the ability to examine great works of art in unprecedented detail. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

The Future of Flooding in Britain Jun 21, 2014

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Six months after some of the worst flooding witnessed in Britain, Professor David Dermeritt from Kings College London explains to Graihagh Jackson how these deluges have changed Britain's policies on how we manage rivers, risks and rising water levels. What is the future of flooding? Will climate change worsen it? And how will the government protect property? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Mountaintop blasted to build largest telescope Jun 20, 2014

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This week, 3000 metres up a Chilean mountain, scientists pressed the button to blow up half a million tonnes of rock. The mountain's called Cerro Armazones and the reason it was being blown up was to create the site for what will become the world's biggest most powerful optical telescope. With typical scientific understatement its known as the European Extremely Large Telescope or EELT. Isobel Hook an astrophysicist from Oxford University told Chris more about the project. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Renewable Bioplastics Jun 19, 2014

Show notes

Bacteria that can degrade the woody material in plant waste and turn it into an oil-free material for plastics manufacture have been developed by scientists at Warwick University in Britain. Professor Tim Bugg told Chris more... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

One-two punch for evolution Jun 09, 2014

Show notes

There's a new theory this week claiming that men's faces evolved to take punches. It comes from researchers at the University of Utah and goes against a previous theory that craniofacial evolution was driven by a diet of nuts, seeds and vegetables.The Utah team think that extra-thick bones and muscles in the jaw and brow helped to protect our ancestor's faces when they got into punch ups, presumably while fighting over women.But although it's a neat story, and a different way of looking at the evolution of skulls, there are some problems with the idea, as Kat Arney found out from Julie... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

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