The Naked Scientists Podcast - Stripping Down Science

5 years of COVID, and the hunt for Planet X

In this edition of The Naked Scientists: It's 5 years since COVID began and the WHO hosted their first press conference. But how much have we learned and are we prepared for the next pandemic? Also, a report from the UK House of Lords points to a rapidly closing window…

16 Jan 32 min

Titans of Science: Antje Boetius

Titans of Science continues with the microbiologist who discovered how an extraordinary relationship between two methane-eating seafloor species has shaped the world we know today. To explain that and much more is the ocean aficionado Antje Boetius... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

13 Jan 30 min

Bird flu threat, and what the Romans really did for us

In the news podcast this week, the first human death from bird flu in the US has made virologists vigilant about its potential threat. Also, we learn about the potentially billions of tonnes of sequestered hydrogen on Earth that could be used for clean energy, and hear of the promising…

9 Jan 33 min

Titans of Science: Trevor Robbins

Titans of Science continues, where we talk to some of the major movers and shakers leading the way in their respective fields. This time we're hearing from Cambridge neuroscientist, and expert on obsessive compulsive disorder - OCD - Trevor Robbins... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked…

7 Jan 29 min

What science will thrive in 2025?

In this edition of The Naked Scientists, a look ahead to 2025. We ask experts in the field of health, AI, astronomy, marine science, and archaeology what we should look forward to over the next 12 months... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

3 Jan 28 min

Titans of Science: Marc Abrahams

In this edition of Titans of Science, Chris Smith chats with co-founder of Annals of Improbable Research, and the master of ceremonies for the Ig Nobel prize, Marc Abrahams... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

31 Dec 2024 29 min

The science that defined 2024

In this edition of The Naked Scientists, we ask leading experts in the fields of health, AI, space, marine biology, and archaeology about the moments that defined 2024... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

26 Dec 2024 28 min

The best of 2024!

In this edition of The Naked Scientists, we look back at another brilliant year of science and select some of our favourite stories to come out of it... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

20 Dec 2024 54 min

Titans of Science: David Baker

Our Titans of Science season continues with the man who used AI to create an unprecedented number of custom proteins: Nobel Prize winning biochemist David Baker... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

16 Dec 2024 29 min

Food science, ancient human genes, and dark comets

In the news pod, Chris van Tulleken tells us what he's got planned for this years Royal Institution Christmas Lectures. Then we hear about the innovation to harness energy from radioactive carbon-14 atoms, and learn more about when humans and Neanderthals got to know each other. Then, we look skyward,…

12 Dec 2024 35 min

Titans of Science: Jocelyn Bell Burnell

Titans of Science returns with Jocelyn Bell Burnell who discovered radio pulsars as a postgraduate student at Cambridge. Her work not only revolutionised the field of astrophysics, but inspired one of the most famous pieces of music artwork too... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

9 Dec 2024 31 min

AI takes weather forecasting by storm, and crabs use aspirin

In the News pod, Google DeepMind's weather forecasting AI model outperforms traditional tools. Also, new data from volcanoes on Venus dampen theories it was once a watery world, and is this double action weight loss drug the successor to Ozempic and Mounjaro? Then, we hear the proof that crustaceans can…

5 Dec 2024 33 min

OCD and balance in the brain

Obsessive compulsive disorder - OCD - is a mental health condition where intrusive, unwanted thoughts can become all consuming. Some people report anxieties over something terrible happening to them or someone they love for example, and, in some cases, in a bid to alleviate these fears, they may carry out…

3 Dec 2024 32 min

Jab to alleviate asthma attacks, and amber in Antarctica

In the news, a potentially game-changing new injection to ease the suffering caused by asthma attacks shows success. Also, who should fix the gas leak on the International Space Station? Then, fossilised footsteps fuel speculation over interactions between early human ancestors, and we find out what the presence of amber…

29 Nov 2024 33 min

Can nuclear innovation help meet our energy needs?

In this edition of The Naked Scientists, how much of a part do innovations in nuclear energy production, like SMRs and microreactors, have to play in our nuclear future? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

26 Nov 2024 31 min

Amazing animals: bats on treadmills, and showering elephants

In this animal-themed edition of the news: What prompted scientists to put vampire bats on a treadmill? Also ahead: why medicinal leeches are returning to the UK's waterways. Plus, the spiders that know what kind of food will satisfy their dietary needs. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting…

21 Nov 2024 33 min

Are we on track to end new infections of HIV?

On today's programme, we are going to examine attempts to end HIV/AIDS as a public health threat by the end of the decade.The AIDS pandemic is unarguably the worst health threat to confront the population in the modern era. We believe close to 100 million people have died of the…

19 Nov 2024 36 min

The stakes at COP29, and the rogue Skynet satellite

This episode of The Naked Scientists: what's at stake at this year's UN climate summit in Azerbaijan? Also, the 80 million-year-old fossil revealing how birds came by their big brains; and why the UK's oldest satellite has wandered off over the Americas... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting…

14 Nov 2024 32 min

Can weight loss jabs tackle the obesity pandemic?

In this edition of The Naked Scientists, could weight loss jabs help shrink the size of the global obesity crisis... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

11 Nov 2024 33 min

Pompeii DNA, and a black hole feeding faster than it should

New NICE guidance urges HRT as a first-line treatment for menopause symptoms, the enormous black hole that doesn't obey our existing laws of physics, and what DNA analysis is revealing about the people who inhabited Pompeii... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

7 Nov 2024 32 min