Special Editions
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.
15.07.04
It's an age-old debate, who feels more pain, men or women? Scientists at McGill University have taken us one step closer to answering this question with with a study using mice. Jeff Mogil and his team have discovered that the biological pathway that causes chronic pain is completely different in…
15.07.03
What do fish and aircraft have in common? Well, water and air are both fluids. And when fish move their tails and bodies from side to side, they push against the surrounding water and leave behind a mini whirlpool or vortex, which contains information about the drag forces experienced by…
Just give me a second...
Rejoice because at midnight tonight, a second will be added to clocks across the world. Seeing as you now have all of this extra time, here's Naked Scientist Tom Crawford with everything you need to know about the leap second…
ELife episode 20: Tinnitus and Mouse Ultrasound
Tinnitus, hyperacusis, salamanders, chemical harpoons and the role of ultrasound and song in the mating rituals of mice and flies go under the microcope in this edition of the eLife Podcast.
PPI's Increase Heart Attack Risk
One of the world's most widely-used classes of drugs could significantly increase your risk of suffering a heart attack; that's according to a new study by researchers at Stanford University, in California and published in PloS One this week. Nick Leeper and Nigam Shah used a computer programme to identify…
Hawkmoths Shadowy Existence Uncovered
Hawkmoths live a shadowy existence; they stick their tongues down the flowers' neck, all the while being tossed about in the wind. And as if that wasn't enough, they do it all in the pitch black. With tiny brains and even tinier eyes - they seem to defy what's physically…
Self-unrolling Brain Implant
Scientists in the US have developed a new brain implant that can be used to record information from nerve cells, and also to transmit signals into the nervous system, to stimulate parts of the brain. Unlike existing electrode devices, which can trigger a scar to form around the implant that…
75 million year-old Dinosaur Cells found
While Jurassic World may be wowing the crowds at the cinema, a new study from researchers at Imperial College has been making waves in the world of real-life dinosaurs. Although scientists have previously found evidence for soft tissues, such as blood, in very well-preserved dinosaur fossils, this has been controversial…
Exploring Saturn's Newest Ring
Saturn is one of the most well-known planets in the solar system, perhaps owing to its distinctive set of rings. The largest of these rings, the H-ring, was only discovered as recently as 2009 and cannot be seen from Earth. Now, using images taken by NASA's WISE spacecraft, scientists at…
Coffee staves off depression
Coffee is an essential part of life for many of us, but could it help to cut depression?
Ending Earthquakes With Water
Earthquakes occur at faults, or fractures, in the Earth's crust - where two big slabs of rock meet. Movement under the surface tries to push the rocks past each other but the rough edges get stuck together until enough stress builds up to jerk them past each other - and…
Sequencing Schizophrenia
The specific genes that cause schizophrenic symptoms have been found by researchers in Cardiff. A huge study of the DNA of over 10,000 schizophrenics and 15,000 controls helped identified the genes involved, and determine that they are in fact the cause rather than an effect. Chris Smith spoke to Michael…
Winter Immune Blues
The incidence of many diseases, including heart attacks and multiple sclerosis, peaks in winter time. Now it looks like this could be an unfortunate throw-back to our prehistoric origins. Cambridge University scientist John Todd has found that the immune system goes through annual cycles of activity, with peak levels of…
Choose Your Treatment Wisely
A campaign to combat "over-treatment" of patients has been announced by doctors' leaders this week. Called "Choosing Wisely", the initiative promotes more open conversations between doctors and patients, rather than an obsessive - and frequently financially incentivised - adherence to targets and guidelines. Consultant cardiologist Dr Aseem Malhotra authored the…
Baboon Buddies
Humans, like all other primates, are a sociable bunch and we tend to pick friends who are fairly similar to us in terms of education, religion, personality and so on. Now researchers studying a troop of wild Chacma baboons living in Namibia have discovered that these animals pick their buddies…
Selective Hearing
How our ears screen out sounds so that we can listen selectively only to those sounds we want to hear - like a friend's voice across a noisy room for instance - has been revealed by scientists in Australia. Gary Housley, from the University of New South Wales, has found…
A Study in Scarlet
Dressing in red around the office might have your colleagues seeing you in a different light! A new study from Durham University's Robert Barton has found that when the same person is shown wearing a red-coloured top, rather than a blue one, they tend to be rated as dominant, aggressive,…
15.05.15
Plants and animals are incredible constructions, built from the fundamental building blocks of cells. But how are we made? By modelling how algae cells literally turn themselves inside out, researchers are hoping to understand how our own bodies are formed. Heather Douglas spoke to Professor Raymond Goldstein, Schlumberger Professor of…
Facebook leads to biased views
Content curation and news filtering by Facebook, as well as other social media websites, likely leads to ideological biases in the information individuals see and read, a new study has shown.
Males donate competitively
If you are thinking of raising money for charity, what's the best way to ensure you hit your fundraising target? According to Nichola Raihani from UCL, you need to be an attractive woman so men will compete with each other to donate the most to your online giving page. Kat…