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.
How wildcats became kitty cats
Just a handful of genetic changes are what turned wildcats into domestic pets, scientists have now shown. And many of these changes are linked with genes that affect how the brain processes rewards and pleasure. In other words, humans won over cats by appealing to their desire for kitty treats…
Women in Science
What do you do to fight gender inequality? Record a single on the subject, of course.Hannah Critchlow spoke to Tim Bussey, professor, budding rock star and performer behind this re-release from the 80s.
Healthy Looking Leaders
Would you prefer your prime minister, president, or beloved leader to look healthy, intelligent, or both? Researchers from the VU University of Amsterdam say that given the choice, people prioritise healthy-looking candidates over intelligent ones.
Imaging the Genome
The quest to understand the fundamental rules governing life has taken another step forward, as new research from the University of Cambridge reveals.
ELife Episode 15: Flu, Cannabis and HIV
In this episode of the eLife podcast we hear about influenza pandemics, eating too much, cannabis and the brain, HIV cure research, and the evolution of sea squirts…
Foreign species invading the UK
As international trade increases, particularly by sea, we're seeing more stowaways; but not of the human variety. Scientists are reporting that animals and plants are hitching rides around the world on boats - and even on fishing tackle. They then setup home in other countries where, with nothing to eat…
Detection Dogs
Whilst Magic - a young golden retriever - may love chasing a stick, curling up on a rug and enjoying a biscuit as much as the next dog, he is certainly no ordinary dog. Trained by Milton Keynes based organisation Medical Detection Dogs, he can sniff out when his owner…
14.09.30
This week in the Planet Earth Podcast: Tamara Galloway, Matt Cole and Ceri Lewis of the University of Exeter talk about their research on the effects of fragments of plastics from food packaging, drinks bottles and even facial scrubs on marine wildlife.
Your nose knows death is imminent
Until recently when technology took over, a coal miner's best friend was a caged canary that would warn of a build-up of life-threatening gases. Now US scientists are saying that the sense of smell is the coalmine canary of human health, with people who fail a smell test being at…
ELife Episode 14: Cost of corruption, and Ebola
In this episode of the eLife podcast we hear about the spread of the Ebola virus, the financial costs of research misconduct, aging in yeast, grooming in flies, and symbiosis between bacteria and fungal cells.
The price of alcohol
Thousands die due to alcohol consumption each year, did raising the price of alcohol in the UK reduce these costs?
The smartest part of our brain
Which part of our brain helped us become the social and (for the most part) intelligent creatures we are today?
New solar cells
Hydrogen is regarded as an excellent candidate future fuel on the grounds that it is relatively easy to store and it burns cleanly to produce only heat and water. But present methods of production involve fossil fuels and are energy intensive, offsetting any benefits of the hydrogen. Instead, scientists would…
How dinosaur arms turned into bird wings
You can forget Jurassic Park because actually dinosaurs are all around us! And I'm not joking because the fact is that when you see a chirping bird, you're actually looking at a modern dinosaur. Evidence has been growing for some time that our feathered friends are descended from small carnivorous…
Common cold and asthma
During an asthma attack, inflammation in the airways leads to breathlessness, and severe cases can end up with sufferers being hospitalised or even dying.One culprit that can make asthma worse is the virus that causes the common cold, known as rhinovirus. But why does a cold mean a runny nose…
Do baby fish speak?
We've all heard that whales and dolphins have a highly developed way of making sounds to communicate with each. However when it come to ordinary fish you'd have thought they're pretty silent things. But you'd be wrong. Marine biologist Erica Staaterman from the University of Miami believes that most animals…
Best place for cardiac arrest
A cardiac arrest is when a person's heart stops beating and they collapse. It affects 30,000 people every year in the UK.The majority of these occur outside the hospital setting and they're frequently fatal. But how should they be managed - by attempting to resuscitate the victim at the scene,…
Strategic decision making revealed
Are you a strategic decision maker? Is your brain anterior cingulate cortex switched off or on? Are random decisions being made or are you basing them entirely on past experience?Alla Karpova discusses decision-making…
Worrying world population
World leaders had been planning for a world population of about 9 billion by 2050. But now a new analysis, based on fresh data and more advanced statistical methods, suggests that this estimate might be wildly inaccurate and that the real figure might be more than 12 billion, which means…
Ant-sized radios
Wireless connections are everywhere now. Perhaps you're listening to us through your smartphone or laptop, or maybe you have one of those new-fangled smart fridges connected to the internet.Technologists now talk about the internet of things, where objects around us are all connected up using wireless radio technology, and the…