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.
Vaccines passports in England shown the door
He said he'd introduce them, now Boris Johnson has stepped back from mandating vaccine passports across England for venues like nightclubs. But what's provoked this viral volte-face? Also, saliva tests for Covid-19, few fatal coronavirus cases among the unvaccinated, what's the role of hand sanitisers, and are Covid booster jabs…
Self-assembling filter can remove fluoride
Fluoride is the stuff in toothpaste that helps strengthen teeth. But if there's too much fluoride in the water it softens bones, and children become susceptible to bone deformities. It's very difficult and expensive to remove dissolved fluoride ions from water. But, inspired by nature, scientists have used polymers to…
Moral outrage on Twitter is contagious
Twitter has been the subject of another study, looking at how people's tendency to post tweets in moral outrage is affected by other people on the site. Increasingly in recent years, celebrities and other well-known individuals have found themselves being "cancelled". This usually happens when they do or say something…
Bit.bio: a new source of human cells
Scientists and doctors are always after good quality human cells for research and therapeutic purposes, but these can be hard to come by in sufficient quantities. Now, synthetic biology company bit.bio has opened up new headquarters in Cambridge to start supplying multiple different cell types by reprogramming stem cells. Eva…
Feeding birds could be causing harm
Many of us love putting out bird seed and watching birds feast away, and feel we're doing a good deed too, but a new paper out of Manchester Metropolitan University suggests we may actually be doing more harm than good. Eva Higginbotham spoke to BBC science correspondent Victoria Gill, who…
Schools Causing Covid Surges
Most schools across the UK are open and children are heading back to their classrooms. But to what extent will this affect the Covid case rates across the country and what can we do to avoid disrupting a third academic year? In Scotland, children returned to school sooner than their…
Long COVID in children: what we know so far
Quite soon after the pandemic first struck a significant number of people began to complain of persistent symptoms in the aftermath of being infected with the new coronavirus. These manifestations have been dubbed "long covid". What's less clear is the extent to which this is happening not just to adults…
Water vapour found on Ganymede
We often look for water on remote planets and moons because, as far as we know, it's a requirement for life. Now a team of researchers using the Hubble Space Telescope to scrutinise Jupiter's largest moon, Ganymede, think they've found water in its atmosphere. Sally Le Page spoke with team…
What can NZ do about Delta?
Is Delta more deadly, or just transmitting more rapidly? And are the vaccines we're using likely to defend against future coronavirus variants? Also, does it matter that levels of antibody dimish post-vaccination, or will immune memory make up for the shortfall? Meanwhile, are vaccinated people who still catch Delta equally…
Antibiotic-resistant bacteria in dogs
Researchers have reported a case of antibiotic-resistant bacteria passing between dogs and their owners. And these bacteria aren't just resistant to any antibiotic - they're resistant to colistin, an antibiotic of last resort that we use when all other treatments fail. Mark Holmes is a vet and a microbial scientist…
The UK and Freedom Day: What The Numbers Say
Chris Smith joins Radio New Zealand National's Kim Hill to talk Covid-19, including the impact of the July 19th UK Freedom Day on Covid case rates. They also touch on vaccine performance, variants, past pandemics and whether we'll all be getting boosters in future years... Like this podcast? Please help…
New malaria drug cures with one dose
Although Covid-19 is dominating the headlines perpetually at the moment, it's very important not to lose sight of other significant diseases that don't yet have vaccines and do have a higher cumulative death toll. Malaria is one of them and kills half a million people, mostly children, every year. One…
Increasing likelihood of extreme heatwaves
Earlier this year a devastating heatwave in the pacific northwest of the United States killed almost 200 people with record-shattering temperatures; and, in 2019, the UK recorded its highest ever temperature of 38.7 degrees here in Cambridge. Alarmingly, new research from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology suggests that there's…
Hygiene doesn't harm immune development
A question we're being asked quite a lot is whether the extra lengths we're going to in terms of hygiene to protect us from COVID-19 might cause us immune problems later because we're living lives that are too clean. This is the basis of what's dubbed the "hygiene hypothesis". But…
Rivers don't always recover after drought
The general view is that waterways, such as rivers and underground water sources, will dry up during severe drought - but eventually recover and resume their normal flow when the rains return. But new findings from Australia pour cold water on that idea. When researchers analysed 30 years of rainfall…
'Dragon Man' skull: our closest relative?
An ancient skull, uncovered decades ago in China, has recently been revealed to be possibly the closest ever relative to humankind. It's called "Dragon Man", and based on trace uranium inside the skull, it's been dated to at least 146,000 years old - but could well be much older! This…
T-rex teens fill mid-size predator gap
Few animals inspire the imagination like Tyrannosaurus rex. And the mighty tyrannosaurs did dominate the lands that eventually became central Asia and western North America for millions of years. But during that time, fossils show that medium-sized predators all but disappeared. Why? Thomas Holtz from the University of Maryland dug…
Sharks use Earth's magnetic field as a map
Previously, researchers knew that sharks can travel back and forth across entire oceans, accurately returning to specific locations. But what we didn't know was whether they memorise these routes, or if they have some sort of inbuilt GPS. To find out how sharks navigate, Charlotte Birkmanis mapped the course with…
Pesticide antidote might help struggling bees
New technology may help save bees by providing an antidote for deadly pesticides. The new solution allows beekeepers to feed their bees 'pollen patties', a pollen-sized microparticle filled with enzymes to prevent the bees from ingesting certain pesticides. Carlotte Birkmanis chatted with Cornell University's James Webb to get the latest…
Covid viruses, vaccines and variants
Covid viruses, vaccines and variants: Chris Smith talks to Radio New Zealand National to bring Kim Hill up to speed with the latest developments on the pandemic front, including the recent case in NZ's Wellington... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists