Naked Scientists Special Editions

Growing new blood vessels

Loading player...
Heart attacks come about when blood vessels in the heart are blocked, and without a supply of oxygen-rich blood, the heart muscle can die. This is called ischemic injury, and can also occur in other places in the body, potentially leading to tissue death and even limb amputation. But what if it was possible to re-build the blood vessels in the heart or in other areas of the body, to kick-start the circulation and prevent tissues from being starved of oxygen, and dying? This is what Jo Mountford is trying to do at the Scottish National Blood Transfusion service, as she explains to Katie Haylor...
9 Jul 2018 English United Kingdom Science

Other recent episodes

Sickle cell defeated malaria and opened up pastures new

Malaria has been killing humans for at least fifteen thousand years, and our DNA still carries the scars. Ninety percent of the world's malaria cases are in Africa. But this isn't just a modern health crisis. It's written into our evolutionary history. New research from the University of Cambridge reveals…
13 Jul 8 min

Malaria in Africa

Africa remains at the centre of the global malaria crisis. The continent accounts for around 95 percent of all malaria cases, placing immense strain on health systems and costing hundreds of thousands of lives each year. In 2023, there were an estimated 249 million cases globally, with the vast majority…
20 May 10 min

Driven to End Malaria: World Malaria Day 2026

A child dies from malaria roughly every minute. A stark reminder of why urgent action is still needed. "Driven to end malaria, now we can, now we must" is the theme of this year's World Malaria Day marked on the 25th of April. But how realistic is that, and how…
26 Apr 7 min

Moths hear plants, and what fingerprints do for touch

In this episode, how kangaroos alter their postures to store more energy in their Achilles tendons and boost movement efficiency, the moths that make a beeline when they hear plants "talking" to them, tracking how people pick up diseases from their surroundings, the contribution fingerprints make to touch sensation, and…
28 Feb 37 min

Nocebos, and why the eyes of some species stay shut at birth

This month, compelling evidence for why some species keep their eyes closed for sometimes several weeks after birth, scientists prove that the "nocebo" effect is more potent than a placebo, researchers report what happens when fish eggs and mouse sperm mix, the signals that cells use to measure the lengths…
30 Nov 2025 40 min
All episodes