kitchen science

As the joke goes.....if you cross a kangaroo with a sheep you get a wooly jumper. Is it now possible with modern techniques to cross different animals to make one completely new species? Plus we ask will the plastics in the oceans ever degrade? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week I'll be getting inside your head.....with a question from Jarraryd Dunn. Plus we'll be asking is there any point in switching off your lights, TVs, and phone chargers during the winter?... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

We explore the smells created by that wet weather phenomenon, rain. What brings about the damp, earthy smell? Plus, we ask if olive oil really is good for you. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This month on Naked Archaeology: the discovery of a possible link between genus Homo and Australopithecus - Aus. sediba; we find out how people first made it to Cyprus; which is the oldest building still in use and if Icelandic eruptions are a good thing. Plus, in Backyard Archaeology Tom and Duncan look through some wafer-thin slices of pot and meet Aegina's finest jug-maker!

This month on Naked Archaeology: the discovery of a possible link between genus Homo and Australopithecus - Aus. sediba; we find out how people first made it to Cyprus; which is the oldest building still in use and if Icelandic eruptions are a good thing. Plus, in Backyard Archaeology Tom and Duncan look through some wafer-thin slices of pot and meet Aegina's finest jug-maker!

Neanderthals wore make-up too! We explore the cosmetics worn by early humans and Egyptians. Naked Archaeology this month also explores the discovery of Cleopatra's unfinished mausoleum and the curious orientation of Sicilian temples. Plus, in Backyard Archaeology we discover how medieval kings were also into their pre-history.

Neanderthals wore make-up too! We explore the cosmetics worn by early humans and Egyptians. Naked Archaeology this month also explores the discovery of Cleopatra's unfinished mausoleum and the curious orientation of Sicilian temples. Plus, in Backyard Archaeology we discover how medieval kings were also into their pre-history.

This week, we seek the science of Architecture. We find out how rapid prototyping technology could help us print out entire houses, and how natural light and ventilation could cut our energy bills. Plus, giggling gorillas tell us how laughter evolved and birds that learn from their neighbours. In Kitchen Science, Dave challenges you to build the best bridge, using only a single sheet of A4 paper! Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Ho Ho Ho! This week on the Naked Scientists we're celebrating the festive season in style, with a party right here in the studio. From Christmas crackers to Brussels sprouts, we'll be looking at some of the science behind Christmas. We'll be learning about snowflakes and how these sub-zero designs are created, we'll find out what your choice of Christmas card says about you, and we'll reveal the best way to cook your sprouts, ensuring your family get all the nutrition they can this Christmas. Also, in Kitchen science we'll be getting you to butter bread and throw it off your kitchen counter... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week we explore the science of Heart Disease. Dr Niall Campbell joins us to explain what heart attacks are and how theyre treated, Dr Anthony Mathur discusses how stem cells might hold the key to mending a broken heart, and Ben Valsler visits Brian Callingham to investigate how arteries behave when you give them various drugs. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week we explore the science of flight. Dr Graham Taylor from Oxford University talks about the aerodynamics of insect flight and how video camera back-packs allow him to see how eagles fly, and Jenny Goodman describes how future aircraft might be flying at six times the speed of sound while withstanding temperatures hot enough to melt stainless steel in 5 seconds! In Kitchen Science, Ben Valsler sticks with the flight theme and finds out how a hot air balloon works. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Every year the Cambridge Science Festival celebrates some of the best and most exciting science and engineering going on in the UK - and the Naked Scientists were there! Find out about the cool science of ice cream, the microscopic world of microbes, and the IgNobel awards for science at its most silly. Looking further afield, the University of Aucklands Peter Metcalf unlocks the secrets of a viral sarcophagus, and Mike Brown from the California Institute of Technology discusses the origin of some mysterious objects in the Kuiper Belt. To cool us down after all that excitement, Dave and Azi... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Contaminated petrol, astronauts in danger of lung diseases, a new way to put the brakes on car accident rates, gas sensors made from silicon replicas of marine algae and how pollution is causing droughts, plus a healthy digest of your science questions and emails top the bill in this weeks Naked Scientists. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week we unwrap the secrets of ancient mummies from Peru with the help of London Universitys Lawrence Owens, find out where domestic animals and pets came from with Keith Dobney from the University of Durham, and in kitchen science Dave explores the science of fires and fuels by blowing up some custard. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Clean water is something that many of us take for granted, but Mark Booth describes how in many parts of the world dirty water can lead to life-threatening disease and parasitic infections. To talk about the current strategies in place to supply clean water we are joined by the World Heath Organisations Alex McKie, and Colin Humphreys explains how high-energy UV LEDs could help provide clean water in the future. In Kitchen Science, Helen Scales and Dave Ansell bring sweetness and light to a house in Cottenham... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Dr Chris and Dr Helen answer all your burning science questions, including why frost can form even when the air temperature is above zero, why hair looks darker when it is wet, why sunlight looks red through your eyelids, and whether cracking your knuckles really causes arthritis. We also talk to Chemistry World editor Mark Peplow about venomous vipers, artificial kidneys, and how LSD might be switching on hallucinations, and in Kitchen Science Anna Lacey and Dave Ansell look at some slightly safer visual effects with the help of a sodium street light. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Nuclear energy is always in the news, but how much do you know about nuclear fission and what happens to nuclear waste? To find out how it works, Anna Lacey and Dave Ansell visit Sizewell B power station in Suffolk, and studio guest Ian Farnan discusses nuclear waste disposal and why current methods might not contain the radiation for as long as we thought. But as clinical radiologist Anant Krishnan explains, radiation plays a crucial role in medicine, including allowing us to see broken bones and killing off tumours. Sticking with uses of radiation that save lives, Anna and Dave find out how... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

The science of pain is our hot topic this week. David Julius reveals the molecular mechanisms of pain and what a chilli pepper has in common with a tarantula, Geoff Woods describes the genetic mutations that lead to people not feeling pain at all, and to explain the phenomenon of phantom limbs and ways in which we can deal with pain is pain consultant Cathy Stannard. In Kitchen Science Derek Thorne braves freezing weather to sniff out the science of sausages, and in the final part of our Science of Colour series, Anna Lacey discovers how colour could find you your perfect date. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week we take a look at extreme environments and the organisms that live in them. Crispin Little talks about hydrothermal vents and the fastest fossilisation on the planet, Steve Scott explains why mining companies are interested in hydrothermal vents, and Lisa Pratt describes how bacteria find energy three kilometres beneath the surface of the earth and how similar strategies could be used by life on other planets. From the extremes of the Earth to the extremes of the kitchen, Derek Thorne and Hugh Hunt find out whats hot and whats not in the dishwasher... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists