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The Naked Scientists Podcast

BBC

The Naked Scientists flagship science show brings you a lighthearted look at the latest scientific breakthroughs, interviews with the world's top scientists, answers to your science questions and science experiments to try at home.

Location:

Barrington, United Kingdom

Networks:

BBC

Description:

The Naked Scientists flagship science show brings you a lighthearted look at the latest scientific breakthroughs, interviews with the world's top scientists, answers to your science questions and science experiments to try at home.

Language:

English

Contact:

Dr. Chris Smith The Naked Scientists 36 West Green Barrington Cambridgeshire CB2 5SA +44 (0) 7092 01 96 9


Episodes
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Frozen Flora: 25 years of the Millennium Seed Bank

10/20/2025
As the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew celebrate the 25th Birthday of the Millenium Seed Bank in Sussex, James Tytko ventures into its giant underground vaults to learn why they are a crucial part of global plant conservation... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Duration:00:31:34

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Talc linked to cancer, and improving yoghurt with ants

10/16/2025
In this edition of The Naked Scientists: Whether talc-based products - like baby powder - can cause ovarian cancer. Also ahead, the "Sword Dragon of Dorset" found on England's Jurassic Coast. Plus, we'll be finding out about the 'double comet' visible in the night sky... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Duration:00:34:06

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Hearing loss, and what we can do about it

10/13/2025
In this edition of The Naked Scientists, why we lose our hearing and what we can do about it... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Duration:00:32:18

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Top athlete reveals MND diagnosis, and 2025's Nobel Prizes

10/9/2025
In this edition of The Naked Scientists: Is elite level sport linked with Motor Neurone Disease? We examine the evidence as another top player announces his diagnosis. Also, cages that can sieve out molecules, the immune system peacekeepers; and the quantum realm: we look at this year's Nobel Prizes for science. And, how did birds react to the Great American Eclipse last year? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Duration:00:41:21

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Has COVID-19 weakened our immunity?

10/7/2025
You've probably heard of Omicron, but what about Nimbus and Stratus? These are the latest COVID strains spreading around the world, and for most people they'll amount to a heavy cold at worst, lasting just a few days. Or will they? Are these coronaviruses doing more to our immune systems than meets the eye? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Duration:00:30:39

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Embryos made from skin cells, and remembering Jane Goodall

10/2/2025
In this edition of The Naked Scientists: US scientists have turned skin cells into human embryos for the very first time. We unpack the significance. Also ahead, the legacy of the primatologist and conservationist, Jane Goodall, who has died at the age of 91. Plus, we hear from a chemist who believes he has cracked the mystery of ghostly lights we call will-o'-the-wisps... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Duration:00:34:08

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Painting: where art meets science

9/29/2025
Today, we're picking up a brush, and probing the science of paint. Where does chemistry stop, and the art take over? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Duration:00:31:11

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Huntington's treatment, and the High Seas Treaty

9/25/2025
On today's show:, scientists successfully treat Huntington's disease for the first time, slowing the disease by at least 75%: we hear how they've done it. Also, the High Seas Treaty takes a step closer to protecting the world's oceans. And the Earth-sized planet not that far away that might have conditions suitable for life. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Duration:00:37:42

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Lung cancer: looking at the latest developments

9/23/2025
Lung cancer is one of the world's biggest killers. Today, we explore why, and how medical research into this disease is seeing the development of better diagnostic tools, cancer treatments and even a vaccine to prevent tumours from taking hold in the first place... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Duration:00:32:46

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US-UK nuclear deal, and forensics for plastic pollution

9/18/2025
In the news podcast, the US and the UK have forged a long-term nuclear alliance - but what will it really deliver? We also examine a new study on whether smoking cannabis makes it harder to get pregnant. And we'll be hearing from a forensic scientist who is using detective work to rid our oceans of plastic. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Duration:00:33:50

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A decade of detecting gravitational waves

9/15/2025
To celebrate 10 years since they were first detected, we're examining gravitational waves. What are they? And how do we find them? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Duration:00:35:54

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Ancient Mars bacteria, and 'fugitive' methane leaks

9/12/2025
In this edition of The Naked Scientists, the strongest hint yet of life on Mars. Should we get excited? Or is it another red herring? Also ahead: The first new UK-wide study of babies in 25 years. We'll find out why it matters. Plus, an ancient lizard-like fossil is discovered on the coast of Devon. We'll uncover the significance... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Duration:00:35:10

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Made in orbit: How to sustain life in space

9/9/2025
What does it take to build a society in space? Today on the Naked Scientists, we explore efforts to make microgravity amenable to humans; including how to harvest energy, make fresh food, and even birth the next generation of space explorers... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Duration:00:34:33

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Energy drinks curb, and biting back against beetles

9/4/2025
In this edition of The Naked Scientists: A new test to detect Alzheimer's disease long before symptoms first appear. Also, the study showing Earth can sequester only a tenth of the carbon we thought it could. And, how drones, traps and sniffer dogs are protecting the UK's timber industry from beetle attack... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Duration:00:35:23

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Is AI changing the way we think?

9/2/2025
In this edition of The Naked Scientists, from bogus scientific papers and misleading made-up "facts", to potentially curtailing our critical thinking, we look at the effect that mass adoption of AI might be having on the way we think, the decisions we make and the information we learn and act on... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Duration:00:34:27

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First pig lung transplant, and the origins of dark energy

8/28/2025
Today on the Naked Scientists: a pig lung is transplanted into a man in China, but what was the outcome? Also, scientists have a theory for the origins of Dark Energy - and it makes sense that a black hole might be the source! And, why the dawn chorus is starting earlier and finishing later these days: what's getting into wildlife? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Duration:00:33:39

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What can we do about hair loss?

8/26/2025
In this edition of The Naked Scientists, we look at the science of hair, why we suffer hair loss, treatments that can slow hair loss, whether wigs are any good, and what happens during a hair transplant? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Duration:00:36:32

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Apple wins privacy row, and microbes dictate chocolate taste

8/21/2025
In this edition of The Naked Scientists, Apple locked horns with the UK government who were demanding a security back door through the company's encryption. What was the outcome? Also, scientists discover the secret to the tastiest chocolate - it's all down to microbes. And, archaeologists uncover the earliest evidence yet of our ancestors using stone tools... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Duration:00:34:40

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What Niger's AMR outbreak means for the world

8/19/2025
In this edition of The Naked Scientists, why we need to pay closer attention to antimicrobial resistance in some of the world's poorest nations... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Duration:00:31:03

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Decoding our inner voice, and hunting for life on Mars

8/14/2025
In this edition of The Naked Scientists: the scientists who think they can decode the thoughts we hear in our heads. Also ahead: do ultra-processed foods make it much harder to lose weight? Plus, we hear from the PhD student who is aiding the search for life on Mars... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Duration:00:36:35