We're back with brand-new Naked Science for 2009! We'll have the hottest science news, Kitchen Science, Diana's Question of the week and answers to loads of your science questions. If you would like your question answered on the show - get them in now!
There's no Naked Scientists Show this week, but we're proud to introduce a new series of podcasts, starring our own Diana O'Carroll: Naked Archaeology
This episode features the tale of TB's earliest victims, the science of archaeology underwater and the first shamanic burial all go under the trowel in this month's Naked Archaeology. We also uncover where all the dirt comes from that buries the past, and in this month's Backyard Archaeology Irving Finkel takes us on a tour of the Babylon exhibition at the British Museum.
Whilst tidying the Naked Scientists' office the other week the team unearthed this rather extraordinary collection of video reels featuring experimental scientist, Dr Ernest Otherford. We suspect he may be an ancestor of our very own Dave Ansell. It seems our forerunner had a penchant for exploring the laws of physics and chemistry using whatever happened to be in his sporran...
Look what Santa has brought - a bulging sack of your science questions! If you've ever wondered about the aerodynamics of reindeer, how fast Santa would have to travel to reach every house in just one night, or the calorie content of a Christmas dinner - then get your questions in now!
New and Emerging diseases go under the microscope in this week's Naked Scientists, as we discover how new diseases arise, cross species barriers and spread throughout the population. We hear about the origins of HIV, the conditions that create hotspots for new pathogens and a fatal new virus found in Africa. Also, we find out why some people are genetically pre-disposed to AIDS, how the giardia bug changes coats to trick the immune system and why captive elephants live shorter lives than in the wild. Plus, in Kitchen Science, Ben takes the Tabasco Temperature Test to see how mints and chilli affect the temperature on your tongue!
The science of sight submits to the scrutiny of the Naked Scientists this week as we look at lens replacement surgery, the genetics of degenerative eye diseases such as macular degeneration, and find out whether gene therapy and stem cells can repair the damaged retina. Ben undergoes a laser-vision correction test to discover how corneal re-shaping can be used to correct poor vision, and Meera meets a man to uncover the basis of blinking and the composition of tears. Plus, how we hear how seashells have inspired tough new ceramics, uncover a signal that links food to body fat, and hear how a fraction of a dose of vaccine may be enough to prevent an epidemic. In Kitchen Science, Ben and Dave wonder what happens to the rainbow-effect on a CD when you hold it under a street-light...
The Naked Scientists hit Hollywood for a special show all the way from California. We meet the cream of Californian scientists from the University of California at LA and at San Diego to find out why designing ocean-going robots is like giving birth; what some dust-covered 50-year old experiments can reveal about the origins of life, and why your friends and even their friends, can affect your weight. We discover the work of the Population Institute, who use radio soap-operas to inspire better family planning. Plus, we find out why plants get jetlag, how nanotechnology can help foil terrorist attacks and we visit the Naked Cafe to discuss the Big Bang over coffee. In Kitchen Science, Ben and Carlos Camara generate x-rays from sticky tape!
This week we hear how lasers might replace X-rays as a way to see inside the body, we delve into the genetic code of the extinct woolly mammoth and hear about a government competition to exploit the power of the web to help people to find public toilets and post boxes. We also tackle your science questions including finding out why mosquiotoes don't transmit diseases like dirty needles, how animals cut their umbilical cords, whether it's better to drink red wine or grape juice and why cold tea tastes strange! Plus, Dave creates a ghostly one-way window effect in Kitchen science.
We dig into the world of archaeology this week to uncover what DNA is revealing about how humans domesticated plants and livestock. We also delve into the story of stonehenge and hear how scientists are using new isotope techniques to find out how it was built and what when on there. We also trace the history of the civilisation that carved the Nazca lines in South America and then disappeared without trace, but why? Plus, we hear about a new way to combat allergies with a course of injections, how music could improve your health, and how fish elect their leaders. And in kitchen science we show you how to make you own desktop siege weapon!
This week's Pathological programme brings you a glimpse into the world of the pathologist. We attend a real autopsy to discover how a pathologist uncovers a cause of death, and hear how Cambridge scientists have found a new way to stop Multiple Sclerosis (MS) in its tracks. We also find out how a common rock can lock away carbon, why forest fungi give out less greenhouse gases when they're warm, and shed some light on the workings of world's smallest solar panels. Plus, in place of Kitchen Science, Ben tries to stop a virtual outbreak of the plague!
It's been cold in the UK this week! So what better way to spend your time than to stay in the warm and find the answers to all of your nagging science questions... So if you've ever wondered how fireworks have so many pretty colours, why a hedgehog will choose to go to sleep in a bonfire pile, or any science, nature, medicine or technology question - ask us now!
