Naked Scientists, In Short Special Editions Podcast

The Naked Scientists
  • 4.5 (41)
  • LIFE SCIENCES
  • UPDATED BIMONTHLY

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.

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

    11/30/2025

    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 of their telomeres, and some clever physics reveals the workings of Darwin's "warm little pond"... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

    40 min
  2. Aspirin vs Clopidogrel: The blood thinner battle

    10/03/2025

    Aspirin vs Clopidogrel: The blood thinner battle

    Clots in our blood vessels can be responsible for very serious health problems such as strokes and heart attacks. To combat this, some people at risk of said health problems turn towards blood thinners to prevent this clotting, with the most common household blood thinner being aspirin. The issue with preventing clotting is, should you start to bleed, that bleeding is a lot tougher to stop. Now however, a new drug - clopidogrel - is being touted as coming with the same benefits of aspirin, but few of the drawbacks. To talk us through this matchup, we put in a call to the British Heart... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

    5 min
  3. Public Success, Private Grief: remembering Peter Cowley

    09/23/2025

    Public Success, Private Grief: remembering Peter Cowley

    Peter Cowley was an entrepreneur, angel investor, and for many years was the Naked Scientists technology commentator, a role he fell into by accident when we met one evening at an investment meeting. He became a good friend. But his life, in many respects, despite being incredibly successful, was also touched by great sadness: he lost two sons and struggled with alcohol for a time. But he came through it all and lived his life with energy, curiosity, and generosity... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

    37 min
  4. Keeping humans healthy in orbit

    09/10/2025

    Keeping humans healthy in orbit

    With only a few walls between an astronaut and a rapid death, what do we know about the various dangers to the human body during space travel? Chris Smith spoke with Mark Shelhamer, a professor of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery at John Hopkins Medical School - about which space hazards are deemed most pressing for our up-and-coming astronauts... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

    7 min
  5. Ants doing gene therapy, and tadpole microbiomes

    09/08/2025

    Ants doing gene therapy, and tadpole microbiomes

    This month, as the eLife Podcast hits its century, we hear how getting frog dads to cross-foster tadpoles has revealed the way in which some frogs come by their microbiomes, the ants that do gene therapy, signs that disease causes a breakdown in nutrient exchange between the elements of the microbiome, how fungi reprogram immune cells to cause over-reactions in sepsis, and new insights into how tapeworm larvae in the brain cause seizures... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

    43 min
  6. Synthetic sustainable spuds

    07/09/2025

    Synthetic sustainable spuds

    As the global population heads toward 10 billion, the pressure on agriculture is mounting. With that in mind, the UK's Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA) has announced millions of pounds worth of funding for crops enhanced through synthetic biology by designing entirely new chromosomes and chloroplasts, starting with the potato, as Angie Burnett, the ARIA Programme Director and plant biologist leading this initiative explains to Marushka Soobben... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

    6 min
  7. Scientists say they've bent spacetime

    06/23/2025

    Scientists say they've bent spacetime

    "Warp speed, Mr Sulu." It's the kind of command we've only heard in science fiction - until now. Did a team of scientists just bend spacetime using nothing but sparks in a lab? That's right - not black holes, not neutron stars - electrical sparks. A new experiment claims to have created tiny ripples in the very fabric of space and time, right here on Earth. If it holds up, it could be the first step toward technologies once thought possible only in science fiction: warp drives, fusion reactors, even medical time control. But is it the real deal - or just a very flashy illusion? I sat down with... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

    5 min
  8. Finland's giant virus, and monkeys take care of their teeth

    06/19/2025

    Finland's giant virus, and monkeys take care of their teeth

    In the eLife podcast, a university compost heap has turned up Finland's first documented "giant virus". Also, why monkeys de-sand their supper, and how learning more languages actually makes brain tissue thinner. Then, the link between sugar and neonatal sepsis, and how a cancer controls its hydra host by bestowing it with extra tentacles... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

    39 min
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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.

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