The eLife Podcast

Dr Chris Smith

4.8 (33)
LIFE SCIENCES

The eLife Podcast: outstanding research in life science and biomedicine.

1 DAY AGO

Evolving flu, and the desert decomposition conundrum

Predicting how influenza viruses will evolve, how deserts decompose matter despite the dry, what worms are revealing about a gene linked to autism, and what makes mice fearful of cat smells. Dr Chris Smith talks to the authors of the latest leading research in eLife... Get the references and the transcripts for this programme from the Naked Scientists website

31 min
NOV 1

Cancer mood control, and birth products blocking pain

This month, signs that cancers communicate with the brain to alter mood, why antibodies are unreliable in research, evidence that social training can cut stress and boost brain volume, and agents derived from birth products that suppress inflammation and kill pain... Get the references and the transcripts for this programme from the Naked Scientists website

33 min
SEP 10

Vampire bacteria, "hangry" males, and ants using moonlight

This month, Chris Smith hears how blood-thirsty bacteria sniff out wounds to trigger infections, how ants navigate at night, how male and female brains respond differently to starvation, and inflammation linked to premature labour... Get the references and the transcripts for this programme from the Naked Scientists website

31 min
JUN 18

How termites build their nests, and drivers of new diseases

This month, how human encroachment and conflict on nature drives emerging diseases, the role of "stigmergy" in guiding the nest-building feats of termites, a project to track infectious abortions in Africa, why people need to speak the same language around neurodiversity, and what fat flies are revealing about the way weight gain affects food-related recall... Get the references and the transcripts for this programme from the Naked Scientists website

34 min
APR 19

Hibernation, Ketamine and Aphantasia

This month, how animals hibernate and evidence that muscle myosin makes its own heat in the cold, brain scans to reveal how ketamine relieves resistant depression, the way the brain changes when animals build a bond, the evolution of flu outbreaks, and how aphantasia affects autobiographical memory. Get the references and the transcripts for this programme from the Naked Scientists website

38 min
MAR 8

Apes reveal language origins, and being dyslexic in science

This month we hear what orangutans can tell us about the origins of human speech, we ask if science making life even harder for dyslexics, where do the scientists we train end up and do they stay in science, and new insights into the songs whales sing underwater... Get the references and the transcripts for this programme from the Naked Scientists website

36 min
11/30/2023

Bees can't taste pesticides, and how albatrosses get aloft

In the eLife Podcast this month, signs that bees are oblivious to pesticides in nectar, sea anemone stinging strategies, a new means of cell-cell communication to share growth factors and other signals, how plants make a comeback when ice sheets retreat, and how the world's biggest bird uses wind and waves to good effect to minimise the costs of takeoff... Get the references and the transcripts for this programme from the Naked Scientists website

35 min
09/29/2023

Cold haemoglobin, and teaching old dogs new ethics

This month, how an extinct marine mammal made its haemoglobin work in the cold, how does learning compassion change the shape of the human brain, women publishing cautiously, how populations evolve to social distance in disease conditions, and can biochemical clocks accurately track ageing in children? Join Dr Chris Smith for a look at some of eLife's latest leading papers... Get the references and the transcripts for this programme from the Naked Scientists website

36 min

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4.8

out of 5

33 Ratings

Great host

01/21/2023

OnlyMagamind

The host’s question and conclusion for the research helps me to understand the science. Plus, the host’s voice is beautiful.
Great questions from host

08/07/2020

dr_jearbear

I'm a PhD scientist in life sciences; I listen to a lot of science research podcasts and this one is the best I've found so far, definitely superior to similar offerings from Nature/Science/PNAS. The interviews are interesting and the host asks insightful and thoughtful questions which really dig into the science being discussed. I would encourage anyone interested in learning more life sciences to give this a listen. Keep up the good work!
Highlights of a research journal

11/16/2013

123jani2235

Accessible and entertaining, requires some scientific background. About 4 Interviews with researchers per episode. Good host.