CastRoller

This week, we go back down under to explore the latest science from the land of kangaroos, bandicoots and the world's largest radio telescope - the square kilometer array. Chris goes on a tour of the universe from the comfort of the SciTech Planetarium, meets Nobel Prize-winning scientist Barry Marshall and the fluffy marsupials under protection at Project Eden. We find out why Australia is the perfect place to look further in to space than ever before, witness the battles between bee sperm and...

To celebrate the launch of the brand new Naked Oceans podcast, we venture beneath the waves to investigate the impacts of oil spills on the marine environment. We hunt down the hidden world of microbes in the Louisiana wetlands, trace the fingerprint of oil in the open oceans, and discuss the likely fallout from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. We'll also be exploring the effects of a changing climate on marine habitats, finding out what warmer water means for life at the...

This week, we've got a roundup of recent news and interviews from the Naked Astronomy and Naked Archaeology Podcasts. Digging into Archaeology, Diana O'Carroll will be looking into Bronze Age burial practices, meeting some of our oldest known walking ancestors and finding out how past human migrations are written in our genes. while Looking to the stars, Ben Valsler explores the challenges of building extremely large telescopes, finds out how rubic's cube size satellites can help test new technology...

The Tour de France is the subject of this week's summer special as we look into the science and engineering of professional road bikes, training the human physique to endure thousands of kilometres on the saddle and eating the right food to keep you on the road. We also go out along some of the stages of the tour, meet a professional sprinter, find out why fans travel thousands of miles to see their cycling heroes in action and meet the doctors, mechanics, and organisers that turn the Tour de France into the well oiled machine that it is!

In this Special edition of the Naked Scientists, we explore the science of the Glastonbury Festival. We find out what it takes to turn a farm into a city and back every year, and how to keep clean water flowing in, and waste flowing out, for nearly 200,000 revellers. We examine the scientific issues being discussed at the festival by groups like Greenpeace and Water Aid, and ask Baba Brinkman, Paloma Faith, Josie Long and Robin Ince if scientific discussion can find a home at a festival of performing arts.

How do we know that ants count their footsteps? We'll find out in this Naked Scientists Question and Answer show, as well as ask if rubber soles really protect you from electric shocks, if hair will clean itself when you don't, and why a layer of shaving foam stops the mirror from steaming up. Also, the spores that fly on smoke rings, new ways to capture carbon, pain free vaccine patches and the vaginal gel that could block HIV transmission. Plus, Meera investigates vintage computers and in Kitchen...

We go nuclear this week to investigate the future of atomic energy, the issues surrounding nuclear waste management and how a proposed new breed of hybrid fission-fusion reactors might help to boost nuclear fuel efficiency and minimise radioactive waste. Also, following the 65th anniversary of the first nuclear bomb test, we hear how the accidental wilderness created where "the Gadget" was detonated is now a flourishing example of biodiversity. In Kitchen Science we build a home-made radiation-detector...

The role of lasers in biomedicine goes under the spotlight this week as we explore the workings of photodynamic cancer therapy, find out how laser tweezers can be used to force-feed bugs to white blood cells and hear how a new technique uses laser-powered DNA nanoswitches to spot specific genes. Also, why the proton just got smaller, prompting a reevaluation of some trusted laws of physics, how antidepressants in seawater can make shrimps swim towards danger and a novel mechanism for natural selection...

We explore the explosive science of volcanoes this week! We find out what you can learn from drilling into a restless volcano, how gravity is used to "weigh" volcanoes and watch them fill with magma, and we explore the theories behind volcano formation. Plus, we hear about the genes that could mean you'll live to be 100, fossil evidence of the earliest multi-cellular organism and the signs that Sabre-toothed tigers packed a mighty punch, as well as a big bite. In Kitchen Science, we get messy with a cola and wallpaper paste eruption!

Why do we have eyebrows? Can we taste food if we can't smell it? What's a cold sore? This week, we take on your science questions, as well as explore the world of social gaming, and find out how much it costs to fly an England flag from your car. We'll be asking if altitude affects how a football flies, if a large enough fan could propel a spacecraft and how spiders spin webs from one tree to the next. Plus, why size matters in bird beaks, how plant roots cope with competition and building lungs in the lab!