- The Naked Scientists Podcast - Stripping Down Science

Are you sitting comfortably? You might want to stand up, because we'll be hearing why, in health terms, sitting is the new smoking! We're also taking a look at the science behind weight loss and why shedding extra pounds is so difficult. Plus news of why colds really do prefer the cold, why most of the world's fossil fuels need to stay in the ground if we're to meet climate change targets, and home from home: how scientists have discovered Earth's twin, deep in outer space...

Dissolving teaspoons, plants that sunbathe, stopping multiple sclerosis, the ARGO floats that monitor the oceans, global warming in Antarctica, and using computers to find Kiwis. Chris Smith and Simon Morton meet some of Wellington's finest researchers, including nanoscientist Nicola Gaston, plant scientist Jason Wargent, MS specialist Anne La Flamme, ocean scientist Philip Sutton, climate researcher Tim Naish and computer scientist Ed Abraham...

We all have an inner voice. Most of us know they're not real. But, for up to 15% of the population at some points in their lives, they can take on a different tone, as a terrifying experience that cannot be distinguished from reality. Where do they come from, and what do they say to sufferers? And how can the symptoms be treated? In this special guest episode, the Wellcome Trust's Chris Chapman hears the stories of schizophrenics affected by voices and explores a new approach to giving sufferers control over their experiences...

Seasons Greetings from the Naked Scientists! We invite you to spend the next hour with us as we explore the Science of Christmas. We'll be looking at why crackers are, or aren't, all that funny, the chemistry of Christmas and what makes the ultimate roast dinner as well as whether wine really is the best medicine.

Mass Extinction! 250 million years ago nearly all life on Earth ended. Back from the brink, history then repeated itself with the disappearance of the dinosaurs 60 million years ago. So are we next? Plus news of how a comet smash could have kick-started life on Earth, whether e-cigarettes are safe, and why science and medical reporting in the media might be untrustworthy...

From the honking of cars to music blaring out of someone's bedroom window, the world around us is saturated with sound. But what exactly is sound, and how do we hear it? From mimicking an owl's wing for quieter aircraft to creating more effective cochlear implants and the science of opera singing, our panel of experts turn up the volume to 11 to answer your questions on anything audible...

This week we delve into the Dark Web, a hidden arm of the Internet where Google doesn't dare to search and where drugs, guns and hitmen are offered up for sale. We explore how the World Wide Web works, and ask whether it can remain unregulated, free and open as it is now? Plus, in the news this week, the worm found lurking in a patient's brain, how scientists have grown pain nerves in a Petri dish, and what do dogs hear when we speak to them?

Travel by air has increased by over 60% in the last decade and annual global air traffic is expected to reach 3.6 billion passenger journeys by 2016 meaning that there are at least 1 million people airborne aboard planes at any moment in time. But, as air traffic grows, so do concerns about smuggling and security. So keeping people safe is a major priority; but the processes can be intrusive and can also cause unpleasant delays at airports. This week we're looking at how technology - both old and new - can help to alleviate the hold ups and improve safety. Plus, in the news, the science behind fighting the flab, how spiderman has becomes a reality and why bankers have a tendency to cheat...

Ebola has rocked the world in 2014, but why has this outbreak been so devastating? This week we get inside Ebola to find out about the virus itself, and how it causes disease and spreads. We talk to healthcare and charity workers on the ground in West Africa to find out how what is being done to stem the epidemic; we catch up on progress towards a vaccine and we hear how the virus is also crippling gorilla populations. Plus, in the news, the latest on the Rosetta mission to comet 67P-Churyumov-Gerasimenko and how Wikipedia can reveal what diseases are circulating and where...

Over the next 50 years, getting to work on time or heading out to the hinterlands for your family holiday will become much, much easier - and perhaps, even pleasurable. We're journeying into the not so distant future, to a world where cars drive themselves, drones deliver your pizzas, planes are bigger, faster, stronger and even see-through, and people holiday in space. The next generation of transportation is very nearly here, and we're taking a magnifying glass to some of the most exciting developments. Plus, we shine a new light on diabetes treatment, a cheap and quick test for ebola, and how physics can prevent ingrowing toenails...

Continuing the theme of the future of humanity, this week we take a look at what we can expect from our towns and cities in the years to come. Will we be living in wooden skyscrapers, amongst crime fighting lampposts or have our own personalised pollution sensors? Plus, in the news, invasive shellfish, the amphibian version of Ebola, making the mind young again, why new brain cells are essential for learning, and advice to brush your teeth to boost your physical fitness...

What does climate change have in store for the future? What will it mean for the man, or woman, in the street? How will it hit the global economy, and what can businesses do to fight back? This week, we hear the perspectives of a climate specialist, an economist, a psychologist and a technologist as we ask, "what are the costs of climate change?" Plus, in the news, the emerging ebola crisis, tastier beers coming on tap thanks to fruit flies, and a breakthrough in prosthetic arm technology...

For years we have relied on fossil fuels to produce the light, heat and energy we need to live and work. But these supplies are diminishing, and polluting our environment. So can renewable resources step into the breach annd produce enough energy to power the world? In this special Naked Scientists show, live from the Cambridge Science Centre, we talk to some of the researchers trying to do just that, as well as conducting some energy-related experiments of our own...

This week, is there anybody out there? We're pushing at the boundaries of science in the search for ET. We take a magnifying glass to the big questions: what is life, where can we find it and could we ever communicate with it? Plus, the blood test that can tell you how long you'll take to recover from surgery, a new mussel-inspired glue that even works underwater and, 76 years after penicillin was first discovered, how scientists are combating antibiotic resistance

This week, we're exploring Nuclear Fusion, the power source of the sun. What is it and how can it help us on Earth? We visit the JET fusion facility to watch a test firing, we hear how lasers can be used to kickstart the process and how a new spherical fusion system could be outputting power within a decade. Plus, in the news, what lights up the Universe, how people are no smarter than pigeons when it comes to gambling and how the eyes can forewarn of forthcoming dementia...