Naked Scientists Special Editions Podcast

This week in the Planet Earth Podcast - Sue Nelson goes to the Thames Barrier to find out how engineers use science to decide whether or not to raise or lower it, helping to stop storm surges from flooding London; while Richard Hollingham meets a scientist who developed a technique that reveals the colour of truly ancient fossilised birds. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This month, we celebrate the international year of chemistry by exploring the wide range of chemical discoveries and research taking place at Diamond. We investigate the role of chemistry in pitting erosion, photovoltaics and nanowires as well as reveal how Diamond has been used to unearth a new source of mercury poisoning...plus all the latest news and event from diamond including a wake up call revealing the benefits of caffeine! Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

How does nicotine open a gateway to cocaine addiction? A new study indicates that nicotine primes the brain for cocaine - by altering the structure of a gene linked to learning, memory and addiction. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week in the Planet Earth Podcast - Richard Hollingham talks to one of the scientists behind the discovery of the ozone hole to find why it's still there; how research on starlings on an island famous for its sweaters could help bird conservationists; and why forest fires in North America affect people thousands of miles away in Europe. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Professor Tony Holland provides a window into the biology of behaviour and how genetic syndromes are helping open this window to provide greater levels of insight into violent behaviour, appetite control and Alzheimers disease... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

In this infectious special podcast, we explore the science behind Stephen Soderburgh's latest film, Contagion, which depicts the series of events that unfold with the outbreak of a new strain of flu. The film has quite serious scientific credentials - Ian Lipkin, Professor of Epidemiology at Columbia univeristy was on hand every step of the way to ensure the film's scenarios were realistic. We find out more about the role of a scientific advisor, and what kind of public health measures we have in place should an outbreak like this really happen any time soon... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week in the Planet Earth Podcast - Sue Nelson visits the largest collection of venomous snakes in the UK to find out how researchers are developing antivenoms to help African snakebite victims; and what scientists are doing to understand why populations of the European shag are declining. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week in the Planet Earth Podcast: Richard Hollingham meets scientists and archaeologists who are working to preserve one of the most important Neanderthal settlements in north-west Europe to find out how they lived; later on, he visits the local primary school to find out what schoolchildren make of the Neanderthals. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

In this final podcast from the BSGT Conference we hear how genes could be targeted to develop a new drug for HIV as well as long awaited treatments for Muscular dystrophies and Haemophilia. We also discover how a good insight into the workings of a virus can help you exploit them to deliver genes more effectively and discuss the research highlights that have taken place over the past few days... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Today we hear how cancers, retinal degeneration, spinal chord injury and liver disease can all be targeted using gene and stem cell therapy techniques. We also explore a variety of methods to deliver genes to a desired location within our bodies... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

In today's podcast we hear how gene therapy can be used to target a variety of respiratory disorders such as Cystic Fibrosis and how scientists are trying to grow organs such as lungs in the lab. We also discover how alternative methods of therapy could be used to treat muscular dystophy and how pancreatic cells are being created, by the re-programming of other cells, in a bid to treat diabetes... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

In this first podcast from the 2011 BSGT/ESGCT Conference in Brighton we bring you the highlights from the Public Engagment day including an introduction to gene therapy and stem cell therapy, life from the perspective of a haemophiliac, public opinions on gene therapy and how a DNA race can help teenagers get to grips with DNA fingerprinting... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Dr. Linda Sharples gives an insight into the workings of the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence and how new medical treatments, drugs and procedures are analysed and assessed for use within the UK National Health Service... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week in the Planet Earth Podcast - how scientists find out about life in the oceans' deepest trenches; how identifying proteins from 50 milion year old reptile skin could help us store radioactive waste; and studying the effects of climate change in the Arctic. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week in the Planet Earth Podcast, how hikers and walkers could be unwittingly changing the landscape by spreading alien species; what it's like to work as a marine biologist in the Arctic in temperatures of minus 40C; and exactly how stable is the West Antarctic Ice Sheet? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This month we look into the light to discover how Diamond's new Imaging and Coherance beamline is helping scientists see with greater clarity than ever before! We hear how the beamline works to provide greater resolution imaging, how rocks deep beneath the earths surface can be analysed for potential storage of carbon dioxide in the future, and how imaging the internal structure of metal alloys could help recycle them on a greater scale. Plus, the latest news and events from Diamond including new eye-opening research on the cornea and the family history of the virus! Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week in the Planet Earth Podcast: in a geoengineering special edition, we take a closer look at some of the technologies we may have to resort to using to avert dangerous climate change. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Reader in evolution at Wits University, Lee Berger, made a life-changing discovery when he uncovered the remains of a new species of hominid, Australopithecus sediba, in South Africa. Here, Chris Smith gets to meet the newest addition to the human family tree... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week in the Planet Earth Podcast, why scientists are working with the National Trust to restore the chalk grasslands around Stonehenge; how researchers are using satellites to study microscopic plants; and the etiquette of dining and bullying in baboons. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week in the Planet Earth Podcast, how scientists are using fish scales to figure out why the UK salmon population is falling; and how carbon dioxide emissions from power stations could be used to make household bricks. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists