Naked Scientists, In Short Special Editions Podcast

Could groundbreaking vaccine help eliminate malaria?

Malaria kills around 600,000 people every year. Nearly three-quarters of those deaths are children under five. For decades, scientists pursued one goal: a vaccine that co

What does it take to power an autonomous vehicle?

In this special episode, created in partnership with the Royal Institute of Navigation, we hear from Alex Stewart. Alex is a founding engineer at Oxa, a leading autonomou

Gorilla sperm, and subversive gambling machines

This time, macho male gorillas trade stature for sperm count, how gambling machines use sound and light to take the sting out of losing, whether babies are born hard-wire

Sickle cell defeated malaria and opened up pastures new

Malaria has been killing humans for at least fifteen thousand years, and our DNA still carries the scars. Ninety percent of the world's malaria cases are in Africa. But t

Malaria in Africa

Africa remains at the centre of the global malaria crisis. The continent accounts for around 95 percent of all malaria cases, placing immense strain on health systems and

Driven to End Malaria: World Malaria Day 2026

A child dies from malaria roughly every minute. A stark reminder of why urgent action is still needed. "Driven to end malaria, now we can, now we must" is the theme of Wo

Moths hear plants, and what fingerprints do for touch

In this episode, how kangaroos alter their postures to store more energy in their Achilles tendons and boost movement efficiency, the moths that make a beeline when they

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 pot

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 probl

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 even

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

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 microbiom

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 a

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

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 lang

Naked Scientists SOS

Cambridge University have informed us that, for cost cutting reasons, they intend to make Dr Chris Smith redundant. Naturally, this jeopardises the Naked Scientists progr

Insect extinctions, and AI shot in the arm for drug design

In episode 10 of the Cambridge Prisms Podcast, the shocking finding that as many as 2 invertebrate species are going extinct each week in Australia: what can be done? Als

Storing data with "molecular firecrackers"

Your personal data could soon be stored not on a phone or server but locked inside a molecule so tiny it's invisible to the naked eye. Researchers have cracked the code o

Brain-invading bacterium is making fruit flies extra frisky

What if a parasite could rewire your brain - not to harm you, but to make you... more romantic? This week on The Naked Scientists, we're exploring the bizarre world of Wo

Speedy, soft robot powered by air alone

Using only soft tubes and a continuous stream of air, a team of researchers at AMOLF in Amsterdam have created one of the fastest and simplest soft robots to date. Marush