Naked Scientists Special Editions

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...

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...

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...

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.

Why are the Horse Chestnut trees looking under the weather? Why are they turning brown before the start of autumn?... It is all down to the larvae of a leaf miner moth which make their home inside the leaves of the horse chestnut.

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?

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!

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.

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...

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.

This month, Professor Simon Baron-Cohen explores human empathy and explains what empathy is, how it differs amongst the population and the neurological and environmental causes of these differences...

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.

A species of tropical vine attracts its bat pollinators using acoustic signals, rather than bright colours or smells, according to a study published in the journal Science this week. In this special podcast, Dr Marc Holderied discusses this unique discovery.

This week in the Planet Earth Podcast: why scientists are planning on drilling three kilometres beneath the Antarctic ice sheet in one of the most ambitious exploration projects ever undertaken; and how worms that feed on dead whale bones at the bottom of the ocean may be distorting the whale fossil record.

This week, why understanding rip currents at Perranporth in north Cornwall could help save lives; how exactly does carbon capture and storage (CCS) work and how can scientists be sure that carbon will be stored forever?