- The Naked Scientists ENHANCED PODCAST - Stripping Down Science

How do archaeologists locate, conserve and recover historical treasures from old shipwrecks? What is erosion revealing on the foreshores of the River Thames? And how do you weld up an oil or gas pipeline one kilometre underwater? This week we're looking at the "appliance of science" beneath the waves as well as hearing how the ageing Voyager space probes have discovered the births of new stars in the Milky Way, how a gene therapy technique can block HIV infection and how a computer programme can spot to what extent a photo's been doctored. Plus, does heading a football cause brain damage?

This week, how immune cells can be caught on camera as they exit blood vessels, a new design of lensless microscope and one that sees cells in 3D, how sound and heat can be used to find faults in materials and how something as small as an atom can be seen under an electron microscope. Plus, news that nerve transplants can correct metabolic disorders, the World's first fishhook, bionic contact lenses that project emails into your eyes, are statins safe and why are mirror reflections still blurry close up for the shortsighted...

Is modern technology changing your brain? How fast does flu fly? Can you build a lightsaber? Your questions are the stars on the Naked Scientists this week, as we discuss the implications of faster-than-light travel, the risks of skydiving through a thundercloud, and ask if dogs can sniff out cancer. Plus, we find out how the brain detects different diets, what happens when black holes collide, and in Kitchen Science, how a coin can make a balloon roar!

In a show not to be sneezed at, we look at the evidence that coughs and sneezes are linked to heart attacks. We also probe the Flu Survey, a new citizen science initiative to gather data on the incidence of influenza-like illnesses in the European population; we talk to the company who are mass producing flu vaccines in tobacco plants and catch up with the Columbia University scientific adviser on Contagion, Hollywood's latest infectious offering. Plus, why babies don't tie their umbilical cords in knots and news of a new fat-busting injectible that selectively destroys adipose, evidence that only single strains of HIV are transmitted between partners and the discovery of two pristine primordial gas clouds produced by the Big Bang...

This week Kat Arney joins us live from the National Cancer Research Institute's conference in Liverpool. We find out how mistakes in cell signalling can cause cancers and why DNA repair pathways offer targets to treat tumours. Also, we explore the latest developments in cancer imaging, including new techniques that allow us to track chemical reactions happening inside the body. In the news, why you need to remove genes to repair nerves, and how clearing out old cells can prevent diseases of old age!

This week's podcast is live from the British Society for Gene Therapy (BSGT) conference in Brighton, UK. Some of the world's top gene and stem cell therapists explain how we can manipulate genes to treat a variety of disorders, from cystic fibrosis and haemophilia to cancer and blindness. We hear what life is like as a haemophiliac and answer your questions, including whether gene therapy can alter all the cells in our bodies and how scientists account for the ethics and side effects of this research. Plus, is a human moustache like a cat's whiskers? Find out in Question of the Week!

Can moonlight and a magnifying glass be used to start a fire? Why do bananas go brown and does it happen faster in the fridge or the fruitbowl? Why are ice and snow slippery? And how does flyspray work? Alongside your quality science questions in this week's Question and Answer science phone-in, we also hear how how space scientists have spotted a whole planet's worth of water in a nearby system, the surprising discovery that seaweed is making corals seasick, we serve up a digital delight with the kitchen that teaches you both to cook and speak French, and we find out why an antiviral a day could keep Alzheimer's at bay...

This week, Plant Pests and Plant Pathology - we find out what happens when plants get ill, how to understand and prevent the spread of plant disease, and how they can call up an insect army to defend them if they're attacked. We also find out why some horse chestnut trees are going brown before their time, and meet the pesky critter responsible! Plus, a new technique to cleanly edit out and correct errors in the DNA code, how the plague bacterium hasn't changed in 600 years, and why children, but not chimps, choose to work together.

This week, we're investigating alternatives to petrol. We'll board a biofuel powered bus to meet the plant scientists who are using algae to make biodiesel. We'll find out how to turn household waste into hydrogen, and meet the brains behind Bristol's first hydrogen powered passenger boat! Plus, the brain basis of boundless optimism, why a bacteria-busting chemical keeps injured arteries open, and a run down of this year's Nobel prizes!

Could a Siphon be used in orbit? Why do leaves change colour in Autumn? How is immunity passed from mother to baby through breastfeeding? Why do earthquakes happen away from plate boundaries? How do microwaves heat up food? We storm through your questions this week as well finding out how Twitter can be used to monitor moods around the world, how carbon dioxide can be converted back into a fuel, how biomarkers hidden inside ECG's can predict the risk of a repeat heart attack and how glowing bacteria can send secret messages! Plus, in Kitchen Science, we make flames without fire by making iron burn...

We've whipped up an appetising take on the science of food and cooking for you this week. With a main course of cookery in the kitchen served up by a cake-baking physicist followed by a microbiological look at the cheese board and then the bacterial basis of the Best Before Date for dessert, this three-course scientific combo is an absolute academic feast. Also on the menu this week, how scientists are using brain scanners to reconstruct the movies we see in the mind's eye and we ask whether Einstein was wrong as scientists report particles apparently moving faster-than-light...

This week, we're chilling out in the world of cryogenics, the science of the super-cold. We'll find out what happens to living tissue when it freezes, and how we can use low temperatures to keep organs, and maybe even one day whole bodies, in suspended animation. We also talk to the company behind an attractive new design of super-efficient fridge that runs on magnetism. In the news we hear how computer gamers have contributed to a breakthrough in HIV, why humans are programmed for overconfidence, and how the nervous system controls the immune system. Plus, we ask, is modern medicine altering the human gene pool?

This week, we seek the science of supercomputers! We find out how they work, and how they can answer some of the biggest questions in science. We also hear about the World Community Grid, which offers scientists computer time donated by volunteers worldwide. In the news we hear how computer aided design can help breast restoration, why special stem cells with just one set of chromosomes can aid geneticists, and how Earth's precious gold may have come from outer space. Plus, we explore the workings of the humble calculator in Question of the Week!

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...

Why do some animals poo wherever the fancy takes them, whilst others are more fussy about the locations of their lavatory actions? What triggers pins and needles? How do some fish survive in both fresh and saltwater? And how are new nerve cells born in the adult brain? We burn through your best science questions this week as well as taking a look at Hubble's successor, the James Webb Space Telescope, and hearing how a computer model of a heart can revolutionise cardiac drug design and reviewing the evidence that bacteria were already antibiotic resistant over 30,000 years ago...