Special Editions
Probing the weird, wacky and spectacular, the Naked Scientists Special Editions are special one-off scientific reports, investigations and interviews on cutting-edge topics by the Naked Scientists team.
15.09.28
Earmarked for 2024, the European- Extremely Large Telescope will be the biggest telescope in the world. The primary mirror is 39 metres across and capable of collecting as much light at once as all the other telescopes that mankind has ever built put together. The University of Oxford have been…
15.09.26
Scientists have announced a revolution in 3D printing. Rather than building things up layer by layer, which is the traditional approach, University of Florida scientist Tommy Angelini prints things inside a gel material using a hollow needle. The gel contains tiny particles that mean it moves easily when pushed by…
15.09.25
You may never have heard of the disease lymphatic filariasis, but it affects 120 million people in 70 countries around the world, causing dramatic swelling of the limbs and other parts of the body, known as elephantiasis.It's caused by tiny parasitic worms, transmitted between people by mosquito bites, which can…
15.09.25
Scientists in America have helped a paralysed man to take his first steps in over 5 years. They've done it by developing a system that eavesdrops on the patient's brainwaves and can detect when he wants to walk. The computer then activates a stimulator system that can signal the patient's…
15.09.24
Does being a good parent shorten your lifespan? It turns out the answer is yes, at least if you're a burying beetle. Results from researchers at The University of Cambridge published this week show that beetles can sacrifice their own fitness for the good of their offspring. Rosalind Davies went…
15.09.23
It has been found that endangered Asian elephants age faster and have fewer offspring if their mothers are stressed when they are born. Researchers at the University of Sheffield measured a hormone associated with stress to determine the time of year that the elephants most feel the pressure. Charis Lestrange…
15.09.18
People can spend their lives looking for love. We go on awkward dates and let our friends set us up with complete strangers. All in the hope of finding 'the one'.But what's the point of it all? Why do we bother? If all we're supposed to do is continue our…
15.09.15
Early intervention is likely to be critical for preventing many age-related diseases; but detecting these diseases at a sufficiently early stage to make a difference is often problematic. Now this may be about to change, because scientists in the UK have identified a molecular signature present in our cells that…
15.08.27
This month, Cambridge based company Innovia Technology have taken charge of the "Mission Zero Corridor Project". This project aims to make a 12 mile stretch of highway in West Georgia completely sustainable, with no carbon footprint! This will be the first road of its kind, and hopefully will encourage others…
15.08.26
Getting accurate clocks is really important for all kinds of technologies, especially when monitoring the distant heavens. But even if the clock itself is accurate, how do you know that the right time is being transmitted across to other devices, so for example telescopes? David Gozzard from the University of…
15.08.25
It's long been known that traumatic memories forged in stressful situations can lie buried in the subconscious, yet they can bubble to the surface unexpectedly, triggering strong reactions, flashbacks and more serious psychological problems such as post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. Researchers have discovered that memories made under such conditions…
15.08.24
In the UK we are a nation of dog lovers but how did man's best friend become the speedy, bouncy animal we know today? Well for a long time it has been thought that dogs got faster as their prey did, in a sort of arms race, but new research…
15.08.10
New research has shown that babies born severely prematurely or underweight are likely to suffer in adulthood with a socially withdrawn personality. Amy Goodfellow met with Professor Dieter Wolke from the University of Warwick to find out more…
15.08.05
Scientists at King's College London have discovered that genetics makes an unexpectedly large contribution to children's GCSE grades across a wide range of subjects. Kat Arney met with Professor Robert Plomin to find out more.
15.08.04
About 8000 people in the UK develop a cancer in their oesophagus - the tube that connects the back of the throat to the stomach - every year. The majority of these people have detectable changes in the cells lining the oesophagus for many years before they develop the cancer…
15.08.03
A decade ago a landmark study was published showing that treating Kenyan children for worm infections could increase their attendance at school, as well as bringing health benefits. Since then, many development agencies across Africa have taken the idea on board, as it seems like a cheap, effective and simple…
15.08.01
How does the way you think influence the music you choose to listen to? Scientists at Cambridge University have developed a test that marries up a person's personality traits including how empathic they are, and how systematically they think, with the tunes most likely to resonate with them. Tom Crawford…
15.07.31
Fizzy drinks are often very high in sugar, and doctors suspect that they're likely to be linked to the growing rates of obesity in many countries. Now, by bringing together data from all of the previously published studies in the world, public health doctor Nita Forouhi has uncovered a strong…
15.07.31
Punting is one of the most typically 'Cambridge' of activities, with hundreds of tourists being punted lazily along the river Cam at any one point during summer. Now, though, the Cambridge Science Centre has decided to liven things up a little with a rocket-powered punt, running on Chelsea buns from…