Explore every episode of the podcast 5 Live Science Podcast

Dr Chris Smith and the Naked Scientist team present the latest science news, analysis and breakthroughs.

This week: Scientists uncover a way to help amputees to toughen up their skin in order to make prostheses more comfortable. COVID MRNA jab pharmaceutical company Moderna turn their attention to vaccines for Mpox. Plus the astronomer Royle Martin Rees on whether ET is really out there.

And we're going underground to find out how disused mines are now being used to solve some of science's greatest mysteries, and to help keep the lights on by storing electricity as 'gravity batteries'.

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Dr Chris Smith and the Naked Scientist team present the latest science news, analysis and breakthroughs. In this week's episode: How the UK looks set to take the world’s toughest line on smoking, and why are those astronauts still stranded on the International Space Station? Plus, we’ll be putting Mpox, formerly known as Monkeypox, under the microscope. How is it treated, and what threat might it pose for us here in the UK?

Dr Chris Smith and the Naked Scientist team present the latest science news, analysis and breakthroughs. And our series Titans of Science returns, as we speak with the artificial intelligence pioneer Geoffrey Hinton.

In this week's news: Edward Stone, the man who led the Voyager probe missions, which are still working half a century on, has died at the age of 88. We reflect on his legacy.

Also, scientists discover what they think is the first Neanderthal with Down’s Syndrome, clearly cared for by his community.

And what should be in your first aid kit if you’re heading to a major music festival?

The mailbag was bulging, so we dived in to answer your science questions this week.

Including how many calories you'd find in a human brain, why methane's a worse greenhouse gas than CO2, and the claim that MI5 phoned up the makers of a James Bond movie for advice on making a special agent gadget.

Scientists have discovered a network of nerve cells that signal what's in what we've eaten and news of neutrinos that still appear to be travelling faster than light.

Details of a UK study called the Flu Survey aiming to work out how effective the flu jab is. Dr Chris and the team also look at a step forward in examining the primordial gas hypothesised by the Big Bang theory.

Dr Karl and Dr Rhod discuss the power of interpretative dance, parasites that could make you take risks and why gas cookers don't have flues.

Dr Karl and Dr Rhod discuss the fifth flavour, the ideal nap duration and the impossibility of perfect vacuums.

Dr Karl and Dr Rhod are joined by Alastair Reynolds, a sci fi author and former European Space Agency scientist. Topics under the spotlight are: the science of toenails, how being in space affects astronauts and what's the good of multi-vitamins?

The new Christmas must have gadget – a kitchen that teaches you to cook and carve correctly... and in French. And a question answered about microgravity.

Dr Karl answers listeners' weird and wonderful questions about the world of science, which include - why woodsmoke can cause asthma? What causes upside down rainbows? And more on the mysteries of black holes.

Dr Karl and 'Dr' Rhod once again answer all your science questions

This week's edition of the Naked Scientist - how Earth came by its water - scientists think they've found the place in outer space where it all came from. Why people always tend to look on the bright side, often in spite of the odds - and scientists line up for the research equivalent of an Oscar

Dr Karl joins Dr Rhod to answer all your science related questions.

Dr Chris Smith and the Naked Scientist team present the latest science news, analysis and breakthroughs. In today’s programme: the plastic that sterilises itself, and why sweeteners are worse for you than sugar.

Plus we look at scientific dogmas and find out how to mentally immune yourself so you don’t fall for dodgy data.

Find out more about the amazing powers of plastics, china's increasing space programme and how bacteria could be used for the latest type of encryption. Dr Chris Smith and his team have the answers.

Dr Karl joins Rhod to answer all this weeks science questions.

The slipperiest substance ever made, and the workings of DEET – the world’s best insect repellent

Can viruses be used as medical cures? Why birds are modern day dinosaurs?And how good is a fish's memory? just some of the weird and wonderful questions asks in the latest edition of the Dr Karl Phone-in

This week, scientists with superhero x-ray vision... well almost, the CT scanning system capable of handling some very large specimens and why playing computer games has led to a breakthrough in understanding HIV.

Are copper bands copper bottomed? Do you weigh less in the day than you do at night? Plus our old favourite String theory. Just some of the conundrums for Dr Karl this week. Dotun is ringmaster as Rhod is away.

In this special edition Dr Chris visits Lee Berger, at the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg to see the fossils which could revolutionise our understanding of the evolution of our species.

Dr Chris and his team discuss the virtues of yoghurt on the brain. Flat lenses and ice cold bacteria are also on the agenda.

The benefits of biting your nails, supernovas and what happens when an atom bomb detonantes are all put under the scientific spotlight of Dr Karl and Dr Rhod.

Dr Karl and Dr Rhod tackle why rocket thrusters work on the moon, what makes night fall, why rain doesn't hurt us and what causes tinnitus.

Dr Chris Smith and the Naked Scientist team present the latest science news, analysis and breakthroughs. Including: Scientists uncover the world’s earliest amputation patient, and are GP zoom appointments as good at getting the diagnosis as a face to face consultation?

Plus how transplanting microbes from the bowel of one person to another can cure diseases. We delve into the world of the human microbiome.

This week Dr Chrs and the naked scientists go to the University of Aberdeen to meet a scientist who's exploring the depths of the ocean and a look at Thalidomide 50 years on.

Dr Karl joins Rhod and as always tackles all your science questions.

Chris takes a look at work being done in Italy that may create a new treatment for muscular dystrophy

Dr Karl answers all your science related questions.

which is warmer, a bath with bubbles in it or one without? Just one of the stranger science stories tackled this week by Dr Chris Smith and the Naked Scientists!

The effects of adrenalin, the length of time tannins stay in the body and how long does the air last if someone's stuck in a one-metre-cubed airtight box?

How vampire bats home in on the jugular, why some depressions look like expressions and the world's scientific healdines of the week.

Dr Karl explains "Mackerel Skies", discusses a UFO sighting by a 5 live sportreader and discusses how spiders can link their webs to objects several feet in the air and several feet apart.

The fate of matter that gets sucked into a black hole, the genetic implications of organ transplants, and the use of desalination techniques to help combat drought are all explored with Dr. Karl. And he answers the question: how do you tow an iceberg?

Dr Karl joins Dr Rhod to explain why the moon glows, how waves wave and how sound is heard in the ear.

This week we explore the grounds for the vaccine spat between two rival pharmaceutical giants, a study shows marijuana users are less laid back than we thought, is coffee linked to cancer, and, in the grip of drought, what the UK needs to do to safeguard water security...

Dr Karl joins Rhod to answer your science questions. This week includes a look into curtains that 'quench' noise and an explanation as to why researchers spend so much time proving the obvious.

In this week's fascinating look at all things science, Dr. Chris explains why some scientists subjected volunteers to sunburns, the prospect of a universal flu vaccine and how the identity of blood cells has been discovered in Canada.

Dr Karl joins Rhod to answer all your science questions

This week Dr Chris Smith stands in for Dr Karl to answer listeners'weird and wonderful questions about the world of science, which includes what gives atoms mass? Can asteroids skip through the atmosphere? And how hard water ruins a nice cuppa.

Birds of a feather flock together, but why? Hear how GPS and a pigeon have found the answer. Dr Chris Smith and the Naked Scientists take a look at that and the rest of the week's science news.

Dr Karl who has been voted Australia's 10th most trusted man joins Rhod to answer your science questions, which this week include; can a blind eye ever be made to see again?

Dr Chris with all the latest science news.

This week Dr Karl takes you into the mysterious world of the multiverse and beyond! Plus how old before bald? The genius that is Dr Karl has all the answers to your science conundrums.

Dr Chris with this weeks science news.

Dr Karl joins 'Dr'Rhod to answer all your science related questions

Dr Chris Smith and the Naked Scientist team look at the latest developments in Malaria vaccines, how to immunise people against fake news and explore the Solar System from the safety of the Earth.

This week's edition of the Naked Scientist looks at how rising carbon dioxide levels are deafening fish to the sounds of predators, and a new way to design better phone handsets by logging how people actually use the phone - sounds obvious but, believe it or not, this sort of data is really hard to come by; thankfully scientists at Cambridge University have come to the rescue.

Looking into a transparent world, the truth about fracking and the REAL difference between cats and dogs. Those are the subjects under the spotlight as Dr Karl joins Dr Giles.