Naked Scientists Special Editions Podcast

Despite the hundreds of thousands of babies born every day, we still know relatively little about childbirth and how hormones play their key roles in it. A stress hormone, known as cortisol, is involved in inducing labour in animals, but doesn't seem to work the same way in people. A paper this week published in Science Signalling has suggested a potential way cortisol does have a part to play in human childbirth. Georgia Mills caught up with Professor Joe Herbert, from Cambridge University, to discuss the study. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

As Winter approaches in some parts of the world, so does the colder weather and the threat of ice on the roads and on your car windscreen. But help is at hand from Kansas State University's Alexander van Dyke. As he explains to Charis Lestrange, he's created what's known as a "biphilic" material that can stop frost from forming so easily on a surface. It consists of two types of material: one hydrophilic, which attracts water, and the other hydrophobic, or water-repelling. Placed in a certain pattern, these can keep water droplets moving so they don't have time to freeze... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Steel is used to manufacture a wide range of products from tiny surgical tools to huge ships. However, it can become corroded or contaminated when liquid comes into contact with it. A new method to coat steel with the compound tungsten oxide has been reported by researchers from Harvard University in Nature Communications this week. It enables liquid to slip off the surface while keeping the steel strong. Dr Ben de Laune, a materials chemist from the University of Birmingham, explains to Rosalind Davies why this is so important. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

There have been many exaggerated reports this week that birth order, whether you are a first or last born, affects how intelligent you will be compared to your siblings. However, the researchers at the University of Leipzig found that this difference in intelligence is very small and the more important finding was about birth order and personality. Charis Lestrange spoke with lead author Julia Rohrer to find out more. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week the UK science minister, Jo Johnson, was in Cambridge where he announced an initiative to pump 21 million into seven key research programmes intended to tackle some of the leading scientific and engineering challenges facing the world. The funding will come from the UK's Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, the EPSRC. Professor Philip Nelson is the EPSRC's chief executive, and he spoke to Kat Arney about how the projects were selected... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

You know when after a run you feel great? Well previously scientists thought this runners' high was down to endorphins, but this may not be the case. Johannes Fuss from the University of Heidelberg found that mice that ran around all day felt less pain and less anxiety - key features of a runner's high. However, this feel good sensation wasn't down to endorphins, but endocannabinoids - the same chemicals that come from smoking cannabis! Rosalind Davies jogged on over to find out more... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

The Human Connectome Project has collected data of hundreds of individuals ranging from brain imaging to genetic and lifestyle information. Now researchers from the University of Oxford have used this information to see how much our lifestyle choices and personality traits are reflected in our brains. Karla Miller explained their findings to Connie Orbach. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Every day millions of people are moving around the world by air, land and sea, but they may be bringing with them more than just their luggage. For example, during last year's ebola outbreak, there were concerns that air travel would spread the disease from west Africa to other countries, sparking a global pandemic. But were these worries justified? By studying the patterns of 187 diseases in 225 countries, Kris Murray and his team at Imperial College have discovered that it's geography, rather than air travel, that's the most important factor, as he explained to Kat Arney. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Fossils have long been used to help us piece together the size and shape of extinct animals, but the colours of these animals has, until now, been something of a mystery. Now researchers from the University of Bristol have detected the chemical signatures of the original melanin pigments in ancient bat fossils. Charis Lestrange spoke with Jakob Vinther to hear how... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week, with the Rugby World Cup in full swing, the sports chief medical officer, Martin Raftery has called for changes to be made to the rules in order to cut the number of concussions suffered by players. Concussion occurs when the brain is shaken around inside the skull. This damages nerve cells and blood vessels, and the effects of the damage are worse if a person is already suffering from a prior concussion. Finding ways to spot who is concussed, and when it's safe for them to play on, is a priority. Ginny Smith spoke to two scientists studying concussion. First, Michael Grey, from the... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Solar power is growing in popularity around the world, with huge solar farms springing up all over the place. Obviously, solar panels need as much sunlight as possible, but this also means that they heat up, limiting their efficiency at converting sunlight into electricity. This conundrum may now be solved, thanks to a clever coating designed by Aaswath Raman and his colleagues at Stanford University. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Sitting for long periods of time has long been associated with negative health effects and is thought to slow down your metabolism. However new research suggests that the movements linked with fidgeting could offset these negative effects. Charis Lestrange spoke with Professor Janet Cade about how fidgeting could potentially prolong your life. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

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 awarded the contract to build the telescope's new spectrograph, an instrument called HARMONI. Connie Orbach spoke to HARMONI'S principal investigator Niranjan Thatte to find out what it will do. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

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 the needle but otherwise remains as a solid, supporting whatever has been printed inside it. Right now it reproducibly prints tumours for testing anti-cancer drugs; long term, entire human organs look likely. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

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 lie low in the body for many years, hiding from the immune system.But how do they do that? Kat Arney spoke to Michael Kimber from Iowa State University to find out. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

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 leg muscles to move, enabling him to stand, and then walk unaided. The device, which is the first of its kind, provides a way for patients paralysed by spinal cord injuries to bypass the roadblock preventing the flow of instructions from the brain to motor nerves and muscles and recover their ability to move.... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

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 to speak to Professor Rebecca Kilner to find out more. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

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 spoke with lead author Hannah Mumby to find out more. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

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 species surely we're better off just picking someone half-decent and making do.Now scientists in Germany have found that, for zebra finches at least, there is a point to love... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

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 corresponds to our biological age - in other words, how well "lived in" our bodies are. Joanna Kerr spoke with researcher James Timmons to hear how it works... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists