logo
episode-header-image
Aug 2024
29m 33s

Ketamine's antidepressant effect, and be...

THE NAKED SCIENTISTS
About this episode
In the news podcast, could Chinese scientists have found the mechanism that gives ketamine its antidepressant effect? Also, how a Cambridge researcher has laid the foundations for eliminating a form of blindness in English Shepherd dogs, and how bees find their way about with remarkable efficiency. Plus, the big questions in the search for extraterrestrials... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Up next
Oct 7
Has COVID-19 weakened our immunity?
You've probably heard of Omicron, but what about Nimbus and Stratus? These are the latest COVID strains spreading around the world, and for most people they'll amount to a heavy cold at worst, lasting just a few days. Or will they? Are these coronaviruses doing more to our immune ... Show More
30m 39s
Oct 3
Embryos made from skin cells, and remembering Jane Goodall
In this edition of The Naked Scientists: US scientists have turned skin cells into human embryos for the very first time. We unpack the significance. Also ahead, the legacy of the primatologist and conservationist, Jane Goodall, who has died at the age of 91. Plus, we hear from a ... Show More
34m 8s
Sep 30
Painting: where art meets science
Today, we're picking up a brush, and probing the science of paint. Where does chemistry stop, and the art take over? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists 
31m 11s
Recommended Episodes
Mar 2025
The Serotonin Hypothesis: Controversies and Nuance with Awais Aftab, MD
Is depression really caused by low serotonin? Dr. Awais Aftab joins Dr. David Puder to explore the serotonin hypothesis, antidepressant efficacy, and the controversies surrounding SSRIs. They dive into the history of the serotonin deficiency theory, key research on antidepressant ... Show More
1h 16m
Apr 2025
Tackling bias in health
Bias in the way medical research is carried out means that new medicines for diseases such as cancer – as well as the tools used to diagnose patients with some conditions – are disproportionally tested on people of European heritage. This can lead to those not represented in the ... Show More
23m 18s
Dec 2024
Debunking 'junk' DNA
In this episode of Naked Genetics: What new DNA techniques are revealing about human sacrifices in Mayan culture; we debunk the 'junk', in junk DNA; and, the upside down sea snail that makes rafts of its own snot... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scient ... Show More
32m 47s
Apr 2025
Dementia: Your questions answered and lion's mane mushrooms in the lab
You sent in your questions on dementia and now we're tackling them. Professor Tara Spires-Jones, Director of the Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences at the University of Edinburgh, joins James Gallagher to go through the insidehealth@bbc.co.uk mailbag.James also visits mushroom g ... Show More
28m 16s
Aug 5
Summer picks: what is ‘mirror life’ and why are scientists sounding the alarm?
Recently, a group of world-leading scientists called for a halt on research to create ‘mirror life’ microbes amid concerns that the synthetic organisms would present an ‘unprecedented risk’ to life on Earth. Ian Sample tells Madeleine Finlay about why this work initially seemed e ... Show More
17m 33s
Sep 26
Skull rewrites story of human evolution; Autism and Tylenol; discovery of wind coming from black hole
Episode 322 An ancient skull discovered in China may have just rewritten the story of human evolution. It’s widely accepted that the common ancestor of Homo sapiens, Denisovans and Neanderthals came out of Africa. But this skull upends that assumption - potentially showing human ... Show More
33m 57s
Aug 25
Pointless Tongue vs Amazing Eye: English Listening Ep 824
Wouldn't it be amazing if you could grow a brand new eye? Or that a simple snail could hold the secret to curing human blindness? Welcome to a fascinating new episode where we help you learn https://adeptenglish.com/company/learning-system/ English with some amazing stories."Look ... Show More
13m 4s
Jan 2025
Unlocking green hydrogen, and oxygen deprivation as medicine
First up this week, although long touted as a green fuel, the traditional approach to hydrogen production is not very sustainable. Staff writer Robert F. Service joins producer Meagan Cantwell to discuss how researchers are aiming to improve electrolyzers—devices that split water ... Show More
34m 12s
Aug 2024
The not-so-secret life of plants
From the perspective of Western science, plants have long been considered unaware, passive life forms; essentially, rocks that happen to grow. But there’s something in the air in the world of plant science. New research suggests that plants are aware of the world around them to a ... Show More
35m 49s
Jun 2025
The Psychology of Curiosity at Cheltenham Science Festival
Is curiosity good for us, or should we learn a lesson from what curiosity did to the cat? And why does curiosity drive some people to explore the ends of the earth and beyond, while others just really aren’t very curious at all? As a journalist and author, Claudia Hammond has tur ... Show More
29m 17s