logo
episode-header-image
Feb 2025
32m 44s

What is mirror life?

THE NAKED SCIENTISTS
About this episode
We're taking you through the looking glass to explore 'mirror life': could we be about to flip biology on its head? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Up next
Yesterday
Christian Eriksen's heart device, and air leaks on the ISS
Coming up, Danish footballer Christian Eriksen is reportedly "doing well" after collapsing for a second time during an international match. Did a tiny device called an implantable cardioverter defibrillator save his life? Plus, whether magnetic immune cells in the liver can drive ... Show More
30m 37s
Jun 9
Fever pitch: the science of the Football World Cup
The FIFA World Cup is taking place across the United States, Canada, and Mexico. It's often called the beautiful game, but is it really more science than art? This episode features Rachael Ralph, Hugh Hunt, and Alex Grantham on the physics of football; Tom Brownlee on elite playe ... Show More
32m 22s
Jun 5
Ovarian cancer wonder drug, and the birth of black holes
In this episode, we hear about a breakthrough drug called mirvetuximab, which has been dubbed a "biological missile" in the treatment of ovarian cancer. Plus, astronomers suggest some black holes may have formed before the stars in their host galaxies; a 'killer fungus' that coul ... Show More
28m 49s
Recommended Episodes
Jan 2025
Biologists Call For A Halt To ‘Mirror Life’ Research
<p>You’re probably familiar with the concept of handedness—a glove made for your left hand looks basically like the one for your right hand, but won’t fit—it’s a mirror image. Many of life’s important molecules, including proteins and DNA, are chiral, meaning they can exist in ei ... Show More
18m 6s
Apr 2025
Pourquoi la “vie miroir” serait-elle une menace pour l'humanité ?
Parmi les nouvelles menaces qui planent sur l’avenir de l’humanité, un concept jusque-là réservé aux laboratoires commence à inquiéter : la vie miroir. Ce terme désigne une forme de vie artificielle, créée à partir de molécules dites miroirs. Pour comprendre, il faut revenir à la ... Show More
2m 11s
Aug 2025
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
Oct 2024
Mirror, Mirror
9 year old listener Koby sends Hannah and Dara on a mission to find the shiniest thing in the world. And so they enter a world of mirrors… The journey takes them into the subatomic goings on of shiny metal surfaces, where electrons waggle and dance and send light waves back at *j ... Show More
30m 28s
Oct 2024
Will It Sequence? Synthetic DNA
In this episode of Naked Genetics: How much of your personality is down to your DNA; we also look at synthetic DNA, and why we'd want to make it; plus, the spiders that turn one species of insect against its own kind... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Sc ... Show More
24m 43s
Aug 2024
Will It Sequence? 700-year-old DNA
In this episode of Naked Genetics: A mammoth discovery in ancient DNA structure; on the subject of ancient DNA, what can we sequence for a centuries old body? And, in quirks of evolution, the animal that drinks its own offspring's blood... Like this podcast? Please help us by sup ... Show More
21m 17s
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
Sep 2024
Life is a Mirror 🪞✨
<p>Episode 205: Life is a Mirror | In this episode of <em>The Yoga Inspired Life Podcast</em>, Shayla dives into the profound concept that &quot;life is a mirror,&quot; exploring how our outer world reflects our inner beliefs, thoughts, and emotions. Prompted by her own recent jo ... Show More
18m 49s
Aug 2025
Science’s Greatest 180s
Science doesn’t always get it right the first time—and that’s part of the journey. In this anniversary episode, we explore how ideas about nerve damage, sustainable materials and alien life have done a full 180. Recommended Reading Celebrating 180 Years of Scientific American 180 ... Show More
8m 4s
Mar 2022
Welcome to ZOE Science & Nutrition
Welcome to the brand-new podcast from ZOE, the people behind the world's largest scale nutrition study. ZOE Science & Nutrition is the podcast where the world’s top scientists explain the latest health, nutrition, and gut health research in terms we can all understand. So join us ... Show More
3m 1s