5 Live Science Podcast

With a special, festively-themed Naked Scientists, Dr Chris and the

Dr Karl joins Dr John (who's in for Dr Rhod) and they discuss the efficacy of herbal supplements, the properties of quarks and whether striking the sides of jar lids helps in opening them.

Does Mozart make you brainier? The jury may be out. And what does Christmas lunch do to your intestinal microbes...

Dr Karl answers listeners' questions about the weird and wonderful world of science.

Sweat, the build-up of lactic acid while cycling and the tale of America's quest to find a pen that works in space.

Dr Karl and Dr Rhod discuss Venus' magnetic poles, the necessity of sunlight, and Douglas Adams' poetry among other things.

Dr Chris Smith and the team join Dotun to discuss how bacteria can pick up DNA in the environment, the legacy of double Nobel prize winner Fred Sanger, and the smallest man-made objects in space.

Dr Karl and Dr Rhod discuss speeding space stations and enriching uranium amongst other things.

Dr Chris Smith and the team join Dotun to talk about the science of Typhoons, a promising new antibiotic for combating chronic infections, and what satellites are revealing about the rate of global deforestation.

Dr Karl and Dr Rhod are joined by Simon Singh whose new book 'The Simpsons and Their Mathematical Secrets' has just been published.