Will a vaccine against the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus be forthcoming, and what other measures are effective at fighting Covid-19? We're setting great store by social distancing, but is 2 metres going far enough? Chris Smith joins Radio New Zealand National's Kim Hill to discuss the latest developments in the evolving coronavirus situation, including the UK lockdown extension, and other therapeutic strategies to aid people stricken by the virus... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week, Prime Minister Boris Johnson's close-call with Covid-19, reversing the lockdown, how contact tracing can control outbreaks, changing public practices around face masks, and can the exhalations of a passing jogger infect me? Chris Smith joins Radio New Zealand National's Kim Hill for another coronavirus update... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

The risk of bringing home coronavirus on your groceries is very low, but what's the best way to minimise the threat? Chris Smith explains... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

As our high streets are becoming increasingly deserted by humans, it's becoming apparent that we aren't the only creatures roaming our cities. Birds are still chirping away out there. A city is not a natural place for a bird, but some species manage to thrive. Intelligence was once thought to be the deciding factor, but maybe that's not the whole story, as put forward by new research in Nature Ecology and Evolution. Melanie Jans-Singh found out more from UCL's Alexander Pigot... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

As the lockdown tightens and a quarter of the world's population are forced to stay at home, Chris Smith and RNZ's Kim Hill link up to talk about the latest coronavirus facts. They explore whether facemasks protect you or just lead to a false sense of security, herd immunity and our lockdown exit strategy, why some people suffer more severe infections than others, and if antibodies from recovered Covid-19 victims can help those dying from the disease... Also, the brilliant Coronavirus Rhapsody sung by Adrian Grimes with lyrics by Dana Jay Bein and music by Queen. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Space-grown lettuce may sound like something from science-fiction, but astronauts on the International Space Station, or ISS, have been enjoying their leafy greens since mid 2015, thanks to NASA's Veggie plant growth system. Megan McGregor spoke to Gioia Massa, project scientist at Kennedy Space Centre, and Howard Griffiths from the University of Cambridge... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

As the UK goes into lock-down and the government announces unprecedented spending to support businesses and workers, Chris Smith rejoins Radio New Zealand National's Kim Hill to discuss the scientific basis for these tactics, and how the story will end... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Last year scientists from the University of Exeter discovered that staring at seagulls can discourage them from stealing your food. Not content with saving the chips of many a seaside tourist, they have now discovered that herring gulls are more likely to interact with food after it has been touched by humans. But how exactly do you test a seagull's preferred snack? Megan McGregor spoke to the study's lead author, Madeleine Goumas, to find out more... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Every household across the world produces wastewater. While usually we think of it as waste that has to be treated, a new study by the UN Institute for Water, in the National Resources Forum, conceives of wastewater as a largely untapped resource. The scientists, led by Manzoor Qadir, have estimated the total amount of wastewater in the world. This is the first comprehensive study that includes places with little recorded data. According to its result, the total amount of wastewater produced per year globally could cover the entire land in the world (minus Antarctica) by 1 metre. Melanie... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

As the focus shifts to Europe, now regarded as the epicentre of the coronavirus pandemic, Chris Smith rejoins Radio New Zealand National's Kim Hill to debate whether the UK stance, currently at odds with the reaction seen across the rest of Europe, is the right one. They ask, how effective are travel bans, why Italy has been so hard hit, why children don't seem to be getting sick, and the influence of the weather on the spread of SARS-Cov-2... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists