Special Editions

When we nod off we often dream, but many people have reported that, over the course of the pandemic, what they dream about has changed dramatically. It seems to be a real claim, and scientists are studying it. Eva Higginbotham spoke with dream scientist Alejandro Ezquerro-Nassar from the University of Cambridge... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

The AstraZeneca Oxford University Covid-19 vaccine results were announced recently, but something wasn't quite right: it turned out that some people in the trial had received the wrong vaccine dose, although with surprising results. Chris Smith joins RNZ's Kim Hill to review the AZ and other vaccines... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Recently news was published of an artificial intelligence system which has analysed bits of speech from participants of a long-running study on dementia. These participants were cognitively normal, didn't have signs of dementia, at the time. The system managed to predict the onset of dementia up to 7 years earlier than human doctors. Katie Haylor asked Susan Kohlhass, director of research at Alzheimer's Research UK what she made of the announcement... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Let's dive into the depths and consider the octopus. As well as being famous for its 8 arms, and 3 hearts, octopus vision is also impressive: it helps them spy out dinner, among other things. But light isn't always in great supply when you're hunting around on the seabed, so these creatures have a fascinating ability to taste their surroundings and therefore make decisions about what to eat or not, simply by touching things. Now, a paper from scientists at Harvard explains how this touch-taste system actually works on a molecular level. By studying the cells in the suction cups of the... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

As part of their obesity strategy the UK government announced plans to restrict the advertising of unhealthy foods on TV. And in a paper out recently, Oliver Mytton, of Cambridge University, and colleagues have modelled the potential impact of the TV ban on rates of obesity and overweight among children in the UK. Katie Haylor spoke to Oliver. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Join Chris Berrow for this extended chat with Carlos "Ocelote" Rodriguez about running one of the biggest eSports teams in the world - G2. From League of Legends to Hearthstone, the team have had a huge amount of success across the board. So what has coronavirus and lockdown meant for the business? Find out how long a typical player's career lasts, and what happens after you retire from competitive play. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

When we think of drug discovery we might conjure up images of scientists in white lab coats holding test tubes, but a new study searching for drugs to kill dangerous disease-causing fungi had researchers wearing wetsuits and holding fishing nets, and so far, it's all been worth it. Eva Higginbotham spoke with Tim Bugni and David Andes, two leaders on the project... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

If you've ever wondered what's going on in your brain when choosing what you want for lunch, look no further. Researchers from Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis recently published a paper in Nature where they used an experimental trick to show what was happening in the brains of monkeys as they chose which beverage they wanted to drink. Eva Higginbotham spoke with lead scientist on the project, Camillo Padoa-Schioppa, about how it works... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Tired of just seeing and reading about history? Soon you'll be able to experience its smells as well! This is thanks to an ambitious project called ODEUROPA, which has just received a big EU grant that brings together researchers from a range of disciplines including historians, computer scientists and chemists to reconstruct the pongs of the past. Marieke van Erp is one of them; she's from the Dutch Digital Humanities Lab, and spoke to Eva Higginbotham... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Pfizer and BioNTech have concluded the Phase 3 trial of their coronavirus vaccine. The results appear to show an efficacy rate of 95%, and the developers hope to win FDA approval as soon as possible. This vaccine - a promising hope for many - works via a new methiod that's never been tried before in humans. Chris Smith asked Cambridge University immunologist Clare Bryant for her reaction... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists