The Naked Scientists Podcast

In partnership with Frontiers Science House, we bring you the next installment of our Why? series. Today, we tackle one of science's most hotly debated fields and ask: Why geoengineering? What do we mean by it? Can reflecting the sun really help improve the climate? And what are the arguments for and against it? We hear from Martin Stew, science correspondent for ITV News; Dakota Gruener, CEO of Reflective, which aims to accelerate sunlight-reflection research; and Mark Maslin at University College London and David Keith at the University of Chicago, who put geoengineering on trial. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Europe's supermarket fridges and freezers have come under sustained cyber attacks - BBC tech and AI editor, Zoe Kleinman, has the latest. Plus, what to expect from the COP31 climate summit in Turkey, why two indigenous groups in Tanzania and Bolivia share the same gut microbes, and our favourite space scientists pay tribute to Sir Patrick Stewart. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Mitochondria - the longest and most successful partnership in biology - a symbiosis between bacteria and complex cells spanning billions of years - go under our microscope this week. We've teamed up with ARIA - the Advanced Research + Invention Agency - to find out more about the mitochondrion, including where they came from, what they do for us, what happens when they go wrong, and whether we can fix them. We hear from Danielle Grotjohn at Scripps Research, Siobhan Mitchell at MitoQ, Henry Lee at Cultivarium, Mike Murphy from the MRC Mitochondrial Biology Unit, and ARIA's Max Sichrovsky. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Coming up: Africa's leading public health agency has warned that the Ebola outbreak could spread beyond the continent. What are the risks? Plus, we hear from the team behind an electronic implant with a catalytic converter to remove glucose from the blood; why Mars dust may pose a problem for astronauts; and the seabirds that experience jet lag when crossing the Atlantic. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week, Rachael Ralph investigates sugar. Perry Bateman from British Sugar tells her how white sugar and demerara differ; the British Dental Association's Mick Armstrong explains how a high-sugar diet leads to cavities; and Lucy Chambers at Diabetes UK looks at the long-term consequences of high blood sugar. Are artificial sweeteners truly better? Gunter Kuhnle and Jason Halford weigh in. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Today, we explore a Japanese mission to return a sample from Phobos. What might the project tell us about Mars's moons? Plus, Mariam Jamal-Hanjani at Cancer Research UK on Pope Leo's lung cancer diagnosis and treatment; scientists develop a DNA typewriter to track where all the cells in a mouse come from, and can we put a price on the value of breastfeeding? Chris Smith and Rachael Ralph report. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Today, what causes ageing, and why some animals age faster than others. Joao Pedro Magalhaes discusses ageing biochemistry; Noah Snyder-Mackler links "jumping genes" to shorter lifespans in big dogs; Stephen Clark introduces Jonathan, the 194-year-old tortoise; and Andrew Steele explains Peto's Paradox, showing why large animals get less cancer than expected. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Coming up, the US places restrictions on Starlink in Ukraine, and MI5 chief Sir Ken McCallum warns that AI is accelerating cyber threats from Russia. Plus, an electronic sensor that can help detect Parkinson's disease, the health of a generation raised on sugar rations, and why dogs can understand our words and intonation. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Today, Rachael Ralph explores menopause and perimenopause. This episode features renowned gynecologist Heather Currie on what we know about this stage of life and who it affects; GP and broadcaster Nighat Arif on menopause-related problems and possible treatments; Uri Alon at the Weizmann Institute of Science on whether menopause involves a 'cliff-like' decline; and Lachlan MacBean at the University of Exeter on his team's research. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

A 28-year-old Russian researcher has reportedly died after contracting pneumonic plague. What do we know about this medieval-era disease? Plus, we unpack the 2026 Nobel Prizes, the world's first self-setting nuclear clock begins ticking in Vienna, and why scientists are simulating microgravity on cells in a dish. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists