Quick Fire Science, from the Naked Scientists

The waiting list for kidney transplants is one of the longest. Here's Phil Sansom with the QuickFire Science of kidney transplantation, including why a person would need a kidney transplant, and how the procedure is carried out... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Advances in genetics and molecular biology mean that it is now possible to treat and even cure a raft of disorders for which there was previously little to offer patients. With the Quick Fire Science on gene therapy, Phil Sansom... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Human papillomaviruses are the cause of cervical and head and neck cancers in men and women. About half of the adult population have been exposed to high risk forms of the agent. With the Quick Fire Science on HPV, Phil Sansom... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Worldwide, nearly 40 million people are infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Here's the Quick Fire Science, with Phil Sansom... HIV is the human immunodeficiency virus, and around one in 650 people have it in the UK. Often the only symptom is a short flu-like illness a few weeks after infection, which lasts for a week or two. However, long after this symptom disappears, HIV is infecting and damaging vital cells in your immune system. This can lead to AIDS, or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome.If you have AIDS, your immune system has been severely damaged by HIV. You become... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Up to 10% of young people are infected with chlamydia. Here's the Quick Fire Science, from Phil Sansom...Chlamydia is a bacterial infection. It's one of the most common STIs - sexually transmitted infections - in the UK.It's easy to be infected with it without realising, because many people with chlamydia have no symptoms.For those that do have symptoms, they can become apparent a few weeks after you're infected. You might experience a discharge from the vagina or penis, or a burning sensation while urinating. For women there may also be bleeding after sex or between periods; for men, there... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

It has been announced by the government that driverless cars will be trialled on the roads of the UK by January 2015. The Ministry for Transport has invited cities to compete to host one of 3 trials. But the UK aren't the first to allow testing on public roads- California, Nevada and Florida have all approved tests of the vehicles, and in 2013, Nissan carried out Japan's first public road test of an autonomous vehicle on a highway. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Last weekend, many people will have noticed the moon looking especially bigand bright. This is because of a phenomenon known as the supermoon. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

US government this week discovered vials of smallpox virus whilst cleaning out an old storeroom. This was shocking, as it was thought that the only 2 remaining samples were securely stored in Atlanta and Russia. It is not yet known if the samples found were alive, and so if they posed any health threat. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Last week, the 2nd to last to last wild born Spix's Macaw died. The 40 year old parrot, named Presley, was thought to have inspired the film Rio- about a pet parrot who is discovered and taken to join a captive breeding programme. Spix's Macaws are thought to be extinct in the wild, and less than 100 remain in zoos around the world. Most of these birds are closely related, so Presley was important because he was genetically very different. Unfortunately, although it was attempted, he never bred successfully, so his death is a huge blow for the future of Spix's Macaws. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Capital punishment hasn't been used in the UK since 1964, however many countries, including the USA and China, still execute prisoners ever year. This week the USA has carried out its first lethal injections since the botched execution of convict Clayton Lockett in April, who died from a heart attack nearly an hour after receiving his injection. The controversial technique has been used as a form of capital punishment in the states since the 70s, with over 1000 inmates being executed this way alone. Here is your Quick Fire Science on the lethal injection with Graihagh Jackson and Georgia... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week a computer program reportedly passed the 'Turing test' for the first time, tricking people into believing it is human. This was part of a competition run by Reading University to commemorate the 60th anniversary of death of the test's creator: Alan Turing. Here is your Quick Fire Science on the Turing test... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week, Alexander Shulgin, the so called 'Godfather of ecstasy' died peacefully in his sleep. The 88 year old is best known for introducing MDMA, the active molecule in ecstasy, to psychologists in the 1970s, and also synthesised and tested over 200 psychoactive substances during his lifetime. Here is your Quickfire Science on ecstasy with Ginny Smith and Georgia Mills Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week, a farm worker in Argentina stumbled upon what has turned out to be a bone belonging to the largest known dinosaur to have ever walked the planet. Here's your Quick Fire Science on the find, with Kate Lamble and Dave Ansell... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week news broke that Turkey had suffered its worst ever mining disaster after an explosion and fire in a mine in Soma claimed almost three hundred lives. But why are explosions such a risk when mining? Dave Ansell and Kate Lamble have your Quick Fire Science Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week the Royal College of Physicians have issued a report looking at the standard of asthma care in the UK. There are over 5 million asthmatics in Britain, and last year there were more than 1000 deaths from the condition, one of the highest rates in Europe. Medical staff, the report says, need to be better trained to recognise the symptoms of the disease. Here's your Quick Fire Science on the condition with Kate Lamble and Hannah Critchlow Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week, a teenage boy survived the 5 hour flight from California to Hawaii, hidden in the wheel well of a plane. Experts are astonished that he seems to be unharmed- but just how amazing is his survival? Here are Kate Lamble and Dave Ansell with your Quick Fire Science about travelling as an aeroplane stowaway. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Wednesday, the 2nd of April was World Autism Awareness Day so to help you get to grips with this often misunderstood condition here's your Quick Fire Science with Hannah Critchlow and Kate Lamble Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Now that Malaysian Airways Flight MH370 has officially been acknowledged to have ended in the southern Indian Ocean with all lives lost, attentions have turned to recovering wreckage and piecing together what events might have lead to its crash. It's the aircraft's black box recorder which might hold the most clues. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

With the Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 still missing after nearly two weeks, some people are asking how you can lose a plane? But with over 6000 aeroplanes flying above us every day it's essential that air traffic control keeps in contact with them all. Here's your Quick Fire Science on how we know where aeroplanes are with Harriet Johnson and Kate Lamble Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Last week much of the UK witnessed the spectacular displays of the Northern Lights, but what causes this phenomenal natural light show? Here's your quick fire science on the aurora borealis... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

The Winter Olympics are finishing in Sochi, Russia this week. But it's not just the athletes who've spent the last four years training for the event. Engineers and designers have also been working to reduce times and grab golds on the slopes. In fact, when asked about her gold medal in the Women's Snowboard Cross Eva Samkova from the Czech Republic said "It's just physics, that's all,". To find out more, here's your Quick Fire Science with Kate Lamble and Harriet Johnson. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Last week a young, physically healthy giraffe called Marius in a zoo in Copenhagen was put down, amidst an uproar from animal lovers. The zoo argued that it had to be done to prevent inbreeding, and produce a healthier population of giraffes. Here's your Quick Fire Science on the subject.... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week doctors are trying to bring Formula One Racing Star Michael Schumacher out of a coma which was medically induced following a skiing accident.To find out more about why medically induced comas are thought to help people with brain injuries Here's your Quickfire Science with Kate Lamble and Hannah Critchlow Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Purple tomatoes might soon be making their way onto our dinner plates as the genetically modified fruit is currently being mass produced in Canada. The tomatoes which contain anthocyanin compounds normally found in deeply coloured berries are hoped to place the potential health benefits of blueberries and cranberries in a more affordable crop. To find out more, here's your Quickfire Science on genetically modified health foods with Dave Ansell and Ginny Smith. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Crowd funding programmes like Kick-starter have been used to raise money for music projects and Hollywood films, but now it could even be used to raise funding for long running scientific projects. The so-called Keeling Curve is the world's longest unbroken record of how much carbon dioxide is in the atmosphere, but after funding cuts it's now asking the public to chip in to keep the data going. To find out more about this archive and the gas it measures, here's your Quick Fire Science with Kate Lamble and Dave Ansell. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week, Hell literally froze over, as the small Michigan town of Hell experienced temperatures of minus 17 degrees Celsius. And Hell wasn't alone temperatures across the United States have plummeted to record lows as cold air from the Arctic has reached much lower latitudes than is usual. To explain how this has come about, here's your Quick Fire Science about the polar vortices with Kate Lamble and Dominic Ford Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

NASA's Curiosity rover landed on Mars in August 2012, and it has spent that past 15 months exploring a region of the planet called Gale Crater. This week the team running the rover reported on what they've found so far, and so here's your Quick Fire Science about our planetary next door neighbour with Dominic Ford and Hannah Critchlow. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

The UK government has this week announced changes to its subsidies for renewable energy generation. But how much energy does the UK generate using renewables? Here's your quickfire science on renewable energy with Dominic Ford and Dave Ansell. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week is AIDS Awareness Week. It is thought that, worldwide, 35 million people carry the HIV virus, and although current drugs work well to prevent AIDS, there is no cure in sight. Here's your Quick Fire Science on the history and science of HIV and AIDS, with Kate Lamble and Simon Bishop. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

The 19th November was World Toilet Day. Established in 2001, the event seeks to draw attention to global sanitation and health problems associated with a lack of toilets, and break the taboo associated with the topic. Here's your quick fire science on sanitation and the humble toilet, with Simon Bishop and Dominic Ford. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week, reports suggest that the 2013 opium harvest in Central and South Asia was the largest on record. But what is opium? Here's your quick fire science with Kate Lamble and Simon Bishop. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week archaeologists in Queensland, Australia, found part of a fossil from an ancient platypus that was a metre-long. Archaeologists have already found the remains of many giant ancestors of modern creatures, so here's two modern day giant animals - Simon Bishop and Matt Burnett - with this week's Quick Fire Science looking at why animals grew so big in the past. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Remember, remember the fifth of November, Gunpowder treason and plot. We see no reason, why gunpowder treason should ever be forgot! So here's your quick fire science on gunpowder and fireworks just in time for Bonfire Night, with Kate Lamble and Simon Bishop. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week saw the final of the Great British Bake Off, a television programme in which 13 people spend a weekend in a tent, baking cakes and bread. Over 6 million viewers tuned in each week to catch the adventures of the amateur bakers, as they crafted three-dimensional novelty vegetable cakes, tricky millefeuille and choux pastry delights, while avoiding that ultimate sin against pastry - a soggy bottom. It has also inspired a new generation of home bakers. Here's your quick fire science on baking, with Matt Burnett and Simon Bishop. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

It's official: the UK has a slug problem. This week, researchers from the John Innes Centre in Norwich asked the public for help to help them track down the Spanish slug, a rapidly reproducing invasive species that eats crops and is not deterred by slug pellets. Here's your quick fire science on invasive species, with Matt Burnett and Simon Bishop. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week, the Nobel Prizes for medicine, physics and chemistry were awarded. Here's your quickfire science on the life of the prize's founder, Alfred Nobel, and past recipients of the award with Matt Burnett and Simon Bishop. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

A mummified body known as the Cashel man was recently found to be the oldest so called 'bog body' with intact skin anywhere in the world. Here's your quickfire science on how wetlands can preserve ancient human remains with Kate Lamble and Matt Burnett... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week, salvage experts have been trying to raise the MS Costa Concordia, a cruise liner which partially sank near the island of Giglio off the coast of Italy in January 2012. Here's the quick-fire science on the Concordia and the salvage operation to raise it. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Zoo keepers in Edinburgh have said this week that they're uncertain whether a giant panda in the city's zoo might give birth to a cub. But why is it so notoriously difficult to get pandas to breed in captivity, and how can there be so much doubt over whether a panda is pregnant? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

You may have heard this week about a new building at 20 Fenchurch St, in the City of London. The 37-storey skyscraper, which has already been dubbed the 'Walkie-talkie' due to its unusual shape, has been blamed for cooking a number of vehicles parked nearby. Some suggest that this might be due to the novel shape of the building, which causes it to act as a parabolic reflector, targeting sun's rays. Here's the quick fire science behind parabolic reflectors and their uses. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week, nuclear expert Mycle Schneider, formerly an adviser to the French and German governments has said that he's deeply worried about contaminated cooling water leaking from tanks at the site of the Fukushima nuclear reactors.- Huge amounts of energy can be released by joining or fusing small atoms together to make larger atoms, or by splitting apart larger atoms like uranium.- In nuclear reactors, atoms such as Uranium 235 and Plutonium 239 are bombarded by neutrons which causes them to split in two, a process called fission.- When atoms undergo fission, they often release more... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

US-based entrepreneur Elon Musk is not a man who's lacking ambition in life. His company Space-X has already built rockets which compete with those used by NASA and the European Space Agency, and last year one of them became the first commercial spacecraft to visit the International Space Station. This week, however, it's another of his projects which has been in the news - a new kind of train which he thinks could transport people over the 350-miles between Los Angeles and San Francisco in only 35 minutes. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists