Naked Scientists Special Editions

Nano-Scale Quill Pen

Loading player...
Quill pens might be about to make a comeback - but not in a stationers! Because researchers have developed a nano-scale ink pen that can be used to control the shapes of polymers that can be used to make superfast computers. Polymers are are giant chemical structures made by linking lots of smaller molecules together, and what Imperial College's Alex Perevedentsev and his colleagues have discovered is that, with a dab of nano-ink delivered in the right way from their nib-pen, they can make polymers adopt specific shapes that alter the way light passes through them. And as he explained to Kat, this is what we need to make a new generation of much faster microprocessors that use light rather than electricity
26 Jan 2015 English United Kingdom Science

Other recent episodes

Nocebos, and why the eyes of some species stay shut at birth

This month, compelling evidence for why some species keep their eyes closed for sometimes several weeks after birth, scientists prove that the "nocebo" effect is more potent than a placebo, researchers report what happens when fish eggs and mouse sperm mix, the signals that cells use to measure the lengths…
30 Nov 40 min

Aspirin vs Clopidogrel: The blood thinner battle

Clots in our blood vessels can be responsible for very serious health problems such as strokes and heart attacks. To combat this, some people at risk of said health problems turn towards blood thinners to prevent this clotting, with the most common household blood thinner being aspirin. The issue with…
2 Oct 5 min

Public Success, Private Grief: remembering Peter Cowley

Peter Cowley was an entrepreneur, angel investor, and for many years was the Naked Scientists technology commentator, a role he fell into by accident when we met one evening at an investment meeting. He became a good friend. But his life, in many respects, despite being incredibly successful, was also…
23 Sep 37 min

Keeping humans healthy in orbit

With only a few walls between an astronaut and a rapid death, what do we know about the various dangers to the human body during space travel? Chris Smith spoke with Mark Shelhamer, a professor of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery at John Hopkins Medical School - about which…
10 Sep 6 min

Ants doing gene therapy, and tadpole microbiomes

This month, as the eLife Podcast hits its century, we hear how getting frog dads to cross-foster tadpoles has revealed the way in which some frogs come by their microbiomes, the ants that do gene therapy, signs that disease causes a breakdown in nutrient exchange between the elements of the…
7 Sep 43 min
All episodes