Podcasts by Never Lick the Spoon
A quirky podcast from the Institute for Molecular Science and Engineering at Imperial College London, that brings to life the teeny tiny world of molecules.
Further podcasts by Institute for Molecular Science and Engineering, Imperial College London
Podcast on the topic Wissenschaft
All episodes
Episode 27 - Robots built my battery from 2023-10-16T15:53:15
A team at Imperial are building a robotic laboratory called DIGIBAT. This will automate research into materials for energy storage and energy generation. Robots won't just discover new materials...
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Episode 26 - The ingredients list from 2023-07-05T15:31:08
What do fertilizer, body lotion, paracetamol tablets and mayonnaise have in common? Well, they’re all engineered mixtures, and they all have a long list of unpronounceable chemicals on the back ...
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Episode 25 - In plane sight from 2023-05-25T10:14:53
What are the sustainable alternatives to kerosene to power aircraft into a net zero world? And what would it take to scale their production up to meet demand? I talk to two authors of the recent...
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Episode 24 - Desirably defective from 2023-03-17T09:28:40
Silicon-based solar panels are four times as efficient as plants at harvesting energy from sunlight. But they're expensive to produce because the material they're made of has to be very precisel...
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Episode 23 - The Trojan Molecule from 2023-01-26T09:38:11
Molecules that change shape when light falls on them have many uses. Like the Trojan Horse, they can look benign, but transform into a weapon under the right circumstances. This week we explore ...
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Episode 22 - Crystal healing from 2022-11-21T15:01
This month, we're focusing on a chemical process which is all around us: how crystals form. Humans have been using crystallisation to harvest salt from seawater for millennia. In the modern indu...
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Episode 21 - Soilless soil from 2022-10-20T10:59
One way of increasing food production is to develop substitutes for soil which can be used to grow plants. Why is 3D printing a good way of doing this? And how could it be used make new non-Eart...
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Episode 20 - Concrete jungle from 2022-09-20T10:24
How could we make our cities greener, and how would that change how liveable they are? In a first for this podcast, I talk to a current masters student at Imperial about her research project dev...
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Episode 19 - Printing life with light from 2022-08-22T09:32
3D printing, or additive manufacturing, is a method of producing objects by printing them in layers. The layers can be made out of metal, ceramic or, most often, plastics. But could we actually ...
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Episode 18 - Understorey stories from 2022-07-21T14:29:31
In the last few decades, thousands of acres of rainforest have been cleared for palm oil plantations in southeast Asia, with a consequent loss of biodiversity. Currently in Africa, coconut palm ...
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Episode 17 - Reduce, reuse, digest? from 2022-06-14T09:16:26
We're all being urged to reduce, reuse, recycle our plastics these days. But some types of bacteria have already evolved to be able to eat some kinds of plastic. Could these organisms help solve...
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Episode 16 - An Apple (Watch) a day (Part II) from 2021-03-30T23:08:10
Last time we heard about some of the positive aspects that wearable tech has been bringing to modern life, now we hear about its dubious side. From big tech trying to guess if you're happy or sa...
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Episode 15 - An Apple (Watch) a day from 2021-02-26T00:43:16
In a two part special on wearable technology, we are joined by experts that look at this booming industry from completely different perspectives. In the first episode we look at wearable tech's ...
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Episode 14 - State of the misinformation from 2020-12-17T12:41:14
We take a break from our usual molecular bread and butter and look at the recent American presidential election. After all, American presidents are made of molecules too, right? We begin our sto...
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Episode 13 - Lucky for some from 2020-10-29T15:34:50
It's our 13th episode! Far from being Triskaidekaphobes - that is of course the phobia of the number 13 - we’re lucky enough to have a returning guest who brings some much needed positivity on t...
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Episode 12 - Snail fever from 2020-10-01T19:27:23
Turning our attention away from Covid, we look at a different disease that has plagued humanity since the time of the ancient Egyptians - and still claims 280,000 lives every year. What’s all th...
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Episode 11 - Batteries included from 2020-09-01T13:04:30
From the humble AAs we stick into the back of our TV remote controls, to our phones, laptops, and increasingly, our cars, batteries are now everywhere to be found. We hear from someone who spend...
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Episode 10 - Getting rid of Covid (Part III) from 2020-07-03T11:15:29
We have a returning guest with some exciting results from the initial tests of the vaccine! Anna Blakney gives us an update on vaccine trials, including when they now think it will be ready, alo...
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Episode 9 - Getting rid of Covid (Part II) from 2020-05-22T16:22:25
Continuing on from the last episode, Kieran hears about the work of a team at Imperial College who are now grappling with the next big challenge to producing a Covid-19 vaccine: how to make enou...
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Episode 8 - Getting rid of Covid from 2020-04-17T09:53:40
Most of us have been in some form of lock down now for several weeks. The only sure way we can get back to the life we had before is with a vaccine, which is what researchers at Imperial College...
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Episode 7 - Greenhouse mattresses from 2020-03-29T14:31:02
Carbon capture is muted by some as a key tool in the fight against that other huge challenge facing human kind, climate change. Kieran finds out more about this emerging field by going on a tour...
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Episode 6 - Bacteria hysteria from 2020-01-30T12:48:58
From HG Wells to David Bowie, "is there life on Mars?" is one of the most iconic questions yet to be answered. We speak to someone who could be one of the first people to answer that question in...
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Episode 5 - Sprouts and fatbergs, it must be Christmas! from 2019-12-20T17:08:01
Ever wonder why you hate Brussels sprouts? It turns out the answer could be in your genes! It's also the reason chemical in these controversial little vegetables was used as a paternity test! We...
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Episode 4 - Penicillin's untold story from 2019-08-02T15:48:13
Every schoolchild will tell you that Penicillin, one of the great discoveries of the 20th century, was discovered by Alexander Fleming. But it was a young German refugee that brought Penicillin ...
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Episode 3 - 3D printing and Brian Cox-ing from 2019-05-24T15:47:52
3D printing has evolved to the stage where we can now create aircraft parts, satellite components, medical implants and even copies of people’s faces. However, as Kieran finds out, this promisin...
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Episode 2 - Hey Alexa, please turn off the patriarchy from 2019-03-28T20:12:20
Kieran hears how the efforts of a Physics postdoc for greater recognition for female scientist resulted in her being named in Nature's 10 scientists that mattered in 2018, and we speak to the ne...
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Episode 1 - Smart tattoos and internet blues from 2019-02-19T12:24:49
In our first episode, Kieran finds out how social you are can influence how you feel about social media. We also hear how researchers in Imperial are developing smart tattoos capable of monitori...
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