Stripping down science, the naked scientists. Hello it is the 24th of October. Welcome to the Naked Scientists I'm Chris Smith. In the one hour that this program is going to take,

about 300 people around the world

are going to get infected with HIV,

and roughly the same number of people

are going to die of an HIV or AIDS-related illness.

So we're actually putting HIV under the microscope this week to find out how this virus

actually hijacks your immune system and why, despite nearly 30 years of effort, there is still no vaccine.

And joining me today to take a look at this story is Dr. Cat, hello cat.

Hi, thanks Chris. Also on the way, the discovery of taste buds in our Hello,

hi, thanks Chris. Also on the way, the discovery of taste buds in our lungs

and how they control our airways,

gene therapy for depression,

and how 30,000 pounds worth of LEGO

is helping to revolutionize how engineering is taught, but not at primary school, at university.

This is completely different LEGO to the sort of LEGO I grew up with as a kid. So we've got LEGO with motors and

actuators and microprocessors. They can build gearboxes and springs and levers and

all sorts of complicated mechanisms and it's a fantastic medium for learning a lot about the principles

behind engineering. So it's not just for kids. I absolutely adore Lego. Anyway that's

all to come on this week's naked scientists, and if you've got any science questions,

we would love to hear from you.

You can tweet at naked scientists, you can scribble on the wall of our Facebook page of the same

name, naked scientists, or you can email us as well.

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