The Hello, welcome to the naked scientist with me, Chris Smith and also with

Ginny Smith. This week we're looking at the latest breakthroughs in

cancer including blood tests to pick up the disease much earlier,

new genetic treatments to trigger tumors to kill themselves,

and a laser technique to zap cancers in hard-to-reach places.

Plus, why working the night shift can curb your intellect, a super enzyme for power plants that could cut millions from energy bills,

and the gut bacteria that could keep you trim.

The Naked Scientists Podcast is powered by UKfast.co. UK.

Now if you're listening to us at the end of a night shift or on your way into work after getting up before dawn,

our first item may not come as a surprise.

Researchers say that doing antisocial shifts over many years can

actually dent your brain power. But why is this and if you stop working irregular or night shifts, can your cognition recover?

Well, Hannah Kritschlow has been taking a look at the study for us.

So, Hannah, what exactly have these research has been doing?

Well, it's long been known that if you have altered sleep patterns or you don't have enough sleep then it will affect most probably your metabolic or cardiovascular so it could give health problems for example with your heart or with ulcers for example and it can also

affect your mood and it can have short-term effects on your memory or your cognitive functions.

But what hasn't been known before is whether changes in sleep patterns and doing rotational

shift work would have a long-term effect, so 10 years down the line.

So this study has been a first in its kind.

It's looked at over 3,000 people and it's followed them over a 10-year

period and then found out that firstly, yes, shift work can actually affect cognition

and it had a detrimental effect on memory and speed of processing

...