Motor neurone disease: what does the science say?

The Naked Scientists Podcast

Dr Chris Smith

Science Radio, Engineering, Naked Scientists, Natural Sciences, Technology, Life Sciences, Health & Fitness, Medicine, Science

4.6 • 957 Ratings

🗓️ 3 February 2026

⏱️ 30 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Today, we take a closer look at motor neurone disease (MND), a progressive neurodegenerative disorder affecting the motor neurones that control voluntary muscle movement. This programme explores the clinical features of MND, what it is like to live with the condition, how it is diagnosed, and the current approaches to treatment and management... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	All engine running.
0:03.4	Absolutely genius.
0:04.3	Welcome.
0:05.1	Welcome.
0:06.0	This is the show where we bring you science.
0:07.9	What that potentially means is...
0:09.4	Discovery is advanced.
0:10.5	Research.
0:11.6	Technology.
0:12.6	Unbelievable.
0:13.5	Without further ado, this is the Naked Scientists.
0:17.0	Hello, welcome to the Naked Scientist podcast.
0:19.5	This is the show that brings you the biggest breakthroughs and also talks to the major
0:22.7	movers and shakers in the worlds of science, technology and medicine.
0:26.6	I'm Chris Smith.
0:27.7	And this week, we are putting motor neurone disease, MND, under the microscope.
0:50.0	Motor Neurone Disease, MND, under the microscope. Motor neurone disease is a progressive debilitating illness that gradually takes away a person's ability to walk, speak and eventually breathe.
0:56.8	About one in every 300 of us will develop the condition which usually strikes in our late 50s or 60s,
1:00.1	although some forms of the disease can kick in much earlier.
1:05.0	Stephen Hawking lived with motor neurone disease that began in his 20s for decades.
1:11.8	And in October 2025, the former England Rugby Union captain Lewis Moody revealed that he'd been diagnosed,
1:15.7	joining other athletes like Rob Burrow, Stephen Darby and Marcus Stewart in speaking publicly about their run-ins with the condition.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Dr Chris Smith, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Dr Chris Smith and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.