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Science and that is the same physics, medicine, nature, or

time, brain, life, the universe.

This week we're laughing away the January blues with a look at the science behind gags and giggles.

And before that, a genetic therapy

to fix an inherited immune disorder.

Scientists have tied the world's smallest not

and why antioxidants ain't all they're cracked up to be.

I'm Georgia Mills.

And I'm Chris Smith, and this is the Naked Scientist.

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

First up, this week scientists in the US have taken the first steps towards fixing a genetic defect that leads to an inherited immune problem that leaves sufferers prone to serious infections.

The team at the NIH have used a DNA editing technique which is called CRISPR to correct

a mistake in a gene that arms immune cells so they can kill bacteria and other infections.

The team are doing it on bone marrow stem cells that produce immune cells that then circulate in the blood.

And the idea is to fix a patient's own cells safely in the dish and then return them to the patient.

Harry Malik.

For most of my career, I've been interested in an immune deficiency called chronic granulominous disease.

Patients with this suffer from recurrent infections

...