World Malaria Day, Bone Collector Caterpillar, and Space Biotech: Highlights from The Naked Scientists Podcast

The Naked Scientists podcast surveys World Malaria Day and global funding concerns, unveils a unique Hawaii caterpillar that lives in spider webs, and examines space biotechnologies aimed at feeding astronauts. It also features a listener question on using immunotherapy to reset autoimmune disease.

• World Malaria Day and funding cuts threaten malaria gains, bed nets and vaccines are in play.
• A newly discovered bone collector caterpillar specializes in spider webs and uses spider prey remains for camouflage.

Overview and context

The Naked Scientists episode presents a triad of science stories linked by advances in biology, medicine and space technology, anchored by interviews and expert commentary. The program opens with World Malaria Day coverage, highlighting global burden, funding challenges, and new tools in the malaria control toolkit, before moving to a rare Hawaii discovery of a carnivorous caterpillar that hunts on spider webs. The show then shifts to medical research on metformin's potential to curb malignant clonal expansion that can lead to acute myeloid leukemia, followed by an exploration of space industry biotechnologies such as precision fermentation for astronaut nutrition and materials. The episode closes with a listener Q&A about immunotherapy, specifically CAR-T cell therapy, as a way to reset immune systems in autoimmune diseases, and ends with notes on donations and future vaccine leadership. The podcast is produced in association with the University of Cambridge and features guests from Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute, the University of Hawaii at Manoa, and Frontier Space along with space industry partners.

World Malaria Day and global health funding

The first segment centers on World Malaria Day, a date set to highlight the ongoing global malaria burden. The discussion references WHO statistics: in 2023 there were over 260 million malaria cases with more than 0.5 million deaths, with Africa bearing the greatest share. The program notes that malaria still causes substantial economic losses in affected regions, estimated at around $12 billion annually in Africa alone. The World Health Organization expresses concern about funding cuts in the United States that threaten sustained gains in malaria control. The American PMI program, launched in 2005, has delivered hundreds of millions of bed nets, preventive treatments and rapid diagnostic tests, and its potential loss would jeopardize progress in the 30 highest burden countries. Nigeria’s proposed funding expansion is discussed, but broader barriers remain, including donor fatigue in malaria non endemic countries. The segment concludes with a forward-looking stance on the malaria map shrinking over the past decades, while acknowledging upticks in conflict zones and disaster contexts that destabilize control efforts.

Key strategies highlighted include dual action bed nets to tackle insecticide resistance, WHO approved vaccines RTSS and R21 being rolled out in numerous countries, seasonal prophylaxis, and ongoing vaccine development, alongside genetic modification of mosquitoes and repurposing existing antimalarials. The segment emphasizes the need for sustainable funding and international cooperation to realize longer term malaria elimination goals.

Bone collector caterpillar in Hawaii

The program then turns to a discovery from Cambridge researchers, detailing a carnivorous caterpillar nicknamed the bone collector that inhabits a single mountainside in the Waianae range of Oahu. The larva lives in spider webs, decorating its protective case with bits of the prey the spider has discarded, including ant heads and fly wings. It also uses shed spider skins in its camouflage. The life cycle is described: the caterpillar pupates in its case, emerging as a small moth, with egg laying in rotting logs where spiders dwell. The host spiders use sticky webs to trap prey, but the bone collector’s camouflage and slow movement allow it to exploit the spider’s dining area without becoming prey. The discovery is framed as a remarkable example of ecological specialization and evolutionary novelty, highlighting the fragility of such a rare lineage with an extremely restricted habitat.

Images of the caterpillar are mentioned as available on the Naked Scientists website, and the discovery was published in Science. The segment underscores the wonder of natural history and the importance of documenting rare species before they disappear.

Metformin and acute myeloid leukemia

The next major topic discusses Cambridge researchers’ work on clonal hematopoiesis, a pre malignant condition characterized by a common mutation that endows certain blood stem cells with a growth advantage. The team identifies vulnerabilities in these mutant cells, many of which relate to cellular metabolism, and demonstrates that metformin—long used for type 2 diabetes—can counteract the expansion of mutant cells in vitro and in mice. This suggests the possibility of a prophylactic strategy to reduce AML risk in people with the mutation, potentially expanding from treatment to prevention by identifying at risk populations. Metformin’s action appears linked to energy production pathways, particularly complex I, but the researchers acknowledge broader signaling changes and ensure safety considerations given metformin’s wide clinical use. The conversation touches on the challenges of population screening for clonal hematopoiesis and the need for low-cost screening tools to identify individuals who would benefit from early intervention.

The discussion frames a potential paradigm in which a widely available, well understood drug could delay or prevent AML in a subset of individuals, paralleling how antihypertensive therapy reduces cardiovascular risk.

Space precision fermentation and life support

Frontier Space’s Akhil Shamsal discusses an ESA-backed project exploring lab grown food in space via precision fermentation. The concept involves engineered microbes grown in bioreactors to synthesize proteins, lipids and other nutrients that can be used as food ingredients or even bioplastics. The goal is to reduce launch mass and improve crew morale by providing more appetizing and nutritious food than canned or dehydrated options. The process could also enable on orbit production of biofuels and other materials. The interview covers short to medium term timelines, with a first mission launched on SpaceX hardware and plans for additional flights later in the year and into 2025. The interviewee explains that microbes can be engineered to produce a wide range of chemistries, enabling diverse cuisine options and even non food products, and discusses the logistics of extracting proteins for printable food in microgravity. Testing in space is acknowledged as critical to understanding microbial behavior in space environments, with the expectation that space conditions could alter production yields and resilience. The conversation ends with aspirational but grounded timelines for a Moon or space station food ecosystem and a caution about the need for thorough testing.

Question of the Week and immunotherapy for autoimmune disease

The final sections cover a listener question about whether measles virus induced immune amnesia could inspire autoimmune therapies. John Marr, an immunologist from King’s College London, explains CAR T cell therapy as a targeted approach to retrain or reset the immune system. In autoimmune diseases such as lupus, CAR T therapy directed at B cells has shown impressive results in small cohorts, including complete remission in refractory lupus cases. The concept of an immune reset is discussed as a potentially longer lasting alternative to standard immunosuppressants. Marr notes that while CAR T therapy can deplete B cells in blood and bone marrow, identifying appropriate patient populations for screening remains a challenge, given the need for genetic testing and cost considerations. The segment emphasizes the potential for immunotherapies to provide durable disease control, and frames measles immune amnesia as a natural context for discussing safer immune resetting strategies.

The program closes with a viewer prompt about two AIs discussing their futures, and a reminder to engage with the Naked Scientists forum and donate to support the program. The show concludes with thanks to guests and a teaser for the next episode featuring Sir Andrew Pollard on vaccines.