Nocebos, and why the eyes of some species stay shut at birth

This month, compelling evidence for why some species keep their eyes closed for sometimes several weeks after birth, scientists prove that the "nocebo" effect is more potent than a placebo, researchers report what happens when fish eggs and mouse sperm mix, the signals that cells use to measure the lengths of their telomeres, and some clever physics reveals the workings of Darwin's "warm little pond"... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

You can listen to Nocebos, and why the eyes of some species stay shut at birth online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Nocebos, and why the eyes of some species stay shut at birth is an episode from Naked Scientists Special Editions Podcast by Dr Chris Smith.

This episode is 00:40:06 long.

This episode was published on Nov 30, 2025.

Yes. Use the heart button on the episode page to add it to your favorite episodes list.

Yes. This page shows related episodes from Naked Scientists Special Editions Podcast when more episodes are available from the podcast feed.