Kat Arney

Kat is an award-winning science writer, broadcaster and public speaker. She is the founder and Creative Director of science communication consultancy First Create The Media and is the author of three popular science books: Herding Hemingway's CatsHow to Code a Human and Rebel Cell.

  • Chanel N°5 perfume
    Podcast

    Indole

    2019-05-31T09:30:00

    Kat Arney investigates a potent chemical that might explain the brain-bending powers of bacteria

  • Cub scout surrounded by flowers
    Podcast

    Vinblastine and vincristine: Vinca alkaloids

    2019-03-15T13:36:00

    Kat Arney unearths a story of an overlooked female researcher in the search for the origins of cancer drugs found in plants

  • Chopping onions on a wooden board with a ceramic knife
    Podcast

    Propanethial-S-oxide: how chopping onions makes you cry

    2018-11-23T11:02:00

    Kat Arney’s investigation of the pungent chemical in onions is enough to bring tears to your eyes

  • Universal indicator paper
    Podcast

    Phenolphthalein

    2018-10-25T16:12:00

    Kat Arney gets to the bottom of the story of phenolphthalein – a chemical with two very different uses. If you've measured pH in a classroom or had some trouble in the bathroom, you may have met this compound before.

  • Thaumetopoea processionea. Oak processionary moth caterpillars
    Podcast

    Thaumetopoein

    2018-09-07T09:30:00

    The allergenic compound behind those 'toxic caterpillars'

  • Students in chemistry class
    Careers

    How to become a chemistry teacher

    2018-08-15T14:30:00

    Teaching can be an intense but rewarding and refreshing career change

  • Infant with Neonatal hyperbilirubinemia. Jaundice.
    Podcast

    Bilirubin

    2018-08-10T15:20:00

    Kat Arney investigates the chemicals responsible for giving bruises their hue and colouring your poo

  • Spider web
    Podcast

    Spidroin

    2018-06-07T11:40:00

    Kat Arney on your friendly neighbourhood spider silk protein

  • Arene pirouette
    Podcast

    Twistacenes

    2018-05-17T11:00:00

    Kat Arney discovers the strange things that happen when organic compounds go round the twist

  • A person wearing a Big bang theory 'Bazinga!' cape
    Podcast

    BaZnGa

    2018-04-26T17:03:00

    Science imitates art imitating science, as sitcom The big bang theory inspires the creation of a new compound

  • 3d rendering of a subsea cable on the seabed
    Podcast

    Gutta percha

    2018-03-29T16:27:00

    Kat Arney on the tree sap that once insulated transatlantic cables

  • A man using a ultraviolet tanning bed
    Podcast

    Melanin

    2018-02-22T17:18:00

     A family of biological pigments that make life more colourful

  • Blood bags containing blue coloured blood
    Podcast

    Methaemoglobin and diaphorase 1

    2018-01-19T16:19:00

    Kat Arney discovers the biological chemistry behind a colourful blood disorder

  • A hand holding a viagra tablet
    Podcast

    Sildenafil (Viagra)

    2017-11-22T15:48:00

    Kat Arney investigates one of the fastest selling drugs of all time

  • Mouldy peanuts
    Podcast

    Aflatoxins

    2017-11-02T12:01:00

    Kat Arney investigates the cancer-causing chemicals that could be lurking in that bag of peanuts

  • PC-3 human prostate cancer cells in air bubble, stained with Coomassie blue, under differencial interference contrast microscope.
    Podcast

    Coomassie blue

    2017-09-29T16:43:00

    How an attractive blue dye became the basis of a fundamental lab technique

  • A baby in a disposable nappy with a snowglobe
    Podcast

    Sodium polyacrylate

    2017-08-16T13:40:00

    Need some fake snow for your Christmas party? Simply look inside a baby’s nappy.

  • Young black and white cat with bottles of milk
    Podcast

    Casein

    2017-06-28T13:27:00

    One of the most popular plastics of the early 20th century was accidentally invented by a cat, as Kat Arney finds out.

  • The scab on a grazed knee, healing nicely
    Podcast

    Fibrin and fibrinogen

    2017-05-31T12:05:00

    From scabby knees to life-threatening strokes, this important protein is the fundamental link in the complex molecular chain that forms blood clots

  • Vintage Japanese black lacquer tea caddy with auspicious gold makie bamboo forest design, used in the Japanese Tea Ceremony
    Podcast

    Urushiol

    2017-04-05T15:40:00

    The compounds that link poison ivy with beautiful lacquerwork 

More by Kat Arney