Question of the Week, from the Naked Scientists
567 episodes - English - Latest episode: 4 days ago - ★★★★ - 1 ratingEach week we set out to solve one of the world's weirdest, wackiest, funniest and funkiest scientific puzzles. And along with the answer there's a brand new question to think about for next time...
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Episodes
How can you make normal TV look 3D?
March 01, 2021 10:41 - 3 minutes - 3.34 MBPavel got in touch to ask "Take sunglasses and remove one lens. Watch a normal television film with one eye darkened by a sunglass lens, and the other free. The film will appear in 3D. Can someone explain to me, how does this work?" After dusting off her sunglasses, Eva Higginbotham put the question to 3D vision expert Andrew Glennerster from the University of Reading... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
What are the impacts of an aristocrat's diet?
February 22, 2021 03:35 - 3 minutes - 3.21 MBJames got in touch to ask us: "What were the health impacts of the vastly different diets and lifestyles of aristocrats and peasants? Would wealthy Roman patricians be much smarter than plebeians based solely on improved nutrition?" Hungry for answers, Adam Murphy spoke to University of Cambridge archaeologist Sam Leggett, and the University of Bristol's Julie Dunne... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
How would a foetus develop in zero gravity?
February 15, 2021 05:08 - 3 minutes - 3.34 MBListener David asked: "Would a foetus develop differently in zero gravity conditions?" Adam Murphy found an answer with the help of reproductive biologist Adam Watkins, from the University of Nottingham... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
When will we run out of music?
February 08, 2021 02:06 - 4 minutes - 3.66 MB"Assuming there are a finite number of musical notes - chords, notes, octaves - at what point, how many years, would we use all combinations of musical themes such that no more music could be created?" Creative computing expert Rebecca Fiebrink from UAL totted up the answer to listener David's musical musing for us... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Why do some people shiver when they pee?
February 01, 2021 10:56 - 3 minutes - 3.58 MBListener Eleanora asked: "I want to know why my dad shivers when he pees." Phil Sansom managed to find the answer to this 'Question of the Wee'.... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
If Earth were heavier, would rockets work?
January 25, 2021 03:34 - 3 minutes - 3.28 MB"Is it true that if the mass of the Earth were greater, it would render our chemical rockets incapable of reaching orbit?" Listener Steven launched this question at us, and so Martin Khechara went to find the answer... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Can you get DNA from crematorium ashes?
January 18, 2021 06:36 - 2 minutes - 2.52 MBPaul got in touch to ask: "I was wondering if it was possible to get DNA out of crematorium ashes. Could you get any information about the person such as weight or height, from their ashes?" Katie Haylor put the question to Charmaine Bale, from Anglia Ruskin University... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Is sourdough bread a healthy option?
December 21, 2020 06:02 - 3 minutes - 3.23 MBMervyn got in touch to ask "Is sourdough bread a healthy option?" Eva Higginbotham put the question to dietician Rebecca McManamon... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Why are sperm made below body temperature?
December 14, 2020 05:39 - 3 minutes - 3.26 MBJordan got in touch to ask ""Why do females produce eggs inside the body, at body temperature, but males have to produce sperm outside the body, at a lower temperature?" Eva Higginbotham put the question to reproduction expert William Colledge at the University of Cambridge... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Compost or landfill: which emits more CO2?
December 09, 2020 11:52 - 3 minutes - 3.62 MBListener Robert asks: "does household composting release fewer greenhouse gases compared to a landfill?" Phil Sansom dug him up an answer, with help from environmental engineer Sintana Vergara... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Compost or landfill: which emits more?
December 09, 2020 11:52 - 3 minutes - 3.62 MBListener Robert asks: "does household composting release fewer greenhouse gases compared to a landfill?" Phil Sansom dug him up an answer, with help from environmental engineer Sintana Vergara... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Can loud music hurt my dog's ears?
November 23, 2020 06:01 - 3 minutes - 2.98 MBRobyn got in touch to ask: "I often wonder when I listen to music in the car when my dog is with me: since they hear higher frequencies than humans, do they also perceive for example loud music louder than us?" To sniff out an answer, Adam Murphy spoke to Nancy Dreschel, a specialist in animal beaviour from Penn State University... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Could loud music deafen my dog?
November 23, 2020 06:01 - 3 minutes - 2.98 MBRobyn got in touch to ask: "I often wonder when I listen to music in the car when my dog is with me: since they hear higher frequencies than humans, do they also perceive for example loud music louder than us?" To sniff out an answer, Adam Murphy spoke to Nancy Dreschel, a specialist in animal beaviour from Penn State University... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
How many people could share my surname?
November 16, 2020 03:33 - 3 minutes - 3.48 MBBeata asked "If three hundred years ago there was one person with a certain surname, how many people could have their surname today?" Eva Higginbotham got mathematician James Grime to crunch the numbers... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
What time should I water my plants?
November 09, 2020 04:25 - 3 minutes - 3.57 MBKevin asks: "Does watering my veggie garden in the morning mean that water uptake will coincide with the intake of sunlight, and give my vegetables the best chance? Or is it just as good to water in the evening?" Phil Sansom dug out the answer by asking Anthony Bridgen from Cambridge University's Sainsbury Laboratory and Guy Barter from RHS... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
How do bats roost upside down?
November 02, 2020 02:57 - 3 minutes - 3.5 MBSatish asks: "how does a bat sleep the whole day hanging from a tree? Won't being upside down affect blood circulation?" Phil Sansom went to find the answer, with help from Western University's Brock Fenton... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Which water is better: hard or soft?
October 20, 2020 09:44 - 3 minutes - 3.37 MBHard... or soft? That's the watery wrangle on which listener Jo asked us to weigh in. She said: "my question is about drinking water. We drink gallons of the stuff in a lifetime, but which is better for us, hard or soft? My skin and hair prefer it soft, but what about teeth and bones? And which do our kidneys prefer?" Adam Murphy got the answer with the help of University of Cambridge chemist Ljiljana Fruk... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Do insects have a stress response?
October 05, 2020 04:07 - 3 minutes - 3.35 MBCharlie sent in this question "Humans have adrenaline for our fight or flight situation, do bugs have this too?" Eva Higginbotham put the question to insect-lover and expert, Eleanor Drinkwater from the University of York... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Why does anxious sweat smell worse?
September 28, 2020 15:19 - 3 minutes - 3.61 MBThis week's question is a sweaty one! It comes to us from listener Margaret: "Why, why, why can I work in the yard and be covered in sweat for hours, and only stink a little; but reveal one personal thing to a group of friends, and immediately stink to high heaven?" Phil Sansom got the answer from the International Hyperhidrosis Society's Angela Ballard, and University of Cambridge physiologist Christof Schwiening... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
How would you measure time when in space?
September 21, 2020 02:26 - 3 minutes - 3.37 MBThis week we've been against the clock to get the answer to this question from David "What measurement of time would you use in travelling through space as a day, week, month or a year would become meaningless, and how would this affect the body clock?" Eva Higginbotham spoke to space sleep expert Cassie Hilditch, and also former NASA astronaut Steve Swanson, to find out the answer... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Why do I need to pee more nearer the loo?
September 07, 2020 02:58 - 3 minutes - 3.49 MBThis week we're flushing out the answer to this question from Charlie: "Maybe this is just me, but it dawned on me that whenever I have to hold in a pee, the need to go increases exponentially when I know that relief is close. Why is this?" So to relieve Charlie of his question, I asked physiologist Bill Colledge from Cambridge University to expel the answer... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Why do particles gather in a bucket's centre?
August 24, 2020 03:01 - 3 minutes - 3.36 MBSix-year-old listener Jonathan asks: "when you stir a bucket of water, I know the water is pushed to the outside; however, why do any particles end up the centre after the water has finished spinning? I have asked my Dad, but he doesn't know." Phil Sansom found someone who does know - and it's fluid dynamics expert Dan Nickstroem... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Do our brains process sound or light faster?
August 17, 2020 00:57 - 3 minutes - 3.52 MBLionel got in touch to ask us about a curious phenomenon he's noticed since installing a new sensor, raising the question whether our brains process light or sound faster. Eva Higginbotham spoke with Brian Moore of the University of Cambridge who helped us unpick the answer... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Does burying paper sequester carbon?
August 10, 2020 05:11 - 3 minutes - 2.78 MBJohnny asked us if burying paper counts towards carbon sequestration. To dig up an answer, Adam Murphy spoke to Shaun Fitzgerald, Royal Academy of Engineering Visiting Professor at the University of Cambridge, about how useful that really is... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Should you wash, rinse, and repeat?
July 20, 2020 04:10 - 3 minutes - 3.32 MBJulie got in touch to ask whether there was any reason to wash, rinse and repeat, or if it was just marketing hype. Phil Sansom spoke to two hair specialists, Sally-Ann Tarver and Eva Proudman, about this hairy issue... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Why do hospitals need so much PPE?
July 13, 2020 01:43 - 3 minutes - 3.39 MBCarol got in touch to ask "The government has provided more than a billion items of PPE to hospitals. There have been 130,000 COVID cases in hospitals, about 10,000 items of PPE per patient. Can you find out why so much?" Eva Higginbotham put the question to medic Isabelle Cochrane... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Why does coffee dissolve so fast?
July 06, 2020 03:13 - 3 minutes - 3.39 MBNeerav wanted to know why some things dissolve faster than others, so we spoke to University of Cambridge chemist Ljiljana Fruk to find out... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
How alike are the kids of identical twins?
June 29, 2020 01:22 - 3 minutes - 3.56 MBSam got in touch to ask: "If identical twin brothers marry identical twin sisters, and each of those couples has a child, will those two children be like twins?" Eva Higginbotham put the question to Tessa Bertozzi - a geneticist at the University of Cambridge. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Why aren't planes dimpled like golf balls?
June 15, 2020 02:49 - 3 minutes - 3.26 MBDarren got in touch to ask us: "Golf balls are dimpled to disrupt the air around the ball. As far as I can gather, this reduces their drag and allows them to fly further than they would if they were perfectly round. Why do we not see dimpled cars, aircraft, and trains? If this effect is so effective for golf balls, why not use it on Formula 1 cars, for instance?"Adam Murphy went looking for a hole-in-one to this question, and spoke to Sam Grimshaw from the Whittle Lab at the University of Cam...
Could saponins help fight coronavirus?
June 08, 2020 02:35 - 3 minutes - 3.47 MBWe've been hunting down the answer to this questions from Denise: "There are plants that contain saponins and were used by Australian aboriginal people as bush medicine. Is there any research on the antiviral properties of saponins in, for example, Australian Acacia species, or other plants?" Eva Higginbotham spoke with Maher Mohamed Abed El Aziz from the University of Tripoli in Libya, and Anthony Davenport from the University of Cambridge, to find the answer. Like this podcast? Please help ...
Has life changed on the ISS due to COVID-19?
June 01, 2020 00:51 - 3 minutes - 3.33 MBWe're blasting off to the International Space Station to answer this question from listener Fady: "has life changed for astronauts on the ISS due to coronavirus, and are astronauts still allowed to be sent to and from the ISS?" Phil Sansom roped in flight surgeon Filippo Castrucci from the European Space Agency... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
How do electrons flow in electric current?
May 26, 2020 03:18 - 3 minutes - 3.26 MBRakesh got in touch with this question: "Typically when electrons flow for the electric current, do they come out from the atoms and flow as electric current? Is it not true that when electrons come out from atoms light and energy is released? So why don't electric wires change their colours?" Eva Higginbotham got in touch with Dr Ankita Anirban to find out the answer... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Do we all have the same skin sensitivity?
May 19, 2020 02:05 - 3 minutes - 3.2 MBMatt got in touch with this question: "Do all humans have the same number of nerve endings in their skin, and if so, do those of us who are bigger, either taller or fatter, have reduced sensitivity in a given area of skin?" Eva Higginbotham spoke with Professor Francis McGlone from Liverpool John Moores University to feel out the answer... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
How do C-section babies get their microbiome?
April 20, 2020 04:01 - 3 minutes - 3.32 MBPavel asked us "On one of the Naked Scientists programmes it was mentioned that a newborn baby has initially sterile intestines and gets most of its microbiome during the passage through the uterus and vagina. What happens to children that are brought into this world via caesarean?" We reached out to Peter Brocklehurst from the University of Birmingham to find out... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Can frogs survive in a sealed terrarium?
April 06, 2020 02:28 - 3 minutes - 3.54 MBListener Jon sent us this question: "I just purchased some dart frogs which need to live in high humidity conditions. In order to attain this we basically sealed off the terrariums. The question is whether a really sealed terrarium could provide enough oxygen for the frogs through plant photosynthesis alone. Who would win: the frogs or the plants?" Phil Sansom got the answer to this 'pet peeve' from plant scientist Stephanie Smith... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked S...
How much power can we get out of fusion?
March 16, 2020 04:00 - 3 minutes - 3.48 MBFusion could be the most sustainable source of energy in the future. But how much can we get out of it? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Are big dogs smarter than small dogs?
March 02, 2020 05:30 - 3 minutes - 3.34 MBDogs come in all sizes, from tiny Chihuahuas to giant Great Danes. Their head size is hugely different, as must be their brain size. Does this mean that a Great Dane is massively more intelligent than a Chihuahua? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Should I be microwaving my kitchen sponges?
February 24, 2020 06:02 - 3 minutes - 3.59 MBIs a kitchen sponge full of bacteria, and will a microwave kill them? We tested this at home and asked an expert! Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Can a weak immune system worsen sunburn?
February 10, 2020 04:37 - 2 minutes - 2.74 MBListener Robin asks: "I heard on the podcast, that the reason why we get a sunburn, is that the body is trying to fix cells that are damaged by UV radiation. So if one person is sunburned longer than another, does that mean their immune system is worse?" To find an answer to this burning question, Adam Murphy spoke to dermatologist Jane Sterling... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Will the poles switching cause problems?
January 27, 2020 02:25 - 3 minutes - 3.44 MBListener Ray asked us: " The Earth has apparently reversed its polarity fairly regularly, and is perhaps overdue for the next instance. Is anything known about how this will happen, and the effects? How will it affect our reliance on technology?" We put Ray's question to Richard Harrison, Head of the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of Cambridge, and he gave us a flipping good answer... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Why don't women's bodies reject sperm?
January 20, 2020 12:20 - 3 minutes - 3.31 MBJure asked us "Why doesn't a woman's body reject sperm as a foreign object?" Phil Sansom sought out the answer, by speaking to doctor and sexual health consultant Graham McKinnon... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
QotW - Why does my phone coverage vary?
January 13, 2020 04:50 - 4 minutes - 3.7 MBListener Derek got in touch with this question - "I can sit at my work desk, with my phone by my side, and the signal strength display goes from saying "no service" to 4 bars out of 5, within a couple of minutes, for no obvious reason. It varies like this all day, every day. I can understand why some places have good coverage, and others have bad coverage, but why should it vary so much in one place?" We asked signal expert Ramsey Faragher from Focal Point Positioning and Cambridge University...
What is the best way to heat my home?
December 16, 2019 07:35 - 4 minutes - 4.38 MBTim says: "The experts at the Energy Saving Trust and British Gas say it's cheaper to heat your home only when you need it. But my heating control panel says that it uses less energy to keep a background temperature when the room is unoccupied, than it does to allow the dwelling to chill too much. I'm confused! Which advice is correct?" We put Tim's question to Mike Childs, head of science, policy and research at Friends of the Earth. Also helping us out is Lewis Tyronney, an engineer with Br...
QotW - Do hairs grow out grey, or turn grey?
December 09, 2019 09:56 - 4 minutes - 3.76 MBElizabeth got in touch to ask: "do hairs grow out grey, or do hairs that have colour eventually turn grey?" We asked hair expert Desmond Tobin, director of the Charles Institute of Dermatology, University College Dublin... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Why isn't sea level rise the same worldwide?
November 25, 2019 04:31 - 3 minutes - 2.89 MBListener Geoff asks, "How is it that there are rising sea levels impacting some island nations such as the Maldives and Kiribati, yet 1000 kilometres in any direction there is no discernible sea level change at all?". To answer this question, Nadeem Gabbani spoke to Dr. Rob Larter of the British Antarctic Survey... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Do mosquitoes prefer certain blood types?
November 18, 2019 03:18 - 3 minutes - 3.38 MBVinny asked us: "I have read mosquitos have a preference for blood type and prefer people with Type O blood over those with Type B, or prefer Type B over Type A. Is this true, and how do they know the difference between types?" To seek out an answer to this one, Adam Murphy got in touch with Immo Hansen, from New Mexico State University to find out... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Why does my watery windscreen turn to ice?
October 28, 2019 12:52 - 2 minutes - 2.68 MBMike got in touch to say: "When the outside temperature is hovering around the freezing mark, the condensation or dew on my automobile windshield is in a liquid state. But if I wipe the windshield, the liquid water changes to ice. Why is that?" To help, Adam Murphy spoke to Liz Thomas from the British Antarctic Survey... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Could you eat a dinosaur?
October 21, 2019 04:14 - 3 minutes - 3.33 MBDan got in touch to ask whether most animals are edible, including dinosaurs! Mariana tucked into this question.... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Will SpaceX's satellites clog up the sky?
October 14, 2019 04:15 - 3 minutes - 3.31 MBListener Pete asks, "SpaceX has launched the first 60 of what is to be a mesh of some 12,000 satellites. Two questions: how will this completed mesh impact 1) ground based optical and microwave astronomical observations, and 2) the ability of future space missions, manned and otherwise, to navigate through the cloud of objects?" To answer this question, Phil Sansom got in touch with two experts: UCL's Ingo Waldmann, and ESA's Holger Krag... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the ...
When should you refrigerate cooked chicken?
September 30, 2019 03:58 - 3 minutes - 3.09 MBJulie wrote in with this question for us: "I have received such conflicting advice from TV food cooks. Some say that cooked chicken should be allowed to cool down to room temperature before refrigeration whilst others say to put the hot cooked chicken into the refrigerator immediately. Which is right?" Mariana Marasoiu nibbled away at this question with Paul Wigley from the University of Liverpool... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists