Anthony wanted to know if firing space rockets out of giant guns would be a better way to blast off. Heather Wark spoke to Dr Stuart Grey of Strathclyde University to find out... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
This week we answered the sticky query, Why do people pick their noses?. Lewis Thomson put it to Liverpool GP Dr Laura Wark. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Elizabeth wanted to know whether she'd be safe if her car was hit by lightning or whether the engine would cut out. Izzie Clarke spoke to Philip Garsed from Cambridge University to spark up the debate on this electrifying question. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
In the 1940's there was a chicken who survived for 18 months without a head, how long can humans survive for without a head? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Jayson wanted to know if living near a cell phone tower could be affecting his and his family's health. Stevie Bain spoke to physicist Tony Kent from the University of Nottingham to shed some light on the situation. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Jon wanted to know whether approaching a fly slowly would make it easier to swat. With the help of animal vision specialist Kate Feller from Cambridge University, Michael Wheeler's been swotting up on swatting flies. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Zettie wanted to know how much alcohol stays behind in food when you cook with it. Alexandra Ashcroft asked Vayu Maini Rekdal, from Harvard University, to turn up the heat on this question... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
David wanted to know how our pet dogs compare to other animals, such as primates and dolphins, when it comes to intelligence. Stevie Bain spoke to Ben Ambridge from the University of Liverpool, and author of 'Are You Smarter than a Chimpanzee?', to find out more. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
This week, we aired out Norm's question: if water is a solid, as ice, below 0 degrees Celsius, a gas above 100 degrees Celcius and a liquid between this range, why does washing dry when the air temperature is below 100 degrees Celsius. Alexandra Ashcroft asked Dr Thomas Ouldridge, from Imperial College London, to hang Norm's question out to dry... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
This week, Mark has a conundrum about chloroplasts: If we could go green and harvest energy from the sun, like plants, how big would our skin need to be to sustain a normal level of activity? Georgia Mills recruited Christopher Mason, associate professor at Weill Cornell Medicine to shed some light on the answer. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Caitlin asked whether detergent residues left on crockery and cutlery could be bad for our health. Katie Haylor spoke to Rob Chilcott from the University of Hertfordshire to find out. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Is it possible to create noise-cancelling headphones, but for an apartment? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Jim asked whether being in a warm room - like in a hot yoga class - really does help your muscles to warm up quicker. Katie Haylor spoke to Christof Schweining from the University of Cambridge to find out. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Like physical activity, can we exercise our brain to improve at difficult mental challenges? Izzie Clarke spoke to Duncan Astle from Cambridge University about this tiring task... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Why does the same musical note sound different when played on different instruments? Why does, for example, an A-sharp on a piano sound different to an A-sharp on a trumpet? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
David wanted to know why the blue lights he saw in Christmas trees were often harder to make out. Izzie Clarke spoke to Dr George Dobre from Kent University to shed some light on the issue. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Listener George wondered why, in films, missiles make a descending sound as they fall? And what would it sound like if it fell into a bottomless pit? Izzie Clarke asked Peter Main from King's College London to explain what actually happens... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
We investigate the most energy-efficient way to climb stairs: one or two at a time? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Can mosquitoes transmit HIV from one person to another? Ricky Nathvani investigates... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Ricky Navthani has been trying to shed some light of Philip's question, about when he should replace his old CFL lights for more efficient LEDs. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
When you drink tea and use the toilet shortly afterwards, is that the same liquid? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Listener David got in touch to ask about whether mirrors in space could show us what Earth was like a million years ago. Graihagh Jackson asked Cambridge's Anna Hourihane to explain how this might work... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
If birds are dinosaurs, why didn't they get killed by the asteroid 60 million years ago? Tom O'Hanlon put Fay's query to David Norman from the University of Cambridge. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Listener Tim got in touch to ask: Why do the poles go north-south as opposed to east-west? Graihagh Jackson spoke to Imperial College's Stuart Higgins to find out... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Do ants or other insects feel pain in the same way as humans do? And what does it have to do with robots? Tom Crawford gets some ant-sight from the University of York's Eleanor Drinkwater... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
What would peeing on the moon look like? Is it even possible? Tom Crawford puts this astronomical question to Dr. Chris Messenger from the University of Glasgow... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Water contains hydrogen and oxygen, both of which are important in combustion, so why is it used to put out fires? Why doesn't water burn? Graihagh Jackson put this to chemist Peter Wothers from the University of Cambridge... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Why is it when we break a magnet in half, we get two new magnets? Why don't we just get separate north and south poles formed? Liam Messin set out to find the answer with Tim Boyd, a Cambridge undergraduate... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Why don't you get thrown backwards when you switch on your torch? Kerstin Gopfrich made her way to the Nanophotonics Centre in Cambridge to find out from Dr. Anna Lombardi. The answer to Matt's question may blow you away... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Could a jaunt to Jupiter be the physics-version of anti-wrinkel cream? This week, Kerstin Gpfrich convinced physicist Dr Stuart Higgins to go on a mission to answer Troy's question... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
