Question of the Week
Each 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...
Is snuff safer than smoking?
What are the relative risks of e-cigarettes, nicotine patches and snuff?
Is sense of smell heightened during pregnancy?
Why is pregnancy associated with high sensitivity to smell?
Dropping a penny on your head from the tallest building in the world
Would it kill you to have a penny dropped on your head from the tallest building in the world, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai? We find out with Dr Hugh Hunt, Engineer at Cambridge University!
Why do we dream? And what are nightmares?
We find out what happens in our brains as we dream, why we have them, and what nightmares are all about.
Why does adding ice make fizzy drinks bubble over?
We find out why ice cubes can make fizzy drinks bubble over, by asking a French champagne specialist!
Could other planets make a substance like diamond?
Could other planets make a substance like diamond? We ask a deep space mining expert.
Do dark matter planets exist?
We find out if dark matter can clump together to form dark planets, dark suns, or dark moons.
How do cells know what they will be when they grow up?
5 yr old Georgia asks how did the cells in her mum's tummy know to make her brain cells? A Nobel Laureate provides the answer!
Sweeties: suck or crunch?
We brush away at this question: is it better for your teeth to suck on, or chew, your sweets?
How does a baby safely stay upside down in the womb?
How do babies stay upside down in the womb for so long? We got summer intern Claudia Esftaphiou to do a headstand in the office to try to get to grips with the answer!
Power from Poo?
Can we get power from poo? We get excited over excrement!
Explode or Freeze first in Space?
Naked Physicist Dave Ansell tries to recreate Space in his garden, in order to get to grips with a listeners question…
Punching into free will
How does training affect conscious control? What happens to automatic movements as we age?
Why do I feel sick after exercise?
We find out what's going on if exercise is making you sick. Plus we ponder the existance of free will.
What is the physiology behind emotional breakdown?
What is the physiology behind emotional breakdown? Everybody has had the feeling in traumatic situations of getting all choked up, voice breaking and tears welling up.But why does it happen? We find out!
What is the highest possible mountain on Earth?
We find out if a mountain on Earth could ever reach 20 km high. Plus we ask, what is going on during an emotional breakdown?
Do street lights affect birds and plants?
We find out if street lights are affecting plants and birds. Plus we ask how high can a mountain be here on Earth?
How do plants grow upwards?
We find out what happens if you take a plant into space, and we ask how does street lighting affects nature?
What is wind?
We find out what is wind and why do we have it? Plus we ask, why and how do plants always grow upwards?
Are city dwellers more immune to bugs?
Is living in the big smoke better for your immune system in the long term as you are exposed to more people and their bugs? Plus we ask, what is wind and why do we have it?