Ask the Naked Scientists

What's the best way to avoid mosquito bites, and a suggestion that tomatoes ward the insects off. Also, why cookers heat some parts of pans better than others, the mind-over-bladder effect when you really need to go, why generic drugs are no different to named brands, why oil makes a rainbow effect on water, if a previously transplanted kidney could be re-used elsewhere, and the toxicity of ozone....

Vitamin D for coronavirus? Narcissism and the brain. Why use big dogs as sniffer dogs? Understanding conversations in noisy places, and why that gets harder as we age. Why does my hand itch before I receive money? Is the new coronavirus linked to type I diabetes in children? And attaching significance to coincidence! Join Dr Chris on 567 CapeTalk for all the answers... Like this podcast? Please he...

Can omnivores switch their diets to survive on whatever is available? Would a fat person last longer in a famine? How does serology help in the management of Covid-19? Could we use GM technology to develop a healthy form of tobacco? How and why do chameleons change colour? Why does ice stick to your skin? Why does a shop-bought chicken have tender meat and softer bones? Join Dr Chris Smith and Tal...

The virtual reality system for visualising molecules, where Covid-19 came from, what would a brain transplanted individual experience, where did all the dust go when Beirut blew up recently, and why is smoking addictive? Join Dr Chris Smith and Talk Radio 702's Azania Mossaka as they delve into the answers... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

How a tiny spider can spin so much silk, how the moon's cycle affects human behaviour, the effect of body weight on bone mass, the reason people have consciences, and the way to become a scientist all get discussed this week. Join Dr Chris Smith and Kieno Kammies for the answers... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Hyenas everywhere in the Kruger, but why so many? How does the human skeleton respond to changing body weight? Why remove and dump a whale carcass when it would rot down naturally? How long does the Covid-19 coronavirus remain viable in the body? Why is the sky blue? And is there a probiotic answer to body odour? Join Dr Chris Smith and Talk Radio 702's Azania Mosaka to find out the answers... Lik...

Donald Trump diagnosed with Covid-19, SNP MP Margaret Ferrier takes two trains despite coronavirus infection, and the answers to why toddlers have potbellies? Can free-divers get the bends? How does sunscreen work? What's actually inside a black hole? And why do we itch, and what's the point? Join Dr Chris Smith and Kieno Kammies from 567 CapeTalk as they shoot the scientific breeze... Like this p...

Would a baby exposed to 5 languages from birth learn all of them? Toilet bleach: what's best, thick or thin? Are new varieties of fruits equally good for you? What's the proof for absolute zero? How are radio and TV audiences measured? What causes high pitched sounds in the ear that appear to come from nowhere? Join Chris Smith and Kieno Kammies for the answers... Like this podcast? Please help us...

How do different tasks recruit different parts of the brain? What's the story of potential life on Venus? How long to boil the perfect egg? What's homocysteine and how much is a safe level in the blood? How does alcohol in hand sanitiser work? What's the most intelligent animal? Are smartphones changing our brains? And does same sex attraction occur in wild animals as well as humans? Join Dr Chris...

What causes new infections, like Covid-19, to emerge in the first place? Why does the same temperature seem to feel colder in the day than it does at night? Why have we locked down the world for Covid-19 when it seems less serious than we first thought? We also talk about the symptoms of long-Covid, and explain how the heart formed back in evolutionary history, with Dr Chris Smith and 567 CapeTalk...

Why does sugar get onion smells off my skin? Are aluminium cooking pots harmful to health? Why don't hail stones make holes in leaves? What causes heart palpitations? If we all went swimming at the same time, by how much would the sea level rise? Why are covid swabs so long? How are fibre optic data transmission rates so high? Why can I hear my own heart in my ears? Join Dr Chris Smith and 567 Cap...

At what temperature does the new coronavirus survive the best? Is there a tension between science and religion? Are food additives harmful? Why is covid aysymptomatic in some people, and when are we infectious? Where does the Earth stop and space begin, and do we switch off our sensation when we go to sleep? Dr Chris and Talk Radio 702's Azania Mosaka have the answers... Like this podcast? Please...

Join Dr Chris and 567 CapeTalk's Kieno Kammies to hear why certain sounds make us shudder, whether you should sunbathe in winter, why Donald Trump is orange, what makes a crescent moon, why animals can eat venomous snakes and not be poisoned, the evidence that we really went to the moon, how is electricity made, and what is the best way to manage insomnia? Like this podcast? Please help us by supp...

This week climate records and snow in Australia. We also explain why reflections in a spoon are upside down? Would an astronaut adrift in space be fried, frozen, or both? How did the guy who invented a clock know the time? What links the ABCC11 gene and earwax? Why do only certain species look after their young? Is a vegan diet healthy for a growing child? And what are the bright silver sparkles w...

How do induction loops in the road control traffic lights? Are there any health threats from 5G masts? Why do we yawn and why are yawns infectious? What guided ancient civilisations when they built landmark structures? What is tinnitus and can we treat it? Do birds fly in the rain? And what causes tennis elbow and how do I treat it? Join Dr Chris Smith on 567 CapeTalk for the answers! Like this po...

What's happening when your arm or leg goes to sleep? What is the odds that ET exists elsewhere in the Universe? Is there a "right" way to sleep? What makes eyelids twitch? What is the D614G strain of Covid-19, and is it a threat? Why do children sleepwalk? Is space mining a realistic prospect? And why might a man's resting pulse rate be lower than a woman's? Dr Chris Smith joins Azania Mosaka to a...

Why we love music, the reason that standing on one leg becomes a challenge with age, how bacteria and viruses become drug resistant, how plants swap chemicals underground, how old is ancient starlight, and why does Venus appear to rise so rapidly on the horizon? Join Dr Chris Smith on 567 CapeTalk to find out... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

The science of explosions, including what happens when brake fluid and hypochlorite mix, and what blew up in Beirut, why lemons make you grimace, the reason that the smoke from the barbecue mysteriously seems to know where you are standing, what determines your IQ, how a fruit battery works, why we forget dreams, and how genetics controls height. Join Dr Chris Smith and 567 CapeTalk's Kieno Kammie...

How supermarkets ripen fruits and vegetables, how people knew space existed before they went there, whether Covid-19 can infect birds, the advent of space tourism, why flight paths are sometimes curved rather than straight, what causes goose bumps, and are aeroplanes Covid-safe? Join Talk Radio 702's Azania Mosaka and Dr Chris Smith for the answers... Like this podcast? Please help us by supportin...

Evidence for Russian Covid-19 vaccine espionage, whether minicabs spread coronavirus infection, whether Covid-19 can cling to a library book, how to spot a male ant, can birds carry Covid-19, why vaccines take so long to make, and what causes my heart to suddenly begin to race? Join Dr Chris Smith and 567 CapeTalk's Kieno Kammies to find out... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the N...

This week what is special about the word pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis, and, more importantly, what does it mean? Also, how do viruses and bacteria differ, does growing an Afro make you thin, how does body temperature vary across the day, does clipping hair and nails make them grow faster, and how do hair loss remedies work? Dr Chris Smith and Talk Radio 702's Refilwe Moloto have t...

This week, how blood transfusions from individuals who exercise could take decades off the brain ages of recipients, the toenails that refuse to grow, what causes giddiness, do we need to Earth ourselves to tackle unhealthy charge imbalances, and can air purifiers use UV to remove infectious diseases? Join 567 CapeTalk's Kieno Kammies and Dr Chris Smith for the answers... Like this podcast? Please...

This week, the intriguing question of how visible light, but not microwaves, can escape through the grille of a microwave oven, how far Earth and Mars are apart, the speed of a falling meteor, why parking a car in reverse is easier, the reason that oil and water won't mix, and the prospects of alien life. Join Dr Chris Smith and Talk Radio 702's Azania Mosaka for the answers... Like this podcast?...

What causes phantom limb pain? How does the bladder control when it fills and empties? What the F are food E numbers? Where does medical oxygen come from and will we run out? How fast does the brain switch off after decapitation? Why don't bats suffer a rush of blood to the head when they sleep upside down? And what causes catatonia? Join Dr Chris Smith and 567 CapeTalk's Kieno Kammies for the ans...

This week, if something could move faster than light, how would we detect its speed? Also, why do we cry, and why do the experiences of others make my feet tingle? How far from Earth is Mars, why has smoking been banned in South Africa during Covid lockdown, why are wind turbines not placed single-file, how long am I infectious with Covid-19, and can you smell in space? Join Azania Mosaka and Dr C...