Ask the Naked Scientists

How have doctors grown new vaginas in vitro? Are fires feasible in space? Why does the moon always show to same face to us? Why don't we see disabled animals? Why would a watch spontaneously restart after being stopped for 10 years? How do they make the flavour stick to popcorn? What is total internal reflection? How do you stop birds nesting on a rooftop? Like this podcast? Please help us by supp...

What's inside Enceladus? How do we make water safe for drinking? How Sunny is it on Saturn's moons? What causes motion sickness? Could we collect sunlight in space and beam the power down to Earth? Can lunar gravity cause earthquakes? How did primordial gravity waves arise? Are buried bodies still infectious years later? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

How did scientists make a synthetic chromosome? How does heat radiate? What wakes us up in the morning? Where does oxygen come from? Are black boxes bouyant? Where did the Big Bang come from? Are airbags wired to seatbelts? Do couples end up looking like each other? And why does anxiety produce butterflies in the stomach? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Is gravity waves from the Big Bang a big deal? Is evolution still occurring? Why does water boil at lower temperature at altitude? Can the brain be hitched up to control a computer? Are power lines bad for your health? Will sleeping with the light on harm health? How accurate is a medical syringe? And why does spinning around make me dizzy? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked...

How do the processing power of a brain compare with a computer? How can we shield astronauts en-route to Mars? Do ants prefer protein? What causes left handedness? Why do bubbles go downwards in a glass of Guinness? And do older makes of television emit X-rays? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Can weather be manipulated? Will wet coal produce less electricity in a power station? Why does curry make my nose run? Is aluminium linked to Alzheimer's? Is it better to drink warm water? Who lives near the Chernobyl site? This week Dr Chris answers more questions from 702ers, and, in the light of the Oscar Pistorius case, considers the reliability of memory... Like this podcast? Please help us...

Can a mobile phone between the legs affect fertility? Why does wet cornflour stiffen when squeezed? Does light at night affect reproductive success of local animals? Can animals smell fear? And what actually is IQ? Plus, Dr Chris explores how animals are evolving in response to the influence of humans... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

The cause of a blood red moon, is there an upper limits for temperature, where does the Sun's hydrogen come from, what does a blind person see in their mind's eye, and are e-cigarettes safer? Join Dr Chris Smith as he tackles the top questions sent in to Talk Radio 702... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

How does acid produce stem cells? Why do carpets creep across the floor? Where does dust come from? Why can't flying insects escape from the surfaces of swimming pools? Do women multitask better than men? What is andogenic alopecia? Do we sneeze when we are asleep? What's special about graphene? And is nutritional data on food labels reliable? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Na...

How does light accelerate in a less-dense medium? How do climbing plants twist around a stake? Did people share technology 5000 years ago? Why would stainless steel rust? And why does mango chutney make my underarms smell after I've eaten it? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

What's the difference between GM technology and cloning? If lightning hits a swimming pool, would a swimmer be fried? What happens when we get used to smells? Why does beetroot make urine red? Why do I stick out my tongue to concentrate? Where does the water in comets come from? What are the products of fuel combustion? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

How is the scale of a coronal mass ejection (CME) measured? How does evolution work? Why is sole and palm skin a lighter colour? What causes magnetic field flips? What are blood groups and do animals have their own blood groups? Join Dr Chris for this week's crop of questions from Talk Radio 702, South Africa... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

How trees tell the time, the germ potential of hot air driers in toilets, where fruit flies come from, does menstruation synchronise, why do mad people tend to run along roads, why is smoking addictive and why should a 7-year old have underarm odour? Join Dr Chris for the first Ask! outing of 2014... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Plant and tree gender, omega-3 fatty acids and cancer and the science of sous vide cooking... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Why tugging on nasal hairs causes crying? What triggers static shocks? Why are computers based around binary? What are blood groups? How can babies have 3 parents? Why is yawning contagious? What happens to excess skin when a person slims? When is a hot bath too hot? Why are some infections more common in winter? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

What colour were human ancestors? What does a rocket push against in space to propel itself forward? Why does yawning make me cry? How do bats navigate? Can fuel cells run on alcohol? Why are 90% of people right handed? How genetically related would the children of two sets of identical twins be? Plus, noses grown on foreheads and how rotating antibiotic drugs can prevent bacterial resistance... L...

Why scratch your head if you don't know the answer? What about the Earth made the dinosaurs so big? Why does the Universe spin? Is the Sun seem brighter in the morning than the evening? Are autistic people particularly at home with computers? Why do effervescent tablets fizz only in water? Why do Parkinson's patients sleepwalk without difficulty? Plus, news of a decoy molecule that can treat dwarf...

How is an electron microscope tip made to measure 1 atom thick? Why do I sound different on a recording? Why does light slow down in some media? Why is soft water slimy? How do ants home in on my handbag? What makes my eyelids twitch? Plus, how scientists are exploring spider venoms as a source of new insecticides... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

How do robotic surgeons work? Do diamonds melt? What is heartburn? Can fish see colours, and what should anglers wear? What is brain plasticity? What would happen if an egg were dropped into boiling oil? What causes blushing? Why does holding the antenna of an AM radio improve reception? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Is global warming a given? Can olive leaf extracts combat parasites? Is there a fake tanning pill? Why keep gas cylinders upright? How does digital storage work? Does reducing body temperture aid infections? How does the moon cycle affect human behaviour? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Why is space dark; do bags of coins deter flies; why don't cats go grey; is GPS or an odometer more accurate; what was the effect of the Med drying up in the past; what does an ice-pack versus a hot-pack do for an injury; how might maternal diabetes affect a baby's future health, and should I let the tap run before drinking any water? Plus, urine-powered electricity supplies... Like this podcast?...

Why are we ticklish? What happens to blood when we die? Why are mechanical hearts hard to make? What's a burb? Can a mushroom crack tarmac? Why do helium balloons fly forwards in the car when I brake? Why does microwaved milk explode when I stir it? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Do plants do maths? Has the Internet made us all more intelligent? Why did my milk freeze? Why do my hands get cold, but not my face? How did people realise Earth is round? What's red shifting? Why does squinting make it easier to see things? Why is water unreactive when hydrogen and oxygen are? What makes red shifting happen? Dr Chris answers more top science questions from South Africa... Like t...

How much ice are glaciers losing annually? What makes eyes itch? Is yoga beneficial to health? How do solar sails work? Do we have dominant feet? Why is a rainbow the shape it is? Plus, news of why breastfeeding could help your offspring to climb the social ladder... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Why does yawning produce tears? Why do noses tend to run on a cold day? Is methylated spirit good for mosquito bites? Why do computer screens sometimes produce after-images on your eyes? Can blocking blood vessel growth cause cancers to stall? Is cola good for bloat? Is it really colder just as the sun rises? More top science questions from South Africa, as well as news of how the cornea keeps its...