Ask the Naked Scientists

How do continental plates move? Is the weather worse at weekends? What does your brain choose to ignore? Why do wet fingers wrinkle? Are bullets fired into the air dangerous? Are premonitions real? Why does the Sun seem larger at sunset? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

How much radiation would an astronaut encounter on the way to Mars? What causes loss of appetite during a fever? Why does camera red eye happen? Can we reproduce in space? Is mercury in dental fillings safe? How old are the atoms in the body? What causes tides? What's the point of male nipples? Why do trees lose leaves in winter? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

What is genetic diversity? What causes colourblindness? Why does a microwave turntable sometimes rotate in the opposite direction? How are genes linked to behaviour? How accurate are different dating methods? Where does sleep in your eyes come from? And how does an aeroplane wing work? Join Dr Chris for another top clutch of questions from South Africa... Like this podcast? Please help us by suppo...

What attracts malaria-infected mosquitoes to people? How happens to the brain during adolescence? Why are bubbles always white? Would a sealed box containing an exercising person get lighter? What does a launching rocket push against? Why is water from the hot tap initially cold? What actually is a random number? And is there a formula to calculate the size of a parachute? Like this podcast? Pleas...

Does cold exposure cause colds? What consitutes safe drinking water? Why do distant lights and stars flicker? What is sleep walking? What causes bipolar disorder? How does sound travel in air? Plus, news of a vaccine to help crack heroin addiction. Join Dr Chris for more top science questions from South Africa... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Does what we eat alter how we smell? Why does the severed tail of a lizard still wriggle? How does the nervous system re-wire itself? What's in snake and spider venom? Do fuel-saving devices for cars really work? Plus news of how honey helps bees to fight off infections, and pesticides... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Why do adults smell more than children? How are bionic implants contributing to longevity? What is progeria? How do touch screens work? Why do anti-HIV drugs cause fat redistribution? Why does power = volts x amps? What actually are dark matter and dark energy? Join Dr Chris for the answers to more cool questions from South Africa... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scient...

Does holding a car remote to your head make it work better? Why does a boat float? Are triple rainbows real? What's a near-death experience? This week we also look at a new scientific study into why - and when - breast milk transmits HIV to a baby... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Are babies born to swim? Can you escape from a black hole? Can an egg with a double yolk yield two chicks? What causes nightmares? Why do we gesticulate when we speak? Why is the Moon visible by day? Dr Chris takes on more top questions from South Africa. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Naked Scientists team, Ben Valsler, Chris Smith and Ginny Smith joined the 702 crew and a studio audience live in Johannesburg to talk science, build vacuum bazookas and challenge listeners' mathematical minds... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Do satellites collide? Can albinism be diagnosed on a scan? What causes the timing of the equinox to vary? Do bullets fired in the air still kill people? Can we make a human from just a genetic code? Why doesn't glue stick to the container? What's left underground once oil has been removed? And why can't we tickle ourselves? Join Dr Chris for another round up of the best science questions from Sou...

Who was John Snow? Why do things shrink in the wash? How does carbon dating work? Is intelligence down to mitochondria? Why does the banner also bank behind a banking aircraft? And how does the human body develop in utero? Dr Chris answers more top science questions from South Africa... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Does a cloudy day aggravate arthritis? Was the biblical flood real? How does a gastric bypass work? Will a knife in water go blunt? Where do the skeletons on sunken ships go? Why do cats have an extra fold of skin in their ears? And why transmit electricity at high voltage? Dr Chris joins Redi Thlabi for thirty minutes of quickfire Q and A... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Nak...

How did horse meat end up in the food chain? Is baking foil bad for you? How big are viruses? How are urine and sweat produced? How do hydrogen vehicles work? And how do we measure the height of things above sea level? Join Chris Smith for this week's crop of top questions from Talk Radio 702, South Africa. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Why do ovaries run out of eggs and what affects egg quality? Why does diesel smell nice but burning engine oil is unpleasant? Do genes from genetically modified organisms get into eggs and sperm? Does lead affect behaviour? What causes motion sickness? Join Dr Chris for another run of science questions from South Africa... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

How does alcohol cause liver cirrhosis? Can we make matter massless by removing Higgs particles? How did spiders evolve web-making skills? What is insulin resistance? What does fluoride do? And do scars sustained by adults manifest in their offspring? This week Dr Chris takes on more questions from Talk Radio 702 South Africa. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Are helium-filled balloons less likely to pop? How does a cordless toothbrush charge? Is there much mercury in compact fluorescent bulbs? Why do tired toddlers rub their eyes? Is lactose intolerance more common than it once was? And is it possible to trigger earthquakes artificially? Dr Chris answers this week's burning questions on Talk Radio 702, South Africa... Like this podcast? Please help us...

What is involved in blood doping in sports? Can beetroot make urine red? Can mosquitoes transmit HIV? How do dung beetles use the Milky Way to navigate? Do sneezes stop your heart? Can you hear a supernova? Could plants grow on Mars? Why do ants keep drowning in my drink? Why do we not notice Earth turning? And can flour relieve burns? Dr Chris takes on another batch of top science questions from...

How box jellyfish venom exerts its lethal effect, will the World end, how were the pyramids aligned, why does humid air feel hotter, why does a hot water stream slow after the tap is opened, what causes lights to twinkle, why do humans have language, is there a way to make more twins, where do stepped-on snails go, and why do diabetics sometimes smell like pear drops? Dr Chris tackles another crop...

Carp with compasses, why we have earwax, what causes CIDP, can genes re-write their own code, do bananas in brown bags stay fresher longer, does hot water sound different, why veins look blue and what is coarctation of the aorta? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Why do we age? Why do frogs end up in the swimming pool when it rains? Are mosquitoes attracted to some people more than others? What is epigenetics? What causes Bell's Palsy? How do frogs find water? Do tyres on the roof repel lightning? Answers to more great science questions from South Africa with Dr Chris... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Do blood donors live longer, is water safe in plastic bottles, is Earth gaining weight and are space probes sterile? Plus, how fireflies have helped engineers make even brighter LEDs. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

What causes hurricanes? How does plastination work? Why do we go grey? Does grunting make muscles work harder? Do parallel universes exist? What causes hot flushes? Are there any IQ tests for babies? Do plants benefit from being talked to? Join Dr Chris for this week's round up of top science questions from South Africa. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Why aren't bubbles coloured like the soap they came from? Does holding a remote control to you head make it work better? Why has exercise reduced my alcohol tolerance? Is it by design that the names of all continents start and finish with the same letter? Why don't eyebrows go grey at the same time as head-hair? Do things taste different on opposite sides of the mouth? Why remove metal objects bef...

How do atoms change inside stars? How did Felix Baumgartner accelerate to over 800 miles per hour? What is inside a black hole? What decides the sex of a baby? What causes jetlag? Could we use the movement of seawater inside the Earth's magnetic field to make electricity? Why is the sea salty? Plus, are women born to flirt? Dr Chris has the answers... Like this podcast? Please help us by supportin...