Ask the Naked Scientists

How the moon might make you behave badly, why snowstorms beget thunderstorms, the wrong sort of snow for trains, and whether tomato soup would be a warmer filling for radiators. Dr Dave tackles a festive crop of questions in this week's Ask! the Naked Scientists... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

How do facial scrubs work to remove spots and oil from our skin? does hot water freeze faster than cold water? Why do we not make more use of tidal power? We take on these questions in this week's show as well as reveal why we faint, how close our genes are to our ape ancestors and what legionnaires diseases is and how to prevent it. Plus we discuss the effects of obesity on our health and whether...

How is Gold formed? Could hydrogen be used in power plants? How small can an atomic bomb be? Could we reverse electrolysis to make water? We tackle these questions in this week's show as well as find out how the shrunken heads in Borneo are shrunk, why burnt toast goes black, and why white bread is white. Plus, we investigate if bullets can be made from custard and whether we can trap light to use...

Can we re-set our body clocks? How can we ease the effects of jetlag? Do body clocks change with age? We look into these questions in this week's show as well as investigate whether lightning can occur without clouds, the effects of head injuries, why spacecrafts need to travel at high speeds and we discuss the optimum world population. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Sci...

How can you measure how dark a place is? When do meteor showers occur and how can we see them? How do 'magic eye' paintings work? We reveal the answers to these mysteries in this week's show. We also find out whether the earth breathes, why car wheels appear to move backwards, and how DNA can narrow criminals down to a specific location. Plus, we investigate where all the hazelnuts have gone! Like...

What is snot? Why do we make saliva? How do babies have such sweet smelling breath? These, and other less bodily questions, get tackled in this Ask the Naked Scientists. We find out how a radio can consume batteries quickly, where to live to avoid floods and if a brain scan can spot criminal intent! Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Why are tomato skins so tough? Can you make fireworks from custard powder? What is the speed of dark? Join us as Dave Ansell takes on your science questions, explaining if satellites get dusty, how much damage the infamous Guy Fawkes' gunpowder plot would have done and why you can't see stars in footage shot in space! Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Can venoms be used to treat disease? How deadly is the sting of an Irukandje jellyfish? Do all bees die when they sting? We tackle these buzzing questions on this week's show, as well as find out how our brains process pleasure, reveal where dust comes from, and investigate why cows are bad for our environment! Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Is global warming natural as well as man-made? What effect will arctic melting have on our sea levels? Why have cars not evolved past piston engines and fossil fuels? Can sugars be used to fuel cars? We tackle these energy-related questions on this week's show as well as reveal how iron ships are kept buoyant, how inkjet printers work and how many wind turbines are needed to power the UK. Plus we...

This week, Dr Dominic Ford joins Dave Ansell to take on your questions about our universe. They reveal whether it's possible to live in outer space for years on end, if we can see the flames of the sun from here on Earth, discuss what dark matter is, and investigate what existed before the big bang! Plus, we find out why snakes aren't poisoned by their own venom and explore when the modern calenda...

Why is our peripheral vision so good in the dark? Why do we have goosebumps? Do UFOs exist and is there life on other planets? We explore the answers to these questions as well as investigate how bacteria know where to infect us, how our TV screens work, why we set our clocks back in winter and reveal if covering our bodies in salt would make us shrivel up like a slug! Like this podcast? Please he...

Why do cameras use batteries so quickly? Why does warmth help a battery last longer? How do humans survive lightning strikes? We tackle these questions as well as reveal how steel ships protect themselves from erosion, whether stainless steel really is stainless, investigate the different types of salt and discover how lie detectors work! Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked S...

Do Aliens Exist? Did Neil Armstrong really walk on the moon? What happens over the Bermuda Triangle? We take on these mysteries in this week's show as well as reveal if the earth is growing, why planes leave vapour trails and investigate whether deodorants are flammable. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

How do new elements enter the periodic table? How much does the earth weigh? Could Jupiter blow up? We tackle these explosive questions on this weeks show as well as reveal the workings of the internet and how it was created, investigate how the government could spy on our phone calls, and discover why our fingers go wrinkly in the bath! Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Sc...

How do wasps reproduce? Do all spiders bite you? Why have some animals lasted many years without evolving? We take on these questions on this week's show as well as find out how helicopters fly, explain why kettles go silent before boiling, reveal how far radio signals can travel and discover how to get a boiled egg into a bottle! Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientist...

How do glowsticks glow? Do mobile phones have limited frequencies? How do 3D films work? We tackle these questions on this weeks show, as well as discuss the causes of heart attacks, why it's less windy at night and find out why our accents aren't always reflected when we sing. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

You ask Dave Ansell whether parallel universes are possible, how moons are formed around Saturn, what's new for car batteries, the existence of wormholesand how one might go about building an artificial brain. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Why do astronauts feel weightless in space? What makes teenagers throw tantrums? Do mobile phones damage our health? We tackle these questions on this weeks show as well as reveal how jay birds find their food, how self-winding watches work and whether losing weight can help us avoide certain diseases. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

When do stars explode? How does shoe polish work? What happens if you float away from your spacecraft? Why can't we feel the Earth spinning? Dr Dave answers your questions in this week's ASK. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

We take a turn around gyroscopes, find out if it's better to run through the rain, identify the origins of yeast, chomp our way through the make-up of white chocolate and ponder the future of telecommunications. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

We find out why field mice aren't green, why the Earth isn't put off its orbit by the Sun's activity and how dogs have evolved alongside humans. We combat these conundrums in addition to: why does my radio keep playing after I've switched off the mains and why is my reflection in a spoon upside down? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

How big can aeroplanes get? Will we ever teleport? And When we lose weight, where does it go? We take on all these brainteasers and more in this Ask the Naked Scientists Podcast. Plus, Did dogs evolve from wolves? Why do roads need resurfacing after an accident? And what are clouds made of? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Why does helium make our voices higher? What are hiccups and how can we get rid of them? How contagious is swine flu? We take on these questions on this weeks podcast as well as find out how beta blockers slow our heart rate down, why food sticks to the bottom of a pan when it burns and how sewage waste is moved round an aeroplane. Plus, we look into the role of the prostate in men and the conditi...

Are Orion's stars shrinking? What are wormholes and do they really exist? What is our universe expanding into? We tackle these cosmic conundrums on this weeks show, as well as find out why light travels faster than sound, if everything spins in space, why TV adverts sound so loud and we investigate the existence of the Bermuda Triangle! Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Sci...

How has laughter evolved? Why can'we tickle ourselves? Why do hot and cold water sound different? What is smell and why do things have a smell? We tackle these chalenges on this weeks show, as well as investigate if blood pressure varies in different sized people, why mouthwash makes water taste colder, investigate why we shouldn't breed with relatives and discuss the causes of vertigo. Like this...