Question of the Week, from the Naked Scientists

This week Dave asked why does a minor key sound mournful and a major key sound happy? Amy Goodfellow asks music psychologist Dr Andrea Schiavio from the University of Sheffield if this is really true. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week Brian Lucas wanted to know: where are we within the universe? Joanna Kerr decided to try and find out with help from Dr Sean McGee, an astrophysicist from the University of Birmingham. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week Louise asked, how many people are needed to avoid inbreeding in a population? To answer her question Connie Orbach looks into setting up her own desert island with the help of Professor Mike Weale, a population geneticist from Kings Collge London. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

What are wormholes, and how would one be created? James Farr investigates the secrets of the universe... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week Amy Goodfellow took a trip to the country to answer Jerry's question - how much bread it takes to make one wholemeal loaf. She spoke to Andrew Whitley, the co-founder of the Real Bread Campaign... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week, Graihagh Jackon drilled into John's question to try and find out what the most expensive element in the world is... But first, how do we define 'expensive?' Chemist Mark Lorch set us straight... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week, Tom Crawford put Helen's question under the magnifying glass to try and find out whether fingerprints really are unique and if so, whether the same applies to toeprints? We put this to Forensic Scientist, Professor Niamh Nic Daeid form Dundee University... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week we've been sequencing Lorianna's question: if babies have different genetic sequences from their mother, and are technically foreign objects in the womb, why doesn't the mother's immune system attack? Ziyad Yehia asked Dr Lucy Fairclough, an immunologist from Nottingham University to find out... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week we tackle Allana's question: If we were to travel to gas giant Jupiter, would we sink to the core? Or float straight on through? Heather Douglas put this to Dr Marc Rayman from NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab to see if he could clear the air... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

How do black boxes work? When a plane crashes, there's always a huge search for the elusive 'black box' to solve the mystery. But what is this, and how does it work? Heather Douglas put this to David Barry, senior lecturer in aviation safety, from Cranfield University Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

We put this question to Dr Pierre Lanchantin from the University of Cambridge... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Unripe pears are dry, yet ripe pears are juicy so how do they become moist? Philip Garsed put Dennis' question to plant scientist Sonja Dunbar, from Cambridge University... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Chris wanted to know if it's true what your mum always told you. Does cheese really give you nightmares? Danielle Blackwell spoke to Max Sanderson, a neuroscientist to find out more... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Bonga tweeted us asking if we could ever use eels as a source as electricity? Would it be efficient? And how would it compare to other energy sources? Khalil Thirlaway caught up with Dr David LaVan from the National Institute of Standards and Technology to find out... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

From worms to fleas and even microscopic single celled organisms, our pets can transfer a world of parasites to us if we are not careful. Prof Susan Little, a Veternary Parasitologist tells us what parasites we might catch and how we might prevent them. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Have you ever noticed that you urinate more frequently in cold weather? Why does this happen? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

It's said that taxi drivers' brains have increased growth in certain areas from navigating around cities. Is increasing smartphone use having a similar effect on other parts of our brains? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Is homosexual behaviour seen in other species? What do they do? Why? Find out in this week's Question of the Week... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

We find out why petrol creates a rainbow effect when in contact with water, and how the behaviour of light can create all these colours. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Could we clean up our oceans of plastics by fitting vacuum cleaners to ships to suck them up? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Different waking dream states can affect whether you feel resfreshed or not after a nights sleep. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

We chew over some important questions relating to vitamins, including what are they? Do we really need them? Can our bodies store them? And what would happen if we didn't consume any? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

The tectonic plates below our feet move. But where does the energy for this come from? Apparently the reason is analogous to how your porridge gets heated up in the morning. We find out why! Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Why do we yawn? Is it because we're short on air? Matthew Boniface wanted to know this and whether he could catch a yawn from his cat. We spoke to Dr Hugh Matthews from Cambridge University to find out what makes them so contagious... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

14 hour flights sound like your idea of hell? Paul Jenn wrote in asking whether it was possible to speed up plane journeys, so we went to Neil Scott, head of engineering at Airbus, to find out. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists