Question of the Week, from the Naked Scientists

We find out if there is a relationship between early rising and cheerfulness. Plus we ask how best to repel mosquitoes! Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

We find out why blood donations aren't rejected more readily. Plus we ask, is sleepiness related to cheerfulness? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

We find out why touch sensitive switches are sensitive to skin, soap and potato but not everything else? Plus we ask how do drinks & exercise affect the taste of your chewing gum? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

We find out if foetuses get cancer, 15 yr old Louis from London got in touch asking: their cells divide rapidly, so surely they can make genetic errors and get cancer? Plus we ask, how do touch sensitive gadgets work? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

We find out if we could mix spider and human DNA to create a real life Spiderman. Plus we ask, do foetuses get cancer? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

ON MARS NO ONE CAN HEAR YOU SCREAM. Is that really true? And if so, why? Plus we ask, can we mix spider and human DNA to make Spiderman? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Do menstrual cycles synchronise for women who live together? If so, is there any evolutionary reason for this? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week we find out how long you could survive by just eating your own severed limbs, plus we search for synchrony in menstrual cycles. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week we find out why certain mushrooms contain hallucinogens, plus we ask, how long could you survive by eating your own limbs? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week we ponder potatoes! You can bake a potato, boil a potato, fry them, chip 'em and roast 'em. But CAN YOU MELT one? Plus we ask, why do fungi bother to produce hallucinogens? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

We find out where our ancestors artistically expressed themselves, plus we ask, how can we melt a potato? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week we find out if we there will ever be a real life Dr Doolittle. And sticking with expressing ourselves we ask - was prehistoric art restricted to caves? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

We find out if banking our bone marrow early in life, and transplanting down the line, may help halt the aging process. Plus we ask, why are we so good at forgetting names?..... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Earth seems like such a good place for life to thrive, so is it a good place for life to get started? Has life started on Earth more than once? If so, where is it? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

By simply bouncing a laser beam between two mirrors, could you produce an infinitely powerful laser? And if not, why not? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

We find out how it is possible for a single telephone wire to carry information for a telephone conversation, file downloads to a computer, WiFi access, and allow us to watch a film and listen to the news. Plus we ask can we make an infinitely powerful laser simply by adding more mirrors? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

We need exposure to sunlight in order to be able to make vitamin D. Does this mean that humans, like plants, undergo a sort of photosynthesis? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week we speak with NASA's Planetary Protection Officer to find out if we could, and should, introduce life onto Mars. Plus we ask is a human producing Vitamin D a bit like a photosynthesising plant?..... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Can the type of cutlery used to prepare and serve food really alter its flavour? And does it really change, or is it just our perception? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

We find out if applying ice to an injury actually helps to speed up healing. Plus we ask, would dining with a silver spoon make your food taste better? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

We find out if you can escape detection at a crime scene by using clever gene therapy techniques. Plus we ask, does applying ice to an injury actually help? And if so, how? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

We find out why men generally die before women. Plus we ask can we use gene therapy to cheat a DNA test and escape a crime scene...... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

We find out if we can create a living organism from basic elements. Plus we ask, why do women live longer than men? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week we find out how a species has so successfully infiltrated the verges of the UK road systems. Plus we ask can we create life by heating up basic chemicals... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

We apply some Naked Science force to this week's question and find out if we make a magnet so strong that is squashes, rather thanks sticks to, your white goods. Plus we ask do motorways create a microclimate? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists