Question of the Week
Each week we set out to solve one of the world's weirdest, wackiest, funniest and funkiest scientific puzzles. And along with the answer there's a brand new question to think about for next time...
QotW: When was my breath my dinner? - Naked Scientists Question of the Week - 19.05.13
Greg sent us this question: When I exhale, my breath contains carbon atoms. How long ago were they in my food or drink? We were hungry for answers, so Ruby Osborn asked Fred Warren from the Quadram Institute Bioscience to break it down…
How to see faint stars - Naked Scientists Question of the Week - 19.04.29
Sean asked "Why is it that when you look directly at a small faint star it disappears, but when you look at a point near it, you can see it again?" Ben McAllister has been searching far and wide for the answer to this cosmological conundrum…
Can purple carrots turn your skin purple? - Naked Scientists Question of the Week 19.04.01
We received this question from Aidan, "Consuming orange carrots in high excess can turn your skin orange, because of the beta-carotene. What about purple carrots?" Jack Tavener and Katie Haylor have been crunching through some research to get to the root of this question. If you enjoyed this episode, please…
Why do socks disappear in the wash? - Naked Scientists Question of the Week 19.03.18
We received this question from Chani... "My socks never stay together in the wash. One always disappears. Is there a scientific explanation for where those socks go? Why are they so unhappy in monogamous relationships?" Izzie Clarke asked Rob Eastaway, mathematician and author of "How Many Socks Make A Pair",…
What effect does ethanol have on the brain? - Naked Scientists Question of the Week 19.03.04
Donald asked us what specific effects ethanol has on the brain and why certain regions are more impacted than others when we have a drink. This week, Joe Galea, from the University of Birmingham, helps us to distil the answer…
Why can some people imitate accents? - Naked Scientists Question of the Week 19.02.18
Lia asked us why some people seem to be naturally good at imitating voices and accents. To get the last word, Adam Murphy got an answer from Jonathan Goodman, from the Language Sciences Department at Cambridge University…
Why do candles smoke and smell? - Naked Scientists Question of the Week 19.02.04
Richard was wondering why do candles make more smoke and smell after they've gone out. Jenny Gracie has been sniffing out an answer from Duncan Graham at the University of Strathclyde and Ricky Carvel from the University of Edinburgh to help shed some light on the question…
What language do deaf people think in? - Naked Scientists Question of the Week 19.01.28
Bree asked: If a person is born completely deaf and can't hear a thing, what language do they think in? We asked Dr Mairead MacSweeney, director of the Deafness Cognition and Language Research Centre at University College London…
Do plants eat dirt? - Naked Scientists Question of the Week 19.01.21
Marcus was wondering how trees, such as giant oaks, can grow so huge and not make a hole in the ground. Where does their mass come from if not from the dirt? Jenny Gracie has been digging deep to find an answer, with help from Andrew Weatherall from the National…
What happens to bubbles in space? - Naked Scientists Question of the Week 18.12.17
This week, Malcolm's been watching the science fiction film, Passengers. He wanted to know what happens to air bubbles in water if gravity was suddenly turned off. Adam Murphy spoke to Stuart Higgins from Imperial College London, and to David Kinahan from Dublin City University, to get an answer to…
Can dogs recognise each other as dogs? - Naked Scientists Question of the Week 18.11.26
Do we know if a Great Dane meeting a Chihuahua recognises it as another dog? We asked Professor Donald Broom from Cambridge University and Dr Charlotte Duranton to help us sniff out the answer to Dotty's question.
How can planes fly through hurricanes? - Naked Scientists Question of the Week 18.11.19
This week, Daniel wants to know why hurricane researchers seem to use propeller-driven planes when flying into the eye of the storm. Eva Higginbotham spoke to Dr Anna Young of the University of Cambridge's Whittle laboratory, to find out what's 'up' in the field of aeroplane engines.
When did we become modern day humans? - Naked Scientists Question of the Week 18.11.12
With the help of Cambridge University's Professor Robert Foley, Sam Brown took a trip back in time to answer Stuart's question: If you could bring a baby from the past to grow up in the present, how far back could you go before people would notice that this was a…
How do wombats produce cube-shaped poo? - Naked Scientists Question of the Week 18.10.29
Poo comes in many shapes and sizes. We are used to seeing it on the street or accidentally stepping in different forms including tubes from dogs, pellets from rabbits or big splats from cows, but I have never come across cubic poo. Tamsin Bell asked Dr Louise Gentle from Nottingham…
Is second hand smoke more dangerous than smoking a cigarette? - Naked Scientists Question of the Week 18.10.22
Is it true that second hand smoking or passive smoking is more likely to give you cancer than smoking a cigarette? Tamsin Bell put this to Stefan Marciniak from the Cambridge Institute for Medical Research…
Why do I feel the pressure of Wellington boots in water? - Naked Scientists Question of the Week 18.10.01
When standing barefoot in water, we don't feel the water pressure on our feet. But when wearing Wellington boots, we do feel a pinching - why? We asked Colm-cille Caulfield, Professor at Cambridge University, to help us wade through the science of Daniel's question…
Why is Blu-Tack sticky? - Naked Scientists Question of the Week 18.09.24
Tom asked us "Why is Blu-Tack sticky?" Adam Murphy spoke to Jennifer Gaughran, researcher at Dublin City University, to see if she could help with a question that had us stuck…
Could we terraform the Moon? - Naked Scientists Question of the Week 18.09.17
Chad asked us "Is it possible to terraform the Moon, so that humans could live there long-term?". Tamsin Bell spoke to David Rothery, Professor of Planetary Geosciences at the Open University, to see what he had to say…
Do wild animals get allergies? - Naked Scientists Question of the Week 18.09.03
On Twitter, Andrew asked us: "Do wild animals suffer from allergies, and if so, does this occur at the same rate as in humans?" We spoke to Wild Immunologist Andy Flies, from the University of Tazmania, to sniff out an answer…
Are there more stars in the sky or grains of sand on the earth? - Naked Scientists Question of the Week 18.08.20
Are there more grains of sand on Earth or stars in the sky, and who counted them? We search heaven and Earth to answer Jeff's question, recruiting astronomer Michael Merrifield from Nottingham University to help out…