Question of the Week

Could a jaunt to Jupiter be the physics-version of anti-wrinkel cream? This week, Kerstin Gpfrich convinced physicist Dr Stuart Higgins to go on a mission to answer Troy's question…

15 Oct 2016 4 min

This week, Connie Orbach has been cleaning up, answering Dale's question he sent in on Facebook: does soap really kill off germs?, with the help of Cherly Trundle from Addenbrooke's hospital infection control team.

9 Oct 2016 3 min

This week, Connie Orbach has been cleaning up, answering Dale's question he sent in on Facebook: does soap really kill off germs?, with the help of Cherly Trundle from Addenbrooke's hospital infection control team.

9 Oct 2016 3 min

To get a handle on this shaky question Connie Orbach called in Dr Alex Copley from Cambridge University's Department of Earth Sciences…

25 Sep 2016 4 min

Joshua asked us whether animals could ever experience the placebo effect. To find out, Laura Brooks spoke to Eleanor Drinkwater, researcher in animal behaviour at the University of York…

18 Sep 2016 3 min

Kevin got in touch ask why clothes dried on a washing line can end up feeling rough, crunchy and stiff... To find out, our Laura Brooks contacted Neil Lant at the Fabric and Home Care research and development division of Proctor and Gamble, who make Lenor fabric softener.

11 Sep 2016 3 min

It is not only learning that can appear to be quite hard; it's unlearning that we struggle with. How do we unlearn? Is there any technique for unlearning things? Claire Armstrong put this to neuroscientist Laura Ford, from the University of Cambridge…

21 Aug 2016 3 min

Lucka Bibic spoke to Prof Marian Holness from University of Cambridge to take her through Robert's question…

31 Jul 2016 4 min

This week, Natasha from Australia wrote in to ask why her stomach grumble when she is hungry. Lucka Bibic enlisted Dr Roshini Raj from Medical Trinity Center in New York to find out what causes the rumbly in our tumbly!

24 Jul 2016 4 min

Listener Loot got in touch to ask how the moon got its markings. Claire Armstrong looked towards the heavens for the answer and spoke to the Open University's planetary expert Professor David Rothery.

17 Jul 2016 4 min

Listener Kat got in touch to ask if cavemen really did have names and when did humans start naming each other. Lucka Bibic went in search of cavemen's names with the Professor of Linguistics at MIT, Shigeru Miyagawa.

10 Jul 2016 4 min

Listener Android got in touch to ask how octopuses camouflage themselves if they are colour blind. Graihagh Jackson went under the sea to see if the seaweed is always greener on the other side with Cambridge University's Felicity Bedford…

26 Jun 2016 4 min

Mark got in touch to find out how noise cancelling headphones work. Can they damage your ears by playing back loud background noise? Fanny Yeun spoke to Trevor Cox to cut the rumble…

5 Jun 2016 4 min

Listener Solomon emailed us to find out exactly what role cooking plays in digestion. Emma Sackville met up with Dr. Giles Yeo to break down the question.

22 May 2016 3 min

This week, Jeff wrote in to ask whether we would be able to recognise and understand an encrypted message from space. Emma Sackville enlisted Dr. Duncan Forgan from the University of St. Andrews to help decode this question…

8 May 2016 3 min

Listener Paul got in touch to ask if it's true that there's almost no restriction in the speed an elevator could ascend when it comes to the human body, but that there was a limiting speed for the descent. Graihagh Jackson was perplexed and intrigued by the question and so…

24 Apr 2016 4 min

Connie Orbach get's to grip with Lebonhang's question and ask Dr Clemancy Booth to help…

10 Apr 2016 4 min

This week, Jonathan asked us if it's possible for two planets to share the same orbit. Naked Scientist Graihagh Jackson put this to Dr Stuart Higgins from Cambridge University…

4 Apr 2016 4 min

This week, Jonathan asked us if it's possible for two planets to share the same orbit. Naked Scientist Graihagh Jackson put this to Dr Stuart Higgins from Cambridge University…

4 Apr 2016 4 min

People can certainly smell whiffy and sometimes this is attractive, other times not so much but is this a feature of pheromones? Lots of species of mammals have them, so what makes us humans any different? This week , Felicity Bedford sniffed out the answer with Tristan Wyatt from the…

6 Mar 2016 3 min