Ask The Naked Scientists Podcast

Is a heater more efficient than a lightbulb? Why does your tongue stick to ice? Do planes alter the weather around airports? What's a headache? Do dreams alter your metabolism? Is medicine making the population less fit? Is teething linked to diarrhoea? Why don't aircraft tyres explode? Join Dr Chris for this week's round up of intriguing science questions and answers from Talk Radio 702... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Why does my GPS think my car has moved in the garage at night? Can humans survive a space-ride to Mars? Why are epsom salts worth their salt? What is a black hole and what is inside it? How do the equations for special relativity and kinetic energy relate? Why is Pluto where it is in the solar system? Why have right and left headphones? Join Dr Chris for this week's brain-stretching science phone-in on 702. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

How do nerves conduct electrical impulses? How long does it take a bee colony to make a beehive? Why are there 360 degrees in a circle? How does special relativity work? What happens to a live insect if you swallow it? Is there a north, south, east and west in space? What happens to a diesel engine when the fuel shuts off? Dr Chris needs your help this week, because he's not an apiculturist or a mathematical historian... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

What's the point of making medicines fizzy? Why should salt have a sell-by date? Is boiled water as good as distilled for my iron? Do we actually only see half a movie? Where do foreign bodies dislodged from the eye go? Is lactose intolerance becoming more common? What causes morning sickness, and is it a risk for mother and baby? Join Dr Chris for this week's round-up of top questions from Talk Radio 702, South Africa... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week, what causes anencephaly and exencephaly? Can electric cars recharge themselves from their wheels? How do astronomers determine the composition of exoplanets? Why do things move when I switch eyes while looking at them? Why do animals of the same species all look identical? Can we get dinosaur DNA out of amber? Do hands and feet get fat when a person puts on weight? Join Dr Chris for the latest round up of top questions from Talk Radio 702, South Africa. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week, the cause of vitiligo, whether pork is linked to a sore throat, what happens to a flame in microgravity, what causes albinism, what is dark matter and why can't we see it, why doesn't the sea sink into the seabed, why is window-cleaner fatal for flies, what determines diastolic blood pressure and why are some babies born prematurely? Dr Chris takes on more top questions from the listeners of Talk Radio 702... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

What does the discovery of the Higgs particle mean? How do flies land upside down on the ceiling? What happens when we divide by zero? Why do healing wounds itch? Does my washing dry by osmosis? How do fibre optics work? What causes a headache? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Is the moon brighter overhead? Why do babies have higher heart rates? Do men snore more than women? What is peripheral neuropathy? Why are our organs wet inside? How do electric eels work? Why do wires tangle? What is the basis of a skin graft? This week Dr Chris takes on more tough questions on TalkRadio 702, South Africa... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

What gives a flame its colour, and what is the hottest part? What limits the height of a skyscraper? How does post-exposure prophylaxis for HIV work? How do they put the lines on a clay tennis court? Why do some songs cause goose-pimples? Why are some people better at withstanding temperature extremes? And can lightning be collected as a power-source? Join us for the answers and some lively chat from Talk Radio 702, South Africa. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Who was Phillip Tobias, how do self-focusing binoculars work, are muscle transplants possible, what is the bone structure of a snake, what happens when several sounds interact, will we still be evolving in the future, why is air transparent and what comes up when you clear your throat? Dr Chris has the answers to this week's crop of questions from Talk Radio 702 South Africa. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Do birds have a sense of smell? Are penicillin allergies permanent? How do vultures identify dinner? Does light travel forever? Is alcohol added to cooked food safe for an alcoholic? Do viruses have viruses that prey on them? How do bees track down my beer? Are some people genetically programmed to commit crime? Can two twins have different fathers? How did the power of speech first evolve? Dr Chris Smith has the answers... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

What makes dog poo turn white? Is water really wet, or does it just wet things? What was the nuclear impact of Fukushima? Where did my big ants go? Do microwaves alter water? Is the world changing shape? Where do corrugations in dirt roads come from? How did the Universe come by its water? Will my wife really end up looking like my mother-in-law? Join Dr Chris for another crop of top questions from 702, South Africa. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Are premium-priced fuels really worth the extra cost? Why are males born with nipples? Is a male contraceptive pill in the offing? Do all animals get the same number of heartbeats? Does any one organ failing cause death? Can aeroplanes run on diesel? Why does silver tarnish? What causes lightning? Is mental illness curable? Join Dr Chris for the answers to this week's crop of queries from South Africa. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Why do I bruise more easily now I'm older? Why do some wind turbines spin in reverse? Are UV sunbeds worse for young skin? Ozone therapy, or quackery? Why do I want to eat chalk? Is blood the same in all animals? And alongside the answers to the best science questions 702 listeners have to offer, Dr Chris also reveals new radio-controlled cells... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

What substances are in snake venom? Where is sea-level measured? Are any of my cells the original ones I was born with? Are we seeing the effects of global warming? How does planetary precession work? How do bullets do damage? How can you tell when a melon is ripe? Why are men so stubborn? Plus, how fossilised raindrops are shedding light on what Earth's atmosphere was like 3 billion years ago... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

What causes jaundice in newborn babies? What is vitiligo? How do liquids behave in space? What causes cardiac arrests? What would happen if Earth span in reverse? What is Bell's Palsy? What are quarks? And how do hiccups occur? Join Dr Chris for this week's crop of questions from South Africa's Talk Radio 702 Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Does alcohol affect men and women the same way? Do other animals menstruate? Does intensive training affect a woman's fertility? Is it bad for birds to drink from my swimming pool? Should I shower during a thunderstorm? What causes a febrile convulsion? What is photocatalysis? Who gets gallstones and what are they? Why do whales have horizontal tails? Join Dr Chris on Talk Radio 702 for this week's select crop of top science questions... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

What does the genetic fingerprint of Ozti, the 5300-year-old Alpine iceman, reveal? Why do the bubbles in a glass of Guinness appear to be defying the laws of physics? Could we replace food with pills? Why did a dead bee still sting me? Is there any evidence that Voodoo does do anything? Why do balloons go bang? How do ducklings recognise their mothers? And why are planets round? Join Dr Chris for this week's crop of top science questions from South Africa... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Can we grow a hamburger in a dish? What's the one meat that vegetarians can ethically eat? Do ants regard rival colonies as friends, or foes? What causes a cerebrospinal fluid leak and can it be repaired? Are flies the same everywhere? Why does beer freeze when you get it out of the fridge? And what could cause an itchy neck? Join Dr Chris for the answers to Talk Radio 702's top science questions... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Why is amputation necessary in cases of gangrene? What is aspartame and can it cause Alzheimer's? What's the basis of the Atkins Diet? How is melanin made and is neuromelanin the same stuff? Why do objects in the rear view mirror appear closer than they are? Are insecticidal deaths painful for insect victims? Why does booze cause a ruddy complexion? And at what age do babies begin to think? Join Dr Chris for another round up of top quality questions from South Africa... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists