Ask The Naked Scientists Podcast

What is freezing rain, do cats control their owners, how do accents arise, why does hair go grey, what is the origin of deja vu, why did my glass table spontaneously explode and is the world population becoming more or less genetically diverse? Dr Chris tackles this week's round up of the best science questions from South Africa.... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week we debate whether wounds should be left open or covered up, why toenails - but not thumbnails - ingrow, what is hydatid disease, whether we can tag people to track them for life, what causes ringworm, the difference between a TIA and a stroke and what happens to the solid fuel boosters jettisoned by the space shuttle during ascent. Plus, a look at jumping spiders' eyes! Join Dr Chris on Talk Radio 702 for all the answers... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

How much water should you drink in a day? Can miscarriages be prevented? What's more efficient - leaving the hot water on constantly, or heating it only when needed? Why are some eggs double yolkers? What's the point of flies? And why do some people have more than five fingers? Join Dr Chris for another crop of South Africa's top science questions on Talk Radio 702... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Are cellphones safe? Why should cornflour make irradiated skin more comfortable? Why do dogs turn in circles before they lie down or defaecate? Are there any materials transparent to the eye but opaque to a camera? Is the Sun orbiting anything? How do they get the stripes in the toothpaste? Is blood donation an alternative to dieting? What do cows actually eat - grass, or bacteria? And why are birds so clever yet we rule the world? Join Dr Chris and the 702 crew for the first episode of Ask the Naked Scientists, 2012... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

What is the best way to manage autism? Do we swap molecules when we touch each other? Can my koi recognise my voice? Can methane be used for firing my pots? Are out of body experiences real? Are vitamin supplements a pill worth paying for? Join Dr Chris as he tackles this week's crop of questions from Talk Radio 702, South Africa, and also brings us news of the finding of the world's first fishing tackle... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Is there any evidence for acupuncture? Compared with coffee left to stand, why does freshly-brewed make a different sound when stirred? Does disprin deal with cold sores? Why would blood pressure and cholesterol drop after a trip up Kilimanjaro? What conditions might make a man explode? How does the oral contraceptive pill work? Can it fool a pregnancy test? Why do planes ditch fuel before an emergency landing? What's ozone therapy and do parallel universes exist? Join Dr Chris for the answers to this week's crop of Talk Radio 702 questions from South Africa... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

On Ask! The Naked Scientists this week, an injection to combat obesity, and we debate whether pigeons can tell one another apart... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Why do more eggs means less water in an egg boiler? Does a hip replacement shorten a leg? Where do beetles go in winter? And why are planets round? Plus, how killing off aged cells improves vitality, why pollution is intensifying cyclones and how skin cells can see UV... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Why do electric clocks lose time, what's smaller than an atom, what is sickle cell disease, does ice stop a nose-bleed, can cartilage be replaced and where does sweat come from and are we all equally sweaty? Ask! this week comes from the British Society for Gene Therapy conference in Brighton which kicked off with a DNA fingerprinting race... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week, why does a bout of flu leave you with blocked ears? Can grapefruits be engineered to taste like meat? Why is genetic diversity highest in Africa? Why can't we tickle ourselves? And why does seeing someone else suffer make us experience pain ourselves? Plus, news of a treatment for chronic fatigue syndrome, why antivirals might abate Alzheimer's and how seaweeds make corals seasick... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Where do allergies come from? What "actually" is an itch? What is meant by matching a donated organ? Why do veins distend on a hot day? What causes floaters in the eye? Join Dr Chris for the answers to this week's fast and furious barrage of questions, as well as news of the origins of the plague... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Why do some things dissolve but others don't, what are the stains on the towels at the gym and how do astronauts keep their balance in the absence of gravity? Also, what causes meteor showers, can you sneeze in your sleep, what's the best way to dislodge a foreign body in the eye, what is pancreatic cancer and what causes sweaty hands and feet? The answers to this lot, plus news of how Earth came by its water and a chemical to keep unblocked arteries clear... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Why do onions make you cry and will a frozen onion have the same tear-jerking effect? What medicinal qualities does aloe vera possess? Is ice-crunching harmful? What's the best way to prop up metabolism as we age? What can I do about stress incontinence? Plus, news of what Tweets posted online can tell us about the population's collective mood, and a new way to tell who needs extra investigations after a heart attack... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Does cooking with gas taste better, why are yawns infectious, how does carbon dating work, what is spontaneous human combustion, why won't a nine year old blow his nose and how can contraceptives help ovarian diseases? Dr Chris takes on this week's slew of science from South Africa and also asks what fatherhod does for a man's testosterone levels. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Where does the energy come from that keeps electrons in orbit within an atom? Can cars and truck weigh themselves like lifts to prevent overloading? How long do some atoms or molecules last in the body? What causes croup? Why would electrolysed water go green? Can viruses trigger asthma, and what is reflex sympathetic dystrophy? Join Dr Chris for the answers to this week's round up of questions as well as news that probiotic bacteria can alter brain chemistry - certainly food for thought! Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Where and in what volume is mucus made in the body? Why do bums look darker that skin elsewhere on the body? How does laughter or low mood affect health and immunity and what causes urticaria? Join Dr Chris for the answers as well as news of a new gene screen technique to find new treatments using old drugs and why climate change is driving animals uphill... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

What makes the eye's pupils change size? Does scratching a coin make a machine more likely to accept it? Why does a copper bangle change colour periodically? Does the spinning of the Earth affect the top speed of a dragster? Does ice weigh less than water? Are glyconutrients beneficial for arthritis? And what makes a nose sweat more in winter than summer? join Dr Chris for the answers to these questions as well as news of how fungi and plants create their own free-market economies, and how scientists can reprogramme the immune system to combat cancer... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

NASA announce signs of running water on Mars and scientists turn skin cells into brain cells. Plus the answers to why certain drugs work well for some people but not others, why my muffin burns in the middle in the microwave, why things defrost badly in microwave ovens, the origin of handedness, what causes someone to snore in the daytime, why do some smells linger longer and why do my eyes water when I bend forward? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week - Will wounds heal quicker if licked by a dog? Why does flying cause earaches? How do gas masks work? Why don't continuous rails buckle in the heat? Why do egg shells come in different colours? Dr Chris joins Redi to discuss all of these and more... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Does jumping inside a plummeting lift prior to impact prevent a fatal fall? What causes echoes on phones? Are trees actually net oxygen consumers? Why do my ice cubes grow stalagmites? Why do farts deployed underwater have a worse whiff? Why can't we split carbon dioxide and use the oxygen? What's the story about the first artificial windpipe grown from a patient's own cells? Join Dr Chris for this week's round up of science questions and trivia on Talk Radio 702. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists