Ask The Naked Scientists Podcast

Why do we age? Why do frogs end up in the swimming pool when it rains? Are mosquitoes attracted to some people more than others? What is epigenetics? What causes Bell's Palsy? How do frogs find water? Do tyres on the roof repel lightning? Answers to more great science questions from South Africa with Dr Chris... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Do blood donors live longer, is water safe in plastic bottles, is Earth gaining weight and are space probes sterile? Plus, how fireflies have helped engineers make even brighter LEDs. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

What causes hurricanes? How does plastination work? Why do we go grey? Does grunting make muscles work harder? Do parallel universes exist? What causes hot flushes? Are there any IQ tests for babies? Do plants benefit from being talked to? Join Dr Chris for this week's round up of top science questions from South Africa. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Why aren't bubbles coloured like the soap they came from? Does holding a remote control to you head make it work better? Why has exercise reduced my alcohol tolerance? Is it by design that the names of all continents start and finish with the same letter? Why don't eyebrows go grey at the same time as head-hair? Do things taste different on opposite sides of the mouth? Why remove metal objects before a medical scan? And why does running water make me want to wee? Join Dr Chris for the answers to this week's questions as well as news of a way to correct mitochondrial enzyme defects... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

How do atoms change inside stars? How did Felix Baumgartner accelerate to over 800 miles per hour? What is inside a black hole? What decides the sex of a baby? What causes jetlag? Could we use the movement of seawater inside the Earth's magnetic field to make electricity? Why is the sea salty? Plus, are women born to flirt? Dr Chris has the answers... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Why is skin the mouths of animals pink? Why doesn't water immediately fall out of clouds? How do we use light to send information into space? Why did a stomach explode after a liquid nitrogen cocktail? What are chimaeras? How will Felix Baumgartner get to the edge of space for his free-fall jump? Why is your breath both hot and cold against your hand? Why are the entry doors to an aeroplane always on the left side? And why do toenails seem to grow more slowly than fingernails? Join Chris for another rampage through the best science questions South Africa has to offer! Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Is the Earth about to gain a new tectonic plate? What is pompholyx and what are the treatment options? Why does sunburned skin blister? Why does boiled water taste different? Is there anyone who can still make a pencil from scratch? Why won't sugar solutions freeze? Why does my dog yawn when it gets up? Does famine affect genes in future generations? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

How is the effectiveness of environmental interventions measured? What's the scientific definition of nothing? Why do farts smell worse in the shower? What happens when an aircraft breaks the sound barrier? What should I drink with lunch? What's happening with ITER? How are flu vaccines made? How do hair transplants work? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Why does a local anaesthetic make my face feel fat? How do worms get into food? Would a taxi driver find a map of a new city easier to learn? From where did the asteroid belt form? Why is the lower lip more prone to chaps? What makes birds decide to sing at 5am? Can we make a spacestation inside an asteroid? Do you believe in UFOs? Another crop of top questions from 702 listeners gets answered... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

How did NASA get their cameras to work in the cold on the moon? How does a cordless electric toothbrush charge itself? What is adult respiratory distress syndrome? Where does the amniotic fluid around a baby come from? Why are Olympic races run anticlockwise? Why is sunscreen advised even on cloudy days? What is more accurate, my speedometer, or the speed recorded by my GPS? And why do my sunglasses make LCD displays look strange? This week Dr Chris takes on more of your science questions... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

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