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PODCAST

Question of the Week

Naked Scientists

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...

science

All Episodes

3:52

Can dog wee dissolve rubber tyres?

Question of the Week ·

2021/05/17

This week, urine for a treat - Phil Sansom tackles this question from listener Trent. "Every time I walk my dog, it pees on the tyre of a particular trailer. It got me thinking: urine contains uric acid. Is that strong enough to eat through the rubber of the tyre? If so, how long would it take?" Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

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3:46

Can flies survive the winter?

Question of the Week ·

2021/05/10

Jeffrey got in touch to ask: "We've had a cold and snowy winter, and I've had to shovel my driveway every few days. We had a fly in our house, and I was curious if it survived the cold somehow, or recently hatched?" Adam Murphy got in touch with Erica McAlister, fly specialist and Senior Curator from the Natural History Museum in London to fly in an answer... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

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5:12

How do ZIP files work?

Question of the Week ·

2021/04/26

Listener Ellie wanted to know: "how do ZIP files work on my computer?" Phil Sansom unzipped the question - with an answer from research data scientist Peter Foster... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

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4:10

Why are electrons never in between orbitals?

Question of the Week ·

2021/04/19

Quantum hats on for this week's 'exciting' question! Listener Mejnun says: "I have learned at school that when an electron excites it jumps to another orbital around the nucleus. If an electron jumps an orbital you would expect that at that moment it can be found between the two orbitals. My teacher told me that this is never the case. I can not wrap my head around it. Does the particle just disappear in one orbital and appear in the other? Is this instant, is the particle in the other orbital the

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4:25

Why do chillies stay on your hands?

Question of the Week ·

2021/04/12

Nancy asked: "Why does chilli stay on your fingers for so long after cooking with them, even after you wash your hands multiple times it can still hurt if you touch your eyes?" So what's the answer to this burning question. Adam Murphy asked chemist Tim Woodman, from the University of Bath... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

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4:30

How did varying chromosome numbers evolve?

Question of the Week ·

2021/03/29

Listener Mattie asked "If humans have too many or too few chromosomes it can cause them to be infertile. So how did different creatures get different numbers of them? For example, humans have 46 chromosomes, but mice have 40." Eva Higginbotham asked genome evolution expert Hugues Roest Crollius... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

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4:41

Do animals get bored eating the same food?

Question of the Week ·

2021/03/22

Listener Douglas asked us: "do animals get bored eating the same thing all the time? Like sheep - do they get bored of one type of grass?" Katie Haylor bored deep into the question, with help from neuroscientist James Danckert... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

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5:20

Why aren't all batteries rechargeable?

Question of the Week ·

2021/03/17

Listener Michael got in touch to ask "Why can't batteries, such as AA or AAA size, be recharged? What's the difference between regular batteries and rechargeables, especially lithium ones? Is this a 'big battery' conspiracy to sell more batteries, or are there valid reasons?" Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

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4:11

How can you make normal TV look 3D?

Question of the Week ·

2021/03/01

Pavel got in touch to ask "Take sunglasses and remove one lens. Watch a normal television film with one eye darkened by a sunglass lens, and the other free. The film will appear in 3D. Can someone explain to me, how does this work?" After dusting off her sunglasses, Eva Higginbotham put the question to 3D vision expert Andrew Glennerster from the University of Reading... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

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4:02

What are the impacts of an aristocrat's diet?

Question of the Week ·

2021/02/22

James got in touch to ask us: "What were the health impacts of the vastly different diets and lifestyles of aristocrats and peasants? Would wealthy Roman patricians be much smarter than plebeians based solely on improved nutrition?" Hungry for answers, Adam Murphy spoke to University of Cambridge archaeologist Sam Leggett, and the University of Bristol's Julie Dunne... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

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3:56

How would a foetus develop in zero gravity?

Question of the Week ·

2021/02/15

Listener David asked: "Would a foetus develop differently in zero gravity conditions?" Adam Murphy found an answer with the help of reproductive biologist Adam Watkins, from the University of Nottingham... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

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4:32

When will we run out of music?

Question of the Week ·

2021/02/08

"Assuming there are a finite number of musical notes - chords, notes, octaves - at what point, how many years, would we use all combinations of musical themes such that no more music could be created?" Creative computing expert Rebecca Fiebrink from UAL totted up the answer to listener David's musical musing for us... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

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3:55

Why do some people shiver when they pee?

Question of the Week ·

2021/02/01

Listener Eleanora asked: "I want to know why my dad shivers when he pees." Phil Sansom managed to find the answer to this 'Question of the Wee'.... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

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3:35

If Earth were heavier, would rockets work?

Question of the Week ·

2021/01/25

"Is it true that if the mass of the Earth were greater, it would render our chemical rockets incapable of reaching orbit?" Listener Steven launched this question at us, and so Martin Khechara went to find the answer... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

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3:20

Can you get DNA from crematorium ashes?

Question of the Week ·

2021/01/18

Paul got in touch to ask: "I was wondering if it was possible to get DNA out of crematorium ashes. Could you get any information about the person such as weight or height, from their ashes?" Katie Haylor put the question to Charmaine Bale, from Anglia Ruskin University... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

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4:04

Is sourdough bread a healthy option?

Question of the Week ·

2020/12/21

Mervyn got in touch to ask "Is sourdough bread a healthy option?" Eva Higginbotham put the question to dietician Rebecca McManamon... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

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3:34

Why are sperm made below body temperature?

Question of the Week ·

2020/12/14

Jordan got in touch to ask ""Why do females produce eggs inside the body, at body temperature, but males have to produce sperm outside the body, at a lower temperature?" Eva Higginbotham put the question to reproduction expert William Colledge at the University of Cambridge... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

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3:57

Compost or landfill: which emits more?

Question of the Week ·

2020/12/09

Listener Robert asks: "does household composting release fewer greenhouse gases compared to a landfill?" Phil Sansom dug him up an answer, with help from environmental engineer Sintana Vergara... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

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3:15

Can loud music hurt my dog's ears?

Question of the Week ·

2020/11/23

Robyn got in touch to ask: "I often wonder when I listen to music in the car when my dog is with me: since they hear higher frequencies than humans, do they also perceive for example loud music louder than us?" To sniff out an answer, Adam Murphy spoke to Nancy Dreschel, a specialist in animal beaviour from Penn State University... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

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4:22

How many people could share my surname?

Question of the Week ·

2020/11/16

Beata asked "If three hundred years ago there was one person with a certain surname, how many people could have their surname today?" Eva Higginbotham got mathematician James Grime to crunch the numbers... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

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150 results

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