science questions

This week, the causes of asthma, a new way to "K.O." MRSA, what is lupus and can it be controlled, how do metal-salt pool cleaners work and are henna tattoos safe?

This week, the causes of asthma, a new way to "K.O." MRSA, what is lupus and can it be controlled, how do metal-salt pool cleaners work and are henna tattoos safe? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Does a metal implant turn a person into a living lightning-conductor or radio receiver, is eye-size important, why is frost bad for freezers, where did the first organic molecules come from, what happens to sparkling drinks in space and why does a bump on the head make you see stars? This week, join Chris, Sarah and Dave as they pit their wits against the latest crop of your top questions. Plus, why making new computer chips looks set to become easy PC, how stem cells can get to the heart of Long QT Syndrome, feeding the world in 2050 and a new musical device to keep the drummer in the driving... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

How did a lightning storm spark a glowing ball above a roof, do atmospheric oxygen levels dip in winter, does anyone naturally not have fingerprints, are humans still evolving, and what's the story behind Lorenzo's Oil? Join Dr Chris for an intellectual work out with this week's round up of brain-stretching science...

How did a lightning storm spark a glowing ball above a roof, do atmospheric oxygen levels dip in winter, does anyone naturally not have fingerprints, are humans still evolving, and what's the story behind Lorenzo's Oil? Join Dr Chris for an intellectual work out with this week's round up of brain-stretching science... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

What can hydrogen reveal about the structure of the early Universe and what causes Alzheimer's Disease; is the moon upside down when seen from south of the equator, what causes Autism and can it be treated and why do I only need 4 hours sleep? Join Dr Chris in this discusion on this week's Ask the Naked Scientists...

What can hydrogen reveal about the structure of the early Universe and what causes Alzheimer's Disease; is the moon upside down when seen from south of the equator, what causes Autism and can it be treated and why do I only need 4 hours sleep? Join Dr Chris in this discusion on this week's Ask the Naked Scientists... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

What happens insides the shell of a chrysalis? Does the caterpillar turn into a protein-y mush or does it simply grow wings? Plus, we ask what happens once the universe has finished expanding. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

In this buzzing Question of the Week we find out how many bees are required to cook a human bee-ing. How much honey would they need to feast on in order to achieve this feat? Plus, we ask if a caterpillar turns to mush during pupation. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

It's National Pathology Week 2010 and to celebrate the launch we're joined by pathologist Dr Suzy Lishman to take on your science questions! We'll find out where phlegm comes from, how petroleum jelly helps healing and the weight of red blood cells synthesised in a human lifetime. Also, can you concentrate lasers with lenses, why does an open carport stop frost, and if carnivorous plants photosynthesise, why do they need to eat insects? Plus, how researchers in Scotland are sniffing out pollution with such sensitivity, they can detect forest fires all the way from Canada! In Kitchen Science,... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

The quest is on to find out how something can appear to roll up a hill, rather than down. Plus, we ask if the moon appears the same to viewers on either side of the planet. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Why do you see flashes and patterns when you press your eyeballs? Would an antimatter magnet attract normal matter magnets? What is the hardest human bone to break? We take on your science questions this week, as well as explore the bed of Lake Windermere the gravity hills of Barbados and the first discovered habitable exoplanet. Plus, a flapless aircraft takes flight, how the brain decides which hands to use and why Raman spectroscopy offers a rum deal for anti-drug squads. In Kitchen Science, we find out why spit can form strings of beads... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

How do we know that ants count their footsteps? We'll find out in this Naked Scientists Question and Answer show, as well as ask if rubber soles really protect you from electric shocks, if hair will clean itself when you don't, and why a layer of shaving foam stops the mirror from steaming up. Also, the spores that fly on smoke rings, new ways to capture carbon, pain free vaccine patches and the vaginal gel that could block HIV transmission. Plus, Meera investigates vintage computers and in Kitchen Science, Dave discovers how popping candy gets it's pop! Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

We ask why the New World wasn't technologically as advanced as the Old World. Is this a valid question? Plus, we ask what the benefits of kissing might be. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

When brushing one's dental equipment with an electric toothbrush one may notice a slight wobbling of the television images. Why does this happen? Plus, we ask why the Americas hadn't developed the same kinds of technologies as the Old World at the time of European contact. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

In our quest for answers we discover how memories might be encoded in genes, though probably not the sort of memories you were expecting. Plus, we ask what would happen if you shine a light whilst travelling at light speed. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

In this Naked Scientists Question and Answer show, we find out if bacteria will grow on a bar of soap, why bird poo is white and whether or not a moon can have its own moon. Also, do sweeteners alter your metabolism and can we re-stock the oceans with farmed fish? Plus, we explore the oily threat to Bluefin Tuna, a newly discovered way that blood vessels in the brain clear a blockage, how channels on Mars reveal secrets about the Martian climate, and why shape is essential for H. plyori - a gut bug associated with ulcers and cancer. In Kitchen Science, Ben and Dave recreate a classic... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Crocodiles have been the same for millennia upon millennia. What's going on? Why are they so uneventful in terms of evolution? Plus, we ask why we have different blood types. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Is there a cure for spots? Why do we cry? Does alcohol really kill brain cells? It's a Question and Answer Extravaganza on this week's Naked Scientists! We find out what makes a Chameleon change colour, why birds fly into windows and how a hair can change colour along it's length. Also, witnessing the birth of stars, the Neanderthal genome and how washing your hands can change the way you think. Plus, Meera dabbles with green gadgets and smell-free toilets in the home of the future, and Dave shows you how to build a hovercraft in Kitchen Science. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Do radio signals change as we move to and from the transmitter? Do our movements affect how a radio boradcast sounds? We find the answer in this question of the week. Plus, we ask why crocodiles haven't changed all that much in the last few million years. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists