Ask The Naked Scientists SA

Will whales get the bends?

The building blocks of life, what is a virus? Why don't whales get the bends? How does a 3D printer work? How do 93 and 95 octane fuels differ? Why is ricin deadly by castor oil is safe? Would HIV respond to an induced coma? Why do you cry when…

2 May 2014 22 min

Naked at 702

The Naked Scientists appear in the flesh at Primedia Place, home of 702, to answer questions from the live audience…

25 Apr 2014 51 min

Is petrol better value when it's cold?

How can cochlear implants deliver gene therapy? Are you better off circumcised? What is the biggest discovery of the last 20 years? Can planets exist without a parent star to orbit? Does lighting a match mask a bad smell? Are there devices to help achieve perfect pitch? And do i…

25 Apr 2014 21 min

The first in-vitro vagina?

How have doctors grown new vaginas in vitro? Are fires feasible in space? Why does the moon always show to same face to us? Why don't we see disabled animals? Why would a watch spontaneously restart after being stopped for 10 years? How do they make the flavour stick to…

11 Apr 2014 22 min

How Sunny is it on Saturn?

What's inside Enceladus? How do we make water safe for drinking? How Sunny is it on Saturn's moons? What causes motion sickness? Could we collect sunlight in space and beam the power down to Earth? Can lunar gravity cause earthquakes? How did primordial gravity waves arise? Are buried bodies still…

4 Apr 2014 23 min

Where does Earth get its oxygen?

How did scientists make a synthetic chromosome? How does heat radiate? What wakes us up in the morning? Where does oxygen come from? Are black boxes bouyant? Where did the Big Bang come from? Are airbags wired to seatbelts? Do couples end up looking like each other? And why does…

2 Apr 2014 20 min

What are gravity waves?

Is gravity waves from the Big Bang a big deal? Is evolution still occurring? Why does water boil at lower temperature at altitude? Can the brain be hitched up to control a computer? Are power lines bad for your health? Will sleeping with the light on harm health? How accurate…

21 Mar 2014 18 min

Why do Guinness bubbles go downwards?

How do the processing power of a brain compare with a computer? How can we shield astronauts en-route to Mars? Do ants prefer protein? What causes left handedness? Why do bubbles go downwards in a glass of Guinness? And do older makes of television emit X-rays?

17 Mar 2014 21 min

Does wet coal produce less power?

Can weather be manipulated? Will wet coal produce less electricity in a power station? Why does curry make my nose run? Is aluminium linked to Alzheimer's? Is it better to drink warm water? Who lives near the Chernobyl site? This week Dr Chris answers more questions from 702ers, and, in…

9 Mar 2014 20 min

Can a phone affect my fertility?

Can a mobile phone between the legs affect fertility? Why does wet cornflour stiffen when squeezed? Does light at night affect reproductive success of local animals? Can animals smell fear? And what actually is IQ? Plus, Dr Chris explores how animals are evolving in response to the influence of humans…

1 Mar 2014 21 min

Where does dust come from?

How does acid produce stem cells? Why do carpets creep across the floor? Where does dust come from? Why can't flying insects escape from the surfaces of swimming pools? Do women multitask better than men? What is andogenic alopecia? Do we sneeze when we are asleep? What's special about graphene?…

23 Feb 2014 20 min

What causes a blood red moon?

The cause of a blood red moon, is there an upper limits for temperature, where does the Sun's hydrogen come from, what does a blind person see in their mind's eye, and are e-cigarettes safer? Join Dr Chris Smith as he tackles the top questions sent in to Talk Radio…

23 Feb 2014 21 min

What accelerates light?

How does light accelerate in a less-dense medium? How do climbing plants twist around a stake? Did people share technology 5000 years ago? Why would stainless steel rust? And why does mango chutney make my underarms smell after I've eaten it?

3 Feb 2014 24 min

Would a swimmer hit by lightning be fried?

What's the difference between GM technology and cloning? If lightning hits a swimming pool, would a swimmer be fried? What happens when we get used to smells? Why does beetroot make urine red? Why do I stick out my tongue to concentrate? Where does the water in comets come from?…

31 Jan 2014 21 min

How do you size-up a CME?

How is the scale of coronal mass ejection (CME) measured? How does evolution work? Why is sole and palm skin a lighter colour? Why causes magnetic field flips? What are blood groups and do animals have their own blood groups? Join Dr Chris for this week's crop of questions from…

12 Jan 2014 15 min

Ask the Naked Scientists is BACK!

How trees tell the time, the germ potential of hot air driers in toilets, where fruit flies come from, does menstruation synchronise, why do mad people tend to run along roads, why is smoking addictive and why should a 7-year old have underarm odour? Join Dr Chris for the first…

6 Jan 2014 27 min

Do plants have sex?

Plant and tree gender, omega-3 fatty acids and cancer and the science of sous vide cooking…

5 Jan 2014 15 min

Where Does the Solar System End?

Launched in 1977 to study the Solar system's gas giant planets, Voyager 1 is still operating. But no…

11 Nov 2013 2 min

Why scratch your head if you don't know the answer? What about the Earth made the dinosaurs so big? Why does the Universe spin? Is the Sun seem brighter in the morning than the evening? Are autistic people particularly at home with computers? Why do effervescent tablets fizz only in…

11 Nov 2013 2 min

Why pulling nose hairs makes you cry?

Why tugging on nasal hairs causes crying? What triggers static shocks? Why are computers based aroun…

13 Oct 2013 20 min