Question of the Week

Listener Android got in touch to ask how octopuses camouflage themselves if they are colour blind. Graihagh Jackson went under the sea to see if the seaweed is always greener on the other side with Cambridge University's Felicity Bedford…

26 Jun 2016 4 min

Mark got in touch to find out how noise cancelling headphones work. Can they damage your ears by playing back loud background noise? Fanny Yeun spoke to Trevor Cox to cut the rumble…

5 Jun 2016 4 min

Listener Solomon emailed us to find out exactly what role cooking plays in digestion. Emma Sackville met up with Dr. Giles Yeo to break down the question.

22 May 2016 3 min

This week, Jeff wrote in to ask whether we would be able to recognise and understand an encrypted message from space. Emma Sackville enlisted Dr. Duncan Forgan from the University of St. Andrews to help decode this question…

8 May 2016 3 min

Listener Paul got in touch to ask if it's true that there's almost no restriction in the speed an elevator could ascend when it comes to the human body, but that there was a limiting speed for the descent. Graihagh Jackson was perplexed and intrigued by the question and so…

24 Apr 2016 4 min

Connie Orbach get's to grip with Lebonhang's question and ask Dr Clemancy Booth to help…

10 Apr 2016 4 min

This week, Jonathan asked us if it's possible for two planets to share the same orbit. Naked Scientist Graihagh Jackson put this to Dr Stuart Higgins from Cambridge University…

4 Apr 2016 4 min

This week, Jonathan asked us if it's possible for two planets to share the same orbit. Naked Scientist Graihagh Jackson put this to Dr Stuart Higgins from Cambridge University…

4 Apr 2016 4 min

People can certainly smell whiffy and sometimes this is attractive, other times not so much but is this a feature of pheromones? Lots of species of mammals have them, so what makes us humans any different? This week , Felicity Bedford sniffed out the answer with Tristan Wyatt from the…

6 Mar 2016 3 min

Felicity Bedford enlisted the help of Glasgow University's Heather Ferguson for this biting question…

29 Feb 2016 3 min

The number of stars in space is huge, so why is it so chilly? Felicity Bedford spoke to Ryan MacDonald from the Cambridge University Institute of Astronomy to find out more…

7 Feb 2016 2 min

Why is it that our voice sounds so different to us than when we hear it back on a recording? Connie Orbach persuaded Dr Nick Gibbons, voice surgery specialist from Lewisham Hospital to take her through Che's question…

31 Jan 2016 4 min

Unless you are an identical twin it's unlikely you've found anyone else who looks just like you. But, why do we all look so different? Felicity Bedford spoke to population geneticist Sir Walter Bodmer from Oxford University who is characterising thousands of faces as part of the People of the…

24 Jan 2016 3 min

We've all had days when we're tired and wish we didn't have dark circles under our eyes. But why do we get these puffy eyes and do they serve a purpose? Felicity Bedford spoke to Dr Sean Lanigan, President of the British Cosmetic Dermatology Group to find out more…

17 Jan 2016 3 min

Listener Sterling wanted to know what causes sleepwalking and how to prevent it.

13 Dec 2015 3 min

Reduced sea ice is threatening polar bears in the Arctic. Listener Kevin wanted to know if they would thrive at the south pole instead?

6 Dec 2015 3 min

Jess wanted to know what would happen if she plucked a guitar in space. Would her music be out of this world? Felicity Bedford spoke to Professor Jim Woodhouse from the University of Cambridge to find out.

29 Nov 2015 3 min

Winter is coming and with it comes a runny nose but how can we stop a snotty hooter? Listener Amanda was keen to nose the answer, so Felicity Bedford spoke to GP Adam Forman to find out…

23 Nov 2015 3 min

It would appear that people on go bald on their heards, but why? And why not elsewhere? Rosalind Davis has been pulling her hair our over this one with Professor Robert Foley from the University of Cambridge…

15 Nov 2015 3 min

Eleanor wanted to know why people enjoy looking at views. Do we learn this socially or is it innate? Rosalind Davies spoke to Michael Forster from the University of Vienna to find out.

31 Oct 2015 3 min