What is it that gives toenails their cheesy aroma?
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I guess that the gene that codes for men having hairy chests and backs is an evolutionary advantage in response to an environmental pressure. But why don't women have beards and hairy chests in response to the same pressures?
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I occasionally have trouble sleeping, and find that reading a book before bed really helps. I was considering getting an e-book reader, but would the light of the screen stimulate your brain in a way that would prevent you from becoming tired?
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"Whilst enjoying a regular podcast of Naked Scientists in Ontario, Canada, I slather on oil-based face cream to keep my winter-weather-beaten face moisturised. Is there an absorption of calories to my daily count, I wonder?" Our question of the week from Heather in Canada!
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Many of us have some extra energy stored as fat, so why do we ever feel hungry? Why doesn't the body manage it's reserves well enough to take advantage of the resources it has available to it?
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We know of transmissible tumours in the animal world, but is there any way you can catch cancer from other people?
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I am 57 years old. Do I have any original parts? In other words, how much of the baby that was born in 1954 is still part of me? Also, how much of the 18-year-old teenager that I once was is still with me? Do my soft tissues cycle out over time? What about bones, nerves and brain matter?
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If there are no pain receptors in the brain, how can a headache hurt so much?
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Do sunglasses fool your body into not releasing enough melanin to protect you from the Sun's harmful rays? Does this mean wearing sunglasses makes you more likely to become sunburned?
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When I lay down, my feet appear farther away from me compared to when I am standing up. I wear contacts during the day and glasses during the evening. Could this be a product of my corrective eyewear or a manifestation of my brain due to different visual reference points?
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Do umbilical cords get tangled and knotted?
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The pupil of an eye widens when it looks though dark-tinted glass and due to this the eye gets more sunlight than it does without sunglasses. So why do we wear sunglasses?
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Do astronauts need a full 1G to remain in tip top health? Could we gat away with less, and if so, what's the minimum gravity required to keep astronauts healthy?
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I know that during pregnancy a foetus gets oxygen from its mother via the umbilical cord. I was wondering what effect this has on the mother. Does she inhale more, or simply use oxygen more efficiently? What happens to her oxygen saturation level?
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What is it that gives a wet dog that distinctive smell?
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"I recently took this photograph of my foot prints in the sand and it was only after I noted that the "footprints" are not IN the sand they appear to be "raised" on the sand? How could this be?"
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Why do we have 2 kidneys when we can get on perfectly well with just one? And why don't we have 2 hearts when it's so common for the one we have got to go wrong? Could this change in the future as we evolve, or has it already changed?
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Us humans are warm blooded, but how do we generate and maintain the body temperature we need to survive?
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What causes dark circles around our eyes? Is there any truth in the common idea that it's due to lack of sleep?
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How do painkillers target the parts of the body that feel the pain, and why we don't just go numb in random parts of the body?
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