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Messages - thedoc
1
« on: 22/05/2013 16:30:01 »
bhavesh bulsara asked the Naked Scientists:
I got a friend, who had a piles op 30years ago, it ameliorated it then & only had a relapse 5yrs ago, it came&went then, but has resurfaced again, other than seeing his Dr, what advice have u got & know of any out of the box tips? Increasing fibre intake help much?
Thx venerable1 :)
What do you think?
2
« on: 21/05/2013 21:30:01 »
John Gamel asked the Naked Scientists:
During the seven decades of my life, I've discovered a number of salient points about excrement:
1. The droppings of carnivores are denser, more gooey, and more foul-smelling than those of vegetarians.
2. But, on the other hand, there is wide variation among the latter group. For example, rabbit droppings resemble tiny uniform pills, while (at the opposite end of the spectrum) cows deposit huge semiliquid puddles. During my childhood in Lower Alabama, we termed these "cow flops" (based on the sound they make when they hit the ground) or "cow pies" (based on their appearance when dry).
3. Horses fall somewhere in the middle by dropping apple-shaped and –sized fibrous turds.
4. Chickens, in a category of their own, drop small lumps that resemble wads of chewing gum.
My question is: since they all eat only vegetable matter, why so much variation?
What do you think?
3
« on: 21/05/2013 14:30:02 »
Ali Rhayem asked the Naked Scientists:
We see objects in the universe because their light reaches us, so every time we look at the night sky, we see a snapshot of how objects looked like at various times in the past depending on when their light was emitted. The further and deeper we look the older the object is.
But is it at all possible to see the same object at two different stages of its evolution, i.e. at two different points in time, in a single snapshot?
If we think of this in discrete terms, as if the object (any form of matter or else) emits light at point A, moves away faster than light then emits light again at point B. Provided that the object emits the light at both A and B within the cosmological event horizon where light can still eventually reach us, the light from point A reaches us first then the light from point B, thus we see two images of the same object in a single snapshot.
What do you think?
4
« on: 21/05/2013 10:43:11 »
The more you explore your environment, the higher the rate of new brain cell birth in your hippocampus. Well, for mice, anyway. Read the whole story on our website by clicking here
5
« on: 21/05/2013 10:04:09 »
We answered this question on the show...
Professor Ian Cross, Director of the Centre for Science and Music tackled this question!
Transcript to follow!
7
« on: 20/05/2013 17:07:38 »
Infected by earworms, does Mozart make you smarter, plus are creativity and delusions linked? Listen to this Showor If you want to discuss this show, or ask a question, this is the place to do it.
8
« on: 20/05/2013 14:30:01 »
Anton Lukas asked the Naked Scientists:
13.8 billion years ago the big bang created the universe. There was no space, matter. Time started then.
I do have a lot of questions. Can you answer some of them?
When was matter created?
Is the amount of matter still increasing?
Is the amount of dark energy increasing?
How can something be created from nothing?
What do you think?
9
« on: 20/05/2013 11:26:28 »
10
« on: 20/05/2013 12:06:17 »
14
« on: 21/05/2013 04:30:02 »
Ryan Barthel asked the Naked Scientists:
I am writing a report on proton exchange membrane fuel cells for school, and the aspect which is confusing me is how hydrogen gas is split into protons and electrons at the anode of the system.
I know it has something to do with the platinum catalyst but I cannot find anywhere why platinum is good for this. Many thanks for the response!
What do you think?
15
« on: 21/05/2013 20:30:01 »
Ray Gorman asked the Naked Scientists:
I am familiar with the idea of an expanding universe… That not just the distance between galaxies in increasing, but the ACTUAL space between galaxies (or everything for that matter) is expanding. Does this not alter the speed of light at various ages of the universe, especially if the speed of light is a constant? So, if you're looking at the universe from the "outside"- at 6.5 billion years ago, is the relative distance light travelled in a second LESS than it travels today since the SPACE itself has expanded?
Thanks, really enjoy the show over here in the colonies!
What do you think?
16
« on: 20/05/2013 17:30:02 »
Marilyn Bawden asked the Naked Scientists:
Blood tests show that my daughter Sharon age 41years is suffering from "re-active glandular fever".
We don't know when she suffered the initial bout. We do remember that when she was in her late teens she was very fatigued for many weeks. Subsequently she suffered a similar episode whilst living in the UK and then a few years ago back here in South Africa .
In March this year the symptoms of severe fatigued reoccurred. Blood tests reveal that she has re active Glandular Fever. Her Doctor ordered that she should have 4 vitamin B injections over a period of 4 weeks. She was also given a tonic to take.
Over the past 4 weeks she has experienced high temperatures, headaches, sore throat, very painful glands particularly in her groin. She is of the opinion that the vitamin B injections have added to the severity of her symptoms and has decided not to have the 4th injection.
Her Doctor has said that as Glandular Fever is a virus, she needs to rest and wait for the symptoms to subside. Is there any form of treatment that can be given to help her back to full health and strength?
She is single, lives a lone and has a very demanding job. Tuesday was the first day sick leave day she has taken in over 15years.
What do you think?
17
« on: 22/05/2013 19:30:01 »
Scarlett asked the Naked Scientists:
I just have a quick question I'm not sure to even ask so I'm hoping you can help me a bit.
Is there a substance that can absorb sweat from one location and release it in another location? That may have a gel or a rubber-ish texture?
What do you think?
18
« on: 19/05/2013 16:30:02 »
Maggie Siner asked the Naked Scientists: On your recent episode (May 2, 2013 Art and Antiquities) a painting conservationist discussing oil painting stated that they need to be constructed on principle of 'Fat Over Lean', which is correct, but her reason stated was not completely correct. She said it was so the underneath layers could dry first. That is sort of true but really the "Fat Over Lean" rule has to do with the binding of layers and the movement of paint during the drying (i.e. oxidation/polymerization) process. Bonding of layers: The leaner paint film forms a rougher surface, (the proportion of pigment granules is greater than the amount of oil binder) so the subsequent layer of paint can grab and stick to it very well. A fatter (more oily) paint film forms a smoother surface (fewer pigment granules in proportionately more oil) so the next layer does not have as much rough surface to bond to. Movement of paint during drying: A lean paint, has a low oil content. Fat paint has a high oil content. Oily layers tend to be thicker and of course they dry more slowly. Paint 'dries' from the top down; the outside skin polymerizing first, and then gradually hardening down into the depths of the paint layer. That means there will be a more liquid paint underneath, especially in an oily paint. Liquid expands, contracts and moves. A lean paint film dries all the way down more quickly and does not remain liquid as long. If a layer of drier leaner paint were on top of oilier paint, then that dry layer would crack due to the disturbance of the more flexible layer underneath. In addition the leaner paint would not bond as well to the smoother oily paint underneath. In addition, every pigment requires a different proportion of oil to make it into a functional paint (has a different oil absorption index) and this means a painter must know which colors are fat and which are lean if they are to maintain a secure construction of paint layers that bind well to each other. I love your program and learn so much from it. What do you think?
19
« on: 19/05/2013 05:30:01 »
Ari Huttunen asked the Naked Scientists:
I'd like to ask a question regarding a too intensive workout and a sometimes occurring sudden nausea during or afterwards. What makes this happen and what happens in the body?
This thing happened to me when I began working out seriously about three years ago at the university. It never happened in the gym, but in intensive group exercise sessions, like cirquit training and boxercise.
Back then I think it was about learning not to eat too much an hour or more before the exercise. However recently I felt nauseous and weak and I think this was just because of too much exercise, not eating wrong.
The experience is quite strange, I feel dizzy, everything in my stomach attempts to get upwards and stuff in my gut starts to makes it's way down quickly - pardon the graphic description.
Basically you need to think quickly where's the nearest loo, just in case.
So I'm interested what makes this happen, what kind of stress this is to the body and what the body gets from reacting this strongly?
Best regards
Ari Huttunen
Helsinki University
What do you think?
20
« on: 19/05/2013 06:30:01 »
Nicky Oelofse asked the Naked Scientists:
On Friday you had a question about Geckos and the shedding of their tails.
I'm sure that you know this, the tail shedding and the fact that it wiggles for quite a while
after being shed, acts as a distraction to the Gecko's predator ie the fast wiggling, and the
Gecko may then escape to live another day (and grow a new tail).
That question with the egg boiler *: Why do more eggs need less water ? Surely the answer would be, there is less space between 8 eggs than there would be with 2 eggs, hence not as much heat source (steam) is needed to "fill the gaps between the eggs ?
Yours is a great show !
Best Regards
Nicholas "Nicky" Oelofse.
NB: * A hot plate under the eggs heats the water, and hence the eggs are actually cooked with the resulting steam ie the space between the eggs is filled with steam (not water). There is of course
a plastic lid covering the eggs in order to prevent the steam escaping. QED ? So one needs less water to cook more eggs, with one egg there is more space to heat in the container.
What do you think?
21
« on: 18/05/2013 23:30:01 »
Marc Beauboeuf asked the Naked Scientists:
The Planck space telescope reveals tiny temperature fluctuations in the cosmic microwave background from over 13 billion years ago...
Can we detect the heat signatures of comets asteroids and whatever other solar system leftovers that make up the oort cloud, kuiper belt, and asteroid belt?
Surely they are warmer than the background? It is difficult for a layman to understand why astronomers / cosmologists / physicists can speak of the ancient universe so specifically yet 'guess' at the location and content of 'nearby' phenomena like the oort cloud and kuiper belt...
What do you think?
22
« on: 19/05/2013 15:30:01 »
Vincent van der Vlis asked the Naked Scientists: Just heard the question about random numbers on Redi Tlhabi's talk show on 702/Cape Talk via Podcast. I have been a software engineer for the last 30 years and we use random numbers quite a bit for generating test data. When testing software it is a good idea to use sufficiently random inputs so that you can cover the most computational paths in the software algorithm. Computer software alone can only generate pseudorandom numbers. They are pseudo because given the same set of inputs on two different computers, the exact "random" sequence can be generated. As time is usually one of these inputs (i.e. seed or starting point), these sequesces appear to be random. Use is somtimes made of an external hardware device to generate these random numbers, they measue some physical property (such as the noise in a transistor) to generate a "true" random number. However, this has proved to be difficult and many of these devices fail the statistical test for randomness. Nature it appears is not that random after all! There is a great write up on this topic on Wikipedia, have a look at this page: http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Random_number_generation. What do you think?
23
« on: 18/05/2013 21:30:02 »
Alan Alderson asked the Naked Scientists: Thanks for a great podcast, living on a boat and sailing around europe it is a great to be able to listen to the show. I recently sailed into Gibraltar and discovered that there is a constant flow of water from the Atlantic into the Mediterranean. I belive this is to replace the water lost by evaporation in the Med. If so doea this mean that the Med is getting saltier and saltier. And if so when will it become to saline to support marine life. What do you think?
24
« on: 20/05/2013 01:30:01 »
Brian asked the Naked Scientists:
There seems to be increasing evidence from various researchers that homosexuality is determined in the womb rather being a personal choice.
Could you tell your followers what evidence there actually is and how convincing it is.
What do you think?
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