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Question of the Week / Re: QotW - 20.01.12 - Why doesn't a woman's body reject sperm as a foreign object?

« on: 20/01/2020 12:28:23 »

Thanks for the discussion all. We answered the question on our most recent show with a sexual health consultant. You can listen here: https://www.thenakedscientists.com/podcasts/question-week/why-dont-womens-bodies-reject-sperm

242

Physiology & Medicine / Does Lipo Firm Pro actually make fat disappear?

« on: 16/01/2020 16:05:12 »

Lara got in touch with this:

I'm wondering about the science behind the Lipo Firm Pro. From what I can see they are suggesting that heat plus pressure, via the Lipo Firm Pro machine, can actually make the fat cells disappear via lymphatic drainage. Is this correct and is it actually dangerous for people to do this? I'm also asking as a Type 1 diabetic, who when enquiring was told this wouldn't be safe...which makes me wonder if it's safe for anyone?

Can anyone help her?

243

That CAN'T be true! / Do hair and fingernails grow quicker on a flight?

« on: 16/01/2020 15:05:27 »

Matty sent in this question via the webform:

Do hair and fingernails grow quicker on a flight?

Is it true? And if so do pilots have especially luscious hair & nails?

244

Question of the Week / QotW - 20.01.12 - Why doesn't a woman's body reject sperm as a foreign object?

« on: 16/01/2020 14:58:51 »

Jure asks:

Why doesn't a woman's body reject sperm as a foreign object?

We're looking into this for the show. Any perspectives? What's going on?

245

Question of the Week / Re: QotW 19.12.16 - Why does my phone coverage vary?

« on: 16/01/2020 14:55:45 »

Thanks Evan, good answer. It's echoed by Ramsey who answered the question for the show last week. Here's the clip:

https://www.thenakedscientists.com/podcasts/question-week/why-does-my-phone-coverage-vary

246

Physiology & Medicine / Why do LED lights above a futsal court give me eye strain?

« on: 10/01/2020 16:56:53 »

Marc has an issue with light for the forum:

Why do I get headaches and eye strain when I referee futsal games with new LED lights? Some say it is brighter than daylight. The light towers are about 16 to 18 meters from my eyes.

Anyone able to help out?

247

Plant Sciences, Zoology & Evolution / How do dogs compare genetically to wolves?

« on: 10/01/2020 14:00:16 »

Donald asks via the webform:

Since dogs evolved from wolves, how do they compare genetically? Do they have the same number of chromosomes? Do they share a high percentage of genes, or do they have exactly the same genes, but different variants of those same genes? How does this difference compare to the difference between humans and neanderthals?

Any insights? In Naked Genetics we covered a little of this. It's my understanding that they have the same number of chromosomes and share most genes.

248

Physics, Astronomy & Cosmology / Did old gas balloons rise faster as they got higher?

« on: 10/01/2020 11:46:47 »

John's got a question that arose after watching a film:

The move "The Aeronauts" (2019) claims balloons of the era rise faster as they get higher. Is this true?

The film is set in the 1860s - so any ideas?

EDIT - Changed "hot air" in the title of this post to "gas" in accordance with John's original question.

249

Physics, Astronomy & Cosmology / At what point is the moon equally attracted to the Earth and the sun?

« on: 08/01/2020 18:16:42 »

Here's a question Donald sent in via the webform:

During a solar eclipse, the moon is between the Earth and sun. The Earth wins this tug o' war with the sun and the moon continues to orbit the Earth. However the moon is slowly drifting farther from the Earth. At what distance and when will the moon be equally attracted to both the sun and earth and what will happen!

Can anyone speculate?

250

Physics, Astronomy & Cosmology / Re: What is the best material to absorb 4000 hertz frequency?

« on: 08/01/2020 12:20:50 »

Some insight from physicist Jess Wade on yesterday's show: https://www.thenakedscientists.com/articles/questions/what-material-best-absorbing-sound

251

Physics, Astronomy & Cosmology / Re: Can Two Bits Of Light Bounce Off each Other ?

« on: 08/01/2020 12:17:48 »

We also looked into this question on yesterday's Q&A: https://www.thenakedscientists.com/articles/questions/can-two-bits-light-bounce-each-other

Physicist Jess Wade said the same thing re rare events where photons turn into electron-positron pairs. No sheep mentioned unfortunately (but at least the point was ram-med home)

252

Geek Speak / Re: How random are national lottery winning numbers?

« on: 08/01/2020 12:09:26 »

Some insight from yesterday's show - we put the question to Tim Revell from New Scientist:

https://www.thenakedscientists.com/articles/questions/are-lottery-numbers-really-random

He points out the discrepancy but seems to think the gap falls within acceptable randomness, and should close as time goes on.

253

Physics, Astronomy & Cosmology / Why do sheets get so tangled in the dryer?

« on: 08/01/2020 11:59:58 »

Here's a question from Naked Scientists listener John:

When I put sheets or duvet covers in my tumble dryer, they inevitably wind themselves up into a big ball! Thus seems to happen however carefully I place them in the dryer. Why is this?

Any insights into sheet/duvet physics? There's probably some overlap with the famous headphones in pockets effect...

254

The Environment / How do you tell if water is clean?

« on: 07/11/2019 15:43:07 »

Cesar got in touch to ask this:
Why is tap water in Flint, Michigan dirty?
Can you help?

255

Question of the Week / Re: QotW - 19.09.30 - What will be the impact of SpaceX's Starlink project?

« on: 16/10/2019 16:37:14 »

For anyone reading this in future - turns out 12,000 is considerably more than are up there already! We answered this question with a couple of experts as part of our "Inclusive Computing" show. You can find it there or on the QotW feed.

256

Question of the Week / Re: QotW - 19.09.23 - Should you cool down cooked chicken before refrigeration?

« on: 11/10/2019 10:20:17 »

Storm Steve and Hayseed - good advice! We put together the full answer for our Gene Therapy show. If you're interested you can listen there or on the Question of the Week podcast feed. (Apologies, the forum won't let me post links.)

257

Question of the Week / Re: QotW - 19.09.15 - Could you solve poaching with toenail clippings?

« on: 11/10/2019 10:16:53 »

Thanks all - I agree with your skepticism. We answered this question on our "Crystal Clear about Glass" show with a couple conservation experts. You can find it there or on the Question of the Week feed as per.

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Question of the Week / Re: QotW - 19.08.18 - Why does water boil over when you add pasta or rice?

« on: 18/09/2019 13:34:25 »

Thanks for this answer Alan. Your contribution was included when we answered the question on our most recent show "Code Making and Breaking" and on the QotW podcast feed.

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Question of the Week / QotW - 19.09.15 - Could you solve poaching with toenail clippings?

« on: 18/09/2019 12:26:41 »

Here's a question we got from listener John:

I want to know, if enough people in the world donated their finger and toenail clippings, would enough keratin be produced to satisfy the demand, and thus stop poaching of wild animals in Africa?

What do you think?

260

Question of the Week / Re: QotW - 19.08.04 - Can wildlife thrive around Chernobyl?

« on: 22/08/2019 12:24:10 »

Thanks for all your responses. We answered this question as part of our most recent show, "Marvellous Materials in Medicine".

Interestingly, BBC correspondent Victoria Gill - who contributed to the piece - is the same person who reported the Chernobyl vodka story!