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Question of the Week / QotW - 21.11.28 - Why do ant bites hurt so much?

« on: 24/11/2021 12:04:55 »

We've had this question in from listener Sarah:

"Why do ant bites hurt so much?"

What do you think?

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Plant Sciences, Zoology & Evolution / How similar is human mitochondria to those of other lifeforms?

« on: 17/11/2021 12:34:48 »

Donald recently wrote to us asking this question:

"Since the mitochondria was enclosed by the eukaryotic cell billions of years ago, how much variation is there between mitochondria of different species, families, classes and phylum? And since mitochondria are now replaced in human embryos, what prevents replacing human mitochondria with nonhuman mitochondria?"

What do you think?

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Technology / Do operating system updates require new computers?

« on: 17/11/2021 12:11:37 »

David wrote to us asking:

"With the release of Windows 11 by Microsoft, is Microsoft forcing people to upgrade (hardware) or buy new computers to meet Windows 11 specifications?"

What do you think?

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Geek Speak / Are the Lorentz transform curve and inverse square law curve the same?

« on: 08/11/2021 15:37:07 »

Michael wrote in to ask:

"Is the Lorentz transform curve the same as the inverse square law curve, mathematically speaking."

What do you think?

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Question of the Week / QotW - 21.11.08 - Does space traffic control exist?

« on: 08/11/2021 15:19:53 »

We've this question in from listener Matt:

"With three space missions currently converging on Mars how do the nations avoid orbital collisions? Do they share data, do they have transponders or space traffic control etc?"

What do you think?

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Question of the Week / QotW - 21.10.9 - Would a dead body in space decompose?

« on: 05/10/2021 15:50:16 »

This week, listener Daniel asked us:

"If a crew on a mission to Mars has a death on board and the body was released into space, would that body ever decay?"

What do you think? Let us know below!

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Question of the Week / QotW - 21.10.05 - Why do we sometimes get the same diseases twice?

« on: 05/10/2021 15:48:43 »

This week listener Rick emailed us to ask:

"Why do we acquire lifelong immunity against some pathogens but not others?"

We got infectious disease researcher John Tregoning to give us his answer, which you can listen to here: https://www.thenakedscientists.com/podcasts/question-week/why-do-we-keep-catching-same-diseases

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Question of the Week / QotW - 21.09.13 - Where does the extra energy go when light is stretched?

« on: 06/09/2021 15:29:10 »

Mark wants to know:

Since the Universe is expanding and light stretches across it as it does so becoming more red, what happens to the lost energy when the shorter wavelength, higher energy light towards the blue end of the spectrum is shifted into lower energy red wavelengths?

Do you know the answer?

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Question of the Week / QotW - 21.08.15 - How much of the brain is memory?

« on: 10/08/2021 12:08:22 »

This week, we'll try to remember to answer this question from listener David:

"How much of the brain is memory?"

What do you think?

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Question of the Week / QotW - 21.08.08 - Why do ladybirds have different numbers of spots?

« on: 02/08/2021 16:41:12 »

We got this question from listener Ruomei:

"Why do ladybugs [ladybirds] have different numbers of spots on their backs?"

What do you think?

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Question of the Week / QotW - 21.08.01 - Is lava wet?

« on: 20/07/2021 13:29:03 »

This week's question of the week comes from listener Henk:

"Is lava wet?"

We'd lava to hear what you think.

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The Environment / Has the wind been blowing from the North more, and if so, is it climate change?

« on: 15/07/2021 15:06:15 »

Trevor wrote to us to ask:

"Can you explain why we have had so many days of Northerly, North westerly or North Easterly winds this year?

It’s Midsummer's day and here on the Cambridgeshire Fens it’s yet another day with a Northerly wind blowing across from the North Sea right into our garden! When we moved here 22 years ago the prevailing wind was as we’d expect it to be from the South West and the trees we planted bear witness to that with their leaning as a result of those prevailing winds.  However, over the past few years, and this year in particular, it almost appears as though our prevailing wind has been from the North East.

Do you know why this is happening? Is it due to climate change and it’s effects on the Gulf Stream, or just a short term weather blip, or is it just because I’m getting older and notice the cold North Winds more..?"

Can you help?

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Question of the Week / QotW - 21.07.13 - Why don't dogs get hairballs?

« on: 13/07/2021 15:17:52 »

This week's question comes from listener Beth:

"My dog is always licking her fur but never gets a hairball. Why don't dogs get hairballs?"

Do you know the answer?

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Question of the Week / QotW - 21.07.06 - Why is it cold up mountains?

« on: 06/07/2021 09:47:04 »

Wayne sent us this question:

"We've always learned that heat rises. Why is it usually colder in the mountains? Shouldn't their higher elevation make them warmer?"

What do you think?

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Geology, Palaeontology & Archaeology / Does the Jewish ethnic group predate the pharoahs?

« on: 28/06/2021 16:55:19 »

Chris asked us:

"A while ago you did a fascinating programme on Moses, the person. It prompted me to wonder, what is the age of the group we call Jewish?
At the time of the pharoahs, there was a cohesive social group that Moses called upon, the assumption being they predated the pharoahs. If so, by how much? Language? Origin?"

Do you know the answer?

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The Environment / Could we trap CO2 from car exhausts and use it as a building material?

« on: 28/06/2021 16:47:25 »

Paul wants to know:

"Could a vehicle engine be invented which uses CO₂ as a fuel with an output of Calcium Carbonate or something similar which could be defecated periodically at a petrol station and which could then be used as a building material, mixed with something else for strength? This is just a thought that occurred to me this morning. I haven't researched it and my chemistry classes were over 50 years ago so forgive me if the suggestion is absolutely stupid."

What do you think?

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Physics, Astronomy & Cosmology / Could the Big Bang happen more than once?

« on: 24/06/2021 15:06:02 »

Dave asked us:

"It is almost universally accepted that the Universe was the result of THE Big bang. Note the capitalization. Is it possible that the Big Bang is not the only such event that has occurred since the initial one i.e. is it possible there has been more than one, in two or more places separated in time and place? Not dimensionally, as this would clearly complicate matters.
What would the theoretical effects be if whilst one universe existed a second universe was created alongside by another such event. Obviously if the Big Bang could occur spontaneously once, what precludes an event of a similar nature occurring again and why could this event not occur or occur again at numerous times and places."

Any ideas?

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Chemistry / Can you turn petrol into a powder?

« on: 24/06/2021 14:58:46 »

Drago had this question about petrol/gasoline:

"How do I turn gasoline in to powder? Do I use flour and mix it tell it is hard and then lay it on a bakers tray and bake it, or allow it to dry out and hand crush to powder, or am I wrong?"

Any suggestions?

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Geology, Palaeontology & Archaeology / How did Newton work out the difference between the polar and equatorial radius?

« on: 24/06/2021 14:55:36 »

David asked us:

"I have been trying to work out the difference between the Earth's polar radius and its equatorial radius, just based on a very simple model (hydrostatic equilibrium with gravity and centrifugal effects only). Apparently Newton was able to do this in the Principia, and got close to the actual value for the Earth. Problem is when I do it I always get about half the correct difference (about 10km as opposed to about 21km for the actual value). So my question is, are there factors determining the shape of the Earth (geological forces, etc.) that would make that much difference, or am I just doing something else wrong in my calculations? Or to put it another way: if I do this based on a simple hydrostatic model should I be getting something better than half the true value?"

Can anyone help?

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Technology / Why don't all countries use the same currency?

« on: 24/06/2021 14:46:30 »

Nicholas asked us:

"Why can’t the whole world use the same currency? Why should the currency of some countries be more valuable than others?"

Do you know?