Question of the Week, from the Naked Scientists

This week we hone our noses and sniff out the answer to this stinker of a question...."Why do toenails, and even feet in general, smell cheesy? Plus we ask can we make a magnet so strong that is squashes, rather thanks sticks to, our white goods? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

We find out why, if the gene that codes for men having hairy chests and backs provides an evolutionary advantage in response to an environmental pressure, don't women have beards and hairy chests too? Plus we ask why feet smell cheesy....... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

We find out if monitors, screens and e.books are more than your standard page turner leaving you tossing and turning and up all night. Plus we ask, why have women lost their hairy beard and chests..... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week we find out if a liberal slathering of oil based moisturiser makes up part of our daily calorie quota. Plus we ask, are monitor screens and e.books more than your standard page turner, leaving you tossing and turning and up all night?.... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week we find out why our bodies can't get their priorities right. We find out why we seek out food when we already have enough energy stored around our waists in the form of love handles and pot bellies. Plus we ask - will our skin soak up the calories in sun cream? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week we find out about the inequality of the temperature scale as a listener asks: "If we can have a lower limit on temperature - absolute zero - so cold that nothing happens, why do we not have an upper limit - a temperature that is so hot that atoms and particles are so hot that they are ripped into the most elementary units and become so excited that they cannot react with anything around them?" Plus we wonder why we don't always get our priorities right........ Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Could you get cancer from someone else? Tasmanian devils can catch cancer transmitted through biting. Are there instances of cancers being transmitted this way in humans? Can you catch cancer through a blood transfusion? Plus we ask, why is there not an upper absolute in the temperature scale...... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

If there were a large object, say a meteorite falling straight down where you are standing, what kind of warning would you notice? Would there be an accompanying sound? Or would you not know until it's too late? Plus we ask, can you catch cancer?..... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

We know that nothing persists for ever so surely plastics in the sea have to break down at some point. How long does it take? And where does the plastic end up? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

As the joke goes.....if you cross a kangaroo with a sheep you get a wooly jumper. Is it now possible with modern techniques to cross different animals to make one completely new species? Plus we ask will the plastics in the oceans ever degrade? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Which film dominates with their most realistic use of lasers? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

We find out if fermentation yeast survive in Space, we ponder if it is possible to brew up a beer at zero gravity, plus we ask which is the most realistic fictional laser weapon?..... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

A 57 year old male wonders - do I have any original parts? How much of the baby that was born in 1954 is still part of me? Plus we ask can you brew beer in space..... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

We're told to save electricity by switching off devices on standby. But if a home is heated solely by electricity, would there still be any savings by turning off all those devices? And a 57 male asks if any of his original parts remain..... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week I'll be getting inside your head.....with a question from Jarraryd Dunn. Plus we'll be asking is there any point in switching off your lights, TVs, and phone chargers during the winter?... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

With New Year's Resolutions in full swing here's a sweet thermal caramel quandary for us to sink our teeth into..... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Can wearing sunglasses fool your senses into thinking there is less sun and increase your risk of getting sunburn? We take on this quandry and also wonder why cooking caramel causes temperature to increases in stages.... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Why would your feet seem further away when lying down? We put our visual depth perception to the test to find out how being horizontal could change the way you see the world. Plus, we ask if wearing sunglasses increases your risk of getting sunburned? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Fish reproduce by squirting out eggs and fertilising them, so where's the joy in that? Is there any form of pleasure that fish can experience through reproducing? We explore this fishy conundrum in Question of the Week. Plus, we ask why one's feet can sometimes look farther away than they ought to..... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Why is it that the sound of nails being dragged down a blackboard makes every muscle tense and every nerve jangle? We tackle this teeth-grittingly uncomfortable problem in QotW. Plus, we ask whether fish experience extra benefits in laying eggs. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

For those who are long or short-sighted, have you ever experienced an inability to focus on objects in the mirror - even though you should be close enough to the mirror to see them clearly? Find out why in this QotW. Plus, we ask what's happening when spine-tingling sounds give you the shivers. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

When two abnormalities in space time collide, what sort of mess are they likely to produce? Will we see it? Find out in this supermassive QotW! Plus, we ask why some objects stay blurry in the mirror. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Given that a foetus is essentially a swimming thing on the end of a piece of string, how is it that the two don't become tangled more often? Find out in this jelly-like QotW. Plus, we ask what would happen if two black holes met. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

The pupil of the eye dilates in low-light conditions. Does this mean that the same amount is let into the eye when we wear sunglasses? Plus, we ask if babies can tie themselves in knots. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Many people across the world are able to grow moustaches and beards, but are these the same as whiskers? Find out in this hirsute QotW. Plus, we ask if eyes overcompensate when wearing sunglasses. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Astronauts have to put up with living in zero gravity, so how might they go about avoiding its ill effects? Find out in this body-bending QotW. Plus, we ask if humans have whiskers. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Black holes emit Hawking radiation and gradually reduce in size, so is there a critical mass at which a black hole can no longer support itself? Find out in this QotW. Plus, we ask how much gravity can keep a human healthy. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Human excrement burns quite well, so why not use it to power a house? But how could this be done? Find out in this fragrant QotW. Plus, we ask why black holes don't explode. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Does being pregnant mean you have to breathe for two? Find the answer in this Question of the Week. Plus, we ask if poo power really is possible. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Certain foods seem to complement each other while others grate; why is this? Is it a matter of personal taste, or is there some science behind it? Plus, we ask if pregnancy makes breathing harder work. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

If babies are born by caesarian and modern medicine allows many more people to survive to adulthood, will the human gene pool be affected? We explore this huuuge question in a very concise Question of the Week. Plus, we ask why it is that wine and cheese complement each other so well. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Calculators are rather speedy at subtracting, sums and deriving standard deviations. But how do they do it? We find out in this QotW. Plus, we ask if modern medicine is affecting the human gene pool. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

If you've ever returned from taking the dog for a walk through rain, you'll probably be very aware of the terrible way it smells! But what is it that makes wet dogs smell so awful? We tackle this whiffy question. Plus, we ask how the blazes calculators work! Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Given that photons are massless, how do solar sails get pushed along by light? We explore the reasoning in this Question of the Week! Plus, we ask why wet dogs always seem to smell so appalling. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Do bubbles act like insulation on the surface of your bath? Will it prevent the need for that toe-burning hot water top up? Find out in this QotW! Plus, we ask how solar sails stay aloft on simple sunlight... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Why is it, that when you take photos of footprints in sand, they can sometimes appear raised? We tackle this holiday illusion in Question of the Week! Plus, we ask if bubbles in your bath can keep it warmer for longer. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Ever wondered what all that junk in your DNA trunk is doing? Find out in this QotW! Plus, we ask: what's the point of two sets of organs? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Is it true that there are more earthquakes now than in the past, and that they are more intense? We explore the problem in this Question of the Week. Plus, we ask if non-coding DNA has a purpose. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Have you ever noticed how leaving bits of leftover breakfast cereal uneaten causes it to harden like cement to the side of the bowl? Why is this? We explore the science of cereal cement, with additional commentary from Dominic Ford. Plus, we ask if earthquakes are becoming more commonplace. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

So you've felt those cold winds robbing you of your heat, but how fast do you have to go before they give it back? And why do planes stay cold when shuttles are hot? Find out in this QotW! Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Does a full fuel tank waste cash? Is there an optimum level to which you should fill your car's petrol tank so it doesn't just use the excess energy simply to carry the petrol around? Do vehicle manufacturers make the capacity of the petrol tank the perfect size with this in mind? Plus, passenger jets arrive cold, but spacecraft burn up - when does wind chill give way to frictional heating? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

If you've been to a whale acrobatics display at a tourist centre, you probably noticed some very loud music being played. But does it actually annoy the whales? Plus, we ask how much petrol is the optimum amount to fill the car with each time you visit the pump. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week: what methods does our body use to keep itself warm? What does shivering actually do? Plus, we ask if whales like music. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Giraffes have very long necks indeed so how do they go about barfing? We find out how they revisit their dinner. Plus, we ask how the human body keeps warm. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Eye circles plague many of us at one time or another. Some of us have them all our lives! But what causes them? We have the answers... or a few of them. Plus, we ask if giraffes find it tricky to vomit... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

How did you go about heating the water for this morning's shower? Did you leave the boiler on all night or just heat what you needed? Find out which is the most energy efficient in this Question of the Week! Plus, we ask why people get dark circles around their eyes. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Where do you have to go on the Earth to find the strongest pull of gravity? And where might one go to find the weakest? Plus, we ask which is the most efficient method of heating water: keeping a tank-full warm or just heating what you need. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

In the absence of a giant ruler, how does one go about measuring how far the Earth is from a star? Simon Singh explains in this QotW. Plus, we ask where in the world gravity feels strongest. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Potato peelers are the staple of the kitchen drawer, but why don't they ever seem to need a good honing as ordinary knives do? We have the answer(s). Plus, we ask how the distance to a star is calculated. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week, how do painkillers locate the bits that hurt? Do they have an inflammatory sat-nav or do they just numb your entire body? Plus, we ask why potato peelers never need sharpening. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists