Question of the Week, from the Naked Scientists

5 yr old Georgia asks how did the cells in her mum's tummy know to make her brain cells? A Nobel Laureate provides the answer! Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

We brush away at this question: is it better for your teeth to suck on, or chew, your sweets? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

How do babies stay upside down in the womb for so long? We got summer intern Claudia Esftaphiou to do a headstand in the office to try to get to grips with the answer! Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Can we get power from poo? We get excited over excrement! Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Naked Physicist Dave Ansell tries to recreate Space in his garden, in order to get to grips with a listeners question..... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

How does training affect conscious control? What happens to automatic movements as we age? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

We find out what's going on if exercise is making you sick. Plus we ponder the existance of free will. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

What is the physiology behind emotional breakdown? Everybody has had the feeling in traumatic situations of getting all choked up, voice breaking and tears welling up.But why does it happen? We find out! Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

We find out if a mountain on Earth could ever reach 20 km high. Plus we ask, what is going on during an emotional breakdown? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

We find out if street lights are affecting plants and birds. Plus we ask how high can a mountain be here on Earth? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

We find out what happens if you take a plant into space, and we ask how does street lighting affect nature? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

We find out what is wind and why do we have it? Plus we ask, why and how do plants always grow upwards? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Is living in the big smoke better for your immune system in the long term as you are exposed to more people and their bugs? Plus we ask, what is wind and why do we have it? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Naked Archeologist Diana O Carroll takes us on a trip of dating ancient artefacts. Plus we ask, is city living an immune booster? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

We find out if gene therapy could help beat depression, plus we ask are early risers more likely to be cheerful? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

We find out if we can mimic the power of plants to meet our energy demands. Plus we ask, could we use gene therapy for depression? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

We find out how long it takes for a comet to melt and we ask could we ever get a cometless sky? Plus we wonder the power of plants. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

We rely increasingly on computer networks. If a solar storm or malicious virus hit the network, could our current civilisation dependency on computer networks be damaged irreversibly? Plus we ask, will all the comets in the sky ever melt away? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Are humans the only species that practice dental hygiene to retain their pearly nashers? Plus we ask, could we cope if computers conked? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

We find out if a body wrap will help you lose weight. Plus we ask are humans the only animals that practice dental hygiene? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

We find out if Earth's expanding human population will affect water supplies. Plus we ask, does the new anti-fat fad Shrinking Violet work? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Many other species have multiple partners, but are humans meant for monogamy? Plus we ask, do flies have a super sense of smell? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

We find out if you can emulate a Martian environment in the kitchen, and if so, can you grow plants there? Plus we ask, are humans meant for monogamy? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Cats can have patterned fur, but can you get a tabby human? Plus we ask can we make a miniature Mars at home? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

We find out if there is any evidence that anti-mosquito sound devices actually work. Plus we ask, do you get tabby humans? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

We find out if there is a relationship between early rising and cheerfulness. Plus we ask how best to repel mosquitoes! Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

We find out why blood donations aren't rejected more readily. Plus we ask, is sleepiness related to cheerfulness? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

We find out why touch sensitive switches are sensitive to skin, soap and potato but not everything else? Plus we ask how do drinks & exercise affect the taste of your chewing gum? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

We find out if foetuses get cancer, 15 yr old Louis from London got in touch asking: their cells divide rapidly, so surely they can make genetic errors and get cancer? Plus we ask, how do touch sensitive gadgets work? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

We find out if we could mix spider and human DNA to create a real life Spiderman. Plus we ask, do foetuses get cancer? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

ON MARS NO ONE CAN HEAR YOU SCREAM. Is that really true? And if so, why? Plus we ask, can we mix spider and human DNA to make Spiderman? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Do menstrual cycles synchronise for women who live together? If so, is there any evolutionary reason for this? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week we find out how long you could survive by just eating your own severed limbs, plus we search for synchrony in menstrual cycles. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week we find out why certain mushrooms contain hallucinogens, plus we ask, how long could you survive by eating your own limbs? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week we ponder potatoes! You can bake a potato, boil a potato, fry them, chip 'em and roast 'em. But CAN YOU MELT one? Plus we ask, why do fungi bother to produce hallucinogens? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

We find out where our ancestors artistically expressed themselves, plus we ask, how can we melt a potato? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week we find out if we there will ever be a real life Dr Doolittle. And sticking with expressing ourselves we ask - was prehistoric art restricted to caves? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

We find out if banking our bone marrow early in life, and transplanting down the line, may help halt the aging process. Plus we ask, why are we so good at forgetting names?..... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Earth seems like such a good place for life to thrive, so is it a good place for life to get started? Has life started on Earth more than once? If so, where is it? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

By simply bouncing a laser beam between two mirrors, could you produce an infinitely powerful laser? And if not, why not? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

We find out how it is possible for a single telephone wire to carry information for a telephone conversation, file downloads to a computer, WiFi access, and allow us to watch a film and listen to the news. Plus we ask can we make an infinitely powerful laser simply by adding more mirrors? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

We need exposure to sunlight in order to be able to make vitamin D. Does this mean that humans, like plants, undergo a sort of photosynthesis? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week we speak with NASA's Planetary Protection Officer to find out if we could, and should, introduce life onto Mars. Plus we ask is a human producing Vitamin D a bit like a photosynthesising plant?..... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Can the type of cutlery used to prepare and serve food really alter its flavour? And does it really change, or is it just our perception? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

We find out if applying ice to an injury actually helps to speed up healing. Plus we ask, would dining with a silver spoon make your food taste better? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

We find out if you can escape detection at a crime scene by using clever gene therapy techniques. Plus we ask, does applying ice to an injury actually help? And if so, how? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

We find out why men generally die before women. Plus we ask can we use gene therapy to cheat a DNA test and escape a crime scene...... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

We find out if we can create a living organism from basic elements. Plus we ask, why do women live longer than men? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week we find out how a species has so successfully infiltrated the verges of the UK road systems. Plus we ask can we create life by heating up basic chemicals... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

We apply some Naked Science force to this week's question and find out if we make a magnet so strong that is squashes, rather thanks sticks to, your white goods. Plus we ask do motorways create a microclimate? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists