How does the heat shield protect the Artemis II astronauts on their return to Earth? What caused the craters on the Moon? Can the materials in cooking pots cause poisoning? What is seasickness? Can space missions take place during periods of high solar activity? And what propels spacecraft? Dr Chris Smith and Clarence Ford have the answers... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
What colour is a mirror?
2026/03/28 | 21 mins.
Why some people can't say their Rs; why is perception of time so context dependent; what's the nutritional value of long life milk; what determines how tall we are; why do some mirrors make you look a strange shape; why to take care with magnesium supplements to avoid explosive diarrhoea; how can fish swap between fresh and salt water environments; and why doesn't the stomach digest itself? Dr Chris Smith and Clarence Ford have the answers... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Do we all see colours the same way?
2026/03/13 | 23 mins.
On this week's show, why dogs don't live as long as humans. Also, why do we feel cold when our skin is warm to the touch? Do we all see colours the same way? Do animals experience embarrassment? If photons head towards two small slits, do they only pass through one slit or both? Why does the Middle East have an abundance of oil? And why are our taste buds affected when we have a fever? Dr Chris Smith and Clarence Ford have the answers... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Can white skin transplanted to a black person change colour?
2026/03/06 | 22 mins.
This week Clarence Ford and Dr Chris discuss NASA's DART mission to defect an asteroid, why we can't tickle ourselves, whether lung capacity affects the heart, if white skin transplanted to a black person changes colour, why some people are more ticklish than others, how scientists are able to read ancient DNA codes, why the sea is salty, and what triggers seizures? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Why do we get a falling sensation as we drift off to sleep?
2026/02/27 | 19 mins.
This week, Dr Chris Smith and Sara Jayne Makwala King get to the bottom of IBS, why women living together often synchronise menstrual cycles, why we get a sudden falling sensation when dropping off to sleep sometimes, and if Earth suddenly stopped spinning, what would happen first? Also, are the faces that crop up in our dreams real people we've seen before, or has our brain created people that don't actually exist? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
How many organs could you donate and remain alive? How many planet Earths could fit inside the Sun? How high is a giraffe's blood pressure? Why is the sea blue? To find out, Ask The Naked Scientists!
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