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Linking music to colour
17/05/2013
When you listen to a sad, reflective song, what colour come to mind? How about a happy, jaunty tune? Researchers have now shown that people tend to...
News
What’s on (18 – 24 May 2013)
17/05/2013
This week's guide to science on the telly and radio…
News
Scissor-handed creature named after Johnny Depp
16/05/2013
Johnny Depp isn't a name you'd usually associate with science, but a scissor-handed creature that resembles one of Depp's most famous...
Q&A
Why do planes appear to travel so slowly in the sky?
16/05/2013
Our brains judge the speed of objects passing by us through the time taken for them to cross our field of view. Those taking a long time could either...
Q&A
Why do candles only smoke after they've been extinguished?
16/05/2013
Smoke is unburned particles of carbon released when the hydrocarbon chain of candle wax breaks down. When the candle is alight, most of the carbon...
Q&A
Why do we stretch when we wake up?
16/05/2013
When you sleep, your muscles lose tone and fluid tends to pool along your back. Stretching helps to massage fluid gently back into the normal...
News
What Richard Feynman means to me
10/05/2013
To coincide with the new BBC documentary The Fantastic Mr Feynman, the editor of Focus magazine, Graham Southorn, explains how Feynman became his...
News
What’s on (11 – 17 May 2013)
10/05/2013
This week's guide to science on the telly and radio…
Quiz
The Focus Quiz
Science Quiz 10/05/13
10/05/2013
Fingerprints of a supernova, robotic dogs and Britain's very own Atlantis... test your knowledge of this week's big science stories.  ...
News
Top 5 Richard Feynman books
09/05/2013
The Nobel prize-winning physicist Richard Feynman would have celebrated his 95th birthday this week. To coincide with the new BBC documentary The...
Quiz
The Focus Quiz
Science Quiz 10/05/13
Fingerprints of a supernova, robotic dogs and Britain's very own Atlantis... test your knowledge of this week's big science stories.   Image credit: NASA/ESA/JHU/R.Sankrit & W.Blair
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Poll

Would you buy LG's new curved telly, or are you happy with your flat, black panel? Have your say in our poll...

Would you buy a curved TV? Would you buy a curved TV?

Would you buy LG's new curved telly, or are you happy with your flat, black panel? Have your say in our poll...

Q&A
How far apart are the Sun, Moon and Earth during eclipses?

It depends on the type of eclipse. During a total eclipse of the Sun, the Moon covers the whole solar disc, and to do this the Sun has to be around 400 times further from the Moon than the Moon is...

Are some women genetically predisposed to give birth to more boys or more girls?

The effect is more obvious in men. In mammals, sperm carrying an X chromosome produce girls whereas sperm carrying a Y produce boys. So fathers with genetic defects on the X or Y tend to produce...

Is there a place on Earth where no life exists?

Life is incredibly resilient, and simple organisms have been found everywhere from Antarctica to the bottom of mines; even the so-called Dead Sea supports ‘salt-loving’ haloarchaea...

Why do we find acceleration exciting?

It's not the acceleration itself, so much as our perception of the danger that goes with it. When we are in dangerous situations, our bodies respond by producing adrenalin and cortisol - the fight...

Is the Moon moving away from Earth?

Yes, the Moon is moving away from Earth at about 3.8cm per year. It’s a trend that’s been going on ever since the two bodies were formed. As a result, its orbit around Earth has become...

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