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What’s on (25 – 31 May 2013)
24/05/2013
This week's guide to science on the telly and radio…
News
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.  ...
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
Could the human mind ever run out of memory?

In one sense, yes. Memory depends on forming new neural connections, and the brain has a finite number of neurones and a limited space in which to add more connections between them. Yet in another...

Why are animal fats solid yet vegetable oils liquid at room temperature?

Both fats and oils are molecules shaped like a capital E with a glycerol spine and arms made of fatty acid chains. In animals, the carbon atoms in the fatty acids are saturated with hydrogen atoms...

What are muscle knots and how do you get rid of them?

Muscle knots, or ‘myofascial trigger points’, are painful, lumpy regions of tense muscle. Their cause is somewhat controversial, not least because of the lack of an unambiguous definition of the...

Are bad smells harmful?

Smells in themselves do not cause harm. A smell is a neural response to airborne molecules binding to receptors in the mucus membranes of your nose. You can't be harmed by a smell any more than...

Do animals other than dogs cock their legs to wee?

Puppies don’t cock their legs, only adult male dogs. The behavioural change doesn’t seem to be directly linked to hormone levels because even dogs that are castrated before puberty...

What is meant by 'energy harvesting'?

It's all about using energy that would otherwise go to waste, from powering tiny electrical devices with our body heat right up to schemes to generate power from the flow of current in the sea....

Why do we get fur on our tongues?

If you mean the normal roughness of a healthy tongue, this includes taste buds, and many small, sensitive projections that cover the top surface. If you mean an additional white or grey furry...

Why does the launch of the shuttle rely on a specific time 'window'?

Imagine the shuttle has to dock with the ISS: it's a bit like trying to run alongside a specific horse on a moving merry-go-round. You could either keep chasing around until you catch up with the...

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