CrowdScience

By BBC World Service

Technology

What's CrowdScience about?

We take your questions about life, Earth and the universe to researchers hunting for answers at the frontiers of knowledge.

4.7

291 ratings

Download our free app to listen on your phone

LAST EPISODE

Why is the sun at the center?

05.26.2023

It may seem like a simple question but could you explain why the earth revolves around the sun? That’s what listener Josh from New York wants to know. For much of human history we thought everything revolved around us, literally. ...

CrowdScience episodes:

05.26.2023 Why is the sun at the center? It may seem like a simple question but could you explain why the earth revolves around the sun? That’s what listener Josh from New York wants to know. For much of human history we thought everything revolved around us, literally. ...
05.19.2023 Can sea-swimming improve my health? Anyone who has ever enjoyed a beach holiday will know there’s something special about being by the seaside. But does sea swimming actually have tangible health effects? This week’s listener Holly is a self-confessed water baby, and says her regular ...
05.12.2023 Why am I so lazy? Lazy. Unmotivated. Procrastinating. If those are words you’re used to hearing from your inner critic, you are not alone. Take CrowdScience listener Laurie. On her days off she loves to relax on the sofa, watch TV, put off chores and ...
05.05.2023 What are Ostriches for? Meet the ostrich, one of nature’s most unusual creatures: a two-metre-tall, flightless bird that struts about the African savannah. CrowdScience listener Pat found herself entranced by seeing them on a wildlife documentary, where two ostriches were exhibiting some bizarre behaviour. ...
04.28.2023 What's living inside my gut? Inside our gut lives an entire ecosystem of bacteria and microbes, called the microbiome. In fact, the human body contains trillions of microorganisms, which outnumber our cells by ten to one. This means that technically we are more microbe than ...
04.21.2023 Do we have a sense of time? CrowdScience listener Marie, in Sweden, has always had difficulty with her sense of time. She often thinks that events that happened years ago took place recently or that a holiday coming up is happening sooner than it is. So she ...
04.14.2023 Is there anyone out there? What are the actual chances of finding alien life? The idea of meeting an extra-terrestrial has ignited imaginations for hundreds of years, and it has also inspired real science: the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence - or Seti - is an ...
04.07.2023 What does flying do to my body? Compared to the entirety of human existence, our history of flying in aeroplanes is very short indeed. So what does this fast form of travel do to bodies that have evolved for land-based living? That's what listener Sofia wants to ...
03.31.2023 How do my ears sense direction? How do we hear a sound and immediately know where it’s coming from? That’s the question that CrowdScience listener Chiletso asked himself one day as he heard his son bounce a ball and instantly knew its direction. In this ear-opening ...
03.24.2023 Why do some people have panic attacks? Sweating, nausea, chest pain and shortness of breath sound like the physical symptoms of a heart attack. For about 4% of the world’s population, they are also symptoms of an underdiagnosed condition that can leave sufferers curled in a ball ...
03.17.2023 Can robots be soft? When imagining a robot, a hard-edged, boxy, humanoid figure may spring to mind. But that is about to change. CrowdScience presenter Alex Lathbridge is on a mission to meet the robots that bend the rules of conventionality. Inspired by how ...
03.03.2023 Do climbing plants know where they’re going? CrowdScience listener Eric, in New Zealand, has noticed his wisteria growing towards a neighbouring tree. He thinks that it actually knows where it’s going. But how can a plant have a sense of direction? Plants don’t have the advantage of ...
02.24.2023 Where does our fat go when we exercise? If, like this week’s Crowdscience listener Lili, you’re an avid gymgoer, you may well have wondered where your fat disappears to when you exercise? Well, the short answer is that we convert it to energy that powers a whole range ...
02.17.2023 Are yoga claims bogus claims? Yoga benefits our health in many ways, say the yogis, but which claims are backed up by science? Can yoga actually alleviate depression, fix lower-back pain or even reduce cardiovascular disease? Presenter Marnie Chesterton gets into her Lotus (position) and ...
02.09.2023 Who’s afraid of public speaking? Why does the thought of giving a talk to an audience fill so many of us with sheer terror? Marnie Chesterton investigates for listener Nhial, who has seen his fellow students in Morocco become panic stricken at the prospect and ...
02.03.2023 How bad is our noise problem? We generate a huge amount of noise, whether it’s our rumbling roads, pumping parties, or talkative tourists. And the topic of noise also generates a lot of questions from our listeners. In this episode we explore three of them, with ...
01.27.2023 Where does the sand in a desert come from? From Lawrence of Arabia to Star Wars via tales of intrepid adventurers traversing lonely sand-swept landscapes, deserts have always had a powerful pull on the popular imagination. But if a desert is full of sand, where did all that sand ...
01.20.2023 Why do we get jealous? When falling in love or fancying someone, one emotion can dominate over the rest: jealousy. Some may try to play it cool and act aloof, but seeing - or even thinking - of a romantic partner engaging with others can ...
01.13.2023 What happens to insects in the winter? When CrowdScience listener Eric spotted a few gnats flying around on a milder day in mid-winter it really surprised him - Eric had assumed they just died out with the colder weather. It got him wondering where the insects had ...
01.06.2023 How do you balance on a bicycle? ow do we stay up when we ride a bicycle? Lots of us can do it without even thinking about it, but probably very few of us can say exactly HOW we do it. Well, CrowdScience listener Arif and his ...
12.30.2022 Bullying Parrots and Glacial Cocktails Over the past 12 months, CrowdScience has travelled the world, from arctic glacierscapes to equatorial deserts, to answer listeners’ science queries. Sometimes, the team come across tales that don’t quite fit with the quest in hand, but still draw a ...
12.23.2022 Why are my parents so annoying? Does your mum’s singing make you cringe with embarrassment? Do your dad’s jokes make you want to scream - and not with laughter? Or maybe you are the parent driving your offspring round the bend with rules and curfews? If ...
12.18.2022 What is friction? CrowdScience listener David was playing snooker in Thailand when he started thinking how such a smooth ball was dependent on the rough green baize of the table to bring it to a stop. Would it be possible to play snooker ...
12.09.2022 Could my house run out of air? If your home is drafty, filling in holes and cracks can help tackle rising energy bills, and lower your carbon footprint. But is there a limit to how airtight we should make our homes? That’s what CrowdScience listeners Jeff and ...
12.02.2022 What gives clouds their shapes? What are the clouds like where you are? When you look upwards can you see great tufts of cotton wool, or do they stretch off into the distance, flat like sheets. Are they dark greys and purples, bringing the promise ...
11.25.2022 How do we behave in crowds? As someone who dislikes crowds, listener Graham is curious about them. Crowds gather in all sorts of places, from train stations and football matches, to religious events and protest marches. But is there a science behind how they move and ...
11.18.2022 Why don’t we fall out of bed when we’re asleep? Why don’t we fall out of bed when we’re asleep? That’s the question that’s been keeping CrowdScience listener Isaac in Ghana awake, so presenter Alex Lathbridge snuggles up with some experts to find the answer. We get a lot of ...
11.11.2022 Where do we go when the seas rise? After learning how long it will take the Earth's ice sheets to melt in the previous episode, we continue our journey in Greenland. As world leaders gather in Egypt for the annual UN climate conference, listener Johan isn't too optimistic ...
11.04.2022 How long before all the ice melts? We know the Earth's atmosphere is warming and it's thanks to us and our taste for fossil fuels. But how quickly is this melting the ice sheets, ice caps, and glaciers that remain on our planet? That's what listener David ...
10.28.2022 When does weather change become climate change? Record-breaking heatwaves swept across the Earth’s northern hemisphere this summer, while Australia experienced flooding and East Africa is enduring its worst drought in decades. Listener Geoff in Australia wants to know: Is climate change really responsible, or could it just ...
10.21.2022 Why can't I change my accent? Why do some people pick up accents without even trying, while others can live in another country for decades without ever losing the sound of their mother tongue? It’s a question that's been bothering CrowdScience listener Monica who, despite 45 ...
10.14.2022 How is mental health being supported in Africa? One in every eight people live with a mental health disorder, so if that’s not you, it’s likely to be a close friend or family member. Despite there being a variety of known treatments, globally the majority of people suffering ...
10.07.2022 Why am I gay? Human sexuality comes in many forms, from exclusively heterosexual to exclusively homosexual. But seeing as homosexuality creates apparent reproductive and evolutionary disadvantages, listener Ahmed from Oslo wants to know: why are some people gay? CrowdScience presenter Caroline Steel examines what ...
09.30.2022 Why are fish fish-shaped? There are over 30,000 species of fish – that’s more than all the species of amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals combined. But despite the sheer diversity of life on Earth, we still tend to think of all fish in roughly ...
09.23.2022 Why don’t some things burn? CrowdScience listener Alix has a burning question - what’s actually happening inside the flames of a campfire to make it glow? And why do some materials burn easily, while others refuse to light at all? To find out, Alex Lathbridge ...
09.16.2022 Is there a language of laughter? Laugh and the world laughs with you, or so you might think. But watch any good comedian on TV by yourself and chances are you’ll laugh a lot less than if you were sat in a lively comedy crowd watching ...
09.10.2022 Can animals count? Mathematics and our ability to describe the world in terms of number, shape and measurement may feel like a uniquely human ability. But is it really? Listener Mamadu from Sierra Leone wants to know: can animals count too? CrowdScience presenter ...
09.02.2022 What happens to insects in the winter? When CrowdScience listener Eric spotted a few gnats flying around on a milder day in mid-winter it really surprised him - Eric had assumed they just died out with the colder weather. It got him wondering where the insects had ...
08.19.2022 What is white? Have you ever wondered why waterfalls appear white when still water is transparent? Why clouds, or snow, appear white when they too are essentially just water molecules in different states? What makes something white, opaque or transparent? These are the ...
08.15.2022 Can smells fill you up? Imagine waking up to the smell of freshly baked bread. Doesn’t it make your mouth water? Now imagine the smell of a fish market on a warm day… still feeling hungry? CrowdScience listener Thanh from Vietnam is intrigued by the ...
08.05.2022 Are humans naturally clean and tidy? From dumping raw sewage into rivers to littering the streets with our trash, humans don’t have a great track record when it comes to dealing with our waste. It’s something that CrowdScience listener and civil engineer Marc has noticed: he ...
07.22.2022 Why is this song stuck in my head? You have probably experienced an ‘earworm’ - a catchy bit of music that plays round and round in your head and won’t go away – at least for a short while. But why did it pop up in the first ...
07.15.2022 Are viruses the key to fighting infections? We are running out of ammunition against certain infections, as bacteria increasingly evade the antibiotics we’ve relied on for nearly a century. Could bacteriophages – viruses that hunt and kill bacteria – be part of the solution? In 2019, CrowdScience ...
07.08.2022 Are artistic brains different? Artists can conjure up people, cities, landscapes and entire worlds using just a pencil or a paintbrush. But some of us struggle to draw simple stick figures or a circle that’s round. CrowdScience listener Myck is a fine artist from ...
07.01.2022 What is healthy hair? Hair is an important part of our identities – straight, frizzy, long, not there at all – and our efforts to keep it styled and clean have created an $80 billion hair care industry. Many products offer to improve the ...
06.24.2022 Can we get better at accepting death? Death is inevitable, though many of us would rather not dwell on it. For those with a terminal illness, however, the end of life is clearly a more pressing reality. CrowdScience listener Sam has known for a while that her ...
06.17.2022 What is a quantum computer? Every year, new computers are being developed that are faster and smarter than ever before. But if you really want to take things to the next level, you've got to go quantum. CrowdScience listener Atikah in Hungary likes the sound ...
06.10.2022 Human v Machine Humans can walk for miles, solve problems and form complex relationships using the energy provided by daily meals. That is a lot of output for a fairly modest input. Listener Charlotte from the UK wants to know: how efficient are ...
06.03.2022 Why do bright lights make me sneeze? This week’s CrowdScience is dedicated to bodily fluids – and why humans spend so much time spraying them all over the place. From snot and vomit to sweat and sneezes, listeners have been positively drenching our inbox with queries. Now ...
05.27.2022 Why can't I find gold in my back yard? If you go outside with a spade and start digging, the chances are you won't find any gold. You might get lucky or just happen to live in a place where people have been finding gold for centuries. But for ...

Older episodes

CrowdScience

What's CrowdScience about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

CrowdScience episodes:

Why is the sun at the center?

Can sea-swimming improve my health?

Why am I so lazy?

What are Ostriches for?

What's living inside my gut?

Do we have a sense of time?

Is there anyone out there?

What does flying do to my body?

How do my ears sense direction?

Why do some people have panic attacks?

Can robots be soft?

Do climbing plants know where they’re going?

Where does our fat go when we exercise?

Are yoga claims bogus claims?

Who’s afraid of public speaking?

How bad is our noise problem?

Where does the sand in a desert come from?

Why do we get jealous?

What happens to insects in the winter?

How do you balance on a bicycle?

Bullying Parrots and Glacial Cocktails

Why are my parents so annoying?

What is friction?

Could my house run out of air?

What gives clouds their shapes?

How do we behave in crowds?

Why don’t we fall out of bed when we’re asleep?

Where do we go when the seas rise?

How long before all the ice melts?

When does weather change become climate change?

Why can't I change my accent?

How is mental health being supported in Africa?

Why am I gay?

Why are fish fish-shaped?

Why don’t some things burn?

Is there a language of laughter?

Can animals count?

What happens to insects in the winter?

What is white?

Can smells fill you up?

Are humans naturally clean and tidy?

Why is this song stuck in my head?

Are viruses the key to fighting infections?

Are artistic brains different?

What is healthy hair?

Can we get better at accepting death?

What is a quantum computer?

Human v Machine

Why do bright lights make me sneeze?

Why can't I find gold in my back yard?