Host Anand Jagatia tackles gravity - a fundamental force of the universe yet also an everyday mystery that has baffled several listeners. Can you outrun it? Or at least use it to get fitter? If it varies, does that mean that you weigh less, depending on where on earth you stand? And if it’s the force of attraction between any objects with mass, are you technically more attractive after eating a massive cake? Professor Claudia de Rham from Imperial College London explains the basics of gravity, while we discover the best place on earth to weight ourselves, with Professor Paddy Regan from Surrey University and NPL Fellow in Nuclear and Radiation Science and Metrology. Anand takes a very fast spin on a special chair to experience extra gravity, thanks to Professor Floris Wuyts from the University of Antwerp, Kings College London and Minister of Science of Asgardia. And finally, we talk to an expert lined up at the other end of a hypothetical hole through the earth: Professor Richard Easther from the University of Auckland, New Zealand. What would happen if we fell straight through the earth? CrowdScience finds gravity a force to be reckoned with. Presenter: Anand Jagatia
Producer: Marnie Chesterton
Editor: Cathy Edwards
Production Co-ordinator: Ishmael Soriano and Jana Bennett-Holesworth
Studio Manager: Jackie Margerum and Duncan Hannant
Photo: Anand Jagatia experiencing extra g-force
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26:29
Are there global food allergy hotspots?
Are food allergies higher in the West than the East? UK-based listener Jude wants to know the answer. Her daughter-in-law Min didn’t know anyone with food allergies when she was growing up in South Korea and thinks that they’re not so common there. Host Alex Lathbridge investigates. Along the way, he finds out what makes us sensitive to food allergies and how much that depends on our environment. He volunteers to have an allergy test, learns what triggers food allergies and tries to discover what lies behind their increase around the world. Alex talks to some of the leading experts on food allergies in search for an answer to our listener’s question: Paul Turner breaks down what happens in our bodies when we have an allergic reaction; Jennifer Koplin explains why Australia tops the league table for food allergies and Michael Levin reveals what he found out in his ground-breaking research in South Africa comparing urban and rural populations. We also hear from Hana Ayoob, who grew up in Singapore and the UK, who describes what it’s like to suffer from multiple food allergies and describes the difference in cultural attitudes. Finally, we turn to Sooyoung Lee in South Korea to see if our listeners are right about the difference in rates for food allergies between East and West. Presenter: Alex Lathbridge
Producer: Jo Glanville
Editor: Cathy Edwards
Production Co-ordinator: Ishmael Soriano
Studio Manager: Duncan Hannant(Image: Young Asian father with cute little daughter grocery shopping for dairy products in supermarket Credit: d3sign via Getty Images)
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29:33
Are humans naturally monogamous?
CrowdScience listener Alina is in a relationship with a polyamorous partner and is very happy with this arrangement, which got her thinking – why is monogamy so often the norm in human societies?Presenter Caroline Steel goes on an anthropological odyssey to figure out where this drive to find a single partner - and stick with them - comes from. What can science tell us about how human relationships developed, and whether having one or many partners is more 'natural'? Evolutionary biologist Kit Opie of the University of Bristol joins us at London Zoo to help us understand the mating systems of our closest primate relatives. To find out how polygamy developed in some parts of the world we speak to anthropologist Katie Starkweather of the University of Illinois Chicago. And we learn about the chemistry of bonding from Sarah Blumenthal at Emory University, who explains how the brains of prairie voles may give us clue about the neurochemicals which shape human relationships. Presenter: Caroline Steel
Producers: Priya Sippy, Ben Motley and Imaan Moin
Editor: Cathy Edwards
Production Co-ordinator: Ishmael Soriano
Studio Manager: Steve Greenwood (Image: Dancing wedding cake figurines Credit: Peter Dazeley via Getty Images)
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27:28
Is water wet?
The wetness of water seems blindingly obvious - but dive into the science and things aren’t so clear. CrowdScience listeners Rachel and Callum were washing their hands one day and it got them thinking about wetness. Why does water feel the way it does? And what makes a liquid wet? To find out, presenter Anand Jagatia takes a closer look at the behaviour of liquids with materials scientist Mark Miodownik, and finds out why they might not be as wet as we think. We learn what’s really behind the sensation of feeling something wet on your skin, with the help of physiologist Davide Filingeri and PhD student Jade Ward. And we turn to a philosopher, Vanessa Seifert, and a chemist, Tim Neudecker, to puzzle out exactly how many water molecules you need before the property of wetness emerges. Presenter: Anand Jagatia
Producer: Anand Jagatia
Editor: Cathy Edwards
Production Co-ordinator: Ishmael Soriano
Studio Manager: Bob Nettles and Andrew Garratt(Image: A photo of a droplet falling into a body of water Credit: Flaviu Cernea / 500pxvia Getty Images)
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26:28
Whatever happened to tangerines?
It’s citrus season in the northern hemisphere, and fruit trees are bursting with oranges and lemons. But CrowdScience listener Jonathan wants to know what happened to the tangerines he ate as a child in the 1960s? He remembers a fruit that was juicy, sweet and full of pips, found each Christmas at the bottom of his stocking. Tangerines today, he thinks, just don't compare. Crowdscience tries to track down this elusive fruit. Presenter Anand Jagatia traces the tangerine's origins back to Ancient China, as botanist David Mabberley explains that the name ‘tangerine’ comes from a fruit that made its way from Asia, to Africa and the Moroccan port of Tangier, before arriving in the US in the early 1800s. Professor Tracy Kahn from UC Riverside tells us about the hybridisation process that goes into breeding modern tangerines, but says that while the season for these fruits has been dramatically extended, there’s a cost in terms of diversity and flavour. Who better to help us track down this missing mandarin than a fruit detective? Well, that’s one of pomologist David Karp’s other job titles, and he reveals exactly which cultivar we might be looking for: the Dancy. So where can we find one? Over on Friend’s Ranches in Ojai, California, Emily Ayala shows us two trees planted by her late grandfather, and explains that nothing grown since really matches its unique flavour.So what will listener Jonathan think when we send him a box? Presenter: Anand Jagatia
Producer: Marijke Peters
Editor: Cathy Edwards
Production Co-ordinator: Ishmael Soriano
Studio Manager: Jackie Margerum(Image: Citrus oranges grow on tree, Hong Kong Credit: CHUNYIP WONG via Getty Images)
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