Crowdscience

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 laugh, or a gasp. In this show, Marnie Chesterton revisits those stories, with members of the CrowdScience crew. Alex the Parrot was a smart bird, with an impressive vocabulary and the ability to count and do basic maths. He was also intimidating and mean to a younger parrot, Griffin, who didn’t have the same grasp of the English language. Scientist Irene Pepperberg shares the consequence of this work-place bullying.  Take a tour of the disaster room at ICPAC, the IGAD Climate Prediction and Applications Centre (ICPAC) based in Nairobi, Kenya. It’s a new building where scientists keep watch for weird new weather and passes that information to 11 East African countries. Viola Otieno is an Earth Observation (EO) Expert and she explained how they track everything f

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 so, you are not alone. CrowdScience listener Ilixo, age 11, has been wondering why it is that our parents become so annoying as we become teenagers. Is it something that is changing in his brain or are they actually becoming more annoying as they age? Presenter Marnie Chesterton consults our assembled panel of experts to discuss conflict between parents and their offspring. Developmental psychologist Liane Alampay, from the Ateneo de Manila University, Philippines, describes how the teenage experience varies around the world. Child and educational psychologist Laverne Antrobus in London says the teenage quest for independence is a normal - and necessary - developmental stage for becoming an adult. And Jennifer Lansford, a Research Professor at Duke University who studies parenting and chil

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 at all in a completely frictionless universe? Sometimes friction produces heat. Could we ever control it completely? We try to reduce friction in some cases by using lubricants, whilst at other times like braking at a traffic junction we depend upon friction entirely. Anand Jagatia heads to Edinburgh in Scotland, UK, to meet some true masters of this mysterious entity: players of the winter sport Curling. What exactly is friction, and does thinking about it tell us something deeper about the universe? Taking part:Jennifer Dodds, Team GB Olympic Gold medallist Dave Lieth, Head of performance services, British Curling Susan Perkin, Professor of Physical Chemistry, University of Oxford Roger Lewis, Professor of Mechanical Engineering, University of SheffieldPresented by Anand Jagatia Produced by

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 Angie wondered when weatherproofing their doors and sealing up cracks for the winter. Once every last gap is blocked, will enough air get in for them to breathe properly? How would they know if they’ve gone too far?With Covid-19 making us more aware than ever of the importance of good ventilation, CrowdScience investigates how to make your home cosy and energy-efficient without sacrificing fresh air in the process. And we find out how, in hotter climates, you can carefully tap into your drafts, to reduce energy-intensive air conditioning.With contributions from Kimble Smith, Professor Nicola Carslaw, Dr Iain Walker, Marion Baeli and Dr Yashkumar Shukla.Presented by Marnie Chesterton Produced by Cathy Edwards for the BBC World Service

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 of rain or maybe there aren’t any at all. For listener John from Lincolnshire in the UK clouds looking up at the clouds is a favourite pastime and he wants to know why they look the way they do and why they are so different from one day to the next.Join Presenter Marnie Chesterton as we turn our gaze skyward to discover what gives clouds their shape. Join us for a cloud spotting mission with Gavin Pretor-Pinney, founder of the cloud appreciation society as he helps us de-code the shapes across the sky to reveal what they can tell us about our atmosphere. Dr Claire Vincent at the University of Melbourne introduces us to one of the superstars of the cloud world, Hector the Convector to explain where thunderstorms come from. And we learn how people like you can help NASA to understand the clouds bett

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 behave? To find out, Anand Jagatia speaks to some actual crowd scientists. He learns about the psychology of social identity, which influences everything from how close we stand to others to how we react in emergencies. He visits the Athens marathon, and hears about the algorithm that predicts how 50,000 runners will move through a city on race day. And he explores research into the science of riots, which explains why some peaceful crowds turn violent.Presented and produced by Anand JagatiaContributors: Dr Anne Templeton, University of Edinburgh Marcel Altenburg, Manchester Metropolitan University Prof John Drury, University of SussexArchive: BBC News Image: Crowd from above. Creidt: Getty Images

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 emails about sleep, so we’ve gathered together some of our favourite questions and put them to academics working on the science of snoozing.We’re wondering why some people laugh in their sleep, why some people remember their dreams and not others, and why we need to sleep at all - can’t we just rest?Our slumber scholars tell us about how our bodies continue to gather information while we’re asleep, how the tired brain is more likely to remember negative experiences, how we mimic other people in our sleep, and how sleep makes you more attractive to other people. And Alex takes a trip to the zzzzoo to meet some animals that have very different sleep patterns to humans. It’s his dream assignment.Contributors: Vanessa Hill, University of Central Queensland Professor Russell Foster, Universi

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 about governments' ability to curb greenhouse gas emissions and get a handle on climate change. So from his coastal perch in Denmark, he has asked where we should live when the poles have melted away and coastlines creep inland.Along with the help of BBC correspondents around the world, Marnie Chesterton scours the globe for the best option for listener Johan's new home.BBC Mundo reporter Rafael Rojas takes us to a manmade island off Colombia's Caribbean coast to see how we might be able to live with the seas. Meanwhile, reporter Furkan Khan takes us into the high, cold desert region of Ladakh to see if heading for the hills might be the answer.As Marnie searches for a climate-proof destination, she speaks to conservation biogeographer Matt Fitzpatrick, from the Appalachian L

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 wants to know. With the help of a team of climate scientists in Greenland, Marnie Chesterton goes to find the answer, in an icy landscape that's ground zero in the story of thawing. She discovers how Greenland’s ice sheet is sliding faster off land, and sees that the tiniest of creatures are darkening the ice surface and accelerating its melt. CrowdScience explores what we're in store for when it comes to melting ice. In the lead-up to yet another UN climate conference, we unpack what is contributing to sea level rise – from ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica, to melting mountain glaciers and warming oceans. There's a lot of ice at the poles. The question is: how much of it will still be there in the future? Research Professor and climate scientist Jason Box from the Geological Survey of

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 be weather?Presenter Marnie Chesterton goes to Kenya, where the traditional Maasai way of life is at risk following a series of failed rainy seasons. She meets members of the Maasai community who have herded cattle for generations, who tell her how the unprecedented lack of rain is making it difficult to feed the animals, and themselves.She speaks to meteorologists and climate scientists to unpick the differences between weather and climate, discovering that not only is climate change affecting local weather systems, but it’s also affecting our ability to forecast it.She’ll also be learning about the IPCC report, and how there is no longer any doubt that climate change is a real and present threat to life on earth.Contributors: Esther Ti

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 years of living in the US, is still answering questions about where her accent is from. Presenter Marnie Chesterton sets off to discover why learning a new language is possible but perfecting the accent is so much harder. Marnie speaks to a linguist about how we learn language and develop our first accent, and what we can - and can't change - about our accents. A phonetician explains to Marnie the difficulty of even hearing sounds that are not from our mother tongue, let alone replicating them. And Marnie enlists some expert help to learn some of the pitch sounds of Japanese – with mixed success.Finally Marnie asks why people so dearly want to change their accents when doing so is such hard work. She hears from a sociolinguist about stereotypes and the impact of accen

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 do not receive any medical support.To see how the discussion around mental health is playing out across the African continent, CrowdScience visits Nairobi, Kenya. Presenter Marnie Chesterton is joined by a live audience and panel of experts - psychiatrist David Ndetei, psychotherapist Reson Sindiyo and mental health journalist Dannish Odongo - to get to the heart of what’s going on in our heads.They discuss issues from taboo and superstition around mental health, to the treatment methods being used in Kenya that the rest of the world should know about.

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 science can - and can't - tell us about the role of nature, nurture and evolution in human sexual attraction. She asks a geneticist what we know of the oft-debated 'gay gene', as well as looking into why homosexual men on average have more older brothers than heterosexual men.Caroline looks into the role of nurture with a developmental psychologist to answer a question from a CrowdScience listener from Myanmar. He wonders if the distant relationship he has with his own father has impacted his own feelings of attraction.She also learns about research into a group of people in Samoa who may shed light on the benefits of traditionally non-reproductive relationships for communities as a whole.Presented by Caroline Stee

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 the same way: with an oblong scaley body, a tail and pairs of fins. Why? And is that really the case? Crowdscience listener and pet fish-owner Lauria asked us to dive into the depths of this aquatic world to investigate why fish are shaped the way they are. Do we just think that fish are all the same because we are land-dwelling? Presenter Anand Jagatia makes a splash exploring the fascinating story of fish evolution, how they came to be such a different shape from mammals and even how some mammals have evolved to be more like fish.Produced by Hannah Fisher and presented by Anand Jagatia for the BBC World Service. Contributors: Professor Frank Fish – Professor of Biology, West Chester University Dr Carla McCabe - Lecturer in Sport & Exercise Biomechanics Dr Andrew Knapp – postdoctoral re

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 travels to the Fire Research Centre at the University of Edinburgh to (safely) set various things ablaze. He learns about the fundamentals of fire and why things react differently to heat. He then heads to archives of the Royal Institution of London, to see an invention from the 19th century that can stop a fireball in its tracks: the miner’s safety lamp, which saved countless lives. And he speaks to a chemist about the science of flame retardants, and how even though they can make products less flammable, they may also have unintended consequences.Presenter: Alex Lathbridge Producer: Anand JagatiaContributors: Dr Rory Hadden, University of Edinburgh Charlotte New, Royal Institution Dan Plane, Royal Institution Professor Richard Hull, University of Central Lancashire

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 the same comedian in the flesh. But why is that? Do people from different cultures and corners of the world all laugh at the same things? These are questions raised by CrowdScience listener Samuel in Ghana who wonders why he’s always cracking up more easily than those around him. Presenter Caroline Steel digs into whether it’s our personality, the people around us, or the atmosphere of the room that determines how much we giggle, following neuroscience and psychology on a global trail in search of a good laugh. Producer: Richard Walker Presenter: Caroline Steel [Image: Two Women laughing. Credit: Getty Images]

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 Marnie Chesterton goes on a hunt to uncover the numerical abilities of the animal kingdom. Can wild lions compare different numbers? Can you teach bees to recognise and choose specific amounts? And if the answer is yes, how do they do it? Marnie tries to find out just how deep the numerical rabbit hole goes… and comes across a parrot named Alex who is perhaps the most impressive example of animal counting of them all.Contributors: Brian Butterworth - emeritus professor of cognitive neuropsychology at University College London Mai Morimoto - researcher at Queen Mary University of London Lars Chittka - professor of sensory and behavioural ecology at Queen Mary University of London Irene Pepperberg - comparative psychologist, and research associate at Harvard University

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 come from, how they had survived the previous cold snap and what the implications of climate change might be for insect over-wintering behaviour? So he asked CrowdScience to do some bug investigation. CrowdScience presenter Marnie Chesterton takes up the challenge and heads out into the British countryside – currently teeming with buzzes and eight legged tiny beasties - to learn about the quite amazing array of tactics these small creatures use to survive the arduous days of cold. She hears how some insects change their chemical structure to enhance their frost resistance whist others hanker down in warmer microclimates or rely on their community and food stocks to keep them warm. But cold isn’t the only climatic change insects have to endure, in the tropics the seasons tend to fluctuat

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 questions CrowdScience listener Gerardo has been pondering ever since taking in the beauty of fallen water on a hiking trail in his home of Cantabria, Northern Spain. Presenter Marnie Chesterton, sets off on a quest to find out the answers to all of those questions and more. What even is white? Is it a colour, the absence of colour or all the colours of the rainbow combined? Is black really the opposite of white? And what colours do we mix to make white or black paint?Image: White paint in pots and a paintbrush. Credit: Getty Images

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 effects of smell on our appetite, and wants to know whether certain aromas can make us feel more full than others. Never averse to a food-based challenge, presenter Anand Jagatia takes us on a journey from the nose to the brain, where we find out what exactly happens when we get a whiff of various foods. He discovers how the digestive system prepares for a meal and the extent to which our stomach has a say in whether or not we want to eat, based on how appetizing the smells are around us. Anand also explores our cultural differences. In some parts of the world a stinky Limburger cheese is considered a delicacy, while in other places it could make people lose their lunch. We’ll find out why some of us get triggered in different ways than others.