Question of the Week - From the Naked Scientists

When will we run out of oil? In the 1970s, it was predicted that oil wells would run dry by the year 2000, but new reserves were discovered. So in this week's Question we find out how long we have left, and if rising oil prices will make difficult reserves more productive. Also we ask how the Olympic torch stays lit in flight, and why do earplugs keep outside noises out, but make internal noises unbearably loud?

Should you turn off the TV in a thunderstorm? In this electrifying Question of the Week we find out if an attached aerial attracts lightning, or if it's safe to ride out the storm in front of your set. Plus, we ask if we might find new reserves of oil, and how do we keep the Olympic torch alight mid-flight?

How long would you survive sealed in a compact car? Is there enough oxygen to survive your journey, or should you just open a window to avoid suffocating on your own expelled gas? Also, we ask if lightning should interrupt your television viewing - should you unplug your TV in a storm? And we make an oil enquiry - how do we know that we'll run out of oil? How do we know we won't find more?

Should you drink wine in the desert? Would an alcoholic drink dehydrate you faster than no drink at all? If so, should you let the alcohol evaporate first, and how long would this take? This is the subject of this week's answer, and we ask how long you could survive in a sealed car, and should you switch off your TV in a lightning storm?

For this week's Question, we find out why it is that although some people speak with a strong accent, this almost completely disappears when they sing. Could it be that there are language lessons to learn from singing Karaoke? Plus, we ask how long you could survive on the air in a sealed car, and if you're dying of thirst would drinking wine help, or finish you off?

On this week's Question of the Week, we plunge into a question about tides! We find out how the tide times are worked out to the nearest minute, and why anyone would need such precision. Plus, we ask why your spoken and singing accents may not match, and if you're trapped in the desert, is it better to drink wine than drink nothing at all?

This week, we tackle the hirsute - will clean, trimmed hair grow quickly? Can you slow the growth with neglect? We find out if cut hair grows back quicker and thicker, or if that's just an urban myth. Also, we ask how tide times are so precise, and why people lose their accent when they sing...

Our question this week concerns caves - we find out if more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere causes caves to grow quicker. Could an acidic atmosphere create cathedral-sized caverns?

This week, we find out if our noses tell us the truth. Does a strong smell mean a lot of odour in the air, or can we be tricked by small smells? In short, does our sense of smell have a sense of scale? Also, we ask if more carbon dioxide in the air leads to bigger caves in the ground, and can you slow the growth of your hair by not having it cut?

Books can hold stories, knowledge, ideas and memories - but what about the smell? So on this week's QotW - What gives an old book that distinctive smell? Also, we ask how we perceive the 'size' of an odour, and if there's more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere - is it leading to bigger caves?

This week, we find out how Electric Eels avoid a self-shock when stunning their prey, and we ask some smelly questions; what gives an old book it's distinctive smell, and does a strong smell mean a lot of odour in the air, or do our noses play tricks on us?

This week, we find out how they manufacture oxygen on the International Space Station - a technique that astronauts must be 'over the moon' about! Plus, we ask how electric eels avoid self-shocking, and what gives a well loved old book that distinctive smell?

This week, we find out if an aeroplane on a treadmill could the plane still take off, and ask how air is made in space, and if electric eels suffer from self-shock syndrome...

This week, we find out if a fatter cyclist free-wheels faster than a thinner cyclist, and ask if an aeroplane runway is replaced with a treadmill, can the plane still take off? Also, how is oxygen recycled on the international space station?

This week we find out why boomerangs keep coming back, and ask would a plane on a treadmill still take off, and who gets to the bottom of a hill first - a freewheeling fat or thin cyclist?