Q&A

At BBC Science Focus Magazine, our expert panel is ready to help you out and answer as many of the burning science questions you want to send our way. So if you are looking for answers to the Universe’s biggest questions (maybe) or just some fun science facts (definitely) you have found the right spot.
A camel running through a wooded area

Which animal is most likely to escape from the zoo?

Apart from Feathers McGraw in Wallace and Gromit, of course
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Close up photo of a person's face with red cheeks. Histamine flushing

What is histamine flushing and what can it tell you?

Histamine flushing is often harmless but it can sometimes serve as a useful warning sign for bigger problems
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An illustration of an alien invasion.

Have we ever intercepted anything from aliens?

We’ve detected strange things in space – just not aliens. Yet
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Portrait of frustrated woman pinching nose with disgust on his face due to bad smell isolated over pink background.

Why do I fart so much? The science you never knew you wanted to know about flatulence

Where do farts come from, and what happens if you hold it in? Does everybody fart – and what about animals?
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Illustration of two people locked in an arm wrestle, both look smug trying to one-up each other

What happens when a narcissist crosses a narcissist?

Expect some fireworks
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A woman wearing lipstick opens her mouth wide

Why do people have different mouth biomes, and does it affect taste?

It's all a matter of taste
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Close up photo of a bunch of purple and orange carrots

Why are carrots orange?

Ever had a white or purple carrot? Here's why they come in different colours
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Young man playing table tennis in workplace, having fun

What are some ways to overcome the intermediate plateau when learning a skill?

Struggling to make that next step? Psychology tells us how to break through that pesky plateau
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Photo of a person sat on the edge of their car seat, head down looking towards the grass outside. They are car sick

What's the best way to stop being carsick?

There are many different advisories on how to stop travel sickness but one method might actually work
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The black serval cat.

The world’s weirdest cat keeps turning up where nobody expects

Meet the black serval, a long-legged wild cat native to Africa
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Image of a woman, one half of her face is young, the other is elderly

Can we actually reverse ageing

Wrinkle creams only promise to turn back the clock – a pea-sized jellyfish actually does it
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Illustration of a person pouring beer into a glass from their stomach.

Could I brew alcohol in my body?

It's possible to brew alcohol in your gut if you have auto-brewery syndrome (ABS), which can make you appear drunk without having a drink.
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A big glass of beer

Why do some beer foams last so long?

The secrets of your pint's frothy crown
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Photo of a model globe spinning so fast you cannot make out any countries or continents

What speed am I travelling, right now?

Turns out, it is much more difficult than you might imagine to accurately assess how quickly you're moving through space
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A triangle of aged cheese sits on top of a big round.

What's the world's oldest cheese?

The oldest cheese samples that survive today were found in the necks of Bronze Age mummies in China
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Richter scale earthquake

What's the best way to measure an earthquake?

It revolutionised how we measure earthquakes in 1935 – so why have seismologists almost entirely abandoned it?
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A human brain model made by needle felting

Do we really remember an event, or just the memory of an event?

Will you remember this article accurately?
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cholesterol in the artery

Which country in the world has the lowest cholesterol levels?

What 460 million tests tell us about diet, genetics and your heart
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Silhouettes of heads contain plastic coloured balls, which pass between them.

Can we communicate in dreams?

New research claims it's possible to get people's brains to communicate to one another in dreams
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The Great Pyramid of Giza, Largest Egyptian pyramid. Giza pyramids complex landscape.

If an advanced civilisation lived on Earth millions of years ago, would we be able to tell?

If an advanced civilisation lived on Earth millions of years ago, would we be able to tell?
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Close-up of woman's eye and eyelashes

Should I trim my eyelashes?

Spoiler alert: You shouldn't trim your eyelashes for a variety of very good reasons including how easy it would be to damage your eyes
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What happens when we die? © Getty Images

What does dying feel like? A doctor explains what we know

While we don’t know if anything happens afterwards, we do know exactly what happens in the moments leading up the end. Dr Kathryn Mannix leads you through the last few steps on your body’s journey.
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Cat on a laptop © Getty

Why does my cat love sitting on my laptop?

How your cat's annoying keyboard-lounging habit is part of its ploy to possess your house.
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Photo of a tiger and a goat standing beside one another in the snow

Do tigers ever befriend their prey?

Do tigers ever befriend their prey? An unlikely bromance with a goat might hold the answers
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