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How does the brain identify voices?
166,000 visitors, 700 competition entries and 1 live experiment! As part of the Brain Diaries exhibition, which took place at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, researchers asked the general public what they would like to find out if they had access to an MRI scanner and a team of...

How do you mend a broken heart?
It’s the organ that pumps our blood around our body to keep us alive…the heart. But what happens after a heart attack? If you are lucky and rushed to hospital quickly enough, you may escape with minimal damage but many patients are left with a scar that doesn’t heal. Is there any hope of fixing...

How do you become an astronaut?
How do you become an astronaut?
Within the next few decades, humans could be leaving their footprints on the Red Planet! That's the plan, as NASA continues to prepare to expand human exploration in the solar system. But what we want to know is: How do you become an astronaut?

How did Mary Somerville get on the Scottish £10 note?
Who is Mary Somerville?
If you immediately thought ‘she was a scientist!’ you would be right! But she is so much more than that! Somerville college right here in Oxford was named in her honour.
In this episode of the Big Questions podcast we are asking: How did Mary Somerville get...

How do you measure a Mars quake?
When the ground shakes on Earth we call them earthquakes. Even weak ones can be detected by 'seismometers' and from listening carefully to them we can learn a lot about the makeup of the planet - that it has a solid core, molten mantle under a thin crust. But can we learn anything from listening...

What happens after a storm?
Storm Eleanor was the latest name given to the extreme weather that hit the UK at the start of January 2018. This was just a week after Storm Dylan struck on New Year’s Eve. Many people have been asking whether these harsh weather conditions are due to climate change.

Is vaping better than smoking?
E-cigarettes are the new kid on the block. They’re getting lots of attention from many scientists across the world curious to see if this is the trick that’s needed to separate 1 billion people from cigarettes! Yes, 1 billion people smoke!

How do you survive the office Christmas party?
Everyone has a story about an office Christmas party that got a bit out of hand. In this episode of the Oxford Sparks Big Questions podcast we are getting festive and asking – how do you survive the office Christmas party?

Where have all the cicadas gone?
The New Forest cicada is the only cicada native to the UK. During May to July it sings with a very characteristic high-pitched song, which is at the limits of human hearing, and is particularly difficult for most adults to hear. Sightings of the cicada within the New Forest date back to 1812,...