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Why do we feel itchy? So many listeners have emailed in with questions about itchiness, and presenter Anand Jagatia on the case. We explore why we itch, the different types of itch, the different causes, and why scratching can help with the itchy sensation. Anand puts your questions to an expert panel: Dr Sonja Ständer, professor of Dermatology and Neurodermatology at the University of Münster and and Gil Yosipovitch, Professor of Dermatology at the Miller School of Medicine at University of Miami. Also joining them from the University of Hull in the UK is Dr Henning Holle who studies the…

CrowdScience

by BBC World Service · English · Tech & Science

We take your questions about life, Earth and the universe to researchers hunting for answers at the frontiers of knowledge.

More from CrowdScience

  1. 5 Jun 2026 · 29 min

    Do plants have personalities?

    CrowdScience listener George is showing Alex Lathbridge around a small, dark, and extremely hot shed, just outside the city of Accra in Ghana. Inside are row after row of shelves, stacked high with bulging grow-bags. And out of some of them, gorgeous cascades of oyster mushrooms are bursting into bloom. We’re on George’s mushroom farm, and he’s noticed something interesting. Even though the conditions in his grow-shed are tightly controlled – they have exactly the same food, water, and light as each other – nevertheless, they respond differently. Some are more vigorous than others, some…

  2. 29 May 2026 · 26 min

    What's the deal with tongues?

    Why is there such a variety of tongues in the animal kingdom? CrowdScience listener Dale has observed that his dog’s tongue is different from his and so is his cat’s. He’d like to know the reason. Caroline Steel visits London Zoo in the UK to find out more about the different types of tongues - from giraffes and birds to lizards. She talks to evolutionary biologist Kurt Schwenk, who explains that the development of tongues made it possible for animals to make the leap from the sea to life on land. Fish could rely on water to help them swallow food, but air and gravity required a whole…

  3. 22 May 2026 · 26 min

    Why am I an introvert?

    CrowdScience listener Daniel in Accra, Ghana is an introvert. Or at least, he thinks he is. And he’s worried that his preference for quiet spaces and lower social interaction might be holding him back in life. But what is introversion really? How do introverts and extroverts see the world differently? And is it better to be one or the other? Presenter Alex Lathbridge spends his working days talking to interesting people like Daniel. He loves meeting people, and talking to them too, yet he also thinks that deep down, he might be an introvert. To understand how and why people come to be…

  4. 8 May 2026 · 31 min

    How come sea levels are rising faster in some places than others?

    As our oceans warm due to climate change, sea levels are rising. It ought to be straightforward – as water gets warmer, it increases in volume. All the world’s oceans are connected, so how come sea levels are rising at different rates around the world, and even falling in some places? CrowdScience listener Alison in Australia wants to know the science behind the mystery. Presenter Anand Jagatia travels to the Philippines to investigate. The country is being particularly affected by the issue, with its more than 7,500 islands experiencing sea level rises that are double the global average. On…

  5. 1 May 2026 · 26 min

    Why can't I recognise faces?

    CrowdScience listener Jeroen finds it hard to remember people's faces - and he wants to know why. He wonders if it's to do with getting older and if there’s any way of improving. Presenter Caroline Steel has the same problem and is keen to find an answer too. She meets Professor Zaira Cattaneo, a neuroscientist based in Italy who researches face perception. Zaira has discovered which parts of the brain are engaged in facial recognition. She explains how we recognise faces and why ageing could be a factor in Jeroen’s difficulty. Caroline travels to Bournemouth in the UK to meet researcher…

  6. 24 Apr 2026 · 26 min

    Do animals hold funerals?

    CrowdScience listeners Dougie and Molly have been wondering what happens to animals when they die, and whether there are animals that hold rituals to mark the passing of one of their kin. Presenter Caroline Steel is on the case, trying to work out what happens to the bodies of animals when they die. Dougie and Molly say they rarely see animal carcasses where they live - so where do they all go? Dr Sarah Perkins of Cardiff University in the UK runs a research project called Roadlab, which logs how quickly the bodies of animals killed by traffic disappear, and she thinks she might have a clue.…

  7. 2 Oct 2026 · 26 min

    How are shells made?

    Where do shells come from? CrowdScience listener Tamsyn got in touch, a little embarrassed, confessing that she had managed to reach her twenties without realising that shells are made by living creatures. Suddenly, her curiosity ran wild and she asked CrowdScience to investigate how these sea creatures have the architectural prowess to make shells in delicate ornamental shapes with beautiful colours and patterns. The job of sea-creature-investigator-in-chief falls to presenter Marnie Chesterton. She heads to the Natural History Museum in London, UK, where they have more shells than they can…

  8. 25 Sep 2026 · 26 min

    Do plants know we're here?

    CrowdScience listener Gurmeet in India wants to know if plants can sense that we're around. She started wondering about this at a wellness centre where she was encouraged to hug a tree. She enjoyed the experience, but what about the tree? Did it enjoy being touched? And is there actually evidence that hugging a tree is good for us? Anand Jagatia talks to scientists about what happens to a plant when it's touched. Molecular biologist Olivier van Aken, from Lund University in Sweden, explains what happens inside a plant's cells – from mimosa whose leaves close up when touched to a Venus…

  9. 18 Sep 2026 · 34 min

    How many dead people are on the internet?

    CrowdScience listener Devin in Canada has just had a baby. Worried that all the good email addresses might be taken by the time his child needs one, he has already set up an account. But it got him wondering: how many email addresses belong to people who have died? From websites and blogs to email accounts, social media profiles, gaming avatars and even our conversations with AI, we’re all leaving behind a trail of digital footprints that can outlive us. So what happens to them when we die? Are they deleted, recycled or preserved? And who gets to decide? Presenter Anand Jagatia travels…

  10. 11 Sep 2026 · 26 min

    Can my veggie sausages save the world?

    CrowdScience listener Lisa, who is from South Africa but now lives in the UK, has been a vegetarian for many years. Sometimes though, she still finds herself craving meats – like spaghetti bolognese or a burger. To satisfy these cravings, she eats ‘alt-meats’, products meant to look and taste like meat but made from vegetables. This has her wondering though, are these alternative meats better for the planet than actual meat would be? And what about her health? Given that many of these foods are highly processed, would eating meat be better for her? Presenter Chhavi Sachdev speaks to food…

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