Moment of Um

Scientists develop medicines to help fight disease and keep people healthy. Some medicines are made in a lab, some come from plants, and some…even come from mold! So how does that work? We asked microbiologist Christine Salomon to help us find the answer. Got a question that totally breaks the mold? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll send you our most cultured answer.

If you’ve ever grabbed a flaming hot bowl of soup out of the microwave and then slurped a spoonful of icy liquid from the middle of it, you’re not alone. In fact, it feels like one of life’s great mysteries! Why does this happen to food in the microwave? We asked ceramic artist Matthew Katz to help us find the answer. Got a scalding hot question? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll bowl you over with the answer.

Colored eyeshadow, glossy lipstick, rosy blush – people use all sorts of makeup to change how they look. But when did we start using makeup? And how has it changed over time? We asked archaeologist and Brains On producer Anna Goldfield to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s making you blush? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help you face the answer!

Caves are full of amazing stuff: bats, hidden passageways and of course – spectacular rock formations! So where do these rock structures come from? We asked geologist Hazel Barton to help us find the answer. Got a rock-solid question?Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help find the answer under the surface.

Movies can take us to extraordinary places, sometimes using technology! Filmmakers create new worlds, incredible creatures, and mind-bending action scenes using something called a green screen. A green screen is just what it sounds like: a bright lime green background used to create special effects! So how does a green screen make movie magic? We asked movie-maker and film professor Jeremy Royce to help us find the answer. Got a question playing in the theater of your mind? Direct it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help screen out the answer.

Mold is a type of fungus, which means it’s related to mushrooms. And it can be kind of pretty, if you’re not grossed out by it. Sometimes mold is green or white or even pink! Why does it have so many colors? We asked professor Jonathan Schilling from the University of Minnesota to help us find the answer. Got a question in your brain that’s taking up too mushroom? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact and we’ll find an answer that isn’t past its expiration date.

Ever wandered around the supermarket and noticed that some of the food is marked “organic?” What does that mean? And why are the organic fruits and veggies in their own special section? We asked organic food expert Chris Schreiner to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s food for thought? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help you arrive at the answer organically.

If you’ve ever gotten a cut or a scrape, you might’ve noticed that your skin feels itchy while it’s healing. Why does that happen, anyway? We asked pediatrician Dr. Emma Gerstenzang to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s a cut above the rest? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll scratch our heads ‘til we find the answer!

Isn’t it cool that cars can go forwards and backwards? Backwards and forwards go can cars that cool it isn’t? All joking aside, these huge, heavy machines can switch directions with just the push of a lever! But how do they do it? We asked car expert Chaya Milchtein to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s driving you wild? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll steer you in the right direction!

So far, only adults have been to space. But there are plenty of kids who’d love to travel to space, so what gives? Why can’t kids walk on the moon? Or visit the International Space Station? We asked NASA engineer Varoujan Gorjian to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s moonwalking around your brain? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll spaceCRAFT an answer for you.

We love when our listeners send in super unique questions. We also love robots. So we had to answer this head-scratcher of a question from listener Lucas: why aren’t robots ticklish? We asked pediatrician Emma Gerstenzang to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s tickling your fancy? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll find the answer faster than a well-oiled machine!

If you’ve ever taken a dog on a walk, or let them run around the woods, you know that they LOVE to roll around in stinky stuff! And it’s one heck of a mess to clean up. Why do they do that? We asked researcher Elizabeth Carranza from the Arizona Canine Cognition Center to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s rolling around in your brain? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help sniff out the answer.

Dragons are fantastical fairytale creatures that fly and breathe fire. They aren’t real, but there are animals that can do the things dragons do! So … if dragons did exist, how would they fly and breathe fire? We asked science professor Dr. Mark Lorch to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s DRAGON you down? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll fire off an answer!

There are more than 8 billion people living on our big wonderful planet. What if all of those people traveled to the exact same spot on Earth and jumped at the same time? What would happen? Would we move the Earth? We asked physicist Dr. Kiley Kennedy to help us find the answer. Got a question jumping around in your brain? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll find an answer that moves you!

Energy powers our entire universe, whether it’s light from a star or energy stored in the food we eat. But could we ever run out? Will there be a time, far in the future, when the last drop of energy is used up? We asked physicist Dr. Kiley Kennedy to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s draining your mental battery? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact and we’ll find the answer for you, because knowledge is power!

Have you ever noticed how sometimes when you wash and dry a piece of clothing, it comes out a little smaller? Why does that happen? We asked science professor Dr. Mark Lorch to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s tumbling around your brain? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we won’t shrink away from answering it!

Some snakes make a chemical in their bodies called venom. They use it to hunt and protect themselves. Sometimes, if a human gets bitten by a snake, they need to take a special medicine called antivenin. How does this medicine work? We asked pediatrician Emma Gerstenzang to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s snaking around in your brain? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help find a sssssatisfying answer!

Ping pong is a super fun game. It’s like miniature tennis, where people use paddles to make balls fly across a table., and sometimes way, way up in the air! But how do those tiny plastic balls manage to bounce so high? We asked physicist Dr. Kiley Kennedy to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s bouncing around your brain? Ping us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll serve up the answer!

Lots of cars, trucks and buses are powered by gasoline. You put the gasoline in a little hole on the side of the vehicle, it powers the engine and then it comes out of the tailpipe as exhaust fumes. But what’s going on inside that engine? And how does gas turn into exhaust anyway? We asked chemistry professor Dr. Josie Nardo to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s really exhausting you? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll steeryou toward the answer!

There are all different kinds of trees in the world, from towering redwoods to tiny willow trees smaller than an action figure. Why are there so many different sizes of trees, anyway? We asked tree expert Jake Miesbauer to help us find the answer. Got a tree-mendous question? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll ginkGO find the answer!