Why do we get middle-aged spread?
Why do we get middle aged spread? And what is the strongest substance in the world?
Two cases today for Drs Adam Rutherford & Hannah Fry to investigate, involving strength and weight.
The Portly Problem
"Why do we have middle aged spread?" asks Bart Janssen from New Zealand. In this episode we ponder the science of fat, from obese mice to big bottoms.
Why do we put on weight in middle age? And are some types of fat better than others? Hannah meets Prof Steve Bloom at Imperial College, London to discuss why pears are better than apples when it comes to body shape.
And Adam talks to Dr Aaron Cypess from the National Institutes of Health in Maryland, who has created a 'fatlas' - an atlas that maps fat inside the body.
The Strongest Substance
"What is the strongest substance in the universe?鈥� asks Fran莽oise Michel. 鈥淪ome people say it is spider web, because it is stronger than steel. Is it iron? Is it flint? Is it diamond because diamond can be only be cut by diamond?"
Adam and Hannah put a variety of materials, from biscuits to toffees, under the hammer to test their strength.
In their quest to find the strongest substance on earth they quiz materials scientist Mark Miodownik, engineer Danielle George and spidergoat creator, Dr Randy Lewis from Utah.
Please send your Curious Cases for the team to investigate to curiouscases@bbc.co.uk
Photo: A man works out at a slimming centre in Beijing, credit: LIU JIN/AFP/Getty Images
Presenters: Adam Rutherford, Hannah Fry
Producer: Michelle Martin
Last on
More episodes
Previous
Clips
-
![]()
Does it really matter if you have a pot belly?
Duration: 01:19
-
![]()
Why big bums are healthier than big tums
Duration: 02:20
Broadcasts
- Mon 30 Jan 2017 19:32GMT麻豆社 World Service East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa only
- Mon 30 Jan 2017 20:32GMT麻豆社 World Service Online, Americas and the Caribbean, Australasia, Europe and the Middle East & UK DAB/Freeview only
- Mon 30 Jan 2017 21:32GMT麻豆社 World Service East Asia & South Asia only
- Tue 31 Jan 2017 02:32GMT麻豆社 World Service Americas and the Caribbean
- Tue 31 Jan 2017 03:32GMT麻豆社 World Service Online, Europe and the Middle East & UK DAB/Freeview only
- Tue 31 Jan 2017 04:32GMT麻豆社 World Service East Asia & South Asia only
- Tue 31 Jan 2017 05:32GMT麻豆社 World Service Australasia
- Tue 31 Jan 2017 07:32GMT麻豆社 World Service East and Southern Africa & Europe and the Middle East only
Featured in...
![]()
The Curious Cases of Rutherford and Fry—Discovery
Scientific sleuths Adam Rutherford and Hannah Fry answer perplexing questions
Space
The eclipses, spacecraft and astronauts changing our view of the Universe
The Curious Cases of Rutherford and Fry
A pair of scientific sleuths answer your perplexing questions. Ask them anything!
Podcast
-
![]()
Discovery
Explorations in the world of science.
