Curious Cases Folgen

Neal Shepperson asks, "What determines left or right handedness and why are us lefties in the minority?"When we started investigating this question it became clear that there were just too many scientific mysteries to squeeze into one episode. So there are two whole episodes devoted to this very Curious Case.One in ten people are left-handed, but where does this ratio come from and when did it appear in our evolutionary past?Hannah talks to primatologist Prof Linda Marchant from Miami University about Neanderthal teeth and termite fishing. Adam consults handedness expert Prof Chris McManus from University College London. He's been trying to track down the genes responsible for whether we're right or left handed.If you have any Curious Cases for the team to investigate please email curiouscases@bbc.co.ukPresenter: Adam Rutherford & Hannah Fry Producer: Michelle Martin.

"Can horses count?" asks retired primary school teacher, Lesley Marr.Our scientific sleuths consider the case of Clever Hans, with a spectacular re-enactment of a 20th century spectacle. Plus, we hear from Dr Claudia Uller who has been conducting modern studies on equine counting.Mathematician Prof Marcus Du Sautoy explains the basic concept of counting to Adam, and Hannah looks across the animal kingdom to find the cleverest mathematical creature.If you have any questions you'd like the duo to investigate, please email curiouscases@bbc.co.ukPresenters: Hannah Fry, Adam Rutherford Producer: Michelle Martin.

Our science detectives answer the following perplexing problem, sent in by Hannah Monteith from Edinburgh in Scotland:"How does leg hair know it has been cut? It doesn't seem to grow continuously but if you shave it, it somehow knows to grow back."Hannah consults dermatologist Dr Susan Holmes, from the Hair Clinic at Southern General Hospital in Glasgow, to discover why the hairs on your legs don't grow as long as the hairs on your head.Adam attempts to have a serious discussion about the evolutionary purpose of pubic hair with anatomist and broadcaster Prof Alice Roberts.If you have a scientific mystery for the team to investigate, please email: curiouscases@bbc.co.ukPresenters: Hannah Fry, Adam Rutherford Producer: Michelle Martin.