| Dr Hypothesis |
| Sunday, 08 May 2005 | |
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Dear Dr Hypothesis, I am anxious about all the recent attention given to the complete sequencing of the human genome. I have never given a sample of my DNA and do not wish to, yet we are told that somehow this code represents us all. When they sequenced the human genome, exactly whose genome did they sequence? Genome Jean DR HYPOTHESIS SAYS: Well, Jean, I don’t think there’s any need for you to be overly concerned at this point. The simple fact is that nobody knows exactly whose genomes have been sequenced. As I’m sure you’re aware, all humans have much of their genetic code in common (well over 90%) and that is what has been sequenced through the random sampling of a number of different volunteers. The rest of the DNA in our cells is what makes up the enormous variation seen in humans. www.doegenomes.org Dear Dr Hypothesis, I have been offered a job by NASA to become their next astronaut, but I am unsure whether or not to take the job. The problem is, I have a real love of fizzy drinks and suffer withdrawal symptoms without them. How do canned carbonated drinks behave in zero gravity? Fizzy Fred the Anxious Astronaut
Dear Dr Hypothesis, there have been rumours for a while that an underground car park will be built under Midsummer Common like the one under Hyde Park . I live near Midsummer Common and make use of it for a number of activities such as jogging and walking my dog, Scraps. Could you tell me, when they build such things how do they do it? Do they tunnel underneath or do they dig down and replace the top layer afterwards? Strolling Steve and Scraps DR HYPOTHESIS SAYS: The construction of an underground car park is a massive engineering project which requires a lot of planning, and the details can often differ between projects. The majority of underground structures are created by excavation and then replacement of the upper layers of soil, but of course there are a few exceptions to this rule, such as the Channel Tunnel. Tunnelling underneath Cambridge would cause major disruption to many of the protected buildings, so I think that an excavation approach is more likely to be favoured. If the work goes ahead, whichever approach is eventually decided upon, I would think it unlikely that you or Scraps would be able to continue using Midsummer Common as you currently do. http://fbe.uwe.ac.uk/public/geocal/ucp/default.htm Dear Dr Hypothesis, I am about to make a long distance trip, and, despite many worries that have recently been highlighted by the press, I am actually more concerned about the direction water will drain down my plughole when I cross the equator. Is it true that it flows in a different direction in the southern hemisphere, and if so, why? Plughole Paul
www.guardian.co.uk Dr Hypothesis needs your problems! If you have any worries (purely of a scientific nature, obviously) that you would like Dr Hypothesis to answer, then please email him at drhypothesis@bluesci.org . He will award the author of the most intriguing question a £10 book voucher. Unfortunately Dr Hypothesis cannot promise to publish an answer to every question, but he will do his very best to see that the most fascinating are discussed in the next edition of BlueSci. |
DR
HYPOTHESIS SAYS: If you take a can of fizzy juice directly into space,
then the resulting pressure difference between space and the inside of
the can will cause the can to explode. Certain cans have been developed
to be opened inside the pressurised cabin of a spaceship but care needs
to be taken here. The gas that escapes from the can when you open it
would then propel it forwards (or you backwards), so it is important to
hold the can against a surface so as to absorb the pressure. Even then,
it’s still not plain sailing as the drink may escape from the can due
to the lack of gravity keeping it forced into the bottom of the can.
You would need to make sure that you swallowed any escaping juice
before it damaged the delicate electrical equipment in the craft.
Perhaps it would be simpler if you just got a job nearer the ground,
Fred. www.galactic-guide.com 
DR HYPOTHESIS SAYS: This is a
widely held misconception, Paul, but it does have some basis in
scientific theory. The Coriolis force, which is driven by the rotation
of the Earth, can drive fluids to flow anticlockwise in the northern
hemisphere and clockwise in the southern hemisphere. However, this
force is very weak and so, on the scale of a sink or a bath, is almost
always overcome by more important factors such as the temperature of
the water or previous currents in the water. It should, in principle,
be possible by to make water flow clockwise, anticlockwise and even
straight down the same plughole by simply altering other variables such
as those mentioned above. News Archives
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