The Shocking White Hair
Dr Adam Rutherford and Dr Hannah Fry investigate everyday mysteries sent by listeners.
Why does human hair go grey and is it ever possible for it to go white overnight from shock? Hannah and Adam explore why hair goes grey, how much stressful life events and a lack of sleep can speed up the process. They hear from the pilot whose hair turned white after a flight where all 4 of his engines failed after flying through a volcanic ash cloud - was the shock responsible? They also uncover new research which has shown it's possible for greying hair to return to its natural colour and ask if this finding could be exploited to uncover a cosmetic way to reverse hair greying?
Last on
Broadcasts
- Mon 23 May 202219:32GMTBBC World Service except East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa
- Tue 24 May 202203:32GMTBBC World Service Australasia, South Asia & East Asia only
- Tue 24 May 202204:32GMTBBC World Service Americas and the Caribbean
- Tue 24 May 202208:32GMTBBC World Service
- Tue 24 May 202212:32GMTBBC World Service except East and Southern Africa, East Asia, South Asia & West and Central Africa
- Tue 24 May 202219:32GMTBBC World Service East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa only
- Mon 30 May 202200:32GMTBBC World Service except Americas and the Caribbean
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.
