the-BA : Big Questions Launch

Is there life on other planets? Can I live forever? Who's got greater will power, men or women? And can chocolate save your life?

This Friday (7th March) the public will be invited to challenge the nation's scientists and engineers by posing questions on the Big Question Blog, a new forum launching to mark the start of National Science and Engineering Week.

A team of over 100 scientists and engineers from universities and institutions around the country have come together to run the Big Question Blog, which will carry thousands of questions and answers during the Week and beyond.

To launch the blog, the Prime Minister Gordon Brown has posed his question:

What is the single scientific advance which would do most to help us reduce poverty across the globe?

Other questions already posted include:

• Why don't my eyes fall out when I sneeze?
• If I fell into a black hole where would I go?
• Do animals cry?
• Will we travel in time?
• How do animals predict earthquakes?

Professor Sir David King, President of the BA (British Association for the Advancement of Science), the coordinators of National Science and Engineering Week, said:

"There is no question which science can't address – whether it's on a subject of global importance or a light-hearted inquiry about the world around us. We are all scientists at heart as we are all curious, questioning and creative. During the Week we want to give people of all ages the chance to directly ask questions of our scientists – by asking questions we want people to feel involved in scientific discovery and debate."

Over 700,000 people are expected to attend over 3,000 events during National Science and Engineering Week making it one of the biggest public science activities in the world.

In addition to the Big Question Blog, there are events and activities across the UK that connect to the Week's theme of "A Question of Science":

• Is there life on other planets? Thursday 13 March (11am) – tune-in to a webcast from Jodrell Bank Observatory about their search for extra-solar planets and extra-terrestrial life.
• Are machines smarter than nature? Friday 14 March (10am) - Team Nature will square up to Team Technology at the National Botanic Garden of Wales in a battle to see who comes top in energy, medicine, engineering and intellect.
• Can we solve global warming? Saturday 15 March (10am) Cambridge - Visit Bjorn the polar bear, a life-sized, fully-animated pod puppet, and his keeper Arthur to find out out how polar bears are under threat and what we can do to tackle global warming.
• Where does our voice come from? Tues 11 March (1pm) Bloomsbury Theatre, London - Cognitive neuroscientist Professor Sophie Scott will shed light on voices and accents with the help of Duncan Wisbey, impressionist and voice artist on Alistair McGowan's Big Impression, using functional imaging of his brain and acoustic analyses of his voice made while he performs his vocal gymnastics.
• Are you ready to learn? School children across the UK are taking part in a national experiment designed to measure memory and concentration. Teachers TV are launching the experiment in partnership with the BA.

Taking a more irreverent look at science, the Ig Nobel tour is also coming to the UK during the week. The tour includes sword-swallowing American Dan Meyer who shared the 2007 Ig Nobel Medicine Prize with UK consultant radiologist Brian Witcombe for their research into 'Sword Swallowing and Its Side Effects'.

Teenagers will also be encouraged to take part through a specially designed National Science and Engineering Week section of leading social networking site Piczo.

To post a question please visit www.the-ba.net/thebigquestion.
For more information about National Science and Engineering Week, including free activity packs and an online programme, visit http://www.the-ba.net/nsew.

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