BBC Focus - 03.2020

Q&A

DEAR DOCTOR...

DELICATEISSUES DEALTWITH

BYSCIENCE FOCUS EXPERTS

Gelpolishcontainssmallmolecules
calledmonomers.Whenyouput
yourhandundertheultraviolet
(UV)naillamp,theUVradiation
triggersa chemicalreactionthat
causesthemonomerstolink
togethertoformlongpolymer
chains,settingthegel.Theresultis
a tough,flexiblenailpolish.
In2009,USresearcherssparked
concernwithanarticledescribing
howtwonailbarregularshad
developedskincanceronthebacks
oftheirhands.However,the
researchersweren’tabletomake
anystrongconclusionsabout
whethertheUVnaillampswere
responsible,anda separate 2018
reviewoftheliteratureconcluded
thatthecancerriskfromnaillamps
is low.Nevertheless,theauthorsof
thereviewrecommendusing
fingerlessglovesorsunscreento
protectthehandswhileunder
thelamp.
Finally,thenailfilingthatoccurs
beforethepolish,andthesoaking
inacetonetoremovegelnails,can
makenailsmorebrittleandlikely
tosplit.Sotreatyourself,butit
mightbeworthplanninginsome
gel-freeperiods,and protecting
your hands.ED

I’DLOVETOTREAT

MYSELFTOA GEL

MANICURE,BUTARE

THEY BAD FOR ME?

IHATEPUBLICSPEAKING.IS‘IMAGINETHE

AUDIENCENAKED’REALLYTHEBEST

ADVICE FOR OVERCOMING NERVES?

Thisadvicehasbeenaroundforyears.Theideais thatit willmakeyour

audienceseemlessthreateningandsoreduceyournerves.However,

publicspeakingexpertssayit’sanunwisetechnique– afterall,thekey

tobeinganeffectivepresenteris torespectandengageyouraudience,

nottoseethemastheenemyortomockthem(ifyouhavea vivid

imagination,thestrategycouldalsobeoverlydistracting!).

Tocalmyournerves,you’rebetteroffusinga techniqueknownas

‘cognitivereappraisal’.ResearchatHarvardBusinessSchoolhas

shownthatspeakerswhodeliberatelyreevaluatetheirnervesas

excitementratherthananxiety(forexample,bysaying“I amexcited”

outloud)performbetterthanthosewhotrytocalmthemselvesdown.

Moregenerally,oneofthebestthingsyoucandois toprepare

thoroughly.Makesureyourspeechdoesnotoverrun,practiseinfront

offriendsandfamily,andvisitthevenueaheadoftimeif youcan.

Finally,createsome‘if-then’planstohelpyoucope,suchas“ifI begin

to feel overwhelmed, then I will take a deep breath and refocus”.CJ

ADAMKING,

HUDDERSFIELD

WHYARE

SUNSPOTS

BLACK?

Sunspotsareareas

oftheSun’s

photosphere(the

visiblesurface)that

aresignificantly

coolerthanthe

surroundingregions.

Althoughtheexact

detailsofsunspot

formationarenot

fullyunderstood,

theyarecoincident

withareasof

increasedmagnetic

field.Theseintense

magneticfields

appeartosuppress

thereleaseofheat

intothephotosphere,

thusmaking

sunspotscoolerthan

theirsurroundingsby

a coupleofthousand

degreesCelsius.This

meansthatsunspots

areonlyabouta third

asbrightasthe

surrounding

photosphere,andit’s

thiscontrastin

brightnessthat

makesthemappear

dark,evenblack.If

youcouldplucka

sunspotfromtheSun

andputit inthenight

sky,it wouldactually

beaboutasbrightas

thesurfaceofthe

Moonasseenfrom

Earth.AGu

Dogfoodis nutritionallybalancedforthecaninemetabolism,soit

hasmorefatandlessproteinthanweneed,andit’salsoenriched

withvitaminA,whichcanbeharmfulinhighdosestohumansinthe

longterm.Noneofthisshouldbea problemif you’reonlyeatingone

tin.Moreofa riskis that– althoughmosttinnedpetfoodis made

fromingredientsthatareleftoverfromhumanfoodmanufacture

• stringenthumanfoodsafetyregulationsdon’talwaysapply,and
  therehavebeenincidentsofcontaminated pet food. So it’s probably
  best to find an all-night café!LV

I’MHUNGRY,THESHOPSARESHUTAND

ALLI HAVEINMYCUPBOARDISDOG

FOOD. WOULD IT BE SAFE TO EAT?