Why do we feel itchy? So many listeners have emailed in with questions about itchiness, and presenter Anand Jagatia on the case.

We explore why we itch, the different types of itch, the different causes, and why scratching can help with the itchy sensation. 

Anand puts your questions to an expert panel: Dr Sonja Ständer, professor of Dermatology and Neurodermatology at the University of Münster and and Gil Yosipovitch, Professor of Dermatology at the Miller School of Medicine at University of Miami. 

Also joining them from the University of Hull in the UK is Dr Henning Holle who studies the psychology of itch. He’s got an itchy game for Anand, Sonja and Gil to play in the studio, but is it really as simple as he’s letting on?

Presenter: Anand Jagatia 

Producer: Tom Bonnett 

Editor: Ben Motley 

(Photo: Young women have skin problems, irritation on her skin, skin infection itching red rash, arm scratching with hands, isolated over yellow background - stock photo - Credit: Arnav Pratap Singh via Getty Images)

As our oceans warm due to climate change, sea levels are rising. It ought to be straightforward – as water gets warmer, it increases in volume.

All the world’s oceans are connected, so how come sea levels are rising at different rates around the world, and even falling in some places? CrowdScience listener Alison in Australia wants to know the science behind the mystery.

 Presenter Anand Jagatia travels to the Philippines to investigate. The country is being particularly affected by the issue, with its more than 7,500 islands experiencing sea level rises that are double the global average.

On Palawan Island, in the east of the country, he speaks to people whose homes and livelihoods are being put at risk by rising waters.

He also visits the Philippine Coast Guard in Manila and speaks to Commander James Barandino, from their Marine Environmental Protection division, to hear how their work is being affected by sea level rises and the flooding it causes.

Dr Charina Lyn Repollo from the University of the Philippines Marine Science Institute shows Anand how they monitor sea levels at dozens of locations. Their data shows huge variations in sea level across the country. How can that be the case?

Anand also speaks to Jonathan Bamber, Professor of Earth Observation and Glaciology at the University of Bristol in the UK, to unpick the science behind how sea levels can rise at different rates in different places.

And how do we protect people from rising waters? Dr Rodel Diaz Lasco from the Oscar M. Lopez Center for Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk Management in Manila, explains how global collaboration might hold the key.

Presenter: Anand Jagatia

Producer: Dan Welsh

Editor: Ben Motley

(Photo: Globe floating on water - stock photo- Credit: Jan Hakan Dahlstrom via Getty Images)

CrowdScience listener Jeroen finds it hard to remember people's faces - and he wants to know why. He wonders if it's to do with getting older and if there’s any way of improving.

Presenter Caroline Steel has the same problem and is keen to find an answer too.

She meets Professor Zaira Cattaneo, a neuroscientist based in Italy who researches face perception. Zaira has discovered which parts of the brain are engaged in facial recognition. She explains how we recognise faces and why ageing could be a factor in Jeroen’s difficulty.

Caroline travels to Bournemouth in the UK to meet researcher Professor Sarah Bate, who assesses Caroline's ability to recognise faces and explains the causes of face blindness.

And she compares notes with fellow CrowdScience presenter Marnie Chesterton, who also has difficulty remembering faces. Around two per cent of the population have the condition. Could there be a reason why more than a third of CrowdScience presenters experience face blindness?

If you’ve got a science question you’d like us to answer, email [email protected].

Presenter Caroline Steel

Producer Jo Glanville

Editor Ben Motley

(Photo:Packaging cardboard on the head with different emotions - stock photo Credit: Flying broccoli via Getty Images)

CrowdScience listeners Dougie and Molly have been wondering what happens to animals when they die, and whether there are animals that hold rituals to mark the passing of one of their kin.

Presenter Caroline Steel is on the case, trying to work out what happens to the bodies of animals when they die. Dougie and Molly say they rarely see animal carcasses where they live - so where do they all go?

Dr Sarah Perkins of Cardiff University in the UK runs a research project called Roadlab, which logs how quickly the bodies of animals killed by traffic disappear, and she thinks she might have a clue. Caroline joins her on a hunt through the undergrowth for animals, and answers.

And when animals lose a member of their flock, herd or school, do they indulge in rituals that look anything like a funeral? Caroline meets Dr Kaeli Swift, an ecologist at the University of Washington in the US, who has some surprising evidence from her research into bereaved crows.

Meanhile, in Botswana, Mathale ‘Metal’ Mosheti is a safari guide in Chobe National Park. The African Savannah Elephants there demonstrate some remarkable behaviour when another elephant dies. But do animals really grieve for their loved ones? Dr Barbara J. King, Emerita Professor of Anthropology at William & Mary University in the US, has some ideas. But is it enough to answer Dougie and Molly’s question?

Presenter: Caroline Steel

Producer: Tom Bonnett

Editor: Ben Motley

(Photo: Little red sick bird canary inside a wheelbarrow pushed by a lizard. Credit: Fernando Trabanco/Getty Images)