Does Winnie The Pooh Have A B12 Deficiency?

Does Winnie the Pooh have a B12 deficiency? How many lies could Pinocchio tell before it became lethal? And is it really possible to enter a room on a wrecking ball, Miley Cyrus-style?

Third-year natural science undergraduates at the University of Leicester have wrestled with these bizarre dilemmas and more as part of a project on submitting research to peer-reviewed science journals.

:: Warning: Breaking Bad spoiler below

Senior personal tutor Dr Cheryl Hurkett said: "It teaches them about academic publishing.

"Instead of a boring lecture, students choose a topic, draft a paper, then they decide on what gets accepted and what gets published. It allows students to experience what it’s like to be at the cutting edge of scientific research."

Here are some of the questions considered, and the students' findings:

How many lies could Pinocchio tell before it became lethal?

"Pinocchio could only sustain 13 lies in a row before the maximum upward force his neck could exert cannot sustain his head and nose. The head’s overall centre of mass shifts over 85 metres after 13 lies, and the overall length of the nose is 208 metres.

"Lengthy, extensive lies are advised against, for the health and well-being of Pinocchio."

The viability of "coming in like a wrecking ball" - Miley Cyrus-style.

"Decelerations in the area of the value calculated are well beyond known limits to what a human being can stand without severe injury, hence it is unlikely that such a feat could be achieved under these conditions.

"As the damage inflicted by an impact is dependent on the time over which the force is applied, it could be possible to identify a material in which the deceleration is gradual enough to remain within the current safe limits of deceleration for human beings.

"However, it is the view of the author that wrecking balls would not be used on these types of materials and hence the analogy would no longer be consistent."

Does honey-loving Winnie the Pooh have a B12 deficiency?

"Characteristics observed in Winnie the Pooh appear to correlate with a B12 deficiency.

"Such a condition is common in those with restricted diets, such as vegetarians and vegans, coinciding with anaemia where the patient is often tried, easily fatigued and shows a paling of the skin."

Could Breaking Bad's Gus Fring really stay standing after having half of his face blown off in an explosion?

"By observing Gus Fring’s behaviour after the explosion, it is clear to see that his unusual reaction to the explosion was a result of simultaneously released signalling molecules in his body.

"Combined together, the cell signalling molecules increase the energy and blood circulation to parts of Gus' body which are in most need, preparing him for extreme action - in this case preventing him from feeling any pain for a few brief moments before collapsing to his death.

"Furthermore, the injury shows the skull is still intact implying that the motor cortex is not damaged, therefore the fact that Gus walked out of the room adjusting his tie, can be justified by this.

"However, looking at the substantial injury that Gus suffered, it is unlikely that he would walk out of the room in such a calm manner, as the sudden release of norepinephrine would make it more likely for Gus to behave erratically."

Could a frog turn into a prince?

"It is theoretically possible to gain enough energy for the transformation of a frog to a prince from the kinetic energy of air alone.

"However, extraction of such amount of energy is practically impossible for present science, as it would require extracting all kinetic energy from the air molecule.

"This would result in an environment of absolute zero temperature. While solar heating would slowly provide the air with energy again, the health of the prince/frog and any other person (princess) in the area cannot be assured.

"Considering that story was written and set in an age more than a hundred years ago, such a feat can truly only be achieved with magic."