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BBC World Service


The news you know, the science you don’t. Unexpected Elements looks beyond everyday narratives to discover a goldmine of scientific stories and connections from around the globe. From Afronauts, to why we argue, to a deep dive on animal lifespans: see the world in a new way.


Unexpected Elements

Have you ever wondered what happen to salmon when too much cocaine seeps into their rivers? Inspired by the Enhanced Games, we lookat unexpected areas of performance enhancement. Peptides are making a splash in influencer circles, but what is the science?

Plus, we hear from Prof David Putrino, who is making sure the athletes at the Enhanced Games are staying safe. He shares what we can learn from the Games – and how the data could help develop future medicines. 

Also on the show, whether radio waves can enhance your sense of smell, and is an hour at a gallery as beneficial as an hour at the gym?

Presenter: Marnie Chesterton, with Katie Silver and Andrada Fiscutean
Producer: Sophie Ormiston, with Margaret Sessa-Hawkins, Robbie Wojciechowski and Scarlett Victoria

Unexpected enhancements

An outbreak of hantavirus on the MV Hondius cruise ship has us looking at the unexpected science around the disease. First up, why is this outbreak such an unusual occurrence? 

Then, what's in a name? We look at how diseases are named, and why the system has sometimes been problematic. 

Also, the mysterious case of medicine disappearing from the quarantine tanks at an aquarium. We speak to the expert who solved the puzzle. 

All that, plus more fun and strange science, on this week's Unexpected Elements.

Presenters: Alex Lathbridge, with Camilla Mota and Kai Kupferschmidt
Producers: Margaret Sessa-Hawkins, with Alice Lipscombe-Southwell, Robbie Wojciechowski and Scarlett Victoria

Hantavirus outbreak and what’s in a name

Sir David Attenborough is arguably the world’s favourite broadcaster, and this week he’s blowing out the candles on his 100th birthday cake. Inspired by his significant birthday, we decided to uncover the biology behind centenarians. What are Sir David’s secrets?

Speaking of ageing, we then find out about a little jellyfish that never gets old. Could it help us unlock immortality?

Next up, climb aboard as we chat with Dr Nadine Johnston, a marine ecologist who works on the iconic Sir David Attenborough research vessel, as she tells us about the tiny Antarctic animals that could lock up more carbon than the Amazon rainforest.

We then find out about improved landslide prediction in Nepal and how the world has changed in Sir David’s life.

All that, plus many more Unexpected Elements. 

Presenter: Marnie Chesterton, with Chhavi Sachdev and Tristan Ahtone 
Producers: Alice Lipscombe-Southwell, with Ella Hubber and Robbie Wojciechowski

One hundred years of Sir David Attenborough

The blockade on the strait of Hormuz has led to an unexpected consequence – condom prices are set to increase by up to 30 percent! This has us delving into all things contraception, starting with koala hormone implants, the lengthy process of providing birth control to elephants, and a microplastics mystery.

Then, we investigate the elusive male contraceptive – why is it taking so long to develop, and why has it been so hard to approve? Professor John Amory Md, from UW Medical Centre in Seattle, joins us to explain the past, present and future of this medical research.

Plus, how have Chinese researchers cracked the code on eel breeding, and does the moon’s gravity make us lighter at night?

Presenter: Marnie Chesterton, with Leonie Joubert and Sandy Ong
Producer: Ella Hubber, with Alice Lipscombe Southwell, Robbie Wojciechowski and Georgia Christie

The soaring price of condoms

On 26th April 1986, Reactor 4 at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine exploded, releasing vast amounts of radiation. Now, 40 years later, it remains the worst nuclear accident in history. 

Using the Chernobyl anniversary as a starting point, this week the Unexpected Elements team find out about the weird life thriving at the site of the nuclear reactor.
 
Next up, we discover how radioactive isotopes can help doctors diagnose cancer.

We then turn our attention to ‘gamma gardens’, which were developed by scientists in the 1950s and 1960s to investigate the impacts of radiation on plants. Professor Helen Anne Curry, from the Georgia Institute of Technology, joins us to reveal more. 

All that, plus many more Unexpected Elements. 

Presenter: Marnie Chesterton, with Andrada Fiscutean and Dr Emmanuel Samani
Producers: Alice Lipscombe-Southwell, with Margaret Sessa Hawkins and Georgia Christie

Chernobyl: 40 years later

In 2025, Russian-born scientist Kseniia Petrova picked up some spliced frog embryos from a laboratory in France and brought them back to the USA to aid her research into ageing and cancer. She was detained by the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), charged with smuggling and had her visa revoked. 

Now though, a judge has ruled that the scientist’s visa was wrongly cancelled.

Inspired by this story, the Unexpected Elements team find out how embryos and sperm behave in space. 

Next, we discover that embryos can regenerate limbs, and new research could help us unlock those skills as adults. 

We also reveal the unexpected link between frogs and pregnancy tests, and find out about a devastating fungus that’s wreaking havoc on amphibians. 

And don't miss probiotics for coral reefs, dessert stomachs and the weird physics of time. 

All that, plus many more Unexpected Elements. 

Presenter: Marnie Chesterton, with Katie Silver and Camilla Mota
Producers: Alice Lipscombe-Southwell, with Ella Hubber and Georgia Christie

The ribbiting science of frogs

This month, India began the immense undertaking of surveying its population of 1.4 billion people in the world’s largest ever census. Inspired by this huge task, the Unexpected Elements team explores some population science. 

First, counting – or miscounting – populations. The global human population may be much larger than previously thought as research shows counts may have missed those living in more remote areas. And we learn about the species stuck in a neverending “species limbo”, where they’ve gone unseen for decades but still can’t officially be declared extinct. 

Next, we’re joined by geneticist Dr Ambroise Wonkam, one of the researchers behind the Three Million African Genomes project, who tells us why sequencing more African genomes is the key to unlocking a wealth of vital genetics knowledge.

Also, Mumbai’s out of tune musical road, how we know volcanoes are extinct, and the weight of the internet. 

All that, plus many more unexpected elements.

Presenter: Caroline Steel, with Chhavi Sachdev and Candice Bailey. 
Producers: Lucy Davies, with Ella Hubber, Imy Harper and Georgia Christie.

Is everyone accounted for?

China’s ambitious underwater mapping operation takes us on a voyage into the depths of ocean and map science.

We look at what a network of underwater microphones can tell us about underwater geography, noisy ships, and whale conversations, and how it took nearly 300 researchers working together to map 140 000 neurons in a fruit fly’s brain.

Then, we are joined by biogeochemist and author Karen Lloyd, who tells us about the long-lived microbes living deep in the crust below the sea floor, how they survive for 100 000 years, and what their mysterious existence tells us about life and evolution. 

And forget sunken treasures – we will talk about the valuable, potato-sized mineral nodules that grow on the sea floor, and the pros, cons and current legality of mining them. Plus – how dolphins can help us track down abandoned undersea explosives.

All that and even more unexpected elements.

Presenter: Marnie Chesterton, with Katie Silver and Tristan Ahtone 
Producers: Ella Hubber, with Lucy Davies and Georgia Christie

Putting science on the map

Japanese pedestrians have been forcefully colliding with each other in a spate of butsukari otoko – or ‘bumping man’ – incidents and the Unexpected Elements team has been inspired to investigate some bumpy science.

First, what does your heart desire? Well, at a cellular level, the perfect match! We hear how your heart is built by cells going speed dating. Then, we discuss how birds avoid in-flock collisions, and we learn all about mesmerising murmurations.

Next, we’re joined by science journalist and author Robin George Andrews, who tells us about NASA’s mission to avoid a city-killing disaster by bumping into an asteroid before it can bump into us.

Also, a colourful question about migraines, a surprising new treatment for them, and the scientists who took antimatter for a test drive.

All that, plus many more Unexpected Elements.

Presenter: Marnie Chesterton, with Sandy Ong and Phillys Mwatee
Producers: Sophie Ormiston, with Ella Hubber, Katie Tomsett, Imy Harper and Lucy Davies

A bumper edition

After the end of a near 17-year legal battle between popstar Katy Perry and fashion designer Katie Perry, the Unexpected Elements team has been inspired to explore the question at the heart of the case – what's in a name? 

First, we hear how marmosets use their calls as a way of naming which friend they’re talking to. Then, we discover why a phenomenon known as auditory pareidolia means you can’t necessarily believe your ears.

We're then joined by David Kaiser, professor of physics and history of science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who explains just how hard it is to put physics into words. 

Also, the disappearance of indigenous languages, the law for naming laws, and where did all our hair go?

All that, plus many more Unexpected Elements.

Presenter: Marnie Chesterton with Andrada Fiscutean and Michael Kaloki 
Producers: Imy Harper, with Lucy Davies and Sophie Ormiston

In the name of science

In a year when billions of people have been to the ballot box, what do stickleback fish have to do with it? Alex Lathbridge, Tristan Ahtone and Candice Bailey discuss some unexpected elements of electoral studies.

Can ancient geology really map election outcomes? What has machine learning done for polling? Psychologist Sandra Obradović drops in to share some of her expertise in the psychology of voting with the team.

Plus, what does a solar eclipse have to do with dragons?

Presenter: Alex Lathbridge, with Tristan Ahtone and Candice Bailey
Producer: Katie Tomsett, with Harrison Lewis, Alex Mansfield and Phil Sansom

Unexpected elections

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