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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

How do you translate the latest science work across the 2000 different languages spoken around the African continent? And have you heard of sky mountain? Africa Day has the Unexpected Elements team taking a deep dive into a range of unexpected stories from across the continent.

The day is celebrated every year to mark the establishment of the African Union in 1963. In the Turkana region of northern Kenya, we learn about a team of geologists who have been studying continental break-up. Researchers think it could be one of the weakest areas of the Earth’s crust. We explore the difficult process of translating scientific papers into the many languages spoken across the continent.

Plus, entomologist Dr Gimo Daniel tells us about the unexpected joys of dung beetles. And we learn how AI and large language models are finding new ways to track conservation and mass animal migrations. 

And finally, we explore why bats harbour so many diseases yet seem to be tolerant to things that humans get ill from.

Presenter: Marnie Chesterton, with Tristan Ahtone in Finland and Phillys Mwatee in Kenya 
Producer: Margaret Sessa-Hawkins, Alice Lipscombe-Southwell and Robbie Wojciechowski

Celebrating science on Africa Day

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

As the new year arrives for much of the world, Marnie and pals look at a few time-related oddities. From the abolition of the leap second, to how some people feel they can actually see time stretching before them, to a festival of lunar-loving worms. 

On the anniversary of the invention of the word “robot”, we discuss EU AI legislation and its parallels with science fiction of a century ago, regal handedness, Arctic golf courses and the time-capsule of all humanity, stuck to the side of the Voyager Probes.

Presented by Marnie Chesterton with Meral Jamal, Andrada Fiscutean, plus Prof Anje Schutze of Texas A&M University
Produced by Tom Bonnett, with Alex Mansfield and Dan Welsh

Timing is everything

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