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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

When a NATO fighter jet was sent to investigate what appeared to be a suspicious drone near Vilnius airport, the culprit turned out to be something rather less threatening: a flock of birds. Inspired by this case of mistaken identity, the Unexpected Elements team explores the science of getting things wrong. 

We discover why our brains are so eager to spot faces in everyday objects, from clouds to power sockets, and hear how this tendency may have evolved as a shortcut for detecting friends and foes. We also investigate the widespread issue of mislabelled cell lines that have found their way into thousands of scientific studies, raising questions about research reliability and reproducibility. 

Then we meet Alex Donovan from the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology at Cambridge University, who tells us the story of brain organoids, or "mini-brains", a field of research born from an apparent laboratory mistake that has gone on to transform neuroscience. 

Elsewhere, we hear how a WhatsApp message helped identify a devastating banana disease outbreak in Tanzania, ask whether anybody else in the world has exactly the same face as you, and explore how the venom of the Gila monster ended up inspiring drugs now used by millions of people around the world. 

All that plus more unexpected elements.

Presenter: Marnie Chesterton
Producer: Ella Hubber with Alice Lipscombe-Southwell and Robbie Wojciechowski

An identity crisis

With the United Nations encouraging wider use of the Equal Earth map, a projection designed to better represent the true size of Earth's landmasses, the Unexpected Elements team have been thinking about distortion and the surprising new ways we can see the world and beyond. 

We discover that every city's subway system has its own unique microbial fingerprint, so distinctive that researchers can identify a location from a simple swab. Then we meet the black-capped chickadee, a tiny bird whose remarkable memory-map helps it keep track of thousands of hidden food stores.

Astrophysicist Miguel Zumalacárregui joins us to explain gravitational lensing, the phenomenon that bends and distorts light as it travels through the Universe. We hear how these cosmic distortions help astronomers study distant galaxies, dark matter and even black holes.

We also learn why Europe's mountain summits are becoming greener while still losing rare plants, ask why many continents seem to point downwards, and explore the story behind the online maps in our pockets.

All that, plus many more Unexpected Elements.

Presenter: Marnie Chesterton, with Andrada Fiscutean and Paul Adepoju
Producers: Alice Lipscombe Southwell, with Ella Hubber and Debbie Kilbride

A distorted view

Roald Dahl Day is celebrated each year on 13 September. Dahl gave us much-loved children’s books like Matilda, The BFG and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, which have captivated kids for generations.

Dahl is also a controversial figure, and made anti-semitic remarks that his family have since apologised for. We explore the separation of art and artist, and go looking for the science hidden in Dahl’s fantastical stories.

We find out about the scientists brewing up chocolate – not in a factory, but in a laboratory. And remember how the BFG sent ‘golden dreams’ into kids’ bedrooms? We hear how anaesthetists are ensuring that patients enjoy good dreams while sedated. And remember Bruce Bogtrotter, the much-loved side character in Matilda who famously scoffed a gigantic chocolate cake? Inspired by his story, we decided to chew over the science behind eating competitions with Professor James Smoliga from Tufts University School of Medicine.

Presenter: Marnie Chesterton, Tristan Ahtone and Sandy Ong 
Producer: Alice Lipscombe-Southwell, Sophie Ormiston and Debbie Kilbride

The phizz-whizzing science of Roald Dahl

The 80th birthday celebrations of the late, great Queen frontman Freddie Mercury have us marvelling at mercury at an elemental level: as a killer, a cure and more.

First, we hear about how to make a telescope mirror out of a spinning bowl of liquid mercury. Then we hear about killer queens; it’s a gruesome tale of pheromone-induced ant warfare.

Next, Freddie’s rare condition that caused him to have four extra incisors in his upper jaw leads us to discuss the secrets hidden within our teeth. We’re joined by archaeologist Carolyn Freiwald from the University of Mississippi, whose work on the teeth of ancient people tells us much about both their lives and our own.

Also, the secret to getting rid of earworms, ancient civilisations hidden beneath the Amazon, and why you should never mess with dimethyl mercury.

Presenter: Marnie Chesterton, Kai Kupferschmidt and Camilla Mota 
Producer: Lucy Davies, Alice Lipscombe-Southwell, Imy Harper and Debbie Kilbride

The show must go on

Vast swathes of Europe and Asia are experiencing drought conditions, thanks to relentless heatwaves and lack of rain. 

This week, we find out why drought conditions could unexpectedly lead to an increase in water-borne disease. 

Next up, we take a trip to Lake Malawi to discover why a tiny fly could help us rewrite the science of insects. 

Also on the show, we’re joined by Professor Dan Parsons from Loughborough University in the UK, who tells us about the rivers that lurk beneath the sea. 

Elsewhere, we hear about the tech that could help reduce textile waste, we find out why rehydrating raisins won’t turn them back into grapes, and discover how to suck water from thin air. 

All that, plus many more Unexpected Elements. 

Presenter: Marnie Chesterton, with Chhavi Sachdev and Phillys Mwatee 
Producers: Alice Lipscombe-Southwell, with Debbie Kilbride and Imy Harper

A very dry episode

News of an Australian library book finally finding its way home 150 years after it was borrowed has the Unexpected Elements team thinking about things that get forgotten, filed away or simply turn up much later than expected.

We start with the story of a meteorite from Mars that spent millions of years travelling through space before ending up in a university drawer. Then, we investigate why scientists believe California may be centuries overdue for a massive earthquake known as "The Big One".

Next, Martin Woodward from GitHub joins us to explain how millions of lines of computer code are being preserved deep beneath the Arctic in a vault designed to protect humanity's digital knowledge for generations to come.

Plus, we hear about the penguin vaccinators working to protect Australian wildlife from bird flu, discover if smells, tastes and touch can be measured, and explore the dying art of reading a book. 
All that, plus many more, unexpected elements.

Presenter: Marnie Chesterton
Producers: Lucy Davies, Ella Hubber, Imy Harper and Robbie Wojciechowski

Fashionably late

As Europe experiences its first total solar eclipse in almost 30 years this week, Unexpected Elements investigates the surprising science that emerges when sunlight is blocked out. 

We travel to the forests of Italy, where we investigate whether trees can communicate their eclipse plans to each other. We learn about an ambitious scientific plan to launch a wall of bubbles the size of Brazil into outer space. And we contemplate whether astronauts will ever need to take rice cookers the moon. 

Also on the show, Anneliese Hodge, a doctoral researcher from the University of Plymouth in the UK joins us to help us learn more about how sunscreen - while good for us humans - can be destructive to marine life. 

Elsewhere in the programme, we hear about the newly arrived crows bothering the people of Nairobi, Kenya, and discuss another pesky problem: people not wearing headphones on public transport. 

All that plus more unexpected elements. 

Presenter: Alex Lathbridge 

Producers: Dan Welsh, Lucy Davies and Robbie Wojciechowski

Light entertainment

The UK's Royal Society for the Protection of Birds has found that birdwatching is the second-fastest growing hobby amongst Gen Z with 750,000 of them regularly venturing into the outdoors to spot some of our feathered friends. Inspired by this new appreciation for an old pastime, the Unexpected Elements team are on the lookout for some birdwatching science. 

First, we watch birds, but did you know they watch us back? We hear how crows don't just hold grudges; they also pass on those grudges to their peers. Then, from birds watching us to birds watching for us. We learn all about the patterns of vulture crime scene detectives. 

Inspired by the citizen science nature of bird watching we talk to Professor Brooke Simmons about Galaxy Zoo, a website where people can volunteer to sort through images of galaxies and perhaps stumble on some mysterious green blobs. 

We also bring you the newest evidence of ice age-old bird appreciation, explore BALLS or the ambitious pan-African experiment to send spherical radio antennae to the moon, and ask does music distract or help you concentrate? The answer might depend on your social skills. 

 All that plus more unexpected elements. 

 Presenter: Marnie Chesterton

Producers: Ella Hubber, Lucy Davies and Robbie Wojciechowski

Someone's always watching

75 years ago, Walt Disney's Alice in Wonderland hit our screens, welcoming us into a technicolour, topsy-turvy world of eccentric characters – including the Mad Hatter, the Cheshire Cat, the Queen of Hearts, the White Rabbit and many more.

On Unexpected Elements, we're tumbling down the rabbit hole to uncover the strange and surprising science hidden within the classic story.

We’ll find out how bizzarro land of Lewis Carroll's original novel was inspired by the real scientific discoveries of his time? Dr. Franziska Kohlt tells us how Wonderland made sense of science for children – and we learn about a few scientific theories that have taken inspiration from Alice herself.

We also meet shrinking shrews, get wide-eyed over some adorable animals, and go underground to solve a subatomic puzzle.

All that, plus many more Unexpected Elements.

Presenter: Marnie Chesterton
Producers: Robbie Wojciechowski, Alice McKee, Imy Harper, and Nada Soufi

Down The Rabbit Hole

If you were lucky enough to be at rapper Pitbull's recent concert in Hyde Park in London, you would have been greeted by a sea of bald caps. A Guiness World record-breaking sea of 22,141 bald caps. And, in honour of this incredible feat, the Unexpected Elements team are exploring some science.

First, is hair the secret to healing? We find out why trading fur for sweat may have had unexpected consequences. Then, we learn all about ball lightning – real life fireballs that, despite first being sighted over 800 years ago, remain a mystery.

Next, is your garden full of rap stars? We're joined by Elizabeth MacDougall-Shackleton who tells us what we can learn from sparrows' surprisingly aggressive rap battles. We're also joined by Paulo Bittencourt who proves why we should all appreciate a nice big tree.

All that, plus many more Unexpected Elements.

Presenter: Marnie Chesterton
Producers: Margaret Sessa-Hawkins, Lucy Davies, Alice McKee, Robbie Wojciechowski, and Nada Soufi

Bald caps, sparrow raps and lightning claps

After 41 Indian miners were happily rescued last week, Unexpected Elements takes a look at how our futures might lie below the surface.

As climate change suggests more of our infrastructures need to be buried safely, and even living spaces could be cooler down there, we discuss future technologies for digging tunnels more safely and cleanly. 

But tunnelling and boring could go back a long way - more evidence suggests species of dinosaurs used to to live semi-subterranean lives.

Tunnelling also happens at the very smallest scales and lowest temperatures, as observed this year by physicists at Innsbruck University. Dr Robert Wild of Innsbruck University in Austria describes quantum tunnelling - a crucial process that belies most chemistry and even the fusion of hydrogen in the sun, and which is increasingly becoming part of our electronic devices.

Also, a new technique for monitoring the rapid evolution of the malaria parasite, your correspondence including obscure sports and asteroid fantasies, and a discussion of the difficulties of hiring a panda. 

Presenter: Caroline Steel, with Philistiah Mwatee and Alex Lathbridge

Boring science

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