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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

This week South Korea announced they will be adjusting the Civilian Controlled Zone that borders the demilitarised area between North and South Korea. The reshuffle will allow thousands of civilians to be able to move with more freedoms, but for the Unexpected Elements team, it’s sparked a conversation about scientific borders, boundaries, lines and barriers. 

First up, a look at the Wallace Line, an obscure ecological border in Indonesia that marks the boundary between Asian tigers and Australian kangaroos with Dr Ian McFadden from Queen Mary University. We learn about the blood-brain barrier, could new ‘shuttle’ technologies help deliver vital new medicines that could help with Alzheimer’s?

Plus, why conflict causes the cost of flights to rise, and one scientist’s attempt to map underground fungi networks. 

All that, plus many more Unexpected Elements.

Presenter: Marnie Chesterton, with Candice Bailey and Paul Adepoju
Producers: Margaret Sessa Hawkins, with Sophie Ormiston, Lucy Davies and Robbie Wojciechowski

Dividing lines

The spiralling cost and short supply of microchips – something the tech journalists have dubbed ‘RAMageddon’ – has the Unexpected Elements team investigating all things chip-related. 

We start things off by finding out about a mini cervix-on-a-chip and how this could help us better understand premature birth. 

We then feel a little salty when we discover that chips (also known as fries) may create cancer-causing acrylamides when cooked. Should we be worried?

Next up, Professor Paul Graham from the University of Sussex reveals why gulls love to steal your chips, and (crucially) tells us how to defend our dinner. 

Plus, the world’s largest whale graveyard, the health benefits of the humble spud and why some people are better at napping than others. 

All that, plus many more Unexpected Elements.

Presenter: Marnie Chesterton, with Katie Silver and Kai Kupferschmidt
Producers: Alice Lipscombe-Southwell, with Sophie Ormiston and Robbie Wojciechowski

Anyone for chips?

As the Fifa Men’s World Cup kicks off this week in the United States, Mexico, and Canada, football fever is everywhere – and this has the Unexpected Elements team exploring all things football.

First, we discover how it took eight years and 170 experiments for scientists to create the perfect grass pitch. Then, why a football is not really a ball… it’s a truncated icosahedron. We discuss how this shape revolutionised not only the beautiful game, but nanotechnology too.

Then, what secrets can your sweat reveal? We are joined by Prof John Rogers who explains how sweat is an underappreciated and understudied biomarker of our health.

And whether in life or in football, what is a better strategy – survival of the fittest or co-operation and teamwork? Author Rowan Hooper joins us to battle it out.

Presenter: Marnie Chesterton, with Chhavi Sachdev and Ogechi Ekeanyanwu
Producer: Ella Hubber, with Sophie Ormiston, Lucy Davies and Robbie Wojciechowski

The beautiful game

Long live the king – of mangoes! In India the famed ‘king of mangoes’, the Alphonso mango, is in drastically short supply after a particularly bad bout of adverse weather. Inspired by the mango’s plight, the Unexpected Elements team takes a look at what fruit science can bear.

First, from the ‘king of mangoes’ to the ‘king of fruits’, we hear how the infamously stinky durian could be used to charge your phone. Then, an evil lemon planet. We discuss the planet so bizarre it sounds like it belongs in a sci-fi movie.

Plus, have you ever wondered what the key to immortality is? Well, if you guessed sea cucumbers you might be right. We’re joined by Dr Annie Mercier who tells us all about these eternal weirdos of the sea and their surprisingly vital role in the ocean’s ecosystem.

Also, a crayfish invasion, plant cause of death, and what exactly is El Niño? 

All that, plus many more Unexpected Elements.

Presenter: Marnie Chesterton, with Sandy Ong and Michael Kaloki
Producers: Sophie Ormiston, with Lucy Davies, Alice Lipscombe-Southwell and Robbie

Science bears fruit

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

As award season reaches its climax in the US, Unexpected Elements holds its own glitzy ceremony.

Which bit of science will win Best Picture? Who will take home the Best Supporting Actor? And will Prof Elaine Chew play us out with her Best Original Music?

The nominations include a particularly noisy tiny fish, a sweating mannequin, and a composition based on a misbehaving heartbeat. All this plus your correspondence and a discussion of how far science infuses the real Academy Awards.

Presented by Marnie Chesterton with Godfred Boafo and Camilla Moto.

Featuring pianist Elaine Chew, Professor of Engineering at Kings College London.

Produced by Alex Mansfield, with Tom Bonnet, Harrison Lewis, Dan Welsh and Katie Tomsett.

Unexpected Oscars

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