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Unexpected Elements podcast

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Unexpected Elements

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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.

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.

 

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#188

How inflation affects the entire cosmos

This week on the show that brings you the science behind the news, there are lots of stories about inflation in economies across the world. When inflation happens your money doesn’t go as far, so what does psychology say about how much money you really need to make you happy? We humans aren’t the only ones experiencing inflation either, trees are suffering from it too. We find out what happens when the balance of supply and demand of nutrients between trees and fungi is disrupted by climate change. And then we take a look at the bigger picture - the much bigger picture - as cosmologist Ghazal Geshnizjani tells us about how the entire universe once existed in a space smaller than a marble. Plus, are Romanian bear populations inflating? We probe a scientist about spider webs – why do they look the way they do? And we look at vaping – it’s illegal in some countries while smokers in other countries are encouraged to take it up. All that plus your emails, WhatsApps and some unexpected elephants. Presenter: Caroline Steel, with Godfred Boafo and Andrada Fiscutean. Produced by Ben Motley, with Alex Mansfield, Sophie Ormiston and Margaret Sessa Hawkins. ... Read more

28 Sep 2023

50 MINS

50:13

28 Sep 2023

#187

Can technology read our mind?

How does our brain process language? We speak to an expert who is using technology to turn narrative thoughts into text. Also on the show, what is happening in our brains when we switch languages? And what are the positives and perils of technology and translation? Also on the show, we look at internet connectivity in incredibly remote areas, whether carbon capture is realistic, and we continue to explore different foods from around the world. ... Read more

21 Sep 2023

50 MINS

50:44

21 Sep 2023

#186

Forgetful fish, telescopic worms and bad air days

In a week where global heat records have melted, we find out how that can make fish life-threateningly stupid. We also dive a little deeper to find the part of the ocean where a little heat proves life-enhancing. And we bring you boring science… no, not in that way. Find out what tree rings can tell us about ancient civilizations and past climates. Also, a new Japanese mission aims to park nice and neatly on the moon – how different is that from the famous first effort from the Apollo 11 team? We hear about an unwelcome Delhi resident that’s taking years off locals lives – air pollution. And what is a “supervolcano” and how likely is it that one ruins our run as dominant species on this planet? Presented by Marnie Chesterton With Chhavi Sachdev and Tristan Ahtone Producers: Alex Mansfield, Ben Motley, Sophie Ormiston, Emily Bird and Patrick Hughes ... Read more

14 Sep 2023

50 MINS

50:18

14 Sep 2023

#185

Zombies, cows and coups

Following recent coups in Niger and Gabon, and with seven African coups in the last three years, some political commentators are suggesting that there might be an epidemic of coups. But are coups really contagious, and what does the political science say? Caroline Steel and the Unexpected Elements team across three different continents go on a quest to find the science lurking behind the news. We find out what trees in Chile can tell us about coups and we meet the wasp that performs a coup on a poor unsuspecting cockroach, turning it into a zombie and eating it alive. There’s light relief in the form of cows listening to classical music, the answer to a listener question about carbon capture and reflections on efforts to rid the world of plastic bags. All that plus your emails, whatsapps, and more fruit chat than you can shake a banana skin at. Presented by Caroline Steel Produced by Ben Motley, with Margaret Sessa Hawkins and Sophie Ormiston ... Read more

07 Sep 2023

53 MINS

53:22

07 Sep 2023

#184

Protecting the Moon

India's successful moon landing has the Unexpected Elements team engaging in some serious lunacy. We look at where the moon even came from, how it helps us navigate, and whether it has a cultural and ecological heritage. Also on the show, is Dr. TikTok leading to a raft of self-diagnoses, should we be eating banana peels and worms, and we go back to the moon to see if it has any effect on our sleep. ... Read more

31 Aug 2023

50 MINS

50:17

31 Aug 2023

#183

The man who couldn’t lie

This week, we start off by digging into conspiracy theories. What’s behind their enduring allure? And have they always been around? Marnie and the panel investigate. Many conspiracy theories are based off of misinformation… but what’s actually going on in our brains when we lie? We look into the case of the man who was physically unable of spreading tall tales. Sometimes, the truth is there, but is difficult to uncover. Delving for this deeper meaning is something particle physicists like Dr Harry Cliff have been doing for decades. Harry tells us where we are in the ongoing quest to understand our Universe. Also, we hear the ingenious way Costa Rican scientists are dealing with pineapple waste, and we answer a South African listener’s question about evolution. Presenter: Marnie Chesterton Producer: Sophie Ormiston, with Margaret Sessa Hawkins and Alex Mansfield ... Read more

24 Aug 2023

50 MINS

50:21

24 Aug 2023

#182

Corrupted thinking and cancerous co-option

The conversation this week starts off on corruption. There are allegations of political or corporate malfeasance in the news regularly throughout the world. But can science bring anything to the investigators? We look at some efforts to bring empirical rigour to the fight. But corruption of sorts is also a big thing in our online lives. Algorithms can deliver duff results, maybe because they are poorly conceived, or perhaps because they are fed corrupt data. So when our cellular biological algorithms are corrupted, our health is affected. Can cancerous tumours be considered corrupt organs, co-opting healthy cells to assist in their nefarious ends? Dr Ilaria Malanchi of the Crick Institute in London muses on the commonalities. Also, a look at the politicisation of pre-human palaeontology and how our stories of human origins have been, and in some ways still are, connected with nationalist geographical identities that mainstream science doesn't recognize. Presenter: Caroline Steel, with Yangyang Chen and Meral Jamal Producer: Alex Mansfield, with Margaret Sessa Hawkins, Ben Motley, and Sophie Ormiston ... Read more

17 Aug 2023

50 MINS

50:16

17 Aug 2023

#181

Some of our universe is missing

This week on the show that looks for the science behind the news, Marnie Chesterton investigates mystery after mystery. Where is Yevegeny Prigozhin, the leader of the Wagner Group, and could science help to trace him? Which animals would do best at a game of hide and seek? And we hear about the time when half the stuff in the universe went missing, and how cosmologists found it again. We continue our endless quest to identify the Coolest Science in the World. This week’s contender studies the murky side of the genome – dark DNA. Plus the low-down on the indefinite doctor’s strike in Nigeria, we look behind the latest news about our warming oceans and have you ever felt someone else’s pain? You might be the 1 in 50 people known as mirror touch synaesthetes. All that plus your emails, whatsapps and even more fruit chat. Presented by Marnie Chesterton Produced by Ben Motley, with Margaret Sessa Hawkins, Alex Mansfield, Sophie Ormiston, Katie Tomsett and Florence Thompson. ... Read more

10 Aug 2023

53 MINS

53:40

10 Aug 2023

#180

The World Cup and hallucinogenic bananas

The World Cup has us looking at why women get more ACL injuries, how to avoid cracking under pressure, and why some animals play dead. Also on the program we consider the pros and cons of Artificial Intelligence in Africa, whether the continent is turning to nuclear power, and if banana skins are hallucinogenic. ... Read more

03 Aug 2023

50 MINS

50:28

03 Aug 2023

#179

Password1234#Invisibility&Moonshot

As Netflix cracks down on password sharing around the world - something it once encouraged - we wondered why people like to share passwords to other things, such as phones, email accounts and logins. Passwords and encryption exist as ways of protecting us from hostile agents in most aspects of life. But timing is everything. Nature has been doing it for years of course. But climate change is upsetting some of the ecological match-ups of locks and keys, migration and feeding that have evolved over the millennia. We hear how the shifting patterns of weather and food availability is affecting cuckoos in Europe and India. Another aspect of natural subterfuge is camouflage. Whilst physicists have been trying to make optical invisibility cloaks from ingenious new "metamaterials", Marc Holderied and team have been looking at how certain moths have used metamaterial properties in the structure of their wings to effectively hide from bats. They are acoustically invisible. Could similar materials be manufactured to make, for example, sound-proof wallpaper? Also, we hear how India's Chandrayaan-3 moon mission - due to land on 23 August this year - is exciting millions of people. Presenter: Marnie Chesterton Producer: Alex Mansfield, with Margaret Sessa-Hawkins, Ben Motley and Sophie Ormiston ... Read more

27 Jul 2023

50 MINS

50:22

27 Jul 2023

#178

Barbie in Space

Unexpected Elements looks for the science behind the news, and this week the news is glittery and pink with the release of the Barbie movie. The movie has very pink aesthetic, so we get philosophical about the colour pink – does it actually exist and if so, how come it isn’t in the rainbow? We also discover how this iconic doll has performed some actual valuable science, helping cryogenic researchers design space suit technology to help future missions to the moon. In Ask the Unexpected this week we’ve got dog science as we answer the age old joke: how does my dog smell? Terrible, obviously, but it also depends on something called the vomeronasal organ.. And there are newcomers in Germany and they’re troublemakers. We hear how an unpleasant mosquito borne virus has arrived in northern Europe and consider whether climate change might be to blame. All that plus your emails and WhatsApps, language pedantry and an ewaste dating service. Presented by Marnie Chesterton Produced by Ben Motley, with Margaret Sessa-Hawkins, Alex Mansfield and Sophie Ormiston ... Read more

20 Jul 2023

50 MINS

50:15

20 Jul 2023

#177

Nato and the left-handed universe

As Nato meets, we look at what science says about consensus decision-making, whether the universe is left-handed, and what chemistry can tell us about our ancient past. Also, we examine windfarms potentially blocking reindeer herding, our quest for the coolest science in the world continues with Beth the bee queen, and Caroline contemplates the long road that got us to a malaria vaccine. ... Read more

13 Jul 2023

50 MINS

50:11

13 Jul 2023

#176

Unexpected elements on the sea bed

This week time is up for the UN to come up with rules about how to mine the ocean bed. We hear about the mysterious potato shaped objects on the sea floor that contain lots of valuable minerals that are essential for electronics like mobile phones. Our team on three different continents compare how recycling of precious metals is going in their parts of world, and we hear why early Lithium batteries kept catching fire. We also speak to an expert on hydroelectric power who tells us how small scale hydro is a massively untapped resource, possibly even in your own back garden. This week’s Under the Radar story is a personal tale of floods and landslides in the Himalayas, and what science tells us about the huge cloudburst that caused them. Our search to discover The Coolest Science in the World continues with a fascinating look at sonification with a researcher who straddles science and music, and we dive into the fact that human use of underground water has redistributed the weight of the planet. All that plus your emails and WhatsApps, the answer to a question about heavy metal and the wonderful laugh of a Nobel laureate. Presented by Marnie Chesterton Produced by Alex Mansfield, with Ben Motley and Sophie Ormiston ... Read more

06 Jul 2023

50 MINS

50:21

06 Jul 2023

#175

Predictions from the sky and murderous fish

Muslims around the world are celebrating Eid, but how to pick a date for your festivities? The Islamic calendar says look to the moon, but haven’t we always chosen to order life on earth by using the planets, moons and stars? We hear about the Mayans who tracked Venus and the astronomer who proved that comets weren’t bad omens. Having looked at the outsourcing of decisions to the sky, we wonder why we can’t just trust our brains and wonder what neuroscience has to say about it. And now that AI is able to make decisions for us, we hear about the computer-predicted proteins doing work that would otherwise take millions of years of evolution. Our ‘Under the Radar’ story this week comes from Brazil, where we meet the Lionfish – hear how these kings of the coral reef are upsetting the ecosystem by eating most of it. In our ongoing quest to find The Coolest Science in the World, we hear from a scientist doing amazing things with immersive audio. And Marnie learns about the engineer trying to build roads through fresh volcanic lava, and reflects on how we predict eruptions. All this plus your emails and WhatsApps, and a lot of mango chat. Presented by Marnie Chesterton Produced by Ben Motley, with Alex Mansfield and Sophie Ormiston Production Coordinator: Jonathan Harris ... Read more

29 Jun 2023

50 MINS

50:12

29 Jun 2023

#174

Hayfever, paleobotany and snot palaces

A look at some unexpected elements of congestion: Why does pollen make so many of us wheezy, and sneezy? What can it tell us about the distant past? Plus, we take a look at what we can learn from the construction and engineering behind aquatic snot palaces. Plus your enemy’s enemy can be your friend – hear about the tiny viruses that invade certain bacteria. Speaking of bacteria, we look at the latest place to hunt for new antibiotics – the fur of a certain animal, and with reports of famine emerging from North Korea, we hear about the scientist who is said to have saved more lives than any other person who has ever lived. ... Read more

22 Jun 2023

50 MINS

50:54

22 Jun 2023

#173

Wildfires and wild animals

The show that brings you the science behind the news, with Marnie Chesterton and an inter-continental team. This week we take the headlines of the wildfires in North America, pull out the science and run with it. We explore what’s actually in smoke-polluted air, looking at the part the El Nino weather system plays in starting fires, and discover why a surprising element of air pollution is helping conservation biologists to track animals. We look at how tobacco is not just bad for your lungs – it’s bad for some of the farmers who grow it too. We get the Kenyan perspective on farmers trying to move away from tobacco production. We continue our quest to find The Coolest Science in the World with a researcher who studies grasshoppers that are the noisiest on the planet, but might not actually be noisy enough. And as Ukraine struggles with the devastation caused by the destruction of the Kherson dam, we look at dam building along the Mekong river and ask why a lack of flood water might be causing a problem. All that, plus your emails and whatsapps, and a listener gets an unexpected answer to a question about whether we can send taste and smell over the airwaves. Presented by: Marnie Chesterton Produced by Alex Mansfield, with Ben Motley, Margaret Sessa-Hawkins & Sophie Ormiston ... Read more

15 Jun 2023

50 MINS

50:16

15 Jun 2023

#172

Collapsing pensions and civilisations

As French citizens protest against the raising of the state pension age, we look at the figures – are we really living longer? And if so, why? We take notes from the naked mole rat - it’s born looking wrinkled but this rodent is apparently ageless. And moving on from mere creatures, we’re asking if every state, society or civilisation has a lifespan, and if we can prevent it ending on our watch. Also, as South Africans battle to live their best lives against almost daily power cuts, we look at load shedding – why is their power being switched off and is there a light at the end of the tunnel? We continue our quest to find The Coolest Science in the World with a man using tiny microbes for big problems, and the launch of a new BBC World Service drama about Fukushima gets us thinking about the consequences. All that plus your emails and whatsapps, a team in three different countries and the decadence of Marnie’s footwear choices. Presented by Marnie Chesterton Produced by Margaret Sessa-Hawkins and Ben Motley ... Read more

08 Jun 2023

50 MINS

50:29

08 Jun 2023

#171

Migrate ideas

Human migration is in the headlines again – India and Australia have announced a new migration deal, in the US a Covid-inspired policy that allowed migrants to be quickly expelled has come to an end, and in the UK new measures were announced to stop foreign students bringing families with them, in a bid to reduce migration figures. But what does science tell us about migration? With a team across three continents, we’re looking at the origins of human migration and exploring some of the greatest migrations in the animal kingdom. We discover that migrating birds are more like migrating humans than you might think, and learn how even the ground beneath our feet is trying to move somewhere else. We’re also introduced to the real life people labelling images that inform the algorithms behind AI, a researcher with a wall of wind makes a bid for The Coolest Science in the World, we find out why tiles are colder than carpets and we dig deeper into the news that a company founded by Elon Musk has been given the go-ahead to trial a ‘brain-machine interface’. Presenter: Marnie Chesterton Producers: Margaret Sessa Hawkins & Ben Motley ... Read more

01 Jun 2023

49 MINS

49:46

01 Jun 2023

#170

Signals, seaweed and space

On the anniversary of the first telegraph being sent, the team discover how the telegraph was used as a colonial tool in Ghana, and how an eccentric Brazilian emperor helped spark a communications revolution. They also reveal how tiny worms have helped scientists work out how our hearing works, and how bioelectricity might help focus your mind and heal your wounds. There’s a tale of evil seaweed causing havoc for coastal communities, a scientist studying misophonia makes a pitch for The Coolest Science in the World, and there’s a listener question about how chickens fly. And Marnie delves into a lesser known history of space flight, with the tale of a Zambian man who dreamt of being an astronaut. ... Read more

25 May 2023

50 MINS

50:33

25 May 2023

#169

Co-operation and cohesion

After the elections in Thailand and Turkey, we explore the forces that shape how you decide to vote. Clue: a lot of it comes down to us being social animals. We getting stuck into various sticky subjects – the glue that holds together animal societies, the cells in our bodies and even the International Space Station. We also looking at how the blueprint of the human genome just got a whole load better. Also, join our mission to find the coolest science in the world, with the scientist who explores ocean gases. We have your correspondence and questions, including "How do birds know which perch will work?", and we take a peek inside a world of silicon as we hear how South Korea reacted to the global chip shortage. ... Read more

18 May 2023

53 MINS

53:51

18 May 2023

#168

Coronation exploration

Unexpected Elements is all about finding surprising stories and nuggets of science in everyday news. Each week we start by taking a news story that’s floating around and use that as a launchpad for three other science stories that become increasingly unexpected. This week, the team squints at the recent lavish ceremony and ritual of the British King’s coronation and asks: What does it all mean? Why is ritual so important to us humans, and why does it always seem to involve precious objects? That’s where we start - but in this show, our global panel of science journalists can take us to all sorts of places. We’ll be touring the ocean floors with the scientist who wants to map all of them, soaring in the skies of India to discover why one of the country’s biggest birds might be in trouble, and we’re even going off planet to find out about an asteroid with enough gold in it to build a nice shiny house out of the stuff – for every human on Earth. ... Read more

11 May 2023

50 MINS

50:49

11 May 2023

#167

Return of Cyclone Freddy

34 days after it first formed at the far end of the Indian Ocean, record-breaking Cyclone Freddy made a repeat landfall on Mozambique as well as passing over Malawi, causing extensive damage and loss of life. Climate scientists Liz Stephens and Izidine Pinto join Roland to give an update on the destruction and explain how Cyclone Freddy kept going for an exceptionally long time. At the Third International Human Genome Summit in London last week, Professor Katsuhiko Hayashi announced he had created baby mice from eggs formed by male mouse cells. Dr Nitzan Gonen explains the underlying science, whilst Professor Hank Greely discusses the ethics and future prospects. And from one rodent story to another, SARS-CoV-2 has been detected in brown rats scurrying around New York sewers. Dr Thomas DeLiberto from the US Department of Agriculture gives Roland the details. When imagining a robot, a hard-edged, boxy, humanoid figure may spring to mind. But that is about to change. CrowdScience presenter Alex Lathbridge is on a mission to meet the robots that bend the rules of conventionality. Inspired by how creatures like us have evolved to move, some roboticists are looking to nature to design the next generation of machines. And that means making them softer. But just how soft can a robot really be? Join Alex as he goes on a wild adventure to answer this question from listener Sarah. He begins his quest at the ‘Hello, Robot’ Exhibition at the Vitra Design Museum in Weil am Rhein, Germany to define what a robot actually is. Amelie Klein, the exhibition curator, states anything can be a robot as long as three specific criteria are met (including a cute cuddly baby seal). With this in mind, Alex meets Professor Andrew Conn from the Bristol Robotics Lab who demonstrates how soft materials like rubber are perfect contenders for machine design as they are tough to break and - importantly for our listener’s question - bendy. Alex is then thrown into a world of robots that completely change his idea of what machines are. He is shown how conventionally ‘hard’ machines are being modified with touches of softness to totally upgrade what they can do, including flexible ‘muscles’ for robot skeletons and silicon-joined human-like hands at the Soft Robotics Lab run by Professor Robert Katzschmann at ETH Zurich. He is then introduced to robots that are completely soft. Based on natural structures like elephant trunks and slithering snakes, these designs give robots completely new functions, such as the ability to delicately pick fruit and assist with search and rescue operations after earthquakes. Finally, Alex is presented with the idea that, in the future, a robot could be made of materials that are so soft, no trace of machine would remain after its use... Image credit: Jack McBrams/Getty Images Producer: Roland Pease Assistant Producer: Sophie Ormiston ... Read more

19 Mar 2023

1 HR 01 MINS

1:01:36

19 Mar 2023

#166

Human genome editing: Promise and Peril

We meet experts at the Human Genome Editing Summit in London, seeking to cure genetic disease and ensure that it is safe and available to all. Roland Pease hears from Victoria Gray, the first person to be cured of the debilitating and life-shortening disease sickle cell anaemia by gene editing, and from the scientists making it possible. Also, the prospect of work to attempt gene rescue in fetuses before they are born. But the technology is expensive and complex. The question troubling the participants is to ensure people across the world can benefit from it, not just the rich and privileged. And what are the limitations of gene editing? Can it be made more effective, safer? And what of gene edits that will be inherited by future generations? ... Read more

12 Mar 2023

1 HR 01 MINS

1:01:54

12 Mar 2023

#165

Drought worsens in East Africa

The long rains of East Africa are forecast to fail again, for the third year running, precipitating a food crisis affecting millions. Science In Action explores the science of the drought, hears about new methods improving forecasts, and what is unusual about the region that makes it so vulnerable. When we think of helium, for many of us balloons and squeaky voices come to mind. But the noble gas is critical for many aspects of modern life – and we’re facing a global shortage. Dr Annie Cheng and her colleagues at the University of Oxford are attempting to solve this by creating a model that has the potential to locate previously untapped reservoirs. CrowdScience listener Eric, in New Zealand, has noticed his wisteria growing towards a neighbouring tree. He thinks that it actually knows where it’s going. But how can a plant have a sense of direction? Plants don’t have the advantage of brains or eyes, but that doesn’t seem to stop them from being clever enough to find out from their environment where to move and how to get there – all while being rooted to the spot. Marnie Chesterton visits the Natural History Museum and Kew Gardens in London, home to the largest collection of living plants in the world, to discover how plants make their manoeuvres, and talks to botanists and plant biologists for the latest findings on the mysterious life of climbing plants. Image by Gerald Anderson/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images Producer: Roland Pease Assistant Producer: Sophie Ormiston ... Read more

05 Mar 2023

59 MINS

59:18

05 Mar 2023

#164

Animals at the Wuhan Market

DNA has revealed potential animal COVID carriers at the Wuhan market, but what does that tell us about the start of the pandemic? Roland talks to two of the experts behind the new analysis: Dr Florence Débarre and Professor Eddie Holmes. Also, we look into Europe’s grand new space ambitions. ESA director general Josef Aschbacher gives Roland the details of the space agency’s out-of-this-world plans. And Beethoven's last DNA: a hairy story of his family and genetic afflictions. Dr Tristan Begg shares how the composer’s tresses unlocked new information about his life and death. Inside our gut lives an entire ecosystem of bacteria and microbes, called the microbiome. In fact, the human body contains trillions of microorganisms, which outnumber our cells by ten to one. This means that technically, we are more microbe than human. But not only do these microbes rely on us to survive, we also rely on them too for vital bodily functions. So what impact do these trillions of microbes have on our health? That’s the question that’s been bothering CrowdScience listener Russell, from Canada. Presenter Caroline Steel sets out to investigate. She visits the only museum dedicated to microbes in the world to explore what exactly these microbes inside us are, what they do and why we have so many of them inside our bodies. How important is our microbiome for our survival and what impact can it have on our physical health? Caroline finds out what impacts our microbiome, what we can do to improve our inner ecosystem, and how our microbes can take a disturbing turn on us after we die. Image credit: Eddie Holmes Producer: Roland Pease Assistant Producer: Sophie Ormiston ... Read more

26 Feb 2023

1 HR 17 MINS

1:17:21

26 Feb 2023

#163

Cyclone Freddy batters Madagascar

Cyclone Freddy has made landfall on Madagascar, leaving destruction in its wake. At the time this edition of Science In Action is going to air, Freddy is on course to reach Mozambique and South Africa. Freddy, which has been gaining strength since it originally formed on the 30th of January, is the most powerful southern hemisphere cyclone on record. Professor Francois Engelbrecht provides the science behind the storm system. In the centre of our galaxy, an enormous cloud is heading towards the Milky Way’s supermassive black hole. Dr Anna Ciurlo tells us that this is a unique opportunity to study the influence of the black hole on the cloud’s shape and properties. We’ve heard a lot about balloons floating above Earth recently… but what about sending balloons to Venus? That’s exactly what Dr Siddharth Krishnamoorthy is proposing in order to study Venus’s seismic activity. Recorders on a “floatilla” above the planet’s surface could listen into Venus-quakes and reveal Venus’s mysterious past. And closer to home, scientists have discovered a new layer in the Earth’s core. We journey into the very centre of the Earth with Professor Hrvoje Tkalčić, who tells Roland what the innermost inner core can teach us about our planet’s past. And, If, like this week’s Crowdscience listener Lili, you’re an avid gymgoer, you may well have wondered where your fat disappears to when you exercise? Well, the short answer is that we convert it to energy that powers a whole range of physical processes, from breathing to walking as well as lying down and doing nothing. But the science behind energy expenditure is a little more complicated than that. Presenter Anand Jagatia pops on an exercise bike to have his metabolism measured, and learns that he may be relying on an entirely different source of fuel as he works up a sweat. But is all that hard work worth the effort it involves? Recent research suggests there's a limit to the number of calories us humans can burn, and that doing physical activity isn’t a sure-fire way to keep trim. Even hunter-gatherers who walk 13,000 steps a day have the same metabolic rate as the average American. So if working out isn't the best way to lose weight, how about harnessing our own fat to tackle the complications of obesity? It used to be thought brown fat was exclusive to babies (and bears) but we now know adults have some of it too, and it seems to play a vital role in combatting a range of chronic diseases including hypertension and diabetes. Image: NASA Earth Observatory image by Lauren Dauphin, using VIIRS data from NASA EOSDIS LANCE, GIBS/Worldview, and the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS). Producer: Roland Pease Assistant Producer: Sophie Ormiston ... Read more

26 Feb 2023

1 HR 04 MINS

1:04:59

26 Feb 2023

#162

CRISPR & bioethics

In the decade since the genome editing capabilities of CRISPR-Cas9 emerged, research into novel medicines has boomed – but alongside progress comes new ethical considerations. Controversy erupted in 2018, when Chinese scientist He Jiankui created the first babies with edited genomes. After leaving prison last year, he’s now back in the lab trying to raise support for new research but refuses to discuss the ethical implications of his work. Dr Joy Zhang recently arranged a bioethics seminar and invited He Jiankui, it was the first time he’d agreed to engage with a global cohort of CRISPR scientists since returning to his research. Going back in time from cutting-edge to ancient technology, some of the oldest stone tools ever used by human ancestors have been unearthed at a fossil site in Kenya. Professor Tom Plummer talks us through the findings and how important the tools were in our evolution. And we immerse ourselves in the mysterious sounds of the Arctic and Antarctic, from singing ice to the man-made noises of oil and gas drilling. These dramatic soundscapes, created for the Polar Soundscapes project, showcase just how busy our oceans are. Dr Geraint Rhys Whittaker, composer and project lead, believes a novel approach may be required to prompt climate action. Yoga benefits our health in many ways, say the yogis, but which claims are backed up by science? Can yoga actually alleviate depression, fix lower-back pain or even reduce cardiovascular disease? Presenter Marnie Chesterton gets into her Lotus (position) and finds out first-hand at a class. Whilst in warrior one, she discusses the potential physical and mental health benefits of this ancient art of stretching, balance and movement with her class teacher. Returning from mat to studio, Marnie puts some of those claims to experts around the globe. She investigates the evidence to find out whether health boosting properties are the key to yoga's enduring popularity. Image Credit: Anthony Wallace Presenter: Roland Pease Producer: Harrison Lewis Assistant Producer: Sophie Ormiston ... Read more

19 Feb 2023

55 MINS

55:17

19 Feb 2023

#161

Turkey-Syria earthquake

In the early hours of Monday, a powerful earthquake hit Kahramanmaras in Turkey. Nine hours later another struck. When this edition of Science in Action first aired, 19,000 people were reported to have died, but that number was expected to rise. Back in 2016, Professor Asli Garagon and her colleagues accurately predicted that an earthquake of this size was coming. Using GPS, they were monitoring the East Anatolian fault to calculate energy building between the plates. With such accurate insight could Turkey have been better prepared? Ross Stein, seismologist and founder of Temblor, a Californian consultancy that specialises in assessing hazard risk, estimates the plates moved at 5,000 mph. The movement of the plates may have built up pressure in other parts of the country. And finally, Tiziana Rossetto, a civil engineer at University College London, knows better than most that earthquakes do not kill, buildings do. She tells Roland how the combination of earthquakes and subsequent aftershocks appear to have even destroyed buildings that were purposely built to withstand them. Also, Why does the thought of giving a talk to an audience fill so many of us with sheer terror? Marnie Chesterton investigates for listener Nhial, who has seen his fellow students in Morocco become panic stricken at the prospect and wants to know the reason for our anxiety. According to one study, 77 per cent of us share that fear. Marnie finds out about the relationship between stress, our brains and our voices from research associate Dr Maria Dietrich at the University Hospital, Bonn University. She talks to Nhial’s tutor, Professor Taoufik Jaafari, at Hassan II University of Casablanca about the challenges facing his students. And she visits the National Theatre in London to get some expert training from Jeannette Nelson, head of voice, who works with some of the world’s leading actors. Could there be an evolutionary explanation for the purpose of public speaking? Is it something we actually need to be good at? Marnie asks evolutionary psychologist Professor Robin Dunbar at Oxford University and gets some surprising answers. She meets psychologist Dr Preethi Premkumar at London South Bank University, who has developed virtual reality therapy with colleagues at Nottingham Trent University, and tries out the treatment herself. Image: Aftermath of the deadly earthquake in Gaziantep Credit: REUTERS/Dilara Senkaya ... Read more

11 Feb 2023

53 MINS

53:32

11 Feb 2023