Episode notes
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…
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Unexpected Elements
BBC World Service · Tech & Science · English
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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15 May 2026 · 50 min
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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…
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8 May 2026 · 50 min
One hundred years of Sir David Attenborough
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…
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1 May 2026 · 50 min
The soaring price of condoms
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…
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24 Apr 2026 · 50 min
Chernobyl: 40 years later
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.…
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10 Apr 2026 · 50 min
Is everyone accounted for?
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…
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3 Apr 2026 · 50 min
Putting science on the map
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…
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27 Mar 2026 · 49 min
A bumper edition
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…
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20 Mar 2026 · 56 min
In the name of science
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…
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13 Mar 2026 · 50 min
Out for blood
With this year’s Oscars on the horizon, and vampire film Sinners nominated for a record-breaking 16 awards, the Unexpected Elements team sinks their teeth into some blood-sucking science. First, we discover that Vlad the Impaler, the Romanian prince who inspired Dracula, may have not only had blood on his hands, but also in his tears. We also hear about a woman in Guadeloupe with the world’s newest and rarest blood type. We’re then joined by Dr Naomi Ewald from the UK’s Freshwater Habitats Trust who tells us all about nature’s little bloodsuckers – leeches – and why their use in medicine is…
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