This week, a viral video of a robo-traffic-cop in Shanghai has the team contemplating the science of traffic. How do traffic jams with no discernible cause actually form? Does the weather experience traffic jams? And why do our cords also seem to get tangled in their own little cord-traffic-jams no matter how hard we try to keep them separate?Christine Yohannes from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and Tristan Ahtone in Helsinki, Finland, join Marnie Chesterton to discuss all this, plus many more Unexpected Elements.Presenter: Marnie Chesterton, with Christine Yohannes and Tristan Ahtone
Producers: Margaret Sessa-Hawkins, with Alice Lipscombe-Southwell and Lucy Davies
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Trailer: 13 Minutes Presents: The Space Shuttle
The epic space story of a sci-fi dream that changed spaceflight forever. Told by the Nasa astronauts and team who made it happen. Our multi-award-winning podcast is back, hosted by space scientist Maggie Aderin-Pocock. She tells the story of triumph and tragedy - of a dream that revolutionised modern space travel forever.You can listen to the trailer here. To hear episodes, search for 13 Minutes Presents: The Space Shuttle, wherever you get your BBC podcasts.
13 Minutes Presents: The Space Shuttle is a BBC Audio Science Unit production for the BBC World Service.
Theme music by Hans Zimmer and Christian Lundberg, and produced by Russell Emanuel, for Bleeding Fingers Music.
Archive:
Mission audio and oral histories, Nasa History Office.
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The science of ageing
This week, Cameroon’s Paul Biya announced his plan to run for an 8th term as president at the grand old age of 92. So, we have elected to investigate the science of ageing.First, we ask if a 60-year-old brain is as sharp as a 20-year-old one. Then, we find out about parts of the world that boast impressively long life expectancies. Have these places found the secret to longevity, or are they not what they seem?Next up, we talk to Professor Thomas Boothby from the University of Wyoming about tiny, eight-legged animals called tardigrades, and what they could teach us about living longer. We also dig into the story behind a recently uncovered ancient Peruvian city, before finding out the science behind so-called ‘old wives’ tales’.All that, plus many more Unexpected Elements.Presenter: Marnie Chesterton, with Camilla Mota and Phillys Mwatee
Producers: Alice Lipscombe-Southwell, with Margaret Sessa-Hawkins, Lucy Davies and Robbie Wojciechowski
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How dust affects the world
This week, a new report into the dangers that sand and dust storms pose to the world's health and economy has inspired us to delve in the science of dust.First, we look at the report by the World Meteorological Organisation and hear about what can be done to mitigate the dangers of dust. We also find out the surprising way in which the Sahara is keeping the Amazon rainforest well-fed, and Derek Fabel from the University of Glasgow tells us how dust can help us to determine the age of glaciers.Plus, the dusty maths that took 15 years to solve, and the musician who swapped jazz for space dust.All that, and many more Unexpected Elements.Presenter: Caroline Steel
Producers: Margaret Sessa-Hawkins with Alice Lipscombe-Southwell, Minnie Harrop, Lucy Davies, and Robbie Wojciechowski
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Sharks, albatrosses, the Jaws theme and fishing
Shark Awareness Day on 14th July sends us on a deep dive into marine biology.First, we learn how shark-inspired materials could help make aeroplane flights more efficient.Next, we hear about the fish that don’t flee from sharks... instead, they seek them out to help them hunt. Bob Duke, Meyerson Professor of Music and Human Learning at the University of Texas, Austin, joins us in the studio to reveal how and why the iconic Jaws music taps into our psychology to leave us trembling. We also hear about a couple of tiny islands in the Southern Ocean, on which an unexpected predator is wreaking havoc.Plus, why a tiny fish is being ground up and fed to other fish. All that, plus many more Unexpected Elements.
Presenter: Marnie Chesterton, with Leonie Joubert and Christine Yohannes
Producer: Alice Lipscombe-Southwell, Imaan Moin, Minnie Harrop and Margaret Sessa Hawkins
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.
Brasil