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Why does pollen make us sick, what it tells us about the past; and a look at snot palaces Read more
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Hayfever, paleobotany and snot palaces
Why does pollen make us sick, what it tells us about the past; and a look at snot palaces
Predictions from the sky and murderous fish
Celebrations of Eid send us on a science-filled odyssey to the stars.
Unexpected elements on the sea bed
The team discover mysterious potato shaped nodules and hydroelectric power in your garden
Nato and the left-handed universe
Nato’s summit has us considering decision-making and the balance of the universe
Barbie in Space
How Barbie is helping humans return to the moon, and is the colour pink actually real?
1234#Invisibility&Moonshot
Why do teenagers share s so often?
The World Cup and hallucinogenic bananas
The unexpected science of the World Cup and are banana skins hallucinogenic?
Some of our universe is missing
Could science help trace Yevgeny Prigozhin, and the missing gas in the cosmos?
Corrupted thinking and cancerous co-option
Can scientific thinking detect political and corporate corruption?
The man who couldn’t lie
Why do we believe in conspiracy theories, and what’s going on in our brains when we lie?
Protecting the Moon
India's lunar landing has us looking at unexpected science around the moon
Zombies, cows and coups
The wasp that turns cockroaches into zombies and the science hiding behind coups
Forgetful fish, telescopic worms and bad air days
As oceans take the heat for global warming, fish find it harder to learn their way.
Can technology read our mind?
The UN General Assembly has us examining how our brains process language
How inflation affects the entire cosmos
The science behind news about inflation leads us to the first moments of the universe.
Complete shutdown
How would it feel wake up several years later?
How bedbugs took over the world
Why is bedbugs' unconventional mode of reproduction so successful?
Putting Madonna to the test
Do Madonna's lyrics stand up to scientific scrutiny?
Fashion to dye for
As Lagos Fashion Week begins, we follow the trends into science
Scary science
Is fear good for you? In the week where many celebrated Halloween, we look at the science
Working 70 hours a week
If you work twice as long, do you get twice as much done?
Why we need to talk toilets
Nov 19 is UN World Toilet Day. Can the world sanitation crisis be tackled?
All about cricket(s)
The science of spitting on cricket balls, particle accelerators and insect sounds
Meetings with intelligent worms
From worm blobs to mangoes - there’s more to meetings than you thought.
Boring science
How might our future lie underground?
An exploration of empathy
On the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration Of Human Rights, we look at empathy
A very dark day
The solstice takes us on a journey through darkness and light.
The Best of Unexpected Elements
Marnie Chesterton and Caroline Steel look back at some of the best bits of the show.
Timing is everything
Can you visualize time? We don’t all see it the same way
Super corals and science diplomacy
Could tensions around the Red Sea affect research into heat-resistant super corals?
Rulers and the rules of ageing
Under the stress and strains of leadership, how might power affect youthfulness?