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Unexpected Elements

Factual: Science & Nature

Factual: Science & Nature: Science & Technology

The news you know, the science you don’t.

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 Science Hour

Unexpected Elements: Australian bush fires, Popular Science comments page closure, Project to help Roma fasmilies

A firefighter hoses down the flames in New South Wales

26/10/2013

Australian bush fires, Popular Science comments page closure, Project to help Roma fasmilies

BBC World Service - Unexpected Elements, Australian bush fires, Popular Science comments page closure, Project to help Roma fasmilies

We look at the causes of the current Australian bush fires.

As bush fries spread across New South Wales we consider how much of them are due to human impacts on the climate.

Bush fires have been spreading across New South Wales, Australia, for over a week with little hope of getting them under control soon. Although bush fires are an expected part of an Australian summer, the fire season has started much earlier than usual. We look at the causes of the Australian bush fires and consider how much of them are due to human impacts on the climate. 
The prominent science news website, PopularScience.com, has recently decided to close down its comments section. The decision was taken following a deluge of potentially damaging misinformation loaded onto the comments page, which the website does not have the staff to properly police. We hear from the editor-in-chief of PopularScience about why such a radical measure was taken. 
Roma children are among the most vulnerable people in Serbia. Despite access to healthcare facilities, many feel they don’t have the right to go to them or just don’t know about them. The consequences have been grave with mortality rates – particularly for young children – that are almost double those of the general population.  Now a new campaign is attempting to change attitudes by training specific ‘mediators’ who can integrate the communities with mainstream healthcare provision.

(Photo credit: A firefighter hoses down the flames in New South Wales © AFP/Getty Images)

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