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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: Rosetta Spacecraft Landing

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20/09/2014

Rosetta Spacecraft Landing

BBC World Service - Unexpected Elements, Rosetta Spacecraft Landing

Scientists have chosen where they aim to land the Philae space probe on comet 67P

Scientists have chosen where they aim to land the Philae space probe on comet 67P. Are additives such as saccharin really raising blood sugar levels and contributing to diabetes?

Rosetta Spacecraft Landing
Scientists have chosen the place they believe to be the safest for their spacecraft to attempt the first landing on a comet. 
67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko is more than 400m km from Earth and is moving toward the sun at around 55,000km per hour. 
The rocky terrain makes it very difficult to land and success is not guaranteed. 

Artificial Sweeteners and Diabetes
A controversial study out this week in the journal Nature suggests that artificial sweeteners may be contributing to the number of people with diabetes. It suggests additives such as saccharin could increase the problem they are meant to tackle. But the leap from the study in mice to human consequences is not what it seems. 

Graphene Plaster
Since it was discovered 10 years ago, the wonder material graphene has taken the world by storm. What's not to like about it? A sheet of carbon one-atom thick, it was the first two-dimensional material discovered. It's stronger than steel, conducts electricity better than copper. We are told it will be used in touch screens of the future. It may be the secret to miniaturising electronics when current chip technology runs out of steam. But at the other end of the technology market a team at Surrey University has found it useful to blend graphene with rubber bands to make cheap effective bio-sensors.

Penguins
In a new citizen science project, 'penguinologists' are asking the public to classify images of penguin colonies in Antarctica, to help the team monitor their health. Thousands of images taken by remote cameras monitoring over 30 colonies around the Southern Ocean are being posted online. We hear why penguins are at risk from habitat and climate change and what the public can do to help.

Non-surgical Circumcision
The BBC’s Prudent Nsengiyumva reports from Rwanda about a non-surgical method of circumcising men in a bid to curb the spread of HIV. 

Power Transmission
Gaia Vince looks at the future of power transmission. As power generation becomes increasingly mixed and demand increases, what does the grid of the future look like?

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