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Science In Action: Emotional Breath in the Cinema

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Emotional Breath in the Cinema

08/09/2016 GMT

BBC World Service - Science In Action, Emotional Breath in the Cinema

In the cinema, we broadcast our emotions into the air in the form of chemical signals.

Emotional Breath in the Cinema; Asian River Conflict; Weather Pains; Sonic Kayaking; Untangling Quantum Entanglement

Did you know that our emotions can be detected on our breath? We broadcast whether we feel scared, happy or sad out into the air in the form of chemical signals. A recent study showed that when, audiences jumped out of their seats with the shock of a scary scene, they exhaled high levels of the chemical isoprene. With a list of potential applications from advertising to film rating, could crowd breath analysis become the new way to measure responses in large groups of people? 

River Conflict
With increasing rates of ice melt, water is building up high on the Tibetan Plateau. This means flooding downstream is more likely. Early warning of events, such as dams breaking and glacial lakes over-topping, could help save lives and property downstream. However Nepalese and Indian authorities are claiming that the Chinese are not sharing information about what is happening in Tibet. 

Untangling Quantum Entanglement
It’s difficult to find the perfect metaphor for the strange phenomenon of quantum entanglement. Two particles created from the same source have a sort of hidden connection, so that when something happens to one particle, it happens to the other.  

But how does it work? Do we actually need to understand quantum entanglement in order to use it in future technologies?

Weather Pains
Sufferers often complain that chronic pain gets worse in cold, damp conditions. Scientists have been using an app to collect data relating chronic conditions to weather systems.

Sonic Kayaking
Exciting science news from the British Science Festival – what can we learn from hydrophones on the Welsh coast?

(Photo: Laughing Audience © Erich Auerbach/Getty Images)
 
Presenter: Marnie Chesterton
Producer:  Fiona Roberts

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