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Unexpected Elements

Factual: Science & Nature

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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.

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Unexpected Elements: Cooling the Brain Saves Lives

Discussion & Talk

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24/12/2016 GMT

Cooling the Brain Saves Lives

BBC World Service - Unexpected Elements, Cooling the Brain Saves Lives

The largest ever review of “brain cooling” studies

Brain cooling; Prehistoric porridge pots; Henry Heimlich; Octopuses of the very deep; Mind Wandering and ADHD; Insect migration

Victims of traumatic brain injuries – caused by car accidents or falls – have a better chance of survival if their body temperature is deliberately cooled for a few days. But the technique does not help children with similar injuries – according to the British researchers behind the largest ever review of “brain cooling” studies.  Pankaj Sharma, Professor of Neurology at Royal Holloway, University of London led the research and says the body should be cooled quickly to get the best results.

Prehistoric Porridge Pots
Broken shards of pottery discarded in the Libyan Sahara 10,000 years ago, when the area was lush and green, carry tell-tale traces of plants that were once cooked by the primitive inhabitants. Roland Pease visits the Bristol University Labs of Richard Evershed and Julie Dunne to hear how they uncovered the origin of what could be the oldest example of bubbling cereal porridge.

Henry Heimlich
This week the death was announced of 96 year old Henry Heimlich – the American whose special manoeuvre has helped to save many thousands of lives.  The upwards abdominal thrusts are now taught as part of first aid courses.

Octopuses of the Very Deep
Octopuses that live four kilometres beneath the sea surface have been discovered by German and American marine scientists.  Their habitat is found in desolate plains that are littered with metal-rich nodules that have precipitated over the millennia from sea water. And that is the problem – because the area is attractive to submarine prospectors for the precious metals they could harvest there.  And that could disturb the delicate deep-ocean ecological balance and interfere with the breeding of the octupus.  Autun Purser of the Alfred Wegener Institute in Bremerhaven describes the discovery and explains the issues.

Mind Wandering and ADHD
Is attention deficit hyperactivity disorder actually a problem of excessive mind wandering?  Children who find it hard to sit still and concentrate may be diagnosed with ADHD. Claudia Hammond hears from two teenage girls with ADHD, talking about how difficult they find it to concentrate at school.  Philip Asherson is Professor of Clinical and Molecular Psychiatry at Kings College London – and he says the idea that mind wandering might play a big part in ADHD is now being taken seriously.

Migrating Insects 
Trillions of insects migrate over southern England every year – moving north in the spring and south in the autumn. These mighty migrations were tracked down using radar and high-flying experimental balloons.  The University of Exeter’s Jason Chapman explains.


(Picture caption: A doctor carries ice cubes to help cool down a patient © Thomas Coex/AFP/Getty Images)


The Science Hour was presented by Claudia Hammond with comments from BBC News science reporter Victoria Gill


Editor: Deborah Cohen

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