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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.

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Unexpected Elements: Mysteries of the Lut Desert

Discussion & Talk

Mysteries of the Lut Desert

11/03/2017 GMT

BBC World Service - Unexpected Elements, Mysteries of the Lut Desert

Unravelling the Mysteries of the Lut Desert

Lut Desert; Mars;  How to say 'no' to an upgrade; SoICanBreathe; Ronald Drever; Bumblebee’s Smelly Feet; How sex makes us happy; Make Me a Cyborg

A group of scientists are just back from an expedition to the Lut Desert in Iran.  It is so hot that it is hard to imagine anything living there but the explorers found animals and even water.  Further afield on Mars, Adam Rutherford has been hearing why we find this hostile planet so fascinating.

Jonathan Amos reports on the ‘rock star’ of the fossil world, Archaeopteryx, which is heading on tour to Japan.  Meanwhile in Nebraska, legislators are asking: “when our gadgets go wrong, why can’t we fix them ourselves?”  Gareth Mitchell has been speaking to people that are taking matters into their own hands.

In Ghana, the traditional means of cooking is being replaced with gas stoves to see if it improves the health of pregnant women and their babies.

Bumblebees use ‘smelly footprints’ to help determine where to find lunch. 

Research has told us that sex makes us happy but it is not known why.  Psychologists from Canada and Switzerland have found that affection may hold the answers. 


(Picture caption: The Lut may harbour a hidden sea: areas where the water table rises to within a few centimetres of the desert floor.  Although vanishingly little reaches the surface - Reg Sookhte Spring is an exception - the extremely salty water may be vital to the Lut's denizens © Amir AghaKouchak)


The Science Hour was presented by Claudia Hammond with comments from BBC Science Correspondent Jonathan Amos 


Producer: Graihagh Jackson

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