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CrowdScience: Were my atoms once your atoms?

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12/06/2020 GMT

Were my atoms once your atoms?

BBC World Service - CrowdScience, Were my atoms once your atoms?

What is the likelihood that an atom in your body has been used in someone else’s body?

Listener Moshe from Australia wants to know what is the likelihood that an atom in his body has been used previously in someone else’s body.

We were bowled over by a question from one CrowdScience listener in Australia wants to know how likely it is that the atoms in his body have been used in someone else’s body? We all like to think we are unique; no one is quite like us. But is that really true?

Presenter Marnie Chesterton tackles Moshe’s question with help from every area of science. From geologists helping us work out how many atoms are on the Earth’s surface to biologists helping us work out how many atoms each body uses. Perhaps we are much less special than we think.

Presented by Marnie Chesterton. Produced by Caroline Steel for the BBC World Service.
 
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