Red blood cells’ surprising immune function

A dip in global cocoa prices got the Unexpected Elements team wondering about chocolate science. First, we look at how the microbial communities in cocoa beans fine tune the taste of chocolate. Also, could table sugar help us detect the missing bits of the universe? We look at ho ...  Show more

Identical twins on trial for murder in France have left forensic experts unable to answer the question of which one pulled the gun’s trigger. With both having the same DNA, it got the Unexpected Elements team thinking, when do identical twins cease to be identical?First, we look ...  Show more

"To be or not to be” was never your decision. No one alive today is an “exister” by consent - your parents made that call for you. But who can blame them? Animals are hardwired with strong impulses towards their procreative goals, and we humans, by and large, are no different. ...

Wild bird populations have been devastated by an avian flu variant that’s sweeping the UK - and more than 3.5 million captive birds have been culled. It’s expected to be the worst winter on record for avian flu - and the team finds out why. Female robins sing just as much, and ju ...  Show more

Reports this week talk of some BAME ethnic minorities being significantly less likely to take a covid vaccine if offered. Vittal Katikireddi and Tolullah Oni both sit on the SAGE ethnicity subgroup, and they discuss with Alex Lathbridge where the figures come from and quite what ...  Show more

00:47 Searching for dark matter in black holesResearchers have been scanning the skies looking for black holes that formed at the very beginning of the Universe — one place where elusive and mysterious dark matter is thought to be located. If these black holes did contain dark ma ...  Show more