Curious Cases

Hannah Fry and Dara Ó Briain return for a new series, and a whole lot of new problems to solve!

One winter morning, listener Jane opened her curtains to find her car roof covered in breathtaking, fern-like frost so intricate it looked like a William Morris print. But how does something as ordinary as ice create patterns so beautifully complex?

Hannah and Dara explore this crunchy, slippery, delicately patterned branch of chemistry to uncover the rules and mysteries that govern the extra-ordinary world of ice. Why does ice come in so many shapes and sizes? And does all ice form at 0 degrees Celsius? Is every snowflake truly unique? We have questions a plenty for our eager chemists, who, as all good chemists do, have a few demonstrations up their sleeves to help explain.

And we explore nature’s hidden geometry to find why these frost ferns follow the same rules as lightning bolts, river deltas and even human lungs.

You can send your everyday mysteries for the team to investigate to: [email protected]

Contributors

Producer: Emily Bird

From pharaohs' tombs in Ancient Egypt and medieval currency, to priceless royal jewellery and Spandau Ballet songs - gold has been prized for millennia.

Today, gold is used in masses of electricals; it's also revolutionised part of the manufacturing sector by stopping a dangerous reliance on mercury as a catalyst; and it's vital to space missions. Although there are also some more frivolous modern uses for gold, as Hannah and Dara discover. (Gold-leaf in your cocktail, anyone?)

Challenged to find out whether all the world's mined gold would really fit in an Olympic swimming pool, our science-savvy duo discover that this antisocial element might just be the best darn thing on the periodic table...

Contributors:

Producer: Lucy Taylor

What exactly is 'phantom pain' and how does it work?

The condition 'phantom pain' is when someone gets a sensation of pain that feels like it's coming from a part of their body that's no longer there - so that could be an amputated limb, or perhaps something that has been removed, such as a tooth or an organ. It's thought to be caused by how the brain and body process pain and physical awareness, but there's still debate around what exactly is going on neurologically.

Researchers around the world are looking into the condition; in the meantime, people who experience phantom pain - like today's studio guest Lynn - often have to try out a range of treatments, to find out what combination works best for them. But as the team discover, pain is deeply subjective - and in this case, there is really no 'right answer'...

Contributors:

Producers: Emily Bird & Lucy Taylor

A BBC Studios Audio Production

Tortoises have traditionally been the poster child for slowness. These ancient, armoured reptiles are solitary, territorial and all-too-often dismissed as dull.

In fact, tortoises have distinct personalities. They have changeable moods, can learn simple tasks, remember certain useful information for years and even recognise familiar people.

But can they play?

Hot on the trail of tortoise tomfoolery, Hannah and Dara explore the stereotype-smashing studies that show there's far more to these creatures than previously thought; and find out that these complex behaviours might apply not only to the turtle clan, but potentially other reptiles as well...

To submit your question to the Curious Cases team, please email: [email protected]

Contributors:

Producer: Lucy Taylor

Could you survive an eternal winter? Or is endless summer sun a more appealing prospect? Lots of us are grateful for the seasonal changes that shape the world around us, but this week Hannah and Dara are asking what life would look like without the axial tilt that brings each hemisphere closer and further away from the sun as the seasons change each year. Listener Andrew from Melbourne wants to know what would happen if the planet stood perfectly upright, no lean, no tilt, no seasons. But what else could happen? Is Earth’s 23-degree slant the cosmic fluke that made life possible?

You can send your everyday mysteries for the team to investigate to: [email protected]

Producer: Emily Bird

Could immortality ever be possible for humans?

Turritopsis dohrnii, known as 'the immortal jellyfish', isn’t immortal in the true sense of word - it can die - but it has a nifty way of avoiding that fate. In times of stress, this miniscule jelly can biologically reverse its aging process, reverting from 'medusa' (adult jellyfish) to a juvenile form and starting its life-cycle again; potentially ad infinitum.

Abilities like these could hold the key to - if not exactly 'immortality', then at least regenerative or long-life treatments for humans in future. But of course there's a catch: these extremely delicate jellyfish can still easily die from predation, disease, or environmental threats and are extremely difficult to keep healthy in a lab environment.

Hannah and Dara hear about new technology that could change the way we study immortal jellyfish, and discover various other super-abilities in the animal kingdom that could help in our quest for healthier, longer lives.

Contributors:

Producer: Lucy Taylor

Space: the final frontier, a deep dark realm full of questions and mysteries - many of which science can't yet satisfactorily answer.

In a special edition recorded in front of an audience at the BBC Radio Theatre in London, Hannah Fry and Dara Ó Briain team up with a panel of guests who know their way around the universe: presenters from the world's longest running science TV show, The Sky At Night.

With the intergalactic expertise of George Dransfield, Chris Lintott and Maggie Aderin-Pocock, Hannah and Dara tackle a slew of space-related questions put forward by the listeners - exploring topics ranging from the sound of stars and the shape of the universe, to the search for alien life.

To submit your question to the Curious Cases team, please email: [email protected]

SPACE AUDIO CLIPS:

- Maggie's Choice: In 2005, the European Space Agency's Huygens probe descended to the surface of Saturn's moon Titan. Microphones aboard Huygens recorded the sounds of descent and landing, then The Planetary Society and scientists at the University of California helped ESA process the audio.

- George's Choice: The black hole at the centre of the Perseus galaxy cluster has been associated with sound for years, since astronomers discovered that pressure waves sent out by the black hole caused ripples in the cluster's hot gas that could be translated into a note. This new sonification was released for NASA's Black Hole Week in 2022.

- Chris's Choice: In 2023, the Planck space telescope picked up echoes left by soundwaves that travelled through the early Universe. This primordial hum was then translated into frequencies we can hear.

Producer: Lucy Taylor

Whether you’re stuck in traffic, waiting at the airport whilst delay after delay is announced or just really missing someone far away, a lot of us have probably wished we could teleport. But is this superpower the stuff of science fiction? Or could it, one day, become a reality?

Listener Faith wants to know whether Star Trek’s Transporter could ever deconstruct and reconstruct humans in the real world, and it turns out quantum physics holds some tantalising potential for this seemingly impossible task. To search for answers Hannah and Dara dive down the quantum rabbit hole, exploring entanglement, superposition, and trying on some very special socks.

Contributors

Producer: Emily Bird

Cold and flu season is well and truly upon us, and whilst most of us are busy bemoaning the pesky viruses behind our sniffles and chesty coughs – one of our listeners has other ideas. Elizabeth wants to know whether we’re too hard on these oft-maligned microbes? We’ve all heard that some bacteria can be good for us, but what about viruses? Could they have a softer side too?

Contributors

Producer: Emily Bird