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Unexpected Elements

Some Beautiful Science

Unexpected Elements

BBC

Science

4.4565 Ratings

🗓️ 21 November 2025

⏱️ 50 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

The Miss Universe pageant final has us considering the science of beauty. How much of our perception of beauty is genetic, and how much is down to personal experiences? We also look at the science behind competitions and the audience effect. Why do we sometimes perform better when we’re watched?

Also on the show, Oxford professor Marcus du Sautoy explains why maths can be beautiful, and former Miss Universe Ireland and NASA datanaut Fig O’Reilly talks about balancing pageants and a career in science outreach.

Plus, the science behind death metal singing, why civet coffee tastes so good, and how ugly plants inflame allergies, on this week’s Unexpected Elements.

Presenter: Caroline Steel, with Katie Silver and Sandy Ong Producers: Margaret Sessa-Hawkins with Alice Lipscombe-Southwell, Lucy Davies, Robbie Wojciechowski and Alice McKee

Transcript

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0:00.0

BBC Sounds, Music, Radio Podcasts.

0:05.6

Oh, hello. You have chosen a BBC podcast, but before you listen to it, we thought you might like our podcast too.

0:12.1

You might. You might. It is called Sightraught with me Nick Grimshaw.

0:15.2

And me, Annie Mack. And we talk about the week in music.

0:18.2

All the news, all the cultural happenings in the UK and beyond.

0:22.2

And great guests.

0:23.3

And it's on BBC Sounds.

0:24.7

Yes, where you can also enjoy lots of playlists, music mixes and live radio.

0:29.9

Everything from my six music breakfast show to Radio 3 Unwind.

0:34.5

But obviously start with our podcast, sidetrack.

0:36.3

Obviously.

0:36.7

Obviously.

0:38.2

So if you like music, listen on BBC Sans.

0:42.8

Last week, I took a train to Rotterdam in the Netherlands.

0:46.4

And in my bag, alongside my passport and a change of clothes, were several tiny vials,

0:52.0

filled with my own tears. Because for the last few weeks, every

0:56.5

time I've cried, I've whipped out a pipette and vile to try and catch the tears rolling

1:01.1

down my face, to take them to Maori Vickers, an artist who makes extraordinary images out

1:06.8

of human tears. In his studio, he placed one of my tears on a glass slide,

1:12.2

left it to dry and crystallise,

1:14.2

and then we had a look at it down a microscope.

1:16.6

And my tier had formed layers of delicate leaf-like structures.

...

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