Putting Madonna to the test

Published: Oct. 19, 2023, 6 a.m.

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According to the pop icon Madonna, music makes the people come together. But can we prove that using science?

As Madonna embarks on her greatest hits world tour, the Unexpected Elements team on three continents take some of those hits and examine the science behind them.

Like a Virgin take us on an excursion into parthenogenesis, and the Komodo Dragons that can reproduce without the inconvenience of having to find a mate.

Madonna sung about travelling \\u2018quicker than a ray of light\\u2019, but is that actually possible? We take a very fast trip through the strange world of warp bubbles.

And we Get Into the Groove with the physicist who created a record so tiny it fits into one of the grooves of a normal record.

We also hear about the \\u201cfind your ancestry\\u201d kits that have the capacity to solve so-called cold cases, identifying unknown human remains often decades old.

With the eyes of the world on events in Gaza, we discover how tech can help make sure that any reportage \\u2013 video or photos \\u2013 are accurate and not doctored.

All that plus your emails and WhatsApps, and a listener wonders whether fish can drown.

Presented by Marnie Chesterton, with Philistiah Mwatee and Katie Silver\\nProduced by Ben Motley, with Alex Mansfield, Tom Bonnett, Sophie Ormiston and Margaret Sessa Hawkins

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