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A sticky situation

Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are stranded on the ISS, which inspired us to get stuck into the science behind extended stays in space, Neanderthal adhesives and bogs.

The US astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are currently stranded on the ISS. They arrived on the Boeing Starliner, which was meant to bring them home after eight days. Unfortunately, it has run into tech issues, meaning that the astronauts may be stuck up there for up to eight months.

We started to ponder, what could an extended period of being stuck in space do to your body?

Next we look to the world of psychedelics research, which has currently got itself a little bit stuck.

We also find out more about the Haraldskær Woman, discovered preserved in a Danish bog in the 1800s. Mads Ravn, head of archaeology, research and collections at the Vejle Museums in Denmark, reveals the stories behind the bog bodies and explains how they ended up stuck in the mud.

And staying with the theme of stickiness, we find out what Neanderthals used as glue.

That, plus many more Unexpected Elements.

Presenter: Marnie Chesterton, with Camilla Mota and Kai Kupferschmidt
Producer: Harrison Lewis, with Alice Lipscombe-Southwell and Noa Dowling.
Sound engineer: Mike Mallen

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50 minutes

Last on

Sun 25 Aug 2024 19:06GMT

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