Unexpected Elements - Gaming-inspired science

This week, get ready for a whole loot box of gaming-related stories!

First up, we find out about a video game that could give people the power to battle misinformation.

We also hear how scientists are putting harbour seals in front of a computer monitor to decipher how they navigate under the water.

And Dr Brett Kagan from Cortical Labs joins us down the line to tell us why he taught a clump of brain cells to play the 1970s arcade game Pong.

Along the way, we discover what happens when artificial intelligence tries to explain idioms, we learn about a tiny frog named after Bilbo Baggins and try to establish whether or not video games benefit your brain.

All that, plus many more Unexpected Elements. 
  
Presenter: Marnie Chesterton, with Kai Kupferschmidt and Leonie Joubert
Producer: Alice Lipscombe-Southwell, with Margaret Sessa Hawkins, Imaan Moin and Minnie Harrop

Published on Friday, 6th June 2025.

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