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Punk rock science

A punk rock dinosaur with metre-long spikes has been discovered. And that got us investigating emo fossils, the physics of mosh pits and where heavy metals come from.

A dinosaur with metre-long spikes has been discovered. The species, Spicomellus afer, is from the Jurassic Period and is the oldest example of a group of animals called ankylosaurs.

The scientists behind the research have dubbed the new dinosaur the ‘punk rock dinosaur’, which led the Unexpected Elements team to go out searching for the science on all things punk, rock, and heavy metal.

First up, we find out what other punks might be lurking in the fossil record. And meet a pair of unconventional molluscs.

Next up on the set list, we investigate the physics underpinning mosh pits and the implications this could have for crowd control.

We speak with Anirudh Patel, an astrophysicist from Columbia University, who is scouring deep space to find out more about the origins of heavy metals.

And we dig into the unexpected link between water pipes and IQ.

All that, plus many more Unexpected Elements.

Presenter: Marnie Chesterton, with Camilla Mota and Meral Jamal
Producers: Alice Lipscombe-Southwell, with Lucy Davies and Robbie Wojciechowski

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49 minutes

Last on

Sun 7 Sep 2025 19:06GMT

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  • Sun 7 Sep 2025 19:06GMT

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