Chhavi Sachdev

It’s been pouring for four days now, and shows no sign of stopping. The laundry is CrowdScience listener Rit, from Pune in India, is worried about the effect it’s having on the environment, and on agriculture. When it rains like this, the animals suffer, and the crops are destroyed.
Presenter Chhavi Sachdev is also sitting in a downpour at home in Mumbai. She dons her rain jacket and rubber boots to try and find out whether science can help Rit with his question. From controlling the clouds in India, to bringing rain to the deserts of the UAE, to firing high-powered lasers into the skies above

As millions are mislabelled, a new study suggests ways to improve accuracy that would improve patient outcomes and fight antimicrobial resistance.
Penicillin is the go-to antibiotic for many common infections - but in the UK more than 1-in-15 adults have a penicillin allergy label on their medical record. Both Burundi and Senegal announced last week that they had eliminated trachoma.A passionate debate has caused division in Maharashtra, India, over the possibility of homeopaths being allowed to practice and prescribe conventional medicine. Reporter Chhavi Sachdev explains why doctors on both

This week, a new report into the dangers that sand and dust storms pose to the world's health and economy has inspired Caroline Steel with panelists Chhavi Sachdev & Candice Bailey to delve in the science of dust.

First, we look at the report by the World Meteorological Organisation and hear about what can be done to mitigate the dangers of dust.

We also find out the surprising way in which the Sahara is keeping the Amazon rainforest well-fed, and Derek Fabel tells us how dust can help us to determine the age of glaciers.

Plus, the dusty maths that took 15 years to solve

Shipping containers are a staple of global trade, helping in the transport of all sorts of goods by sea across the world. But their relatively cheap cost and sturdy structure lends them to many other purposes. In this episode we visit a school for poorer children created out of shipping containers that sits in the middle of a busy intersection in Thane, India with Chhavi Sachdev. And we look at a start-up business in the UK that uses shipping containers to store carbon captured from the air in the production of building materials.

Around the world, scientists and entrepreneurs are pouring billions into researching new ways of storing carbon dioxide. We look at a scheme in India to put CO2 in rocks and research in the UK using kelp. Will either of them be effective?

Host Graihagh Jackson dives into the waters off Britain's southern coast to find out more about the magical powers of kelp, while Chhavi Sachdev visits a tea plantation in Darjeeling which is hoping to diversify into carbon sequestration.

The Christian celebration of Easter got us thinking about egg-related science.
First up, we find out about the rise of a vegan egg substitute.
Next, we discover how to cook the perfect boiled egg, according to science.
We then turn our attention to climate change, and find out how it is affecting the breeding patterns and nesting behaviour of sea turtles.
Plus, we are joined by Dr Luis Welbanks, who tells us about a nearby exoplanet that reeks of rotten eggs.
All that, plus many more Unexpected Elements.
Presenter: Marnie Chesterton, with Chhavi Sachdev and Sandy Ong

Reporter Chhavi Sachdev in Mumbai has some good news – an indigenous antibiotic breakthrough has been found to be effective at treating antibiotic resistant pneumonia. We hear what it takes to develop a new antibiotic and what makes Nafithromycin such a ground-breaking discovery.
Has the long-standing mystery of which wild animals form a reservoir of mpox in the wild finally been solved? Some scientists think they have cracked the case, pinpointing the fire-footed rope squirrel as the culprit, but questions remain before we can definitively say this species is to blame.

CrowdScience listener Sid is running late, and he’s turning to science to find an excuse. He and his partner Steffi in Singapore have very different attitudes to timekeeping. They wonder if this is down to their different cultural upbringings, or if they just had very different brains to start with.

Presenter Chhavi Sachdev puts her own time perception skills to the test to try to understand how subjective our sense of time can be. And we discover how the language we grow up speaking can influence the way we think about punctuality.

Presenter: Chhavi Sachdev
Producer: Emily Bird

Uzbekistan is tackling the many problems it faces in farming and agriculture with the help of technology. . A new digital platform called Growz is creating tech solutions for smarter and more sustainable farming. Generating Power from Gravity

In the last of his series of reports from the Consumer Electronics Show, Jez Donaldson reports on a technology that generates power from Gravity – he’s on the show to explain how it all works.

The programme is presented by Gareth Mitchell and the studio expert is Chhavi Sachdev.

Monty the giant schnauzer won best in show at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. And rather than thinking of all things canine, this week the Unexpected Elements team turn their attention to all things giant.
Presenters: Caroline Steel, with Chhavi Sachdev and Camilla Mota.
First, we find out how a giant virus could help keep our planet cool.
Next up, we discover the origins of enormous Greek characters, such as the Titans and the Cyclops.We then find out how giant clams put solar panels to shame.
image:By Desaix83, d'après le travail de Kkrzysiu o2 CC

Celebrations for the Lunar New Year kicked off on 29th January, and this year is the Year of the Snake.
We start things off by discussing the purpose of some mysterious serpent markings on the banks of the Orinoco River.
Next, we find out about the origins of snake oil, before digging into the psychology of why we trust snake-like people
Plus, herpetologist Dr Mark O’Shea tells us all about his work identifying snakes, and what happened when he got bitten.
Presenters: Marnie Chesterton, with Chhavi Sachdev and Christine Yohannes. image CC license

India stands as a global leader in various sectors - technology, innovation, space exploration, and education in science and engineering. However, it has also consistently ranked first in internet shutdowns for six consecutive years.

200 million people worldwide have macular degeneration – a form of sight loss often associated with ageing. Now a US company say they have developed glasses that can improve their vision significantly. Jez Donaldson has been finding out more.

The programme is presented by Gareth Mitchell and the studio expert is Chhavi Sachdev.

December is a time of celebration, family feuds, and now scientific rivalries. It's also one of the most wasteful months of the year, with festivities in full swing across the globe.

Unexpected Elements dives headfirst into the scientific bin to wallow in waste. Could worms be the unexpected heroes of our plastic pollution crisis? How much garbage have we jettisoned into space? And why is part of our very own genome called "junk DNA"?

Come waste an hour with us on Unexpected Elements!

Presenter: Caroline Steel, with Chhavi Sachdev and Candice Bailey

It’s been 24 years since the release of Ridley Scott’s Gladiator, which left audiences captivated by the story of Maximus the gladiator, played by Russell Crowe. Now, Gladiator II is hitting the cinemas, so this week the panel -chhavi sachdev & christine Yohannes- enter the arena to take a look at some gladiatorial science. We hear about an fish that fights in mouth-to-mouth combat, how humans have looked to nature to design better armour, and the perfume that Julius Caesar would have worn. We also talk to Chris Nowinski, a former WWE professional wrestler turned neuroscient about concussion

Chhavi Sachdev looks at two projects in India that turn plastic and cigarette butt waste into everyday products while providing jobs for women living in villages.

The world produces about 400 million tonnes of plastic waste annually. A lot of this waste, such as multi-layered plastic packaging and cigarette butts, is hard to recycle. Instead, it fills up landfills and contaminates the environment.

Two organizations are working on these problems in Pune and Noida - for a solutions journalism programme