Mankind has been searching for the elixir of life for centuries. This goal seems closer now than ever before, with the average age having more than doubled over the last hundred years. While developments in medicine are allowing us to live longer, scientific advances are revealing the mechanisms behind ageing.
The Dunedin Study has identified a fundamental developmental mechanism that completely rewrites the nature versus nurture argument. It is a genetic switch which is thrown by life events – nature loads the gun but nurture pulls the trigger. This episode tracks the hunt for the mechanism using three specific examples - violence in men, depression, & cannabis induced schizophrenia.
Think insects are a pest? Think again. This visually stunning science documentary shows how these tiny geniuses can help us solve some of science’s biggest problems – from producing biofuel to killing drug-resistant bacteria and curing cancer. Insects are the most diverse group of animals on the planet, making up more than 90% of the animals on Earth. They can be found on all continents, in all climates. Nature has equipped them with an amazing range of tricks.
This film explores the remarkable life and legacy of the late feminist author Ursula K. Le Guin. Best known for groundbreaking science fiction and fantasy works such as ’A Wizard of Earthsea’, ’The Left Hand of Darkness’, and ’The Dispossessed’, Le Guin defiantly held her ground on the margin of "respectable" literature until the sheer excellence of her work, at long last, forced the mainstream to embrace fantastic literature. Her fascinating story has never before been captured on film.
Oceans are rapidly becoming the world’s rubbish dump. Every km of ocean now contains an average of 74,000 pieces of plastic. A ‘plastic soup’ of waste, killing hundreds of thousands of animals every year and leaching chemicals slowly up the food chain. In Holland, scientists researching the decline of the fulmar bird found plastic in the stomachs of 95% of all samples; In Germany, chemicals leached from plastic have been found to affect the reproductive systems of animals...
For generations, we have believed that man is driven by ruthless self-interest. But over the past decade, this idea has been increasingly challenged. New research from fields as diverse as political science, psychology, sociology and experimental economics is forcing us to rethink human actions and motivation.
