A Shot to Save the World • 2010

57:28

By the middle of January many people struggle to keep up their resolutions to be more active. The result is that the UK wastes nearly £600 million a year on unused gym memberships. But new science has the answers. Medical journalist Michael Mosley teams up with scientists whose latest research is turning common knowledge about fitness on its head. They reveal why 10,000 steps is just a marketing ploy and that two minutes of exercise is all a person needs each week. They discover how to get people to stick to their fitness plans and what exercise can actually make everyone more intelligent. Whether it is for couch potatoes who hate the thought of exercise, someone too busy to consider the gym, or even for fitness fanatics who are desperate to do more - science can help everyone exercise better.

2020 • Health

114:42

The epic story of how people around the world lived through the first year of the coronavirus pandemic

1 • The Virus That Shocked the World PBS FRONTLINE • 2021 • Health

45:02

DNA testing is becoming more and more common. People are making important health and life decisions based off this data, despite these tests being largely inaccurate.

S1E3 • A User's Guide to Cheating Death • 2017 • Health

134:20

Xand van Tulleken, Raksha Dave and John Sergeant discover the parallels of the Great Plague of 1665 with the Covid-19 pandemic. Ch1. Outbreak The epidemic is traced back to its source in the parish of St Giles in the Fields, now at the heart of London's theatre district. The program also examines the symptoms of the disease and uncovers new research into the plague bacteria that could overthrow accepted ideas about how the infection was spread. Ch2. Decimation Xand heads to St Barts hospital to look back at historical records which show that nursing staff stayed behind and risked their lives to help the sick. Elsewhere, John investigates why infection rates were so different between the rich and poor, examining clothes typical for each group in the 17th century. Ch3. Aftermath Xand visits Samuel Pepys' parish church and discovers the sad tale of the Poole family, who within 11 days lost all five of their children. He also heads to Eyam in Derbyshire, revealing the heroic story of self-sacrifice that saw all 700 villagers lock themselves in to try to stop the disease from spreading to surrounding areas. Raksha Dave trials 17th-century disinfection methods and reveal a surprising substitute that can be just as effective as modern antibacterial cleaners.

2020 • Health

45:09

If you’ve been to a children’s birthday party lately, chances are at least one of the little guests had a portable needle loaded with epinephrine. Its standard equipment for a growing generation of highly allergic kids: more than three times as many children have food allergies now than twenty years ago. And one out of every three children is now allergic to foods, animals, or plants. Something puzzling, and frightening, is going on with our immune systems. The Allergy Fix travels across Canada and to the US, the UK and Germany to investigate why allergies are on the rise – and what’s being done about it.

S53E14 • The Nature of Things • 2014 • Health

42:56

Bacteria, viruses, but also fungus spores, algae, pollen, and even insects: microorganisms are constantly drifting through the sky. How can so many living beings find their way into the air and be circulating in our atmosphere? How do they survive? What is their influence on our lives and our entire living world? Biodiversity, health, climate - scientists are only now discovering just how much this discreet airborne "plankton" affects our lives and the entire ecosystem on Earth. But despite its many virtues, this magic matter is now under threat from human activity. With help from experts and using 3D visual effects, this scientific investigation will take us to the heart of a world that is still very little understood, and will reveal the diversity and fragility of the air we breathe.

2023 • Health