Scienceploitation • 2017 • episode "S1E6" • A User's Guide to Cheating Death

58:59

After being diagnosed with a rare and deadly form of malignant melanoma - acral lentiginous melanoma - Dr George McGavin embarks on a highly emotional and deeply personal journey as he goes through treatment for his cancer. George’s treatment is targeted drug therapy, using drugs approved for use by the NHS only weeks before his diagnosis. During this journey, he is given unprecedented access to the process and science behind his medical treatment and diagnosis. He also meets some of the most highly regarded scientists in the field of cancer research in his quest to understand not just his disease but what the future holds as a whole for cancer treatment. Amongst them are Professor Sir Michael Stratton, director of the Wellcome Sanger Institute and chief executive officer of the Wellcome Genome Campus, whose work resulted in the discovery of the mutation in the B RAF gene responsible for his form of melanoma. George also travels to Houston, Texas to meet Professor James P Allison, winner of the 2018 Nobel Prize in Medicine, to find out about his pioneering work in the field of immunotherapy - the greatest breakthrough in cancer research in a century. Back home in his own hospital, he meets a unique group of stage four melanoma patients who owe their lives to Professor Allison’s work. Ultimately, his journey culminates when he receives his prognosis, after three months of treatment, which will determine his future. Will these groundbreaking drugs actually work?

2019 • Health

50:42

Biology is undergoing a revolution that is radically changing our conception of evolution. Our genes don’t control everything: they can be influenced by fascinating mechanisms recently brought to light by international research teams.

2016 • Health

4:00

Our skin is the largest organ in our bodies, with a surface area of about 20 square feet in adults. When we are cut or wounded, our skin begins to repair itself through a complex, well-coordinated process. Sarthak Sinha takes us past the epidermis and into the dermis to investigate this regenerative response.

TED-Ed • Health

58:28

Many clinical trials target the nation's most acute health issues. With deaths from liver disease soaring by 40 per cent in a decade, more and more patients are waiting for vital liver transplants. There is a shortage of organ donors and many donated organs are rejected as only those in excellent condition are considered suitable for a transplant procedure. Surgeons Richard Laing and Thamara Perera are part of a team at QEHB trialling a revolutionary way to tackle this crisis, by maximising the number of donor organs that can be safely re-used. The film follows the trial every step of the way, as Richard receives a donor liver that would usually be rejected and tries to prove it is viable for transplant by rejuvenating and testing it on a perfusion machine. This machine sustains the liver by mimicking the supply of blood, oxygen and nutrients an organ receives inside a live, healthy human body. Once the donor liver has proved itself fit for transplant, the surgical team start to remove grandmother Connie O'Driscoll's severely diseased liver. Once the donor liver has been disconnected from the perfusion machine, they have just 20 minutes to place it in Connie's body and plumb it into the complex and delicate network of hepatic blood vessels.

S1E3 • Surgeons: At the Edge of Life • 2018 • Health

4:21

Some people love the feeling of cracking their knuckles, while others cringe at the sound. But what causes that trademark pop? And is it dangerous? Eleanor Nelsen gives the facts behind joint popping.

TED-Ed • Health

4:03

SciShow debunks the myth that you only use 10 percent of your brain. So, how much do you really use? And how do we know?

Health