The Perfect Storm • 2021 • episode "S1E2" • Royal Institution Christmas Lectures - Going Viral

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

57:51

Michael Mosley explores the latest science about how our personalities are created - and whether they can be changed. Despite appearances, Mosley is a pessimist who constantly frets about the future. He wants to worry less and become more of an optimist. He tries out two techniques to change this aspect of his personality - with surprising results. And he travels to the frontiers of genetics and neuroscience to find out about the forces that shape all our personalities.

Health

58:50

Michael Mosley has set himself a truly ambitious goal: he wants to live longer, stay younger and lose weight in the bargain. And he wants to make as few changes to his life as possible along the way. He discovers the powerful new science behind the ancient idea of fasting, and he thinks he's found a way of doing it that still allows him to enjoy his food. Michael tests out the science of fasting on himself - with life-changing results.

Health

58:52

Michael Mosley reveals the ingenious ways the body defends itself against a hostile world.

S1E4 • Inside the Human Body • Health

59:03

Dr Chris van Tulleken, Dr Hannah Fry and Michael Mosley examine the latest research and explore some of the big questions about Covid-19 and the pandemic it has created. Michael visits the UK government's high-security laboratory Porton Down, where vaccines are being tested. He also uncovers what the experience of the 2002 SARs epidemic reveals about this one. Both were caused by coronaviruses, but certain key changes to today's virus have allowed it to infect the world, where SARs was contained.

Horizon • 2020 • Health

45:49

On the front lines of the hunt for killer viruses, a shocking discovery is made: viruses, once thought to be a menace to humankind, may in fact be the ultimate creators. Since the beginning of time, they have played a critical role in evolution, shaping us and perhaps even creating us. How could that be? How can an entity seemingly programmed for destruction lead to genetic diversity and new species? To many people, viruses are simply agents for disease, but to Dr. Luis Villarreal, Director of the Center for Virus Research at the University of California Irvine, they may possess far greater power than originally thought. He guides us through evidence that viruses gave rise to the first complex cells, played a role in the diversification of life, changed how our young are born, drove evolution, and perhaps gave us emotions. One expert even suggests that an ancient virus could have entered our genes and rewired us for monogamy. National Geographic investigates a provocative new theory that suggests that all life - including humans - is descended from viruses. Taking us through African jungles in search for new strains, this episode of Explorer presents a startling new view of viruses - toward what may be a remarkable evolutionary moment: the rise of a new human species.

2008 • Health