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Like many, Michael Mosley wants to get fitter and healthier but can't face hours on the treadmill or trips to the gym. Help may be at hand. He uncovers the surprising new research which suggests many of us could benefit from just three minutes of high intensity exercise a week. He discovers the hidden power of simple activities like walking and fidgeting, and finds out why some of us don't respond to exercise at all. Using himself as a guinea pig, Michael uncovers the revealing new research about exercise, that has the power to make us all live longer and healthier lives.
Seventy years ago, when the coldest thing in your house was a pantry, most of the food we ate was harvested, sent straight to the shops and would have been on our plates before it started to go off. However, the advent of the home freezer and advances in various preservation techniques changed all of that and now we’re used to eating what we want, when we want, regardless of the time of year when the food is actually grown. So how do they keep the food for so long? And does the quality stay the same?
3/4 • The Food We Eat • 2014 • Health
Two procedures so formidable, they would not have been attempted even a few years ago. Surgical teams at the Queen Elizabeth are constantly pushing the limits of what is possible. But despite state-of-the-art diagnostic scanning, sometimes cancer surgeons don't know exactly what they are up against until they open the patient up on the operating table. Even with the most meticulous planning, sometimes they must resort to taking critical decisions live in the theatre. 74-year-old Jasmine Harkness has been referred to the specialist sarcoma unit with a vast tumour in her abdomen, weighing more than three stone - a third of her total body weight. It is consuming her, displacing organs including her stomach and liver. Unless it can be removed, she has just four weeks to live. Sarcoma specialists Sam Ford and Professor David Gourevitch can't be sure whether they will be able to save Jasmine until they open her up and inspect her anatomy. Such is the risk of this surgery - five years ago they would not have embarked on this intervention. Sue Sinclair, lead anaesthetist and matriarch of theatre, keeps the others in check - working alongside them as they battle to detach the tumour from Jasmine's organs and blood vessels, and remove it intact. Whenever it presses heavily on vital blood vessels, Jasmine's blood pressure plummets, placing her life in grave danger. It will take unwavering focus to keep her alive. The tumour has grown so invasively that it has crushed and displaced Jasmine's internal organs. Sam and David have a puzzle on their hands to identify what and where everything is. At times, dark humour is the only way to release the tension as they grapple with blood, guts and mind-boggling complexity.
2/3 • Surgeons: At the Edge of Life • 2018 • Health
The story of a human life, from first cry to final breath, told from within the body. This documentary film combines state-of-the-art special effects, pioneering CGI, startling realistic models and real in-body photography. Exploring human physiology from birth, through the drama of puberty, into adulthood, and finally old age, the programme offers a visually-stunning insight into how our bodies function. Throughout life we undergo a continuous second-by-second transformation, every move we make and every outside stimulus triggers a reaction through the skin, bones, organs, muscles and cells. We breathe on average 700 million breaths in a lifetime, an adult skeleton is replaced every seven to 10 years, we shed as many as 30,000 dead skin cells every minute, and the food we eat travels 30 feet on its journey through our bodies. The Living Body takes you beneath the skin to reveal how our bodies evolve from birth to old age, and the amazing biological systems we need to thrive. Embark on an incredible journey tracing the story of one everywoman using milestones to examine the everyday workings of a living, functioning body in ways not seen before. Cutting-edge miniature endoscopic HD cameras delve deep inside the mouth, throat, heart, lungs, digestive tract, brain and reproductive organs to shed new light on how and why our bodies do what they do. Stunning photography reveals universal moments in human development at the most minute level, providing insight into both our own individual metamorphosis and our shared human experiences.
Naked Science • 2015 • Health
The brain was once thought to be the body's control tower, issuing commands to the other organs. But scientists are discovering that communication flows between all the organs in our bodies. They transmit messages that can boost immunity, improve memory, strengthen bones and even lengthen lifespan. Innovative treatments are being developed to harness the power of this hidden network. But what happens when there's a communication breakdown? We look for clues using the latest technology.
2018 • Health
An ambitious account of the story of human physiology in a feature-length dramatised documentary. Harnessing the magic of the most modern visual effects, we tell the story of the human body—inside and out—as it lives, grows, and dies on this predestined journey we call life. This unique National Geographic docudrama traces the life of a man, Adam, from the Cradle to the Grave, explaining the science behind our highs and lows, the rites of passage we all go through and exploring the inner workings of our bodies and how they change through time. The 90-year-old narrator, Adam, reflects on his life from conception through boyhood, adolescence and beyond, revealing the events that shape him. Along the way we meet the class bully, Adam's first love and the sergeant major preparing him and fellow recruits for Vietnam. With the aid of stunning computer-generated visuals, we go under the skin to reveal how Adam's body responds to major life events, and his story is told in dramatic scenes from the 1950s to the present day.
2016 • Health