03: How Did We Get Here? | The Story of Science: Power, Proof and Passion

Duration: 59'19''

Synopsis

Michael Mosley reveals how the history of all life on earth, including us, is connected to the long and violent history of our planet.

Further Information

More clips from The Story of Science: Power, Proof and Passion

01: What Is Out There? | The Story of Science: Power, Proof and Passion

01: What Is Out There? | The Story of Science: Power, Proof and Passion

BBC Two | 2010 | 59'10''

Michael Mosley explores how history has shaped science. He looks at how we came to understand that ou...

02: What is the World Made Of? | The Story of Science: Power, Proof and Passion

02: What is the World Made Of? | The Story of Science: Power, Proof and Passion

BBC Two | 2010 | 58'35''

Michael Mosley explores how history shaped science. Here, he looks at how atomic theories and...

04: Can We Have Unlimited Power? | The Story of Science: Power, Proof and Passion

04: Can We Have Unlimited Power? | The Story of Science: Power, Proof and Passion

BBC Two | 2010 | 59'02''

Michael Mosley shows how the most power-hungry generation that has ever lived has harnessed...

05: What Is the Secret of Life? | The Story of Science: Power, Proof and Passion

05: What Is the Secret of Life? | The Story of Science: Power, Proof and Passion

BBC Two | 2010 | 58'49''

How the secret of life has been examined through the prism of the most complex organism know...

06: Who Are We? | The Story of Science: Power, Proof and Passion

06: Who Are We? | The Story of Science: Power, Proof and Passion

BBC Two | 2010 | 59'18''

The twin sciences of brain anatomy and psychology have offered different visions of who we are. Now these sc...

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BBC One | 2019 | 4'21''

Liz Bonnin witnesses the devastation of the Amazon rainforest from the sky.

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BBC One | 2019 | 57'43''

From colossal farms in America to the destruction of the Amazon, Liz Bonnin investigates how our hunger for meat is killing our planet.

Episode 1 | Orbit: Earth's Extraordinary Journey

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BBC Two | 2012 | 58'23''

Kate Humble and Dr Helen Czerski follow the Earth's voyage around the sun for one complete orbit, travelling first from July...

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BBC Two | 2014 | 4'57''

David Attenborough describes the process of pollination and how this helps plants reproduce.

Keeping cool | Nature's Microworlds

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BBC Four | 2013 | 2'12''

The Namaqua chameleon has developed an ingenious tactic to avoid the heat of the Namib desert.

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BBC One | 2017 | 57'36''

Liz Bonnin joins a scientific team aboard the research vessel the Alucia on an expedition across the Galapagos Island.

Can Scientists Save the World? | Panorama

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BBC One | 2024 | 58'39''

Richard Bilton meets the scientists trying to save the world from the consequences of climate change and investigates whether they...

How hurricanes are formed by Earth's rotation | Learning Zone

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BBC Two | 2012 | 5'20''

Physicist Helen Czerski explains that hurricanes happen because the earth is rotating. She shows how, because t...

Orbit: Earth's Extraordinary Journey | Learning Zone

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BBC Two | 2012 | 58'58''

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The smallest fox with the biggest ears! | Super Cute Animals

BBC One | 2015 | 2'05''

The fennec's ears help it to survive in the heat of the desert dunes.

01: Travelling | The Private Life of Plants

01: Travelling | The Private Life of Plants

BBC One | 1995 | 49'02''

David Attenborough begins his incredible journey into the world of plants with a look at how plants move from place to place.

02: Growing | The Private Life of Plants

02: Growing | The Private Life of Plants

BBC One | 1995 | 49'07''

David Attenborough continues his incredible journey into the world of plants. Remarkable time-lapse photography reveals how new leav...

06: Coasts | Blue Planet II

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BBC One | 2017 | 58'02''

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Cotton production and the Aral Sea crisis | Stacey Dooley Investigates

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BBC Three | 2018 | 5'02''

Stacey Dooley visits the Aral Sea Basin in Kazakhstan, which has almost entirely dried up due to cotto...

Desert amphibians | Life in Cold Blood

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Spadefoot toads can stay underground in a state of suspended animation for years, but when they emerge they must feed and breed before...

S03E12: North of England | Local Heroes

S03E12: North of England | Local Heroes

BBC Two | 1998 | 28'59''

Adam Hart-Davis recalls William Sturgeon's inventing the electric motor and James Nasmyth's steam hammer Adam also sees Joseph Paxton...

03: Coral Reefs | Blue Planet II

03: Coral Reefs | Blue Planet II

BBC One | 2017 | 58'12''

The wildlife documentary series narrated by David Attenborough reveals the ingenious ways life exists in the undersea cities of tropical reefs.

04: Desert Worlds | The Green Planet

04: Desert Worlds | The Green Planet

BBC One | 2022 | 58'33''

Desert plants spend decades in suspended animation waiting for rain, or they travel to find it. They survive using weapons, camouflage a...

09: Plants | Life

09: Plants | Life

BBC HD | 2009 | 58'19''

The nature series turns to plants and looks at the ingenious solutions that they employ to counter life's challenges, such as spring-loaded traps, suckers ...

Cattle feedyard | Meat: A Threat to Our Planet?

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BBC One | 2019 | 3'42''

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More from Michael Mosley

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04: Fixing Faces | Blood and Guts: A History of Surgery

BBC Four | 2008 | 59'00''

Series about the history of surgery continues with a look at the development of plastic surgery, which started over 4...

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Michael Mosley discusses the importance of spending time in nature and how this can imp...

Lombroso's Theories of Crime | The Mystery Of Murder: A Horizon Guide

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BBC Four | 2021 | 2'12''

When looking at the reasons why people offend, Lombroso, a scientist in the 19th century, believed he h...

The complexity of brain surgery | Inside the Human Body

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A little girl, Angelina, requires complex brain surgery in order to alleviate the systoms she is suffering as a resul...

Treating diabetes with an artificial pancreas | Trust Me, I'm a Doctor

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BBC Two | 2018 | 5'05''

In this clip we discover what diabetes is and a new way of treating the condition compared to the trad...

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BBC Four | 2017 | 1'12''

Michael Mosley introduces the problem of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, and Superbugs.

03: Food on the Brain | The Secrets of Your Food

03: Food on the Brain | The Secrets of Your Food

BBC Two | 2017 | 58'23''

Michael Mosley and James Wong explore the effect that our food has on our most important and, in terms of energy consumption...

Sleep | The Truth About...

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BBC One | 2017 | 58'00

We are one of the most sleep-deprived countries in the world. In The Truth About Sleep, insomniac Michael Mosley finds out what happens if we don'...

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Michael Mosley investigates Porton Down, Britain's most secretive and controversial military research base. He...

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Michael Mosley gives up a fifth of his own blood to perform six bold experiments. From starving it of oxygen to injecting ...

The 1860s | The Victorian Slum

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A group of 21st-century people move into a recreated Victorian slum. In this episode, the slum dwellers move into the 1860s, when London was t...

01: The First 8 Weeks | Countdown to Life: The Extraordinary Making of You

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Michael Mosley presents the story of how you were made, in a series produced in partnership with T...

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Dr Michael Mosley explores the bizarre and fascinating world of parasites by turning his body into a living laboratory and deliberately infes...

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BBC One | 2014 | 28'57''

During the most demanding Ramadan for over 30 years, Dr Saleyha Ahsan meets prominent British Muslims undertaking 16 hour fasting days throughout July and talks t...

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01: Pain | Pain, Pus and Poison: The Search for Modern Medicines

BBC Four | 2013 | 59'23''

Michael Mosley discovers what pain is and how we were able to control it with the discovery of morphine at t...

Discovery of penicillin | Pain, Pus and Poison: The Search for Modern Medicine

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Fleming initially discovered the antibacterial properties of mould that would lead to the disc...

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The digestive powers of the gastric juices within the human stomach are tested.

01: Mind Control | The Brain: A Secret History

01: Mind Control | The Brain: A Secret History

BBC Four | 2011 | 57'56''

Michael Mosley traces the sinister ways science has been used to try to control our minds, finding that its pursuit has led to...