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

Duration: 58'49''

Synopsis

How the secret of life has been examined through the prism of the most complex organism known, the human body, from anatomy to the structure of DNA.

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...

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

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

BBC Two | 2010 | 59'19''

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

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...

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...

More resources about DNA, genes and chromosomes

A World Without Down's Syndrome?

A World Without Down's Syndrome?

BBC Two | 2019 | 58'55''

Documentary about Down's syndrome and the ethics of pregnancy screening, exploring the thinking around the proposed new screening test and i...

The Gene Revolution: Changing Human Nature | Storyville

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BBC Four | 2020 | 1'26'37''

The biggest tech revolution of the 21st century isn't digital, it's biological. What will CRISPR mean for human evolu...

The structure of DNA | The Cell

The structure of DNA | The Cell

BBC Four | 2009 | 2'48''

Adam Rutherford explains and illustrates the structure of DNA, and the way its discovery revealed the secret of how genes are reproduced when...

Unlocking The Code | The Gene Code

Unlocking The Code | The Gene Code

BBC Four | 2011 | 58'04''

Dr Adam Rutherford takes the viewer on a rollercoaster ride as he explores the consequences of one of the biggest scientific projects of a...

01: The Book of Life | The Gene Code

01: The Book of Life | The Gene Code

BBC Four | 2011 | 58'29''

Adam Rutherford explores how the entire human genome was decoded, discovering that every human carries the entire story of life on earth...

Playing God | Horizon

Playing God | Horizon

BBC HD | 2012 | 59'07''

Adam Rutherford meets the spider-goat, created by scientists and the product of a new field of research - synthetic biology.

The first images of DNA | The Cell

The first images of DNA | The Cell

BBC Four | 2009 | 3'16''

Adam Rutherford explains how the work of scientist Rosalind Franklin produced the first images of the structure of DNA.

The production of proteins | The Cell

The production of proteins | The Cell

BBC Four | 2009 | 1'44''

An explanation and visualisation of DNA, RNA, and the production of protein, the process at the heart of every living cell on earth.

02: Predictor | How to Build a Human

02: Predictor | How to Build a Human

BBC Two | 2002 | 49'18''

A look at the veracity of scientists' claims that they are on the verge of being able to predict our futures by analysing our genes and ...

02: Unlocking the Code | The Gene Code

02: Unlocking the Code | The Gene Code

BBC Four | 2011 | 58'17''

Adam Rutherford shows how decoding the human genome has led us to begin to understand the very process by which our DNA makes each one...

42500 | Science Cafe

42500 | Science Cafe

BBC Radio Wales | 2016 | 27'01''

Adam Walton looks at the work of the National Centre for Mental Health in Cardiff, where scientists are exploring the question of whether genes affect m...

A new type of screening | A World Without Down's Syndrome?

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BBC Two | 2019 | 4'07''

Sally Phillips discusses a new, and far more accurate, type of embryo screening for Down's Syndrome with the profe...

Choices about abortion | A World Without Down's Syndrome?

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BBC Two | 2019 | 5'47''

Sally Phillips meets a mother who chose to abort her child after a Down's Syndrome diagnosis and reflects on what s...

Chromosomes | Curriculum Bites

Chromosomes | Curriculum Bites

CBBC | 2003 | 10'28''

Schools science programme where topics in the double science curriculum are broken down into small chunks.

Clones | i-Science

Clones | i-Science

BBC Two | 2009 | 3'34''

Daphne and Barbara are so similar because they are clones, two people who have exactly the same genetic makeup. When their mother was pregnant, her fertil...

DNA Discovery | The Gene Code

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BBC Four | 2011 | 5'54''

How does the DNA code work?

Genome sequencing | A World Without Down's Syndrome?

Genome sequencing | A World Without Down's Syndrome?

BBC Two | 2019 | 2'60''

Sally Phillips talks to Razib Khan, the first scientist in the world to fully sequence an embryo's DNA.

How many genes do we have compared to a banana? | Dara O'Briain's Science Club

How many genes do we have compared to a banana? | Dara O'Briain's Science Club

BBC Two | 2012 | 1'14''

Dara O'Briain explores how many genes humans have in common with mice, fruit flies, and bananas.

Key parts of the cell | Secret Universe: The Hidden Life of the Cell

Key parts of the cell | Secret Universe: The Hidden Life of the Cell

BBC Two | 2012 | 3'13''

An amazing visualisation of the cell's structure, and how DNA works within it.

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BBC Two | 2019 | 3'51''

A young woman with Down's Syndrome talks about living with the condition in Iceland, a country wher...

More from Michael Mosley

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

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...

Impact of nature on physical and mental health | Just One Thing - with Michael Mosley

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BBC Radio 4 | 2021 | 6'08''

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

The complexity of brain surgery | Inside the Human Body

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BBC Two | 2021 | 5'31''

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

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

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

BBC Four | 2021 | 2'12''

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

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...

The rise of antibiotic resistant bacteria | Michael Mosley vs The Superbugs

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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...

Sleep | The Truth About...

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'...

Chemical weapons | Inside Porton Down: Britain's Secret Weapons Research Facility

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BBC Four | 2016 | 1'53''

Introducing the idea of chemical and biological weapons, leading onto pathogens.

The Wonderful World of Blood - with Michael Mosley

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BBC Four | 2016 | 58'46''

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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BBC Two | 2016 | 58'57''

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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BBC Two | 2015 | 58'30''

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BBC Two | 2014 | 59'00''

Dr Michael Mosley and Professor Alice Roberts investigate whether male and female brains really are wired differently.

Infested! Living with Parasites

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BBC Four | 2014 | 59'04''

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

Fast Tales

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

BBC Four | 2013 | 5'55''

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

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

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

BBC Four | 2013 | 58'59''

Dr Michael Mosley explores how scientists went from finding antidotes to poisons to applying poisons as cu...

How respiratory viruses spread | Winter Viruses and How to Beat Them

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BBC Two | 2013 | 1'27''

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Digestive powers | Guts: The Strange and Wonderful World of the Human Stomach

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BBC Four | 2012 | 4'53''

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...