Synopsis
James May asks the big questions about his body. Why are we made like this? In this clip, he explains how common cold viruses spread and affect our bodies.
- Programme: James May's Things You Need to Know
- Series: 1
- Episode: 01:...about the Human Body
- Channel: BBC Two
- Broadcast year: 2011
- Biology | Infection and response | Communicable diseases | Viral diseases
Licence: ERA Licence required
Free to watch for UK schools, colleges and universities with an ERA Licence
UK only
Staff and students of licensed education establishments only
Cannot be adapted
Add Notes
More clips from James May's Things You Need to Know
Dominant and recessive genes | James May's Things You Need to Know
Dominant and recessive genes | James May's Things You Need to Know
James May explains DNA and dominant and recessive genes.
Rods, cones & 3D vision | James May's Things You Need to Know
Rods, cones & 3D vision | James May's Things You Need to Know
James May asks the big questions about his body. Why are we made like this? In this clip, he explores cones, ro...
S01E01:...about the Human Body | James May's Things You Need to Know
S01E01:...about the Human Body | James May's Things You Need to Know
James May asks the big questions about his body. How did I get my granny's chin? Why do I catch colds? A...
Sperms race to the egg | James May's Things You Need to Know
Sperms race to the egg | James May's Things You Need to Know
James May explains the human reproductive system and how sperm reaches the egg.
Dominant and recessive genes | James May's Things You Need to Know
Dominant and recessive genes | James May's Things You Need to Know
James May explains DNA and dominant and recessive genes.
Rods, cones & 3D vision | James May's Things You Need to Know
Rods, cones & 3D vision | James May's Things You Need to Know
James May asks the big questions about his body. Why are we made like this? In this clip, he explores cones, ro...
S01E01:...about the Human Body | James May's Things You Need to Know
S01E01:...about the Human Body | James May's Things You Need to Know
James May asks the big questions about his body. How did I get my granny's chin? Why do I catch colds? A...
Sperms race to the egg | James May's Things You Need to Know
Sperms race to the egg | James May's Things You Need to Know
James May explains the human reproductive system and how sperm reaches the egg.
More resources about Infection and Response
02: Pus | Pain, Pus and Poison: The Search for Modern Medicines
02: Pus | Pain, Pus and Poison: The Search for Modern Medicines
Dr Michael Mosley explores our earliest attempts to tackle infection and how scientists, chemists and doctors...
01: Pain | Pain, Pus and Poison: The Search for Modern Medicines
01: Pain | Pain, Pus and Poison: The Search for Modern Medicines
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
Discovery of penicillin | Pain, Pus and Poison: The Search for Modern Medicine
Fleming initially discovered the antibacterial properties of mould that would lead to the disc...
Defeating the Superbugs | Horizon
Defeating the Superbugs | Horizon
Meeting the scientists who are tracking the emergence of 'superbugs' - dangerous bacteria resistant to antibiotics - around the world.
Ultra-Processed Food: A Recipe for Ill Health? | Panorama
Ultra-Processed Food: A Recipe for Ill Health? | Panorama
Ultra-processed foods contain chemicals that regulators say are safe, but there is emerging evidence of a link betw...
01: Vaccines | Extra Life: A Short History of Living Longer
01: Vaccines | Extra Life: A Short History of Living Longer
Documentary series about the effect of medicine on life expectancy. How the development and delivery of the small...
Antibodies and vaccines | Dr Alice Roberts: Don't Die Young
Antibodies and vaccines | Dr Alice Roberts: Don't Die Young
Alice explains what an antibody is and how they relate to getting vaccinated.
Infested! Living with Parasites
Infested! Living with Parasites
Dr Michael Mosley explores the bizarre and fascinating world of parasites by turning his body into a living laboratory and deliberately infes...
A bacterial infection | Dr Alice Roberts: Don't Die Young
A bacterial infection | Dr Alice Roberts: Don't Die Young
Alice demonstrates what happens when you get a bacterial infection.
How the immune system fights pathogens | The Human Body: Secrets of Your Life Revealed
How the immune system fights pathogens | The Human Body: Secrets of Your Life Revealed
Spec references J247: B6.3l J250: B6.3i. Researchers study microbes in extreme environ...
The Story of Louis Pasteur vaccinating Joseph Meister against Rabies | Medical Mavericks
The Story of Louis Pasteur vaccinating Joseph Meister against Rabies | Medical Mavericks
Dr Michael Mosley discusses the Story of Louis Pasteur vaccinating Joseph Meister ag...
03: Poison | Pain, Pus and Poison: The Search for Modern Medicines
03: Poison | Pain, Pus and Poison: The Search for Modern Medicines
Dr Michael Mosley explores how scientists went from finding antidotes to poisons to applying poisons as cu...
An introduction to phagocytes | Inside the Human Body
An introduction to phagocytes | Inside the Human Body
Michael Mosley looks at how white blood cells, called phagocytes, fight bacteria inside our blood.
John Hunter conducts the first study of disease in a controlled experiment | Medical Mavericks
John Hunter conducts the first study of disease in a controlled experiment | Medical Mavericks
John Hunter conducted the first study of disease in a controlled experiment, w...
The Discovery of Penicillin | Extra Life: A Short History of Living Longer
The Discovery of Penicillin | Extra Life: A Short History of Living Longer
The story of how Alexander Fleming accidentally discovered penicillin.
The rise of antibiotic resistant bacteria | Michael Mosley vs The Superbugs
The rise of antibiotic resistant bacteria | Michael Mosley vs The Superbugs
Michael Mosley introduces the problem of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, and Superbugs.
White blood cells and the 'war' on infection | Dr Alice Roberts: Don't Die Young
White blood cells and the 'war' on infection | Dr Alice Roberts: Don't Die Young
Alice explains how white blood cells fight infection and where they come from.
Antibacterial resistance | Bang Goes the Theory
Antibacterial resistance | Bang Goes the Theory
A demonstration of how bacteria can become resistant to antibiotics.
Boosting Your Immune System | The Truth About...
Boosting Your Immune System | The Truth About...
Dr Ronx Ikharia presents the definitive guide, not only to defending yourself against Covid-19, but also boosting your stren...
Disease X: Hunting the Next Pandemic
Disease X: Hunting the Next Pandemic
Dr Chris van Tulleken investigates a mysterious virus that could cause the next pandemic, one scientists think will be deadlier than Cov...
More from James May
Why Do Cats Have Nine Lives? | James May's Things You Need to Know
Why Do Cats Have Nine Lives? | James May's Things You Need to Know
James May explains about speed, using a fast-moving mix of animation and graphics. Here he explores why te...
S01E01 | James May's Cars of the People
S01E01 | James May's Cars of the People
James May discovers how cars became an everyday part of people's lives. His journey begins in Europe, where he reveals a tale of war,...
S01E06: Music | Dara O'Briain's Science Club
S01E06: Music | Dara O'Briain's Science Club
Dara O Briain and his expert team examine the science behind music. James May explores how music is linked to our emotions and M...
Creating moulds | James May's Man Lab
Creating moulds | James May's Man Lab
James re-forms some impractical kitchen items into the perfect lemon squeezer in his very own foundry.
06: Big City, Bright Lights | James May's 20th Century
06: Big City, Bright Lights | James May's 20th Century
Each day 180,000 people move into a city somewhere on the planet. James May investigates how the high-rise urban livin...