Of all the wonders of the human body, there's one more mysterious than any other. Blood: five precious litres that keep us alive. Yet how much do we really know about this sticky red substance and its mysterious, life-giving force? Michael Mosley gives up a fifth of his own blood to perform six bold experiments". From starving it of oxygen to injecting it with snake venom, Michael reveals the extraordinary abilities of blood to adapt and keep us alive. Using specialist photography, the programme reveals the beauty in a single drop. Michael even discovers how it tastes when, in a television first, he prepares a black pudding with his own blood. Down the ages, our understanding of blood has been as much myth as science, but Michael reveals there might be truth in the old vampire legends, as he meets one of the scientists behind the latest research that shows young blood might be able to reverse the ageing process - the holy grail of modern medicine.
Angela Rippon and Dr Chris van Tulleken travel the world in search of the latest science that could help us all stay young and healthy for longer. They investigate the best ways to help both our bodies and brains age better. Up first is the body, and Angela travels to Germany to join a groundbreaking study which reveals the exercise that holds off ageing the most. Chris visits America to find out about the unexpected diet that can add years to our lives. And in Ecuador we meet a seventeen-year-old who looks like a child to discover how scientists hope he may hold the key to preventing the diseases of ageing.
Horizon investigates the idea that the best way to lose weight successfully is a personalised approach, diets tailored to our individual biology and psychology. In a groundbreaking experiment, Dr Chris van Tulleken and Tanya Byron join a team of experts to put 75 overweight volunteers on diets designed to tackle the specific reasons why they eat too much. The volunteers are put through a series of tests at a residential clinic to understand how their genes, hormones and psychology influence their eating behaviour. They are then put on the diets the experts believe are best suited to them. Can science succeed where other diets have failed?
The world stood in fear of an emerging new disease that threatened to kill millions. A new flu variant H1N1 had arrived. If this latest pandemic has taught anything, it is just how little is understood about the invisible world of viruses. But that has not stopped scientists trying. Horizon follows the leading researchers from across the world, who are attempting to unravel the many secrets of viruses to understand when and why they kill.
Placebos come in all shapes and sizes, but they contain no active ingredient. They are the miracle pills that shouldn't really work at all. Now they are being shown to help treat pain, depression and even alleviate some of the symptoms of Parkinson's disease. It seems they're not acting alone. The placebo effect is intertwined with how is did the healthcare.
Explores why they work, and how we could all benefit from the hidden power of the placebo.
