In a purpose-built dissection lab, Dr. George McGavin is joined by leading anatomy experts to dissect a real hand, taking it apart layer by layer to reveal what makes it unique in the animal kingdom. We discover what gives our hands an rivaled combination of power and precision, and meet people who use their hands in extraordinary ways-from magicians to rock climbers-to discover what gives them such astonishing abilities.

Fat has a reputation as public health enemy number one. We've spent decades trying to eat less of it- yet today we're unhealthier than ever. This engaging film sees a group of health service workers undergo a series of eating trials- including a bold experiment to investigate the effects of giving up fat altogether. Monitoring the effects of their drastic diet, the program demonstrates how, for healthy people, low-fat diets are bad news. Discover...

Using sophisticated CGI and fMRI imaging techniques, this program explores the amazing biomechanical benchmarks in the first 12 months of a human life. Viewers witness the drama and spectacle of birth, watch the infant's lungs kick in, observe the swiftly beating and rapidly growing heart, study the expanding skeleton, and examine the muscles that mature with every little kick toward the ability to crawl. Cell division, the building of neural synapses,...

In this program, Greg Foot goes up against a champion martial artist to discover if winning unfair fights only happens in the movies. He also asks why the sky is blue, probes the urban legend that your eyeballs fall out if you sneeze with your eyes open, and experiences the highs and lows of surviving on your own bodily fluids.

We can survive underwater only for as long as we can make one breath of air last. But the way our bodies respond can dramatically alter how long it is possible to make that one breath last. In this program, doctor of extreme medicine Kevin Fong explores ways to survive underwater as he escapes from a sinking helicopter, walks through a tank of sharks wearing an antique diving suit, and intentionally gives himself nitrogen narcosis.

In this program, Greg Foot discovers whether there's any truth to the urban legend that you could survive in a falling elevator if you jump as it hits the ground. He's prepared to sacrifice his friends, too, in an eye-watering exposé of what makes chili hot; he also finds out what happens to our bodies when we die, and investigates fire-walking.

We have long been told that getting regular exercise is key to a healthy life. But with recent advances in genetic testing technology and brain stimulation techniques, scientists are learning new and surprising truths about what exercise really does for the body, and why we all respond to it differently. In this program, Michael Mosley explores research on the benefits of just three minutes of high intensity exercise per week. Using himself as a human...

Starting with a water birth shot in slow motion and featuring a stunning graphics sequence that goes inside the chambers of the heart, this program focuses on the countless small miracles the human body performs minute by minute in order to stay alive. Viewers learn how an infant's first breath leads to a rewiring of its entire circulatory system - and meet a diver who can hold his breath for up to nine minutes, a man who can swim in glacial lakes...

A recent European report on lung health found that Ireland has the third highest death rate from lung disease in Europe. Each year, there are as many deaths in Ireland due to respiratory disease as there are from heart disease, yet it does not seem to be prioritized. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or COPD is a collection of lung diseases, the most common being chronic bronchitis and emphysema. It is often seen as a smoker’s disease; something...

Dr. Hikmate Abriouel and her team work with bacteria that live inside our bodies and can be both beneficial and harmful. This research team is focused on antibiotic resistance.