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Science Britannica: Frankenstein Monsters

   2013    Culture
Professor Brian Cox grapples with science's darker side, asking why, when science has done so much for us, it often gets such a bad press. Starting with the original Frankenstein - the grisly 19th century tale of George Foster's hanging and subsequent 'electrocution', Brian confronts the idea that science can go 'too far'. From the nuclear bomb to genetic modification, British science has always been at the cutting edge of discovery, but are British scientists feckless meddlers, or misunderstood visionaries whose gifts to humanity are corrupted by the unscrupulous?

Shapeshifters

   2024    Nature
In every ocean… just beyond our shores…lives an animal with characteristics we think of as ‘human’ – intelligent, social, curious, gentle, and fierce. They build cities, use tools, and collaborate with other species to hunt. They have personalities – some are bold, while others shy. These animals can change their skin colour, texture, and body shape in a blink of an eye and see in wavelengths beyond our vision. Recent studies reveal octopuses’ consciousness, sophisticated decision-making, and unique personalities. On tropical reefs, in frigid waters, from the shoreline to the deep sea and everywhere in between, the octopus have made a home. Join us as we reveal ‘Secrets of the Octopus’.
In the first chapter, whether transforming their body shape and color to disappear or mimicking their deadliest enemy, Octopus use shape-shifting superpowers to survive.
Series: Secrets of the Octopus

Stephen Hawking: A Brief History of Mine

   2013    History
This new feature-length biographical film tells the extraordinary and dramatic story of the planet's most famous living scientist, told for the first time in his own words and by those closest to him. Made with unique access to his private life, this is an intimate and moving journey into Stephen Hawking's past and present. Interviewees include Stephen Hawking's sister Mary, his ex-wife Jane, carers and students, as well as colleagues such as Roger Penrose, plus Apollo astronaut Buzz Aldrin, actors Benedict Cumberbatch and Jim Carrey, and Sir Richard Branson This inspirational portrait of an iconic figure relates Hawking's incredible personal journey from boyhood underachiever to scientific genius and multi-million-selling author. And it charts how he overcame being diagnosed with motor neurone disease - and being given just two years to live - to make amazing scientific discoveries and become a symbol of triumph over adversity. Born exactly 300 years after the death of Galileo, Hawking grew up in a family some regarded as eccentric. Always asking questions, he was nicknamed 'Einstein' at school. Hawking blossomed at Oxford, although he only spent an hour a day studying. He noticed that he was becoming clumsy and fell over for no apparent reason. He was diagnosed with motor neurone disease, but nevertheless started a family and embarked on his academic career, finding himself at the heart of a searing scientific debate about the origins of the universe. And as he lost the use of his body, Hawking had to find new ways to think. He went on to write the huge bestseller A Brief History of Time, and the film reveals the high and lows of his resulting fame and fortune.

Surviving Mars

   2021    Technology
To survive Mars, our species will need to evolve how we eat, drink, and build our homes. Will we need our genes to evolve as well? Sometime in the future humans will leave Earth to colonize Mars, and in doing so will begin to adapt to life on another planet in surprising ways. Evolutionary biologist Dr. Scott Solomon foresees a series of changes to our species from the size of our hearts and heads to the pigments in our skin.
Series: Becoming Martian

The Devil Bible

       Art
The Codex Gigas, or Devil's Bible, is the world's largest and most enigmatic medieval manuscript, said to be crafted from 160 donkey skins and weighing a staggering 165 pounds. Its chilling full-page portrait of the Devil, believed to be the result of a monk's desperate pact with dark forces, is just the beginning of its mysteries. Written in the Kingdom of Bohemia, this legendary text blends biblical scripture with forbidden demonic spells, making it both sacred and cursed.
Filled with mystical medical formulas and cryptic incantations, the Codex Gigas holds mysteries that have fascinated historians for centuries. The haunting contrast between a Heavenly City and the devil's image adds to its mystique. This documentary dives deep into one of history's most mysterious artifacts, uncovering secrets that have captivated the world for generations.
Series: The Truth Behind

The Imposter

       History
In 1994, a thirteen year old boy disappeared from San Antonio, Texas. Three and a half years later, he is found alive and well thousands of miles away in a village in southern Spain with a story of kidnapping and torture. His family is overjoyed to bring him home. But all is not quite as it seems.
The boy bears many of the same distinguishing marks he always had, but why does he now have a strange accent? Why does he look so different? Any why doesn't the family seem to notice these glaring inconsistencies? It's only when an investigator starts asking questions that this strange tale takes an even stranger turn.