Discovery

Geoff Watts explores new techniques in gene therapy for cystic fibrosis

Alan Turing, born June 23 1912, is famous for his key role in breaking German codes in World War 2. But for mathematicians, his great work was on the invention of the computer. In this second of two episodes devoted to Turing, the BBC’s Roland Pease follows the events following Turing’s design for the ACE machine at NPL, and the race against the Baby Computer in Manchester.

Alan Turing, born June 23 1912, is famous for his key role in breaking German codes in World War 2. But for mathematicians, his great work was on the invention of the computer. In part 1 of this two part series Roland Pease follows the events leading up to Turing’s design for the ACE machine at NPL.

Two suppressed reports showing how bird flu could be made more infectious have now been released. Kevin Fong asks what lessons for public health can be learned from GM viruses.

Marek Kukula explores the scientific implications of the transit of the planet Venus across the face of the Sun

Jim al-Khalili talks to CERN physicist, Tejinder Virdee about the search for the elusive Higgs boson or "God" particle at the Large Hadron Collider.

Kevin Fong looks at the surprising and heroic origins of modern day plastic and reconstructive surgery, born not in the operating rooms of Hollywood, but in the great air-battles of World War II.

How fixed are our moral beliefs? Carinne Piekema investigates how advances in psychology and neuroscience are starting to shed light on our moral choices.

Mark Porter explores the new idea that your health as an adult is partly determined by what happens to you in the womb.

One hundred years ago, the first humans reached the South Pole of this planet. More than 40 years ago, man first walked on the moon. When will our species first set foot to explore the planet Mars? Kevin Fong seeks a likely launch date, and asks who will get us there and why we really need to explore the Red Planet. He talks to Elon Musk, founder of the rocket company SpaceX. The commercial space pioneer claims that he has worked out to take humans to Mars for $500,000 per passenger with a new kind of reusable spacecraft.

100 years ago, Scott reached the South Pole. 50 years later, the first geologist briefly walked on the Moon. Kevin Fong asks if why we might want to return to the lunar surface and what will get us. He talks to that first lunar geologist of Apollo 17, Harrison Schmitt and NASA’s Chief Administrator Charles Bolden, among others.

One hundred years ago, Robert Scott's bid to lead the first expedition to reach the South Pole may have ended in tragic failure but Kevin Fong argues the scientific discoveries were much more important than who won the polar race.

To mark the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic, the BBC’s Sean Coughlan narrates one of the most authentic versions of events in existence. Using voice synthesis to re-create the strange, twitter-like, mechanical brevity of the original Morse code, this programme brings to life the tragedy through the ears of the wireless operators in the area that night.

In the last of the Global Body series, Lynne Malcolm is joined by a panel of experts to discuss the future of the health of the human body.

In Global Body, Lynne Malcolm discovers if the Hollywood dream is really true for the health of millions of LA immigrants.