1: The Book of Life | The Gene Code

Duration: 58'29''

Synopsis

Adam Rutherford explores how the entire human genome was decoded, discovering that every human carries the entire story of life on earth hidden in his or her DNA.

Further Information

More clips from 01: The Book of Life

Chimps and us | The Gene Code

Chimps and us | The Gene Code

BBC Four | 2011 | 5'14''

It seems tiny changes within the gene six million years ago mutated the hotspots on our ancestors' chromosomes and began driving two species ou...

Dizzying leaps | The Gene Code

Dizzying leaps | The Gene Code

BBC Four | 2011 | 7'15''

How did evolution take us from single cells to complex creatures?

Use it or lose it | The Gene Code

Use it or lose it | The Gene Code

BBC Four | 2011 | 9'31''

Just as our genomes hang on to the good things, we readily abandon genes that are no longer of any use.

Variety of Life | The Gene Code

Variety of Life | The Gene Code

BBC Four | 2011 | 4'55''

From a basic fourfold pattern, a stunning variety of life was free to evolve.

Chimps and us | The Gene Code

Chimps and us | The Gene Code

BBC Four | 2011 | 5'14''

It seems tiny changes within the gene six million years ago mutated the hotspots on our ancestors' chromosomes and began driving two species ou...

Dizzying leaps | The Gene Code

Dizzying leaps | The Gene Code

BBC Four | 2011 | 7'15''

How did evolution take us from single cells to complex creatures?

Use it or lose it | The Gene Code

Use it or lose it | The Gene Code

BBC Four | 2011 | 9'31''

Just as our genomes hang on to the good things, we readily abandon genes that are no longer of any use.

Variety of Life | The Gene Code

Variety of Life | The Gene Code

BBC Four | 2011 | 4'55''

From a basic fourfold pattern, a stunning variety of life was free to evolve.

More resources about DNA, genes and chromosomes

10/05/2016 | Science Cafe

10/05/2016 | Science Cafe

BBC Radio Wales | 2016 | 27'01''

Adam Walton looks at the work of the National Centre for Mental Health in Cardiff, where scientists are exploring the question of whether genes aff...

2: Unlocking the Code | The Gene Code

2: Unlocking the Code | The Gene Code

BBC Four | 2011 | 58'17''

Adam Rutherford shows how decoding the human genome has led us to begin to understand the very process by which our DNA makes each one ...

5: What Is the Secret of Life? | The Story of Science: Power, Proof and Passion

5: What Is the Secret of Life? | The Story of Science: Power, Proof and Passion

BBC Two | 2010 | 58'49''

How the secret of life has been examined through the prism of the most complex organism known...

A new type of screening | A World Without Down's Syndrome?

A new type of screening | A World Without Down's Syndrome?

BBC Two | 2019 | 4'07''

Sally Phillips discusses a new, and far more accurate, type of embryo screening for Down's Syndrome with the profe...

A World Without Down's Syndrome?

A World Without Down's Syndrome?

BBC Two | 2019 | 58'55''

Documentary about Down's syndrome and the ethics of pregnancy screening, exploring the thinking around the proposed new screening test and i...

Choices about abortion | A World Without Down's Syndrome?

Choices about abortion | A World Without Down's Syndrome?

BBC Two | 2019 | 5'47''

Sally Phillips meets a mother who chose to abort her child after a Down's Syndrome diagnosis and reflects on what s...

Chromosomes | Curriculum Bites

Chromosomes | Curriculum Bites

CBBC | 2003 | 10'28''

Schools science programme where topics in the double science curriculum are broken down into small chunks.

Clones | i-Science

Clones | i-Science

BBC Two | 2009 | 3'34''

Daphne and Barbara are so similar because they are clones, two people who have exactly the same genetic makeup. When their mother was pregnant, her fertil...

DNA Discovery | The Gene Code

DNA Discovery | The Gene Code

BBC Four | 2011 | 5'54''

How does the DNA code work?

Genome sequencing | A World Without Down's Syndrome?

Genome sequencing | A World Without Down's Syndrome?

BBC Two | 2019 | 2'60''

Sally Phillips talks to Razib Khan, the first scientist in the world to fully sequence an embryo's DNA.

How many genes do we have compared to a banana? | Dara O'Briain's Science Club

How many genes do we have compared to a banana? | Dara O'Briain's Science Club

BBC Two | 2012 | 1'14''

Dara O'Briain explores how many genes humans have in common with mice, fruit flies, and bananas.

Key parts of the cell | Secret Universe: The Hidden Life of the Cell

Key parts of the cell | Secret Universe: The Hidden Life of the Cell

BBC Two | 2012 | 3'13''

An amazing visualisation of the cell's structure, and how DNA works within it.

Living with Down's Syndrome in Iceland | A World Without Down's Syndrome?

Living with Down's Syndrome in Iceland | A World Without Down's Syndrome?

BBC Two | 2019 | 3'51''

A young woman with Down's Syndrome talks about living with the condition in Iceland, a country wher...

Medical attitudes to Down's Syndrome | A World Without Down's Syndrome?

Medical attitudes to Down's Syndrome | A World Without Down's Syndrome?

BBC Two | 2019 | 3'58''

A mother of a child with Down's Syndrome gives a talk about problems with how the medical profession ...

Our genetic code | The Gene Code

Our genetic code | The Gene Code

BBC Four | 2011 | 2'03''

The human genome is the total of our hereditary information, the complete list of every single one of the three billion bases in our DNA.

Sickle cell disease | Storyville

Sickle cell disease | Storyville

BBC Four | 2020 | 6'07''

Sickle cell disease is an inherited disease, caused by a single change in the DNA sequence.

The discovery of chromosomes | The Cell

The discovery of chromosomes | The Cell

BBC Four | 2009 | 1'33''

Adam Rutherford explores how scientists used better microscopes and new chemical dyes to discover and name chromosomes.

The ethics of genetic screening | A World Without Down's Syndrome?

The ethics of genetic screening | A World Without Down's Syndrome?

BBC Two | 2019 | 5'24''

A genetics expert talks about the ethics of screening and a Down's Syndrome activist talks about how to pr...

The first images of DNA | The Cell

The first images of DNA | The Cell

BBC Four | 2009 | 3'16''

Adam Rutherford explains how the work of scientist Rosalind Franklin produced the first images of the structure of DNA.

The future of genetic screening | A World Without Down's Syndrome?

The future of genetic screening | A World Without Down's Syndrome?

BBC Two | 2019 | 2'60''

In Iceland, Sally Phillips learns about how genetic screening is evolving to predict a complex range of ch...