What happens when you get a cold? | James May’s Things You Need to Know

Duration: 2'06''

Synopsis

James May asks the big questions about his body. Why are we made like this? In this clip, he explains how common cold viruses spread and affect our bodies.

Further Information

More clips from James May's Things You Need to Know

Dominant and recessive genes | James May's Things You Need to Know

Dominant and recessive genes | James May's Things You Need to Know

BBC Two | 2011 | 3'11''

James May explains DNA and dominant and recessive genes.

Rods, cones & 3D vision | James May's Things You Need to Know

Rods, cones & 3D vision | James May's Things You Need to Know

BBC Two | 2011 | 2'05''

James May asks the big questions about his body. Why are we made like this? In this clip, he explores cones, ro...

S1E1:...about the Human Body | James May's Things You Need to Know

S1E1:...about the Human Body | James May's Things You Need to Know

BBC Two | 2011 | 28'58''

James May asks the big questions about his body. How did I get my granny's chin? Why do I catch colds? And...

Sperms race to the egg | James May's Things You Need to Know

Sperms race to the egg | James May's Things You Need to Know

BBC Two | 2011 | 2'27''

James May explains the human reproductive system and how sperm reaches the egg.

Dominant and recessive genes | James May's Things You Need to Know

Dominant and recessive genes | James May's Things You Need to Know

BBC Two | 2011 | 3'11''

James May explains DNA and dominant and recessive genes.

Rods, cones & 3D vision | James May's Things You Need to Know

Rods, cones & 3D vision | James May's Things You Need to Know

BBC Two | 2011 | 2'05''

James May asks the big questions about his body. Why are we made like this? In this clip, he explores cones, ro...

S1E1:...about the Human Body | James May's Things You Need to Know

S1E1:...about the Human Body | James May's Things You Need to Know

BBC Two | 2011 | 28'58''

James May asks the big questions about his body. How did I get my granny's chin? Why do I catch colds? And...

Sperms race to the egg | James May's Things You Need to Know

Sperms race to the egg | James May's Things You Need to Know

BBC Two | 2011 | 2'27''

James May explains the human reproductive system and how sperm reaches the egg.

More resources about Infection and Response

1: Pain | Pain, Pus and Poison: The Search for Modern Medicines

1: Pain | Pain, Pus and Poison: The Search for Modern Medicines

BBC Four | 2013 | 59'23''

Michael Mosley discovers what pain is and how we were able to control it with the discovery of morphine at th...

1: Vaccines | Extra Life: A Short History of Living Longer

1: Vaccines | Extra Life: A Short History of Living Longer

BBC Four | 2021 | 53'07''

Documentary series about the effect of medicine on life expectancy. How the development and delivery of the smallp...

2: Medical Drugs | Extra Life: A Short History of Living Longer

2: Medical Drugs | Extra Life: A Short History of Living Longer

BBC Four | 2021 | 53'15''

Documentary series about the effect of medicine on life expectancy. How knowledge gained from the discovery o...

2: Pus | Pain, Pus and Poison: The Search for Modern Medicines

2: Pus | Pain, Pus and Poison: The Search for Modern Medicines

BBC Four | 2013 | 58'56''

Dr Michael Mosley explores our earliest attempts to tackle infection and how scientists, chemists and doctors ...

3: Data | Extra Life: A Short History of Living Longer

3: Data | Extra Life: A Short History of Living Longer

BBC Four | 2021 | 53'05''

Documentary series about the effect of medicine on life expectancy. Before a vaccine or an effective treatment can com...

3: Poison | Pain, Pus and Poison: The Search for Modern Medicines

3: Poison | Pain, Pus and Poison: The Search for Modern Medicines

BBC Four | 2013 | 58'59''

Dr Michael Mosley explores how scientists went from finding antidotes to poisons to applying poisons as cur...

4: Behaviour | Extra Life: A Short History of Living Longer

4: Behaviour | Extra Life: A Short History of Living Longer

BBC Four | 2021 | 52'44''

Documentary series about the effect of medicine on life expectancy. How the readiness of communities to engage wi...

A bacterial infection | Dr Alice Roberts: Don't Die Young

A bacterial infection | Dr Alice Roberts: Don't Die Young

BBC Two | 2008 | 2'17''

Alice demonstrates what happens when you get a bacterial infection.

An introduction to phagocytes | Inside the Human Body

An introduction to phagocytes | Inside the Human Body

BBC One | 2011 | 1'41''

Michael Mosley looks at how white blood cells, called phagocytes, fight bacteria inside our blood.

Antibacterial resistance | Bang Goes the Theory

Antibacterial resistance | Bang Goes the Theory

BBC One | 2013 | 3'24''

A demonstration of how bacteria can become resistant to antibiotics.

Antibiotic Resistance | The Truth About…

Antibiotic Resistance | The Truth About…

BBC One | 2019 | 2'25''

Angela Rippon gives a brief introduction to the antibiotic resistance crisis.

Antibiotic resistance in bacteria as evidence for evolution | Michael Mosley vs The Superbugs

Antibiotic resistance in bacteria as evidence for evolution | Michael Mosley vs The Superbugs

BBC Four | 2017 | 3'34''

Michael Mosley explains how bacteria can naturally evolve to be resistant to an...

Antibodies and vaccines | Dr Alice Roberts: Don't Die Young

Antibodies and vaccines | Dr Alice Roberts: Don't Die Young

BBC Two | 2008 | 2'49''

Alice explains what an antibody is and how they relate to getting vaccinated.

Body Snatchers

Body Snatchers

BBC One | 2003 | 59'08''

Science series revealing secrets of parasites. Tanya discovers a living maggot in her scalp, Mike deliberately grows a tapeworm in his gut and Dr. Valerie tel...

Defeating superbugs | Dara O'Briain's Science Club

Defeating superbugs | Dara O'Briain's Science Club

BBC Two | 2013 | 2'57''

Could it be, that of all people, the Victorians had the answer to defeating superbugs all along?

Defeating the Superbugs | Horizon

Defeating the Superbugs | Horizon

BBC Two | 2012 | 59'05''

Meeting the scientists who are tracking the emergence of 'superbugs' - dangerous bacteria resistant to antibiotics - around the world.

Developing a vaccine for Typhoid | Medical Mavericks

Developing a vaccine for Typhoid | Medical Mavericks

BBC Four | 2007 | 4'39''

Dr Michael Mosley investigates typhoid and the development of a vaccine to prevent it.

Discovery of penicillin | Pain, Pus and Poison: The Search for Modern Medicine

Discovery of penicillin | Pain, Pus and Poison: The Search for Modern Medicine

BBC Four | 2013 | 5'55''

Fleming initially discovered the antibacterial properties of mould that would lead to the disc...

Edward Jenner's First Vaccination | Extra Life: A Short History of Living Longer

Edward Jenner's First Vaccination | Extra Life: A Short History of Living Longer

BBC Four | 2021 | 3'11''

The story of Edward Jenner's discovery that deliberately infecting someone with cowpox could...

Episode 1 | Your Body Uncovered with Kate Garraway

Episode 1 | Your Body Uncovered with Kate Garraway

BBC Two | 2022 | 58'47''

Kate and Guddi meet Hilda, a fashion influencer suffering from fibroids who confronts her debilitating condition, as well ...

More from James May

Why Do Cats Have Nine Lives? | James May's Things You Need to Know

Why Do Cats Have Nine Lives? | James May's Things You Need to Know

BBC Two | 2012 | 2'45''

James May explains about speed, using a fast-moving mix of animation and graphics. Here he explores why te...

S1E1 | James May's Cars of the People

S1E1 | James May's Cars of the People

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James May discovers how cars became an everyday part of people's lives. His journey begins in Europe, where he reveals a tale of war, f...

S1E6: Music | Dara O'Briain's Science Club

S1E6: Music | Dara O'Briain's Science Club

BBC HD | 2012 | 59'20''

Dara O Briain and his expert team examine the science behind music. James May explores how music is linked to our emotions and Mar...

Creating moulds | James May's Man Lab

Creating moulds | James May's Man Lab

BBC Two | 2011 | 10'50''

James re-forms some impractical kitchen items into the perfect lemon squeezer in his very own foundry.

S2E3:…about Evolution | James May's Things You Need To Know

S2E3:…about Evolution | James May's Things You Need To Know

BBC Two | 2013 | 28'53''

You might relish cabbage about as much as a two-month bout of chickenpox, but would you consider it as a leafy ...